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SirPaperbag

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SirPaperbag last won the day on December 11 2024

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  • About me
    VTEC wizard and overall mad scientist with a knack for electronics.

Personal info

  • Name
    Patrick
  • Age group
    17-25...Youngster!
  • Location
    Germany

Car info

  • Civic Model
    CIVIC S 5 DOOR
  • Model code
    MA8

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Community Answers

  1. To be honest, I've rarely even heard about these switches acting up, so my best guess would be either to just go to a wrecker or buying a used one from someone parting their M-chassis out. There are still enough of those around for that to be an option. And this is just speculation on my part, but I also noticed that pretty much all 90s Hondas share visually the same stalks, be it an EG or an NSX. So maybe that's another thing to look into. Regarding the brightness issue - I myself fitted some ultra bright H4s from Philips that are actually meant for motorcycles, and they are considerably brighter than the normal ones before. But that's still only an alright level of brightness, not neccessarily great. So I always also use my fog lights when driving at night, which really helps light up the periphery. And retrofitting HIDs and LED bulbs is... kinda sketchy and also possibly illegal, depending on where you live. But there are pretty nice LED ones on the market. So you only really got a choice between adding extra lights, getting the brightest H4s, or going down the sketchy route of retrofitting more modern tech into your M. Those 'Ultra Bright LED Laser Matrix Plus whatever' lights modern cars use are just so extremely overpoweringly bright that no matter what you get- as long as it doesn't outshine the literal f-ing sun, you're gonna get the short end of the stick. It's ridiculous.
  2. That's the typical 16-valve sound. Any four banger with 16 valves has a certain point where it really starts to growl. Be it bike or car. ;)
  3. Clean looking engine bay, I like. But I didn't know that they made plastic intake manifolds for earlier D-Series. Interesting. And just a friendly warning about these HKS-style air filters - they tend to disintegrate and get sucked into the engine!
  4. Regarding your audio upgrades I'd recommend getting a head unit that's not too deep, as I've had some issues with longer/deeper units before I got my Blaupunkt one. So, Ideally one without a CD drive, as those add a lot of length and therefore might interfere with the wiring loom in the back. You'll probably need some spacers for aftermarket in-door speakers, and the dimensions you're looking for are a 165mm diameter and around 18mm in thickness. For example I myself got a set of Hifonics Vulcan VX-6.2C speakers, which are a two-way set with an external crossover unit that I just taped to the inside of the doorcard, and the Hifonics tweeters perfectly fit into the OEM triangle tweeter units, at least if you carefully adjust the metal prongs that hold them in place. They sound quite good by themselves, but definitely lack bass. But I guess folks that want to upgrade their audio system are also going to get a standalone subwoofer, so... yeah.
  5. That's a damn nice looking MA! Really gotta give the paint on my own one a bit of love after seeing this. Though I'm not so sure about giving up AC for a supercharger. Summers 'round where I live get brutal.
  6. I just bought handbrake cables for the MB6/MC2 models. They have rear discs and in the case of the MB6 are the exact same chassis as mine. Haven't attempted the actual swap yet, but I've got all the neccessary parts lying around already and am pretty sure that the MB6 cables are gonna work. And don't forget that you'll need different brake lines, as well! (Just the flexible part, though)
  7. You are technically right about not needing the whole trailing arms, but good luck with both finding the spindles by themselves in usable condition and taking the old ones off. Finding parts like that is getting progressively hard as our cars start to turn into oldtimers, and most of these super specific upgrade parts have already been grabbed about a decade ago. We're kinda late to the party in that regard. The spindles are also secured to the trailing arms with extremely strong threadlocker, which oftentimes are pretty old and corroded on top, which makes removing them near impossible without drilling them out. Stripped a bolt attempting to remove the disc brake ones, even with applying heat and using rust remover beforehand. No chance. So, yes - you technically don't need them, but realistically you will. Except if you're fine with drilling all of the bolts out and dealing with that headache. And the part about bleeding the brakes is also generally correct. Most cars have their brake systems set up like that so you can still come to a stop if a brake line fails. Otherwise if you combine FR with RR / FL with RL you will only have working brakes on one side of your car, which I don't have to explain why that would be very bad.
  8. Man, I envy you facelift guys for your spoiler lips and sideskirts. Finding them for the pre-facelift models is virtually impossible. :/ Also usually not a big fan of silver wheels on a silver car, but you pull off that look quite well!
  9. Thanks! I primarily bought them for those foggy autumn morning commutes, but the look quickly grew on me. :D Also imported some yellow bulbs for them, and the light coming out of them looks freakin' amazing. Had quite a few BMW drivers mistake me for an E36 because of them, as well! xD
  10. Small update on the whole brake prop valve situation: Apparently, EG6 prop valves could also work, as they don't have ABS and 262/242mm rotors in the front and rear, just like our M-chassis Civics. So, if that's true, you could get a brand new valve for less than $200 from Japan. Part number for these bad boys is 46210-SR3-013 And you should be fine sticking with your original brake master cylinder + booster! But if you've got 242mm discs all around instead you'd need a "1725" valve (46210-1725-XXX) off a Del Sol, not off an EE/ED/EF Civic! (Different f/r rotor sizes)
  11. Might have to get a bit more specific with those questions. But generally speaking, EG and Integra suspension parts are usually compatbile. But there is a great compatibility list on this page which should help you out for now. Sadly I can't help you out with your steering wheel lock, never had anything happen like that to me.
  12. Came across this pic I snapped earlier this year. All those reflections really make the kaked paint stand out. Really gotta give her a good polish sometime.
  13. Got some from Climair installed rn, and they fit very well. They're still available brand new. Only thing I had to do is grind off a bit of the holding tab in the front (was a bit too long) but that's completely normal with these things. And you can even choose between clear, tinted, and dark, which I find quite nice.
  14. The part about needing new trailing arms is 100% correct, as the drum brake ones lack the proper mounting points for a disc brake system. But you've got to be careful with which arms you choose, as the wrong ones could end up increasing your rear trackwidth and that's gonna end badly for your handling. As our M-chassis have borrowed a lot of suspension components from 5th gen Civics (EG), I'd recommend searching for EG5/EG6/etc. trailing arms, as they should keep everything in spec. I for one got a pair of EG5 arms to go with my non-ABS system. But that's only part of the problem. If you've somehow managed to get yourself the right trailing arms then you still have to find a matching brake proportioning valve (or prop valve) that splits the pressure correctly between front and rear. Otherwise your rear brakes might either not bite enough, or bite too much and cause the rear to kick out while braking (very dangerous). This is especially important if you've got something like an MOT or TÜV here in Germany, where your car gets an inspection every X years and they check your brake performance. M-chassis Civics also use an old style of prop valve, which makes it EVEN HARDER to find the correct ones. What you generally want to get is called a "4040" valve, which is just the model number, nothing more (some dumbasses online claimed those valves split 40/40, but where the hell would the remaining 20% go?) I also found a nifty table somewhere on an obscure forum, and I don't know where exactly I got it from, so I sadly can't attribute the original poster, but here it is: And depending on the caliper sizing, you might even have to upgrade your master cylinder, but that's getting really technical. So, in short, get the correct trailing arms, a somewhat correct prop valve and maybe upgrade your master cylinder. If you want to do it properly, it's a whole lot more work than just doing enough for it to work. Pro Tip: You can also fine-tune your front/rear balance by using more or less aggressive pads. And regarding rear ARBs, you've got a choice between either buying some used EG6 brackets, using aftermarket ones, and reinforcement braces with mounts included. I went with a used EG6 ARB, plus mounting hardware, because I wanted to try out how much difference just that dingy little thing would make (a lot). Here are a few pics of it both installed, and some pics of the used mounting hardware. You also need fitting lower control arms with mounting holes for the endlinks. And I'd recommend buying new endlinks while you're at it. And maybe a few harder rubber bushings on top. I also had to fabricate some small metal standoffs for the mounting bracket to properly fit to the rear frame (top right picture, the screw just above the yellow marking). This would be the alternative, a rear brace with mounts included: But some places also carry aftermarket versions of the OG hardware that I mentioned and shower earlier, so that's an option, as well. All in all, it's a s**t job with tons of little hang-ups, researching, browsing marketplaces and painful installation, but the handling difference is night and day.
  15. With ECU stuff OBD1 really is the way to go, because whether or not you decide to chip it or put an S300 in it, it's basically the best choice to use an old OBD1 ECU. I've actually got a S300 installed in my Civic right now and since it's a pre-facelift it already was OBD1 from the factory. But OBD1 conversions are relatively easy and well documented online. Depending on your personal tastes you could also go with a standalone ECU like a Link or Haltech unit. They cost roughly the same as a S300, but offer a very different featureset and more modern management options. (But they are not plug-and-play) And while I don't have any experience turboing cars, I'd say a relatively safe power figure for a D16 would be 160 to 180-ish hp. (Those conrods are thin) Already took apart a spare D16Z6 that I bought this summer, as I plan to completely rebuild it for a high comp NA build, and when I held those tiny little spaghetti-conrods in my hands I almost couldn't believe that those suckers manage to survive regularly hitting 7500RPM!
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