Got my DC5 finally - Load of questions (and some pics)!

[Kinli]

Just got my prefacelift DC5 yesterday (The first one in Finland!) and now I have a
bunch of questions for you guys.

My last car was a 2003 CTR and it was at some point heavily modified. I know that
car very well so the DC5 isn't a stranger performance wise. However, I have never
seen a DC5 in the flesh before, so there are a few things thats bothering me.

As this is a straight import from japan, it is exactly as it was when it left. So nothing
has been done yet. The car is a 2001 C-pack.

• [*:3ae4g0ic]I know the car doesn't have a immobilizer, but does it have any basic alarm? started
  to wonder as I lock the car, there is no "lightshow" as with the EP3. Is this normal?
  The EP3 behaves in the exact same way if you lock the car while the bonnet is still up.

• [*:3ae4g0ic]The Finnish law make things tricky as I will need to have a immo fitted. I have a
  PRB k-pro that will be fitted. This ecu is immo enabled. Could the OEM immo be
  retrofitted? (I know it might be a long shot..)

• [*:3ae4g0ic]Does the front lights have _any_ kind of height adjustment? as they are HIDs maybe
  they adjust automatically like the facelift EP3 (in Finland the facelift ep3 came with
  hids)? I can check this myself as soon as I get under the car but if someone here
  would know..?

• [*:3ae4g0ic]I might have to switch to non-HIDs for the MOT (finnish law requires headlight
  washers for all hids), how is this done? can I bypass the ballast somehow?

• [*:3ae4g0ic]The EP3 has an EPS, so not too familiar with the DC5 hydraulic system. I must say, it
  is a lot better feeling wise than the EPS! but can it be bleeded somehow? My steering
  seems a little too stiff, but still manageable. I don't know if it's normal as I haven't
  tried a DC5 before.. (I did run my EP3 with no power steering at all so not a biggy).

• [*:3ae4g0ic]The auto up / down feature for the drivers window doesn't work. Only "manual"
  mode. Any ideas?

• [*:3ae4g0ic]what size speaker fit in front & the back? There seems to be fittings for tweeters on
  the dashboard? Any pics of some basic audio installation? (I must admit I haven't
  made any search about this as it's not that important really, so sorry about that.. )

• [*:3ae4g0ic]Any idea what part number the parcel shelf might be?

Well, thanks for reading, hope you guys can help me out as there isn't a sole in
Finland that can.. even the dealers are useless.

Some pics of the car and (some of) the bits waiting to be installed:

 

[dave kil]

Car looks mint mate, best of luck with it.

Only able answer one of your questions regarding the auto mode on the electric window.

Bring it all the way down and hold the button for 5 seconds.
Then bring it all the up and hold for 1 second.

Should be in auto mode now. Happens whenever you disconnect the battery.

 

[flex1984]

love the collection of parts waiting to go on 8)

 

[sovietspybob]

Yeah fair play for the massive stash of parts!

BTW what lens did you shoot those pics with?

 

[bazza1000]

Looks fantastic, it'll certainly turn plently of heads once on the road

 

[jay82]

Just got my prefacelift DC5 yesterday (The first one in Finland!) and now I have a
bunch of questions for you guys.

My last car was a 2003 CTR and it was at some point heavily modified. I know that
car very well so the DC5 isn't a stranger performance wise. However, I have never
seen a DC5 in the flesh before, so there are a few things thats bothering me.

As this is a straight import from japan, it is exactly as it was when it left. So nothing
has been done yet. The car is a 2001 C-pack.

• [*:2ponakuk]I know the car doesn't have a immobilizer, but does it have any basic alarm? started
  to wonder as I lock the car, there is no "lightshow" as with the EP3. Is this normal?
  The EP3 behaves in the exact same way if you lock the car while the bonnet is still up.

:arrow:nope the pre has no alarm or immobilizer whats so ever?

• [*:2ponakuk]The Finnish law make things tricky as I will need to have a immo fitted. I have a
  PRB k-pro that will be fitted. This ecu is immo enabled. Could the OEM immo be
  retrofitted? (I know it might be a long shot..)

:arrow: don't really understand what your asking here, cause the car has no immobilzer fitted standard so won't make a differents what ecu is in the car until you get one fitted

• [*:2ponakuk]Does the front lights have _any_ kind of height adjustment? as they are HIDs maybe
  they adjust automatically like the facelift EP3 (in Finland the facelift ep3 came with
  hids)? I can check this myself as soon as I get under the car but if someone here
  would know..?

:arrow: you can adjust the light from under the bonnet with a screw driver from memory

• [*:2ponakuk]I might have to switch to non-HIDs for the MOT (finnish law requires headlight
  washers for all hids), how is this done? can I bypass the ballast somehow?

:arrow: haven't a clue but pm or ring andy 200bhp and he'll help you out

• [*:2ponakuk]The EP3 has an EPS, so not too familiar with the DC5 hydraulic system. I must say, it
  is a lot better feeling wise than the EPS! but can it be bleeded somehow? My steering
  seems a little too stiff, but still manageable. I don't know if it's normal as I haven't
  tried a DC5 before.. (I did run my EP3 with no power steering at all so not a biggy).

:arrow: the stiffness is normal but a better feel to it than normal power steering, think its caused by the lsd. don't know about bleeding the system but read this link aswell viewtopic.php?f=2&t=335

• [*:2ponakuk]The auto up / down feature for the drivers window doesn't work. Only "manual"
  mode. Any ideas?

:arrow: as dave kil said =D>

• [*:2ponakuk]what size speaker fit in front & the back? There seems to be fittings for tweeters on
  the dashboard? Any pics of some basic audio installation? (I must admit I haven't
  made any search about this as it's not that important really, so sorry about that.. )

:arrow: check the ice section

• [*:2ponakuk]Any idea what part number the parcel shelf might be?

:arrow: again ring andy200bhp he sales them

Well, thanks for reading, hope you guys can help me out as there isn't a sole in
Finland that can.. even the dealers are useless.

Some pics of the car and (some of) the bits waiting to be installed:

:arrow: list of parts please i see somthing i want :lol:

hope i helped anybody feel free to correct me on anything, but think i got everything he asked :-k

 

[Kinli]

I will have a go with the auto-up / down, thanks for the advice!

As for the immobilizer, it's a 3-way system.
1. The key (a chip inside),
2. The key surrounding (the immo itself?)

3. The proper ecu.

If you have all of these, the necessary harness and they are coded together by a dealer, then the immobiliser should work just fine.
Probably not worth the hassle tho. guess I will have to get a aftermarket alarm.

the stiffness is normal but a better feel to it than normal power steering, think its caused by the lsd. don't know about bleeding the system but read this link aswell viewtopic.php?f=2&t=335

Yeah, I have read about the recall. Must check this (my car is in the VIN-range) as soon as I have a chance to get under the car. thanks for the reminder!
I was comparing a EPS system against the hydraulic one. The hydraulic wins hands down feeling wise. Nothing to do with the LSD (I had stock open diff, a jdm lsd and a quaife lsd in my EP3). The EPS looses because of the "worm" it uses.
This is what you need to remove:

This is what you end up with:

Worked really well.. until you got to a parking lot..

I think most (if not all) of the pics are taken with the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f2.8 lens (on a Nikon D3 body). I switched back and forth with the Nikkor 24-70mm but I think the pics linked here are all taken with the ultra-wide.

Part list (everything didn't fit in the pics, and some are still on it's way):

• ESMM
  AEM cai
  BuddyClub wheelnuts
  steelbraided clutch cable
  Aluminium shifter cable bushings
  HKS lowered seat rail
  New oem shift knob
  Honda access Interior light
  A'PEXi Power filter
  Aluminium shifter base bushings
  Skunk2 intake manifold
  Skunk2 70mm TB
  Mugen rear Tower bar
  Mugen Sport suspension
  Mugen twinloop exhaust
  IPS K2 Mark II camshafts
  Honda OEM outer valve springs x 16
  Honda OEM inner valve springs x 16
  Honda OEM Retainers x 16
  Acura RDX 410cc Injectors x 4
  Toyota Scion injector-clips x 4
  J's Racing 4-2 Header
  J's Racing 2-1 front pipe
  EP3 Clear side repeaters
  Mugen steering gearbox bushings
  UR DC5 Fender Brace
  UR DC5 Rear Strut Bar
  UR DC5 C-Pillar bar
  UR DC5 Rear Member Brace
  Spoon magnetic drain plugs
  Cusco front sway
  Cusco rear sway
  Hotchkis Competition Endlinks x4
  Techna-Fit Braided Brake lines

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

[Dc5Dub07]

wow! Some spec list, prob cost as much as the car! :lol:

Where did you pick up the IPS K2 Mark II camshafts and how much? :-k

 

[Kinli]

Some of the parts are from my old EP3..

The cams where ordered from a moderator (nikos) on the K20A.org -website.
Haven't arrived yet, should be here in about 3 weeks.
I think they where 1500 EUR shipped. These are made on 8620 billet cores.

...the list is getting longer. Just bought:
buddyclub shortshift (from this forum)
Acura rsx 2DIN -> 1DIN & pocket -thingy
oem parcel shelf (japanparts.com)
oem luggage net for the trunk (japanparts.com)

 

[Dc5Dub07]

The cams where ordered from a moderator (nikos) on the K20A.org -website.
Haven't arrived yet, should be here in about 3 weeks.
I think they where 1500 EUR shipped. These are made on 8620 billet cores.

Some spec list m8, sounds like a project almost!

I've heard that the cams are the best, although im not sure if they are specifically developed for the USDM market and not as aggressive as the "JDM spec" ones, maybe they have to take into account for lower fuel quality and compression factors on the USDM RSx?

Do you have any good Kpro tuners in your country or will you stree tune it yourself?

 

[Kinli]

Some spec list m8, sounds like a project almost!

I've heard that the cams are the best, although im not sure if they are specifically developed for the USDM market and not as aggressive as the "JDM spec" ones, maybe they have to take into account for lower fuel quality and compression factors on the USDM RSx?

Do you have any good Kpro tuners in your country or will you stree tune it yourself?

Indeed this is a project, just like my last car. But I won't be going the same route with the DC5 as it's the only one in Finland etc. no interior stripping for example. and some decent audio equipment (just for the front tho).

well, the cams ARE designed for the K20A and I doubt they have made the cams any "softer" than the competition..
I'm going to run a oem valvetrain combo so won't be running over 9000rpm.

We don't have any official kpro tuners here, but I have always done the tuning myself on the street anyway. quite simple with the right set of tools / software and many tanks of fuel..

 

[Dc5Dub07]

Indeed this is a project, just like my last car. But I won't be going the same route with the DC5 as it's the only one in Finland etc. no interior stripping for example. and some decent audio equipment (just for the front tho). well, the cams ARE designed for the K20A and I doubt they have made the cams any "softer" than the competition..
I'm going to run a oem valvetrain combo so won't be running over 9000rpm.
We don't have any official kpro tuners here, but I have always done the tuning myself on the street anyway. quite simple with the right set of tools / software and many tanks of fuel..

I'm sure you get plenty of looks it being the only one around, esp. as the Fin's are car crazy!

I'm sure you could get the use of a Dyno to tune the Kpro and post up some before and after BHP graph's?

only thing would be that a lot of people say the Mugen exhaust is quite restrictive...

 

[Kinli]

There isn't much dynos around where I live, and to be honest, I don't really care about the numbers.
As long as the car drives the way I want it to, it's good enough for me.

The mugen is somewhat restrictive indeed, but my plans are to get a fatter b-pipe at some point. Might be a custom job if I can't find any that will fit right on. The mugen b-pipe is 54mm -> 60.5mm. Spoon would be 60.5mm all the way, but I'm hoping to find a bigger pipe that would be a somewhat straight fit between the J's Racing front pipe and the twinloop backbox.

I love the sound from the twinloop (my EP3 had a DC race header & mugen twinloop at one point). So I defo want to keep the mugen backbox.

 

[acepty]

nice example pal also crazy mod list... 8)

just one question, why did you went for the J´s header instead of an Buddyclub,Toda, or hytech seen that you read on K20a.org is it fot MOT time? just bling, or something else :xconfused:

 

[Kinli]

nice example pal also crazy mod list... 8)

just one question, why did you went for the J´s header instead of an Buddyclub,Toda, or hytech seen that you read on K20a.org is it fot MOT time? just bling, or something else :xconfused:

Thanks!
good question.

One has to be quite mad to buy this new as it expensive as hell (and it STILL hasn't arrived. These are made to order..). Ordered from nengun.com.

But I wanted a 2 piece system that would accept the stock frontpipe (cat) for the mot. I had a DC race header in my EP3 and I just wanted something a bit more easier as I will do all the work on the car myself. I think I would have got the BC header otherwise as the flexing design indeed seems very smart.

Bling is defo not my thing. ( )
I know the spoon would do the same thing, but the spoon is quite common and I wanted something more special. Also studying the 4-2 design of both spoon & j's, the runners are quite different. The j's racing 2-1 downpipe is also a straight pipe which the spoon isn't. Spoon has some sort of a silencer / cat / whatnot on it. didn't want that.

Unfortunately there isn't that many options when it comes to 2 piece designs.

 

[Kinli]

I ditched the oem immobilizer idea and went for a cobra alarm.
It will be fitted along with Focal 165 KR -speakers and some dynamat extreme.
Hopefully this will be a good setup.