8th Gen Ethlar's Slow ASM FA1 Build

[ethlar]

Ive never made one of these before, and my car is far from exciting compared to some of the builds people have. Knowing the r18 was never meant to be a fast car i never planned to try to make it a fast car, just make it my car.

After serving me faithfully for several years my first car and family beater was deemed to be "a hazard to myself and other people on the road" by a mechanic in 2006 so my parents helped me out and i found this

3 months old, 8,000 miles and im the 3rd owner. Knowing the projects i had done to the Accord, they asked me to hold off tinkering with this new car (i had a car pc with a touch screen in the dash of the Accord).

That didnt last long...

Got tired of not being able to play my ipod through the stereo, 06 LX civics didnt come standard with an aux input, it was a $90 accessory, so my roomate and i put our heads together and did a little experimenting to work out the aux input plug.

Then added drop in LEDs

Wanted more light on the road so i got a set of pnp HIDs (i was young and didnt know any better)

2007 i got more adventurous, taking on DIY projects but not before a little setback. College kids thought it would be fun to throw things at my car,

Got back to school and put in the Honda Courtesy lighting kit

And then decided it as time to move on from the pnp kit
04 TSX projectors, clear lens

 

[ethlar]

Got a JDM hazard switch and saw the Acura TL switchblade key, decided i wanted one. It didnt work willingly, but with a little small component soldering and patience i was able to make the key work

Got a f700bt navigation unit from my parents as a graduation gift when i finished my undergrad

Got retro fogs done thanks to Nomar

Then i developed an obsession with lighting, i went on to add more leds to the ambient lighting kit, and built my own replacements for the weak led interior lights, following the mantra "more is always better".

Made these for license plates

I packed 15 of those leds onto a board for the dome light, and 12 in each map light. And wanted to see if i could add a blue overhead light. got the part from a 06 accord and wired it up to interact with the dome light.

Got bored with the TSX retro, and was intrigued by the audi style leds (before everyone and their mother was doing them) LED stick on strips just werent cutting it, so i got creative with the dremel.

Projectors are rx330 AFS projectors with a e30 lens swap

 

[ethlar]

In the wintertime i decided my bunz were just too cold, and i wanted to put an end to my mothers bragging about her cars heated seats. So i decided to undertake the adventure of taking apart seats and installing heating elements, integrating them into the electrical system with OEM switches.
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/installing-heated-seats-in-your-civic-diy.3388/

The car stayed put for a while till this past summer when i went for some bigger changes.

HFP suspension kit

07 Si Stock Wheels

35% all around

F700bt out, new z140bh in

Acura switchblade key started misbehaving, the solder joints werent holding up after the years

 

[ethlar]

"Performance":
HFP Struts with Prokit Springs
Si Rear Sway Bar
Si Axleback

Interior
Honda Ambient Lighting kit + extras
Interior LEDs
Accord Ambient light overhead console swapped blue LED
Heated Seats
AVIC z140bh head unit
EX Steering Wheel audio controls
ARC Titan shift knob
Solid shifter base bushings
Solid shift cable end bushings
Mugen Quick Shift

Exterior
RX330/e30 retro with audi style LEDs
Fusion retro fogs
HFP Decklid spoiler
35% tint
Si stock wheels
LED license plate lights
Rear View Camera


Ive got future plans for a new headlight build, but i dont really want to go into details yet cause it could be a drastic changeup if i pull it off

 

[webby]

that was a great intro! Awesome mods you've done yourself... quite a few projects. Not just your average part installs when you're making the stuff yourself.

 

[FB2Chris]

That first picture makes me miss my CD5... So many memories in that car lol.

Clean FA1 none-the-less

 

[MrsJrotax101]

 

[ethlar]

that was a great intro! Awesome mods you've done yourself... quite a few projects. Not just your average part installs when you're making the stuff yourself.

I find it more fun to learn how the part goes in then it is to just have it. And finding out the hard way why the directions say "dont let the knuckle drop when you unbolt the strut" turns out it kinda overextends the CV joint and then you have to reassemble and repack it so you can drive to work the next day.

That first picture makes me miss my CD5... So many memories in that car lol.

Clean FA1 none-the-less

Thanks, I miss that car so badly some days, if i could find one with no rust, even with a blown engine there are days id consider it. It never let me down, got me in a bit of trouble, and was a blast to drive. Even almost did a h22 swap on it

 

[FB2Chris]

Thanks, I miss that car so badly some days, if i could find one with no rust, even with a blown engine there are days id consider it. It never let me down, got me in a bit of trouble, and was a blast to drive. Even almost did a h22 swap on it

Same here! That was my first car and first car I learned to work on. I did so many random mods to it; I took that car to hell and back lol and it still ran! The best part was it was a manual! If I ever come across one for the right price with absolutely no rust I'd pick it up.

 

[TheSlowAndTheSerious]

looks great man, I lost all interest in my FA1 so getting the new Si was a no brainer for me. The heated seats buttons look BOSS! lol

 

[CivicCanuck]

Very nice mods, the headlight projector install looks mint, the heated seats are a very nice touch as well.

 

[Dar-Dar]

 

[ethlar]

Latest update, got the car back from the body shop, car got hit again last month, body shop repainted the whole front bumper so the car looks like mostly new again.

Unfortunately somehow one of the leds in the passenger side headlight went out, the extra power flowing through the other two in its series were going to blow those as well so i unplugged the audi led circuits since i dont have the time or parts on hand right now to do repairs.

I am starting to contemplate a new headlight build now

 

[ethlar]

been a few changes in the last year or so

HFP springs were too firm so i swapped them out for prokits on the hfp struts

the ride is much more tolerable for daily use and still nicely composed when the road gets twisty

had new foglights done, ford fusion projectors, they take hid bulbs a little better than blazers







New headlights with some help from Webby, 2nd gen TL projectors with real zkw lenses and e46 shrouds (in progress)





So heres how it sits now



and a little project in progress

Acura CSX automatic climate control

 

[MrsJrotax101]

She's looking good!

 

[webby]

zkw lenses?

 

[ethlar]

Yessir, forgot about the zkw lenses

Theyre off with Rich at HIDIllusionz right now, im not in a rush to get them back yet so im letting him take his time with them

 

[Pauly99to17]

Awesome build! You were ahead of your time on a lot of your mods. love lights too!

 

[Nix]

great stuff man! I ran prokits on the stock struts for a while and felt they were just a little too soft. With konis it felt too stiff.... I bet the prokit/hfp strut is awesome! Comfortable but composed. My new setup is just headache inducing... anyway..... nice progress man. Love it. We all have very similar 8th gen non-si builds. We are all in the same boat of headlights, suspension, LED stuff, and NO ENGINE MODS... hahahahaha

 

[ethlar]

Awesome build! You were ahead of your time on a lot of your mods. love lights too!

a lot of people didnt like the lights when i did them, but they at least respected that i did the work, im actually happy they arent hooked up right now cause there are so many cars driving around with ebay strips taped on the outside of the lights, i dont want to be lumped into that

great stuff man! I ran prokits on the stock struts for a while and felt they were just a little too soft. With konis it felt too stiff.... I bet the prokit/hfp strut is awesome! Comfortable but composed. My new setup is just headache inducing... anyway..... nice progress man. Love it. We all have very similar 8th gen non-si builds. We are all in the same boat of headlights, suspension, LED stuff, and NO ENGINE MODS... hahahahaha

Ive always figured the car will never be fast but i can at least make it comfortable and mine. I definitely think the hfp struts make the difference for the prokits, the higher damping rate keeps them firmer than stock but not so bad that you feel every bump in the road. Between the springs and sway bar the car lifts wheels turning up steep driveway aprons which is always fun