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About this blog

The pursuit of pure JDM Perfection. the story of how i took an automatic SiR-G sedan and transformed it into one of honda's rarest gems. the Integra Type R sedan. 

car was acquired in December 2011, and the build has been going on since. 

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Entries in this blog

Komisiripala

The exhaust also underwent significant changes over the last few years. i did a few experiments with it over time and eventually came across what i believe to be the best solution, given the requirement for a little back pressure, and the stringent as well as arcane local muffler regulations enforced by the men in khaki. 

i initially had an APEXi world sport 2 muffler mounted, and that went away when @Supra_Natural and i exchanged cars for a weekend and he was stopped by the cinnamon gardens police. i was given 48 hours to put a "beat ekak nethi" barrell ekak and come back. 

so i borrowed a stock EK3 barrel for some time and actually enjoyed the peace and quiet. during this time, i sourced an OEM ITR muffler, the gediya of which looked identical to any other OEM honda muffler, but was factory built as a low restriction exhaust. it gave a sweet note on high revs but was still quite restrictive. 

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the cutaway schematic below shows the subtle changes within the ITR muffler which differentiates it from the GS-R muffler:

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of course this was still too restrictive for me, so i decided to experiment a little, and being true to my Darwin award winning self, decided then that the catalyic convertor was the issue and...broke it. breaking the cat was a disastrous idea. yes the car revved up faster and i lost a bit of the restriction at low rpm, BUT, the sound. oh dear lawd the blood curdling caterwaul. it sounded like the dying moans of a hundred sodomized polecats. it was dreadful. 

having swiftly learnt my lesson, i then replaced the cat with an EG-6 SiR cat from a race spec EG-6 exhaust. as it can be clearly seen its a lot less restrictive and smaller than mine. 5a536ab7eb073__86.thumb.JPG.9f0993864f09aff13121dddb8f664c58.JPGdownload.jpg.45098c3b3632c98ae1b7d2d8868c553b.jpg<-- this is the spec GS-R cat. above is the EG-6 SiR II cat

 

 

later on, after sabry's rebuild, on his recommendation, i let sacha fetter with the piping, and got a full catback custom 2.5" exhaust system done by WEPR. this was mated to the ITR muffler until i had the final piece of the puzzle in hand, which was...

the Mugen Twin Loop! 

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this was a lucky find. i was shipping some other parts from Dubai (which i'll get to in the FUTURE PLANS entry) and the shipment got delayed because the crate which was made was too small. it took another week to make another crate, and in that time, some poor chap in dubai met with a grisly accident which completely totalled his built civic. it was a front end collision, and the car was wrecked. my parts hoarder friend salvaged this from the wreckage threw it into the shipment the day before it left for colombo! 

i installed it and it was the bomb. quiet on idle, screamer in VTEC and so smooth. nothing quite compared to it. the joy was short lived, sadly, as i noticed the innards slowly coming out of the muffler and blocking the tailpipe. this was causing a tinny sound and a severe exhaust flow restriction. at one point i just went at it with a tyre iron and removed whatever steel wool and debris that came out. of course afterwards it started sounding like a proper tin can. it was unbearable. 

 many exhaust places refused to even touch it. my garage in attidiya was kind enough to at least open it up, as one way or the other it was done. this is what it looked like:

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the inner workings were completely destroyed. i don't understand the logic of a company like mugen who makes such a good exhaust out of mild steel. they charge a premium for it when you spec the car with it, but it will only last you 5-6 years. 

this is what it should look like:

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after many palaces still refused to repair it, i had to finally goad Sacha into taking on the challenge. he ended up replicating the entire muffler, and the only piece remaining which he used from the old one was the tip! his finished product:

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it now functions perfectly, is an utter joy to listen to, and is made completely of stainless steel, with a lifetime WEPR warranty. as far as exhaust tech is concerned, the mic has been dropped. ;) 

i will upload a video of the exhaust note and variations when i get the chance. 

i also sourced the original integra brochure, which documents the 4 door sedan, and the MUGEN Integra add-on leaflet, which clearly shows the 4:1 header and twin loop as optional extras which can be specced from the factory while ordering the car. i have shown this to the cops twice, and so far they have accepted that its OEM. both times i was pulled over while idling and it was not for the exuast note. just simple dickery. 

 

 

Komisiripala

a few changes on the exterior were made. the most notable of which was the front fender. initially i was under the impression that the center grille and the bumper were two seperate pieces. they were not. its one large plastic mould.

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and my front grille was unceremoniously removed by a previous bodywork specialist and replaced with chicken mesh, which i have documented removing very early on in 2013.

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i had to make an impromptu crucifix grille in the meantime but i was NOT happy with the looks of that at all. 

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eventually, with great difficulty, i found a nearly mint front bumper and lip from a dismantled ITR coupe, and had it shipped over. my god, the difference...

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^^ the lights too were new. imported from an ITR in the UK, and cleaned before fitting. they look mint. the car looks breathtaking in these streettuner pics. 5a5374e23828e_projectr11wallpaper.thumb.jpg.7297777e05a37efd50aec84ee15e7449.jpg

the fogs had no place with the lip in situ, so they had to go. i didnt' remove the wiring or the switch on the handbrake console, as i had a feeling it'll come in handy someday. 

the other major change was the spoiler. initially i very proudly had a replica of an ITR spoiler made of fiberglass and stuck it on:

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but then, i grew up. and as you get older, understatement makes more sense. it was time to bury the boyracer in me, so i decided to remove the spoiler. it was also very heavy on the bootlid, and as it wasn't OEM and made of FRP, it began to bother me. i was all about having a car with more horses than the mounted police and less fiber than your morning meal, so the fake spoiler had to go. 

it was replaced with a rubber lip, which to me is quite a subtle statement. i lau it !

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a few other small changes were made. i removed all decals except for the ones on the door. and now, it was too cheesy and mainstream to call this a type R. 

5a537460131ab_photo2(41).JPG.75c4f8d151aca24c081672100e3bb1f0.JPGso this was removed. 

and replaced with this:

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not the clearest shot, but you get the idea. :) 

no other major aesthetic changes were made, but some major plans are afoot. i will elaborate later. 

the side mirrors were repaired as well, as one by one both retracting motors gave out. i bought two dual power civic mirrors and harvested the motors for the fix. they both fold perfectly now. tis these little things that turn me on. 

Komisiripala

one of the greatest joys of having a car that actually runs and doesn't sit in the garage more often than it does at home, is that i can actually leather it now and then. this is one thing i am eternally grateful to PAS and Sabry for: for coming through with what they promised and building a car to last. it was on his insistence that i entered the drags. 

i stood no chance fromm the get go. i was in the 1800cc-2500cc NA class, and i was up against 5 other competitors who brought drag prepped monsters carried there on trailers. while i drove my daily whip to the track, raced, and drove back. but with a qualifying time in the 15s range, with the winner running 12s, i'm quite pleased! 

i was loaned a pair of semi slicks for the race. this is why i love this community. the love, people. the love!

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our resident rice police @VVTi and @Bugatti both took part in the one make BMW event, and i was sharing their tent space, feeling much like the Geisha to a platoon of SS soldiers...

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^^this, by far, is my favourite shot. this is going on a wall somewhere. Built. Driven. Inspired. 

 

IMG_5991.thumb.JPG.c1883c0acac1d7c2ca7863527cbeb745.JPGIMG_6035.thumb.JPG.6a1f521b58bd7776e6c2a6aa2e0573a0.JPGwith Sacha Peiris in his Babyzilla

 

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here's the two time trials:

 

 

 

and here's the qualifier. i was booted out after this. but hey, i'll be back! 

 

 

this was easily the most fun day of my entire life. to actually have a car that could run a race, and then go home in, to me, was the real victory. and while i sat there, on the start line, with the throttle blipping on launch control, i realized i didn't even have to run the race. i'd already won. the result was immaterial! 

IMG_6024.jpg.304ff5007269c392ce61a94329575025.jpg<-- this was how the other 5 cars went home. mine is still proudly daily driven. all i did was remove the stickers. 

 

 

 

 

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Komisiripala

What does one do when there’s nothing left to do? The interior! 

Picked up a beauty of a steering wheel from Dubai, since I last destroyed mine while trying to clean it. Plan is to send the old one to the UK for reupholstery. 

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And the floor mats mats off of the OEM ITR sedan. These are mint!! 1C3E2A2F-E184-4131-AFCC-2579A0A0A987.thumb.jpeg.269d63373fe599670c6b3d1c4f164951.jpeg

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Komisiripala

And so, finally, I found the means to finish what I started and swap the front end. As I’ve explained before, the E-DB8 Type R sedan never came with the UKDM 1998-2001 face. It was only with the DC2 face. As much as I think the bud eye is eccentric and beautiful, it is dated, and I have a mental disorder. So yeah. 

I’ve  had the front end with me for over an year. Picked up from Dubai, the panels are all Aluminium. So much lighter than the metal ones I have now! Project ongoing at platinum. Will update more once paint is done... :) 

 

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