My new EP3

[mikekean]

Hi Guys,

I recently picked up this EP3 after wanting one for years! was an itch I had to scratch. After being in several Clio sports over the past 3-4 years it makes a nice change.

It has a fairly good spec list, couple of jobs I need to sort on it like replace the flexi on the manifold and sort some road wheels for it. I think some Enkei Evo 8 wheels are in order!


ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN
TDI North camshafts
Toda exhaust manifold
Solid Fabrications 3" exhaust
Gruppe M intake
Hybrid Racing 70mm throttle body
RBC inlet manifold (ported to 70mm)
Hondata K Pro ECU
Honda RDX 410cc injectors
Clockwise Motion baffled sump
Mocal oil cooler
MFactory helical LSD
MFactory 5.46 final drive
Clockwise motion lightweight flywheel (3KG)
Neuspeed short shifter
Hybrid Racing shifter bushes
Vibra-Technic engine mounts

SUSPENSION & CHASSIS
Buddy Club N+ coilovers
Da Vinci Racing increased castor front top mounts
Buddy Club roll centre adjusters
Progress 24mm rear anti-roll bar
SuperPro poly bushes
Steering rack raiser bracket

BRAKES
Do Luck braided brake lines
OEM honda front discs
Mintex grooved rear discs
Carbon Lorraine RC6 front pads
Mintex 1144 rear pads
Motul RBF600 brake fluid

INTERIOR
SPA oil temperature and pressure gauge
Personal Neo Grinta 330mm steering wheel

My plans for it is to take it on a few track days/enter my local hill climb, will be my daily driver till I can no longer handle the whining final drive anymore!

 

[_Tom]

Nice spec. Those wheels though..

 

[mikekean]

Believe it or not they are nearly 1k a set! Enkei RPF1's.. They will just be track/hill climb wheels. Im going to get some Enkei Evo 8 wheels for the road.

 

[_Tom]

Believe it or not they are nearly 1k a set! Enkei RPF1's.. They will just be track/hill climb wheels. Im going to get some Enkei Evo 8 wheels for the road.

Yeah I actually did know but my god they look awful. Evo Enkei's however are the perfect wheel for them.

 

[Philip.]

I love RPF1's on EP3's, but they look like the wrong size or something 😂

Nice spec'd car though mate.

 

[mikekean]

Yeah in a different offset they would look better for sure. If I'd bought them new and they came down looking like that I'd have been pissed! got the car for a decent price so doesn't bother me to much.

 

[JackD]

What sort of power is it? Spec looks decent!

 

[Philip.]

Yeah in a different offset they would look better for sure. If I'd bought them new and they came down looking like that I'd have been pissed! got the car for a decent price so doesn't bother me to much.

Aye, that with mega lows and they look spot on.
Buddyclub coilovers too

I'm guessing the powers at about 260bhp?

 

[Jamie86]

Wow thats had some money thrown at it!

 

[mikekean]

It made just under 260hp on the rollers, it certainly feels pokey! I thought it would feel quite flat down low but tbh with the lowered final drive it pulls just as well as my 172 off the bottom.

 

[Philip.]

I bet it does.
With the K-Pro the vtec will have been lowered too.

I miss my EP3 :/

 

[mikekean]

Yeah I think it kicks in at around 4.5k now.

I don't know if it's just me but I feels massive compared to the Clio. But if you loll at the dimensions it's not a whole lot bigger.. I'm thinking it may just be an illusion due to the big windscreen?

 

[imprezaworks]

Nice colour, not a fan of those wheels though. bet it goes well, you will be back in a clio though

 

[mikekean]

Haha I was actually considering doing a K20 swap on my rally car and binning off the F4R/sequential box in the quest of big power with a 6 speed dog box. Would be lower running costs than a high power F4R with a sequential but equally as fast if not faster.

 

[Philip.]

Nice colour, not a fan of those wheels though. bet it goes well, you will be back in a clio though :smile:

or, something better 😂

The Civic does seem a lot bigger. The dash is massive, lol.

 

[MG cup]

Fair spec sheet. Similar to my mates except the g/box and suspension work.

Do you find you're really underwhelmed by the lack of torque/go they seem to have, my old ITB'd Clio with an apparent 195bhp handed its arse to it and his is 240bhp. Dare I say, all noise and no go.

Despite above I can imagine its a good change and definately a nicer place to sit than the Clio's.

 

[mikekean]

In stock form I can imagine they feel quite gutless but this really doesn't. I think the shorter final drive helps though.

It's all about power to weight really. If your Clio has had any weight removed from it and the civic hasn't then with 195hp your power to weight ratio is going to be far better than the Civic's.

It's certainly built better than the Clio but with the final drive, engine mounts and exhaust it's not really an improvement over my Clio lol. If I was deaf then I'm sure it would be quite nice haha.

 

[Mr Burns]

Wow thats had some money thrown at it!

I was just thinking the same!
Lovely motor, and I bet it shifts!

 

[MG cup]

Yeah I totally agree... The Clio was standard except engine and suspension work, the Civic is standard except all the engine mods.

I'm not trying to slate your car but they're desipetively slow in comparison to what they sound and feel like inside them IMO. I was just interested in you had a 'race' for want of a better word with anybody in a Clio? I was pleasantly surprised, same with my mates DC5, they feel like rocket ships while in them but compare them with most other hot hatches and the fact you know both drivers can drive. I just found it very funny/strange that the noise they make has such an effect on perceived speed.

Anyway, nice spec, especially with the driveline and suspension mods, it sounds like its been done right so enjoy.

 

[Mr Burns]

Well the Clio vs Civic subject has been covered over and over again, and having owned both and raced against both it would appear they're almost identical, with the Civic having the edge at higher speeds.

 

[mikekean]

Both cars have their strengths that's for sure, I have a 200hp sequential boxed Clio so we will see how well the Civic fairs up against it next year when I hill climb it. The civic has roughly 175 lb/ft of torque which is more than most 172's. The extra torque will help up hill whether that car is heavier or not.

 

[Addicted]

Have to agree with the wheels comment, they're horrible, even if they're Enkei!

 

[cat171]

I still love how they look & the spec on your is great. I just hate image they have though, every time I see one it's always driven by a knob

 

[George@RTR_Parts]

I like the car and I like the wheels, I just don't like them together for some reason. Just don't seem to suit it

Looks a decent tidy example though, enjoy it mate

 

[mikekean]

Haha gotta love the hate for the wheels, I also have some equally as horrible 17" BBS RS replicas for it.

Luckily I live In Jersey so there isn't to many of these about!

 

[Ph1 Tom]

I like the wheels, but that's only because I know what they are!

I do like the EP3. A bit of weight loss and that will be quicker than a Clio I reckon.

 

[Daz_RT_04]

I like the wheels, but that's only because I know what they are!

I do like the EP3. A bit of weight loss and that will be quicker than a Clio I reckon.

Hang on, you don't think it would be quicker than a Clio as it stands? ersevere: a standard Clio or?

There's not much in them std v std... With the money this thing has had chucked at it, along with the fact the k20 is a far superior engine to the Clio's.. I would expect it to be a one-sided contest IMO.

 

[Scrooge]

They are one of my favourite wheels ever, god knows why they look so wrong on it.

Nice a car though

 

[Ian_182]

Lovely car and spec, the last owner must of loved it some.

But those wheels...lol

 

[JackD]

New wheels and new clean plates would make a massive difference!

 

[MG cup]

Well the Clio vs Civic subject has been covered over and over again, and having owned both and raced against both it would appear they're almost identical, with the Civic having the edge at higher speeds.

And thats what I didn't want to get into. Just wondered if he had done any like for like testing as I'm always surprised by the results. Im not on about the traffic light GP either.

 

[JackJack]

Great spec

 

[rollerdan]

Awesome spec serious dollar gone into that ! Get the titan itb setup that tdi north are working on would sail to 300bhp with a few tweeks . Or even there turbo street kit is insane !

 

[mikekean]

Not much of an update but I've had the Enkei's painted in BMW Sparkling Graphite, took it to a track day last month at Nantes in France. Car was going really well until the gearbox started sounding quite unhappy, looks like one of the bearings is on the way out so that will be out for a rebuild this weekend.

Enkei's

At Nantes

Gash BBS reps I was running on for a while lol

Also took part in my local hill climb a couple of weeks back, box was still poorly so that pretty much finished it off. Be interesting to see what its like when I take it apart haha.

Still on the hunt for some Evo 8 wheels if anyone knows of a set in decent condition.