EK9 – Gripshiftslide

Fun2Drive :: Type Arrgghh

Grant — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 13:54:32 +0000

During our most recent trip to Japan we spent some time again in the mountains of Hakone which of course meant we ended up driving half of the fleet from Fun2Drive.
After some mixed feelings driving the FD RX-7 we took something a little more familiar for a drive. A Honda Civic Type R.
Having owned and driven various Honda’s in the past I thought this Civic would just be a case of déjà vu. While it had all the qualities I enjoyed of the DC2 Integra Type R, for some reason in the body of the EK Civic it felt very different. Halfway through my first corner I had very big smile on my face…

What’s not to love about a plucky little hatchback that red lines at 8,500rpm? All the roominess you would come to expect from a small economical car with an angry naturally aspirated engine that sounds like it is having the time of it’s life with each press of the accelerator!

Based on the run of the mill 6th generation Honda Civic, the Type R version known by it’s chassis code “EK9” has all the features of the standard Civic with a host of goodies you normally get in Honda’s hotted up road cars. Including the dohc VTEC motor, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel, upgraded suspension, bigger brakes, reinforced & lightened body.

The engine is a 1.6l B16B engine, the EK9 is the only car to ever be graced with this particular motor. What’s interesting is that it’s actually a destroked 1.8l block of which you would normally find in the more common Integra Type R.

The engine is faultless aside from the low end torque issues from such small motor. The motor comes alive in the higher revs and makes it’s peak power at 8,200 rpm!! There’s nothing subtle about driving a performance Honda like this at full throttle, the noise the engine makes had dogs from the next prefecture barking!

After spending the whole morning darting around the mountains I switched from ‘boy racer’ to responsible adult and decided to do some sensible driving before stopping for a quick lunch break at the local konbini. In the warmth of the hot food section I looked back out at the tiny Civic and had to admire it for it’s balance of fun and practicality. At low speed it was quiet, comfortable with plenty of boot space. At high speed it was a completely different animal!

After lunch I took the Civic along the Hakone Skyline Toll road around Lake Ashi. With the colder weather it looked more like I’d driven to Silent Hill.
Here there was next to no traffic and the corners hard and fast with banking sections and tight hairpins. The Civic really came into it’s own here.

Driving fast you can’t help but feel the rush as you really have to work the lower gears to keep the revs high, engine braking also produces the most wonderful noises as you gear down for the next corner. It really is a rewarding experience.

The development in the chassis is really noticeable on tight twisting roads. Having driven a base model EK Civic over a few years the difference is night and day.

Not only has weight been taken out, the chassis has been strengthened to counteract the weakness from weight loss. Add in the quicker steering ratio and it really is an amazing car to drive.

Even on the damp roads I felt a tremendous amount of grip from the tyres and felt very confident in it’s ability.

After some more spirited driving it was time to make use of a dry break in the weather and take some photos. Looking at the car from various angles it’s certainly not the best looking hatch ever released. However I do think the years have been kind to the shape and it’s aged well.
The Type R additions really make a big difference over the standard car. Equipped with a new grill, lip kit and spoiler as well as deleted bumper moldings on all facelift models it scrubs up well.
So much so nearly all modified EK Civics have had the same parts fitted to spruce up the look without breaking the bank.

With countless ‘mock up’ Type R Civic’s getting around the easiest identifying feature on the real deal is actually the 5 stud wheel setup. All other EK Civic were released with a 4×100 bolt pattern.

The EK Civic is from a simpler time when the Type R badge was a big deal and engineers appeared to have much more freedom when taking production cars under the knife.

All in all it is an amazing little car to drive. If you’ve never driven a Type R Honda I would highly recommend getting behind the wheel of late 90’s variant as it is hands down some of the most fun I’ve had in a road car.

This is a car I could easily drive everyday, it’s not the softest ride but it is certainly more livable than any other fun cars I’ve driven.

If I had the chance to buy one of these I would snap it up, unfortunately having only a dozen or more imported to Australia over the years they don’t come up for sale often and when they do the price tag matches the rarity.
It was another sad moment handing the keys back, knowing what I would be driving next though the sadness quickly faded. More soon.
Thanks again to Yoshi and Chikara from Fun2Drive for their incredible service!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Japan Day 2 :: Daikoku Futo PA

Grant — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 09:32:31 +0000

After 36 hours in Japan we finally hit up some car action at none other than Daikoku Futo PA! This tiny car park in the middle of a man made island in the Yokohama harbor is a thing of legend. If you’re into Japanese cars chances are you’ve seen more than a few photos from this location. Here car owners from different walks of life all gather and soak up the experience that is Daikoku Futo any night of the week and during the day on weekends.

Staying in Yokohama meant the parking area was just 15 minutes from our hotel. So hurried back after dinner and set off on our adventure.

The very first sight we were greeted by as we drove down the long spiraling off ramp into the parking area. This ‘Tron’ looking BMW convertible that had light glowing from everywhere. We parked up and ran around like kids in a candy store.

I can’t explain the ‘fizzy’ feeling you get standing in this spot at night… The cars, the orange light and the sound of engines revving is just unlike any car meet at home. The scale of the freeway ramps that circle you create this theater filled with the sounds of cars entering and leaving the car park. It really is just massive!!

The amount of cars even on a quiet night like this was staggering, cars were coming and going all the time. It was impossible to keep up when shooting on a tripod.

These three where all friends.

We loved this bumper-less Crown. It was also refreshing to see a modified Crown after the sea of Japanese Taxi’s getting around Tokyo!

The wheels were on the smaller side for a car of this size bit it still looked great all together.

Our second night in Japan and we were already treated to the sight of a Hako Skyline.

It was beautiful!!

This matte green air-cooled Porsche was a very cool sight amongst all the domestic cars.

There was a small army of MX-5’s out in force.

I’ve only ever seen one or two cool looking MX-5’s together at home so it was awesome to see more than 5 at the same place.

This little dark green one was rocking some wide wheels on the rear. Photos don’t do it justice!

Our favorite MX-5 had to be this BN Sports kitted black number. The level of dish was high with this one!

There was a few Honda’s out and about too.

This little blue EG Civic was sitting stupidly low, it looked awesome from every angle.

The greatest Civic Type R in our eyes… The EK9. These things are just pure awesome!

Another Type R on the same TE 37 wheels.

Over in the corner some local bosozoku bikers were meeting and revving their bikes. When I got closer I realised they were playing songs. They had each made up their own song and began reciting them one after another simply using their engines.

This was one of the coolest aspects of the parking area, getting up close to these amazing machines/people I’ve heard so much about.

Old Suzuki’s and Honda’s seemed the bikes of choice and they all had their own personal touches.

Our personal favorite of the entire night had to be Kazuki’s flawless 86.

The subtle red glitter in the paintwork was beautiful. We were digging the mismatched wheels. Work Equips up front.

TE37V in the rear.

This is seriously one very cool street driven hachiroku!!

Not to far away we found some very nice looking Infiniti’s.

This FX was dropped on it’s airbag suspension while it was parked and had heaps of top end audio gear inside. The roof racks had a very cool flower wrap on them too.

The G-Series sedan was sitting low on a set of 3SDM 0.08 wheels.

These wheels looked the business gleaming away under the street lights.

As it turns out the Toyota Prius is one of the most modified cars in Japan, seriously every second one we saw had blacked out taillights, wheels and an exhaust. This one was a little bit different and certainly had a bigger budget then most sitting pretty atop a set of fifteen52 Tarmac wheels. This thing looked killer.

From big budget to low budget this ‘diy’ Legacy wagon would look at home at most grass root race events. The matte black paint and custom front splitter design along with the rear wing made for a menacing looking street car.

One of the few Supra’s we saw, this was definitely the more wild looking of the bunch. Check out the rear diffuser setup!!

The car park fell quiet for a short time, the silence was quickly interrupted by the unique burble of this Porsche arriving. The sound stuck out like a chip packet being opened in a church.

One for the rotary fans. This spotless white FD RX-7 was certainly worthy of a few photos.

The body kit seemed like a simple lip kit at first but became all the more extreme when you got closer. The rear diffuser alone was a work of carbon art!

A late and brief attendee was this Evo wagon, such a shame we don’t see more of these in Australia. I’ve only ever seen one in real life before this.

This Scion XB was pushing the camber out on the rear wheels, lots of character here. mismatched panels, rusted bonnet and stone chips galore. This was cool!

This tiny Suzuki Alto was just tucking these 14″ mesh wheels in the rear.

It had some patched up fender damage on the front from running so low around Tokyo’s streets.

Later in the evening another cool 86 arrived, this time a coupe!!

In the infamous two tonne black & white combination and on a set of Watanabe wheels… Perfect!

It doesn’t get much cooler than this, sitting behind an idling Toyota Sprinter in Yokohama.

There was truck loads of Toyota’s by this point. Check out the crazy fitment on this Crown.

This Chaser was in pristine condition and funnily enough had the loudest sub woofer I’ve heard on the street. It was ridiculous!!

It had a nice amount of dish too!

One of the toughest looking cars of the night had to be this black Nissan Cima.

The big chunky wheels set it off perfectly.

It’s hard to describe this car without using the word “gangster”…

Even more Toyota Crowns!! They’re literally everywhere here! We were about ready to call it a night before the police did it for us After a few too many cars got a bit loose when leaving the car park.

Then this arrived… The hero car of the night. a sky blue liberty Walk R35 GT-R.

The huge over fenders of the rocket bunny kit perfectly covered the massive rear wheels.

This thing was big!!

Seeing a car like this here in Japan was really a special moment for me, I stood still just enjoying it not even touching my camera for a few minutes before I felt the pain in my feet that comes from a 15 hour day of walking none stop.
So that was that we called it a night and headed back to our hotel.
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.