Wreckless Hype's 2000 EJ8 Slow Build

[Wreckless Hype]

So far ("Mod" List )
Engine
J2Racing Exhaust Manifold
Password:JDM Power Chamber
OEM Z6 Red Valve Cover
Spoon Radiator Cap

Suspension / Brakes


Interior
OEM AP1 ABS/CC Steering Wheel
OEM EK VTi Jordan Cluster
OEM EK9 Shift Boot
OEM DC5 5spd Bronze Shift Knob
OEM DC2 Rearview Mirror w/ Spoon Hydro-Blue Lens
OEM Pop-out Cuphold Console
OEM Ashtray / Lighter Console
OEM Rear Ashtray Console
Kenwood BT955HD
Kicker Comp 6.5" & 6x9 Component Speakers
Kicker Comp Amp
Kenwood Excelon Sub

Exterior
OEM Raybrig Foglights
BYS Replica Front Lip
OEM EM1 Front Grill
OEM Front Mud Guards
OEM DC5 Rear Mud Guards
OEM Wind Deflectors
OEM DC2 Rear Foglight
OEM Amber Side Markers
OEM Antenna Block Off
OEM EK9 Power Folding Mirrors w/ Spoon Hydro-Blue Lenses

Lighting has been fully converted to LED bulbs inside and on the rear.

Current Photo(s)

******************************************************************************************************************
First Honda was a 96 Milano Red CX with a salvage title. A totaled GSR donated full power plant swap and knuckles / brakes, etc. Moved to a WRX as a daily and picked up an S13 hatchback to build on. After some crappy life events, ended up in a s***box 95 DX I bought as strictly a beater until I started to get the itch...

Then I found this spotless 2000 EJ8 EX Coupe 5spd

Clean outside, clean inside, clean title, old man driven

Typical Honda rot

Has been maintained, just not really cleaned

Then on the other hand...

Immediate goals are just going to be drive it for a while and find out what it needs. Keep it stock or at least OEM Honda. So far I know I need:
Spring bolt on exhaust manifold to catalytic converter (old spring is gone, bolt just rattles)
Tune up (hesitation in low gear, low rpms )
Possibly CV joint (or just new axles) (rotating whirr sound on left side during hard right turns)
Then little stuff like the fog lights don't work quite right and the radio is garbage (I need the tunes!)

Other goals will mostly be interior stuff to make my commutes that much more enjoyable
Suspension will likely be some of the first stuff to be swapped out as this is to and from work car so I'd like it to be comfortable and slower for now instead of fast(ish) and not so comfy. (Plus I think things like brakes, etc, should come before the powuh!)
Exterior stuff will likely just be lighting stuff for now, maybe a lip and grill to just do away with the meh.

All this time I'll need to think about a power plant. When I had my DX, I considered an F20B swap, came off of that cloud to a more realistic H22 swap. None of it ever came to be, the DX shell was in no condition for the swap. Looking more into options, power output, and other builds, I like the sound of a K series. With my Stage 2 WRX tuned and slightly modded putting out a mere 284whp (But having ridden in a 500whp Domi III STi ) I became pretty addicted to boost, so a turbo will likely come to be as well.

Check in time to time for progress on the super slow build. I photo-whore everything so there should be plenty of those for you all.

 

[EJackBauer8]

Looks like a good start, and you sound like you know what you're doing so that's good as well. Good luck with it. I'm gonna be selling my EJ8 soon to get into a NA Miata.

 

[cgpEJ6]

It looks good. If you decide to mod it just make sure you use quality parts. There's nothing worse than replacing a perfectly good OEM part with something aftermarket only to find out it's junk.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

It looks good. If you decide to mod it just make sure you use quality parts. There's nothing worse than replacing a perfectly good OEM part with something aftermarket only to find out it's junk.

I found that out with my CX build years back. Ended up doing the same jobs on it a couple times. I used quality parts to keep my DX running as long as I did. So from that I took patience and I'm surely going to apply it here. (Hence the title slow build )

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Just some goodies I got to start things off slow. I'm pulling a few interior parts in good shape only because the lady that puts up with me drives a 98 DX Coupe and a lot of her stuff is in some rough shape. SO I get nice new fancy stuff, she gets nice new normal stuff. We both win.

After some research I decided on the AP1 wheel. Direct fit, airbags are both single stage, cruise is an easy pinout to keep that working, PLUS no little horn buttons. Oh, and it's sexy.

Ordered a VTi cluster I found in MPH, kinda thinking I want to go with a red theme for the lights. It's a bright enough option, lots of available lights, not to rough on the eyes while you're driving and I thought this cluster would be something nice to put some red LEDs in to mess with. What I didn't think was that I would get it this way

Tried to plug it in a make sure it worked, a lens is not hard to come by. Sadly, no. It seems pretty much like it's reading KPH on the odometer and trip, so likely someone was messing with it previously. Spoke to the seller, arranged for another part to be sent in its place.

Also, I don't like this:

..So, this:

 

[mymmeryloss]

Great start!

In for more!

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Some lighting fun!

DDM Tuning 55w 10'000K H4 Hi/Low kit

While I'm finishing these up, goodies arrive!

The knock off back plate mounts line up perfectly with the OEM fogs so I used those and hacked them a little to get the bulb to mount right.

Not totally sure how I feel on this yet. I may shortly be dumping the HIDs in the fogs for some nice PIAA Plasma Ions.

DDM Tuning 35w 3'000K H3 kit for the fogs

Lows

Fogs

Both

Also was messing around with the exterior lights. SuperBrightLEDs were the bulbs I ended up going with for pretty much everything else outside of the car as well as the festoons inside (dome and map lights) as well as the trunk. Sad to say, they did not live up to the name. The interior lights were nice but kept blowing fuses. The outside lights were really not that bright at all, the flashers were actually dimmer than the OEM bulbs and the reverse lights were just a cool white instead of the factory warm white look. Being that they were also pretty hefty in price, I immediately filled out an RMA and am returning them. DDM Tuning offers everything I need for the outside and WAY cheaper, I just have to wait for them all to ship from China

More goodies ordered, I just need to wait for Lithuania, Japan, Thailand, Poland, London posts to get my boxes to me!

I may have also derped slightly when finding a replacement for my cup holder console. Not researching enough on console pieces lead me to purchasing an EK9 pop out cup holder, which likely will end up not fitting my car. *sigh*

 

[mymmeryloss]

That sucks on the lights and cupholder but updates look great so far!

 

[Dominick]

I had the DDM Tuning HID kit on my old NHBP EM1 a while ago, I loved them.

Great start so far man! In for this!

 

[Wreckless Hype]

That sucks on the lights and cupholder but updates look great so far!

I had the DDM Tuning HID kit on my old NHBP EM1 a while ago, I loved them.

Great start so far man! In for this!

Thanks much guys!

Also, the rest of the parts I got already and have installed:

Honda red stitch shift boot and 5 speed knob. Guy sent me a 6 speed knob instead, emailed him to get that resolved, no issue. He also sent me an "EG/DC" shift boot instead of the "EK" Emailed him again like, what the hell buddy. He said keep it and he was sending the right one also. Ok, whatever.

"Can I pull the boot off the plate and stick it on my original plate?" Eh, kinda tight fit, stretched it a bit. Looks nice though. However, it's too tight and ripped. Oh well, can't really complain I guess, it was worth a shot

Also, I never got a rubber bushing to hold the boot up on the shifter so I had to improvise. Found a broken end link from the Mustang sitting and pulled off one of the heavy rubber bushings, cut a small piece off the top and pushed it down the shifter. Fit pretty tight Mounted the boot and it worked perfectly! Since it's the wrong boot and has to come off anyway, I'll get a picture of it up when I swap boots. (Not that tons of people just have broken end links laying around with bushings)

Shift knob and (incorrect) boot, new stereo (bluetooth links to my S4 and just streams Pandora automatically. Love it!), AP1 wheel and VTi cluster (when I was checking the functionality. Is broken, so was removed, back to OEM )

Cold as hell out! Might hibernate for a bit, being I have to wait for every country in the world to go through all of my boxes to ensure they are indeed "Used Car Parts", I have to play the hardest game ever; the waiting game

 

[mymmeryloss]

Too bad that vti cluster was broken. You have terrible luck lol

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Too bad that vti cluster was broken. You have terrible luck lol

Tell me about it. I received it wrapped in about 2 inches of bubble wrap and duct tape. I grabbed it like, "Aw hell..." Immediately opened a case, guy is super helpful though and quick to get back to me. I have another one on the way though, but he ships from Poland, so it's going to be a bit I may just pick up a JDM lens for it and a 140mph speedo, pop off the facing and swap them, get a working cluster.

Oh, and speaking of bad luck, I almost forgot. Got these guys in the mail.

Looked NOTHING like what I ordered (just the bulb inserts, and not that cheaply made looking. Ok, will they fit and lock in, and will they work? Well...

No..

Tested in my broken & waiting for parts VTi cluster. Waiting on refund.

AHHH DAMMIT!

But I'm pretty patient and not really bothered. If it doesn't work or is not exactly what I want, I won't force it and half ass it. If they would have fit and worked, I would have used them. They had some trouble going in and broke coming out, so NO THANK YOU.

 

[mymmeryloss]

Thats ridiculous lol

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Couldn't help myself, ordered some more stuff from our fellow B18ctrb, including a LHD cup holder since my RHD one ordered is pretty much useless (because I won't deal with a little gap)

DDM tuning LEDs came in. Shoveled the snow we got last night, popped them in. Brighter than OEM, WAY brighter than SuperBrightLEDs (not a fan XD). Interior LEDs work great, crazy light output. Getting the relays installed for the flashers whenever UPS decided to drop that off.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

26 degrees and dropping for the night, but that's ok, tune up parts are here!

#1

#2

#3

#4

Old cap

Old rotor

Clearly due for a tune up. Started up faster than I have ever seen a car start up. Hoping it solved the weird low RPM power loss...

The I got a bag of loose LEDs! (Not sure what I'll do with a thousand, but whatevs)

Took care of all the switches with lights, pulled the old bulbs out of the twist lock sockets and bent in the new pins and cut off nice and snug Then soldered out the old lights on the climate board for Recirc\AC\RDefrost and soldered in some reds.

Also had to dig out the old DX and clean it off to hopefully sell this weekend.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

I love getting boxes in the mail

Combine the best of both

New cluster LEDs came in also, pop those in while I'm at it. No bulb pliers, only broke 1 bulb pulling them out with regular pliers.

Aaaand the outcome is they look like turd. The T10 is pretty much nonexistent. The top right bulb (the two that light the front of the cluster) doesn't work. On every cluster I've ever seen, it NEVER works. Is it even supposed to?!

So after some time reading, I just grabbed a 12V LED strip that you can cut up and I'll stick them in the cluster and wire it to the T10 or something to get it power.

Also, moving the speedo and correcting the mileage, now the odometer is not ticking over at all, the speedo and everything works fine. Man, I suck.

Still kinda cold to be getting anything else done on the car outside. If the weekend stays in the 50s like it should, it's tie rod ends and ball joints for the GF's 98 and serpentine belts for mine!

Edit: When adjusting the odometer to show the correct mileage, instead of leaving a large flap (on the odemeter gears) to turn the miles over, I left a small flap (for just moving one gear instead of two together like this -> |0|9| to |1|0|) So then the large flap gets stuck and holds the whole mechanism since there's nowhere to go. The whole thing just froze. Derp.

Also, the red LEDs aren't too too bad. The T10 apparently wasn't working, so I think I fixed that, and the top left light was actually twisted too far and wasn't making contact on the circuit to light the right light - fixed that. Will have to get a pic up when I head out to the gym.

That T10 light is an ass...

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Have been doing some reading on K swaps. This is like a whole new ballpark. I was just starting to feel comfortable with my knowledge of the D, B, H motors...

My goal for the engine is this: "Aggressive daily driver". I'd like something I can drive comfortably to work. I'd like a 6 speed that doesn't feel like it's at peak rpm while I'm just cruising on the highway. My stock Y8 sounds like it's working so hard just to keep me at 70-75mph. I want something I can put the pedal down and it will move, in any gear. My old GSR would pull real hard in low gears and pretty nice up top also if I wasn't downshifting. I want a turbo I'm simply addicted to boost, I love the power and the torque it adds where there was no torque haha.

Looking at engine codes and reading some on them, I looked at the K24 and the K20. It seems (I may be way off in my knowledge gathered as misinformation is easier to find than correct information) that:
K20 to K24 weight difference is negligible
K24 will have more torque
K24 rev limits are substantially lower
K20 heads seem to be the choice on either block
K20 or K24 internals will handle upwards of around 300-350whp
K20 or K24 transmissions will give me issues with that much power
K20A2 has a plethora of aftermarket and tuning options available compared to other K counterparts

It looks like from the build threads that I stumble on that the choice block for boosting seems to be the K20A2. There was also a lot of talks about K20A2 vs K20Z1 or K20Z3, which I don't fully understand yet due to lack of information so far.

All in all, it seems I should start saving them pennies and hitting the books for doing a K20 swap.

 

[Dominick]

Have been doing some reading on K swaps. This is like a whole new ballpark. I was just starting to feel comfortable with my knowledge of the D, B, H motors...

My goal for the engine is this: "Aggressive daily driver". I'd like something I can drive comfortably to work. I'd like a 6 speed that doesn't feel like it's at peak rpm while I'm just cruising on the highway. My stock Y8 sounds like it's working so hard just to keep me at 70-75mph. I want something I can put the pedal down and it will move, in any gear. My old GSR would pull real hard in low gears and pretty nice up top also if I wasn't downshifting. I want a turbo I'm simply addicted to boost, I love the power and the torque it adds where there was no torque haha.

Looking at engine codes and reading some on them, I looked at the K24 and the K20. It seems (I may be way off in my knowledge gathered as misinformation is easier to find than correct information) that:
K20 to K24 weight difference is negligible
K24 will have more torque
K24 rev limits are substantially lower
K20 heads seem to be the choice on either block
K20 or K24 internals will handle upwards of around 300-350whp
K20 or K24 transmissions will give me issues with that much power
K20A2 has a plethora of aftermarket and tuning options available compared to other K counterparts

It looks like from the build threads that I stumble on that the choice block for boosting seems to be the K20A2. There was also a lot of talks about K20A2 vs K20Z1 or K20Z3, which I don't fully understand yet due to lack of information so far.

All in all, it seems I should start saving them pennies and hitting the books for doing a K20 swap.

If you want some more information on the K20Z3, take a peek at 8thcivic.com. Plenty of guys on there have boosted FG/FA's and the site has a plethora of knowledge on the K20/K24 head/block combo.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

If you want some more information on the K20Z3, take a peek at 8thcivic.com. Plenty of guys on there have boosted FG/FA's and the site has a plethora of knowledge on the K20/K24 head/block combo.

Thank you much! Will be sure to check it out, I need more info on this stuff.


No real updates on the car. Finally dumped my 95 DX! Started painting a BYS lip for the car, SI grill en route. Had lots of parts drop in on me, was an awesome weekend to get some stuff done, but priorities kept me on the girlfriends car. Her 2 hour commute daily meant the ball joints and tie rod ends needed to get done. Aligned, thing handle SOO much better. Dumping her DX coupe, picking this up tonight!

Clean 2000 EJ8 5 speed. Feels kinda odd picking up a car for the girl that's IDENTICAL to mine, but the deal was too good to pass up! Next weekend is MY weekend, hopefully will have some good little stuff to put up!

 

[randoaus000]

What brand of window visors you got on it? I been trying to find some that fit in the channel and don't just stick on with adhesive tape... People seem to get those stolen.