sunman's GPW showoff/progress thread
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 1
From: NJ
sunman's GPW showoff/progress thread
So I figured I'd start a build thread to document everything now that the car has finally had some things done to it.
The mod list so far..
- OEM red/black interior swap
- KW Variant 3 Coilovers
- Kenwood KIV700 Headunit
- Science of Speed Sport Clutch
- Science of Speed Single Pillar Gauge
- PLX DM-100 Multigauge
**DISCLAIMER: There is going to be ALOT to read and a good amount of pictures!!**
I came from a list of 3 RSX-S's and the s2000 was the natural car to progress to.
I picked the car up in July of 2010 from ATL, GA -- a 2005 GPW with 18k on the clock and drove it back to NJ.
Taping her up for the 14 hour drive home:
First thing I decided to do with the car was to swap the interior. I drove to VA to swap with member aCab for his black interior:
Before..
After..
Because I was using the car to commute to work, my next mod was to the headunit. I wanted something with a full sized screen but also needed the color scheme to match the OEM dash lighting. I also wanted everything to be easy and simple to control. I had headunits in my previous cars where operating them was a nightmare and you had to go through multiple screens just to change the radio station. I found what I wanted in the Kenwood KIV-700. The HU features a full sized screen and can play videos, USB MP3's, iPod's, etc. It also has an iPod inspired menu. The only drawback is that I no longer have a CD player in the car:
Now I began to get bored of the black interior. I decided to swap again, this time to the red/black combo. I bought the entire interior off of a member on s2ki (foxraycn), but it came out of a low mileage 2007 s2k. I had thought it would be a direct swap, but didn't realize that the passenger side would be a nightmare. The driver side bolted in somewhat but the carpeting was slightly off. On the passenger side, the carpeting would not fit at all due to the redesigned transmission tunnel and the new SRS sensors. The seat would not bolt in either, so I had to swap my 2005 passenger rail over to the 2007 seat. I decided to order a set of brand new red carpets from a Honda dealership (which was rape btw ) and was able to complete the swap:
So now that I ran out of interior colors to swap , I decided to get started on cooler things. I wanted to improve upon the handling of the car and decided to go with KW Variant 3 coilovers after reading countless reviews. After a nightmare ordeal with the vendor in which it took me about 2 months to receive the coilovers, I discovered that they were leaking upon delivery. This was unacceptable for a brand new set of ~ $2000.00 coilovers. I do have to say that KW has excellent customer service and shipped me a brand new set of coils from cali with no questions asked. So 3 months after I had placed my order, I finally received them:
Before putting them on, I sprayed an additional layer of clearcoat on them to protect from any possible rusting issues, even though the quality and finish of KW is excellent:
spraying them down:
finished, drying ready for install:
before on the left, after on the right:
Impressions: I have them set on KW recommended settings and a very mild alignment setting. For daily driving, the ride quality is just very slightly stiffer but you would probably never notice it as a passenger. I would definitely recommend these coilovers. They are pricey, but "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here.
The mod list so far..
- OEM red/black interior swap
- KW Variant 3 Coilovers
- Kenwood KIV700 Headunit
- Science of Speed Sport Clutch
- Science of Speed Single Pillar Gauge
- PLX DM-100 Multigauge
**DISCLAIMER: There is going to be ALOT to read and a good amount of pictures!!**
I came from a list of 3 RSX-S's and the s2000 was the natural car to progress to.
I picked the car up in July of 2010 from ATL, GA -- a 2005 GPW with 18k on the clock and drove it back to NJ.
Taping her up for the 14 hour drive home:
First thing I decided to do with the car was to swap the interior. I drove to VA to swap with member aCab for his black interior:
Before..
After..
Because I was using the car to commute to work, my next mod was to the headunit. I wanted something with a full sized screen but also needed the color scheme to match the OEM dash lighting. I also wanted everything to be easy and simple to control. I had headunits in my previous cars where operating them was a nightmare and you had to go through multiple screens just to change the radio station. I found what I wanted in the Kenwood KIV-700. The HU features a full sized screen and can play videos, USB MP3's, iPod's, etc. It also has an iPod inspired menu. The only drawback is that I no longer have a CD player in the car:
Now I began to get bored of the black interior. I decided to swap again, this time to the red/black combo. I bought the entire interior off of a member on s2ki (foxraycn), but it came out of a low mileage 2007 s2k. I had thought it would be a direct swap, but didn't realize that the passenger side would be a nightmare. The driver side bolted in somewhat but the carpeting was slightly off. On the passenger side, the carpeting would not fit at all due to the redesigned transmission tunnel and the new SRS sensors. The seat would not bolt in either, so I had to swap my 2005 passenger rail over to the 2007 seat. I decided to order a set of brand new red carpets from a Honda dealership (which was rape btw ) and was able to complete the swap:
So now that I ran out of interior colors to swap , I decided to get started on cooler things. I wanted to improve upon the handling of the car and decided to go with KW Variant 3 coilovers after reading countless reviews. After a nightmare ordeal with the vendor in which it took me about 2 months to receive the coilovers, I discovered that they were leaking upon delivery. This was unacceptable for a brand new set of ~ $2000.00 coilovers. I do have to say that KW has excellent customer service and shipped me a brand new set of coils from cali with no questions asked. So 3 months after I had placed my order, I finally received them:
Before putting them on, I sprayed an additional layer of clearcoat on them to protect from any possible rusting issues, even though the quality and finish of KW is excellent:
spraying them down:
finished, drying ready for install:
before on the left, after on the right:
Impressions: I have them set on KW recommended settings and a very mild alignment setting. For daily driving, the ride quality is just very slightly stiffer but you would probably never notice it as a passenger. I would definitely recommend these coilovers. They are pricey, but "you get what you pay for" definitely applies here.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 1
From: NJ
So this is how the car sat for a while until I began to get bored yet again.
I decided that it was time for some more power
I thought for a while about how I was going to improve upon the power of the car. I definitely wanted forced induction but was torn between a turbo, centrifugal sc or a rotrex sc unit. Whatever I chose, I needed to have OEM reliability, driveability and smoothness with the entire setup. I did not want to hack the car up and sacrifice any kind of smoothness in the car for the sake of power. I also wanted to keep the power as linear as possible in keeping with the handling characteristics of the car.
After researching for a while, I became interested in the PTuning turbo kit. I did some more reading into the kit and found out it was a bottom mounted setup which placed the turbo underneath the manifold. I liked this because that meant less radiant heat that the hoses/ac lines, etc were exposed to. Also, no relocation of any lines, fuses, batteries, etc. were required. All connections were also vband, so no more studs and nuts to vibrate loose and snap. It came with a nice oil return pump that returned oil back to the motor (timing cover) from the turbo so there was no worry of oil backing up in the return line in certain situations (cornering, etc.) I also loved the super linear powerband and how it was able to spool so fast due to the super efficient design.
Also, my buddy EternalLx was putting his build together around this time and seeing the #s he was making sealed the deal for me.
I placed an order with PTuning for the kit with a GT3076 and it arrived 2 days later from VA:
The fit and finish on the entire kit was absolutely perfect and I was immediately satisfied with my purchase.
The setup (tentatively):
-Ptuning GT3076R Turbo Kit with open dump
-Ptuning optional oil cooler
-Hondata Kpro
-ID 1000 with PNP clips
-Full Blown 340 LPH fuel pump
-PLX Devices DM-100 multigauge with A/F, oil pressure, oil temp sensors
-SOS Single Pillar Pod
-SOS Sport Clutch with OEM AP1 Flywheel
-SOS large throttle body
-ATP inconel heat wrap for the manifold
For the clutch, I wanted something as smooth and soft as OEM with easy drivability. I settled on the Science of Speed Sport Clutch. It was either this or the tried and proven ACT clutch. The SOS is technically only rated to 300 tq, but it has a clamping force of 33% vs. the ACT disk 39%. However, the ACT clutch is associated with crankwalk so I wanted to stay away from it. We will see if the SOS clutch will hold up on the dyno. I had the install done by local member Minitoyota and he did an awesome job (sorry, no pics of the install but here are some when it arrived):
I also picked up the PLX DM-100 multigauge:
I decided that it was time for some more power
I thought for a while about how I was going to improve upon the power of the car. I definitely wanted forced induction but was torn between a turbo, centrifugal sc or a rotrex sc unit. Whatever I chose, I needed to have OEM reliability, driveability and smoothness with the entire setup. I did not want to hack the car up and sacrifice any kind of smoothness in the car for the sake of power. I also wanted to keep the power as linear as possible in keeping with the handling characteristics of the car.
After researching for a while, I became interested in the PTuning turbo kit. I did some more reading into the kit and found out it was a bottom mounted setup which placed the turbo underneath the manifold. I liked this because that meant less radiant heat that the hoses/ac lines, etc were exposed to. Also, no relocation of any lines, fuses, batteries, etc. were required. All connections were also vband, so no more studs and nuts to vibrate loose and snap. It came with a nice oil return pump that returned oil back to the motor (timing cover) from the turbo so there was no worry of oil backing up in the return line in certain situations (cornering, etc.) I also loved the super linear powerband and how it was able to spool so fast due to the super efficient design.
Also, my buddy EternalLx was putting his build together around this time and seeing the #s he was making sealed the deal for me.
I placed an order with PTuning for the kit with a GT3076 and it arrived 2 days later from VA:
The fit and finish on the entire kit was absolutely perfect and I was immediately satisfied with my purchase.
The setup (tentatively):
-Ptuning GT3076R Turbo Kit with open dump
-Ptuning optional oil cooler
-Hondata Kpro
-ID 1000 with PNP clips
-Full Blown 340 LPH fuel pump
-PLX Devices DM-100 multigauge with A/F, oil pressure, oil temp sensors
-SOS Single Pillar Pod
-SOS Sport Clutch with OEM AP1 Flywheel
-SOS large throttle body
-ATP inconel heat wrap for the manifold
For the clutch, I wanted something as smooth and soft as OEM with easy drivability. I settled on the Science of Speed Sport Clutch. It was either this or the tried and proven ACT clutch. The SOS is technically only rated to 300 tq, but it has a clamping force of 33% vs. the ACT disk 39%. However, the ACT clutch is associated with crankwalk so I wanted to stay away from it. We will see if the SOS clutch will hold up on the dyno. I had the install done by local member Minitoyota and he did an awesome job (sorry, no pics of the install but here are some when it arrived):
I also picked up the PLX DM-100 multigauge:
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,058
Likes: 1
From: NJ
7/18/11
Minor update today, picked up a Ptuning optional oil cooler kit. Not necessary, but I want to keep oil temps low for general reliability and for track days
Ptuning has been super helpful so far. I originally ordered the kit w/o the oil cooler and later changed my mind. They took my old, sealed oil lines back without hesitation and shipped me the brand new oil cooler kit at a discounted price. Super good customer service.
awesome kit, comes with a thermostat, mounting brackets, all lines and the core. Check out the pre heat reflecting wrap on the oil lines applied by Ptuning.
I mounted the PLX gauge and gauge pod on my car last weekend, but forgot to take pics. I'll get some when the entire gauge/sensors have been wired up.
8/11-
Finally got my manifold back from ATP. It's now wrapped in inconel and I'm very happy with their work. It is supposed to have insane heat shielding properties (and for the cost, it better.) Fitment was awesome and they even left a little engraving on it.
also sprayed down my SOS pillar with flat black paint which now matches the interior nicely. It came an ugly gray color from SOS. The gauge is also mounted and powered up, will get pics of it later.
Still making final decisions on the EMS and the install/teardown will commence in a week or 2! Stay tuned...
8/18-
Ordered more things the past few days, Injector Dynamic 1000cc's with plug and play clips are on their way and just got the Full Blown 340LPH in tank fuel pump today.
As far as EMS, I had a change of heart and decided to go with the Hondata Kpro. There were a few reasons behind this:
As I said before, I wanted to keep OEM startup and OEM driveability in the car. I also need to be able to pass NJ inspection with OBD2 compatibility. Only 2 EMS's currently offer this: The Haltech ECU with the dual OEM ECU hybrid harness and Hondata Kpro (Which is just a modified, programmable Honda OEM ECU.) The Haltech hybrid harness is still being tested as of this post / in early stages of development Because of this, I would have to heavily rely on Jeff Evans' releasing this harness and I'd effectively be stuck in my build until he decided to do so. So, I could get the Haltech now and install it without the harness now (it also does not have enough inputs without the hybrid harness to run a boost controller, so i'd be restricted to wastegate boost) OR i could go with Kpro.
Because of all this uncertainty and the fact that I'd have to pay Jeff Evans two times to retune the Haltech (once without the harness and then once again with), I decided to go with Kpro. An added bonus is that I'm already pretty familiar with the Kmanager software from using it in the RSX.
Luckily, I was able to find someone local who was selling a brand new kpro with all harnesses for really cheap. I just picked it up 2 nights ago and pictures are below:
all the sensors / new valve cover needed for the kpro:
and here are pics of the FB 340 and ID1000's that arrived today:
I know there have not been many shots of the car in this thread, so here's how it sits as of now:
Going to do the fuel pump this weekend and KPRO next week.. after that the kit will be ready to go on. Stay tuned for more......
Minor update today, picked up a Ptuning optional oil cooler kit. Not necessary, but I want to keep oil temps low for general reliability and for track days
Ptuning has been super helpful so far. I originally ordered the kit w/o the oil cooler and later changed my mind. They took my old, sealed oil lines back without hesitation and shipped me the brand new oil cooler kit at a discounted price. Super good customer service.
awesome kit, comes with a thermostat, mounting brackets, all lines and the core. Check out the pre heat reflecting wrap on the oil lines applied by Ptuning.
I mounted the PLX gauge and gauge pod on my car last weekend, but forgot to take pics. I'll get some when the entire gauge/sensors have been wired up.
8/11-
Finally got my manifold back from ATP. It's now wrapped in inconel and I'm very happy with their work. It is supposed to have insane heat shielding properties (and for the cost, it better.) Fitment was awesome and they even left a little engraving on it.
also sprayed down my SOS pillar with flat black paint which now matches the interior nicely. It came an ugly gray color from SOS. The gauge is also mounted and powered up, will get pics of it later.
Still making final decisions on the EMS and the install/teardown will commence in a week or 2! Stay tuned...
8/18-
Ordered more things the past few days, Injector Dynamic 1000cc's with plug and play clips are on their way and just got the Full Blown 340LPH in tank fuel pump today.
As far as EMS, I had a change of heart and decided to go with the Hondata Kpro. There were a few reasons behind this:
As I said before, I wanted to keep OEM startup and OEM driveability in the car. I also need to be able to pass NJ inspection with OBD2 compatibility. Only 2 EMS's currently offer this: The Haltech ECU with the dual OEM ECU hybrid harness and Hondata Kpro (Which is just a modified, programmable Honda OEM ECU.) The Haltech hybrid harness is still being tested as of this post / in early stages of development Because of this, I would have to heavily rely on Jeff Evans' releasing this harness and I'd effectively be stuck in my build until he decided to do so. So, I could get the Haltech now and install it without the harness now (it also does not have enough inputs without the hybrid harness to run a boost controller, so i'd be restricted to wastegate boost) OR i could go with Kpro.
Because of all this uncertainty and the fact that I'd have to pay Jeff Evans two times to retune the Haltech (once without the harness and then once again with), I decided to go with Kpro. An added bonus is that I'm already pretty familiar with the Kmanager software from using it in the RSX.
Luckily, I was able to find someone local who was selling a brand new kpro with all harnesses for really cheap. I just picked it up 2 nights ago and pictures are below:
all the sensors / new valve cover needed for the kpro:
and here are pics of the FB 340 and ID1000's that arrived today:
I know there have not been many shots of the car in this thread, so here's how it sits as of now:
Going to do the fuel pump this weekend and KPRO next week.. after that the kit will be ready to go on. Stay tuned for more......
