Hello all... to those of you with the original radiator made by denso please do yourself a favor a replace it now before it is too late. Mine was just starting to drip along the top right under the cap (that I had just replaced). Thinking the cap was the issue I saw more and more drips coming from the same area. Went to rockauto and order a new denso oem radiator since I just wanted to take care of the issue. It happens to be the new denso was made in indonesia, and no, it does not say honda or has the cool markings... bummer. But it fit just right. Another bummer .. it said made in 2010, wtf? Oh well, I had it sitting for about a month since I just had a peaceful morning to tackle the job and just noticed it today. It is still better than a sharp stick in the eye I guess. It worked just fine. Did the flush and I am back on the road again.
when I took the old radiator out I noticed very bad cracking marks from the front side, the side that you normally cannot see. It was just an accident waiting to happen. My car is an '06 with 100k miles.
So if you are still thinking about it just please get it done. I paid about 100 bucks, but there are much better options out there. I used the honda coolant, just shy of 2 gallons.I also patiently peeled off the old foam from the old radiator and reglued it to the new one. You can a replacement for 30 bucks on the bay, but I did not have time for that.
pics added to show how nice and how bad the old radiator was.New rad at the end. Enjoy








take care

 

So the top tank was coming off the core?

Thanks!

 

I dont think so. It seems like that small drip from the top just spread along the top of the core.
or maybe you are right, just not sure.

 

Replaced OEM motor & transmission mounts with Spoon motor & trans mounts and spoon tunnel brace
noticeably more / different vibration at idle especially with a/c on . took for short drive first impressions
shifting action was smoother / more direct between gear changes , overall worthwhile I think . Super easy to change.
2005 with 49000 miles btw oem mounts were in decent shape not leaking but some cracking trans mounts
were in perfect condition .

 

Ordered APR carbon fiber brake ducts and APR carbon fiber front air dam (lip/splitter) and Seibon carbon fiber CR spoiler. Next Monday my coilovers, RCA and bumper steer kit are all being installed at once.

I’ll update with pics!

 

I want to do the Spoon engine/trans mounts also, but want to wait and save up for the differential mounts and that large bushing set the have as well. Get them installed all at one time to see how much the car changes.

did you have any other bushings or suspension upgrades done before those things you mentioned?

 

YEAH ,Ohlins coilovers from sakebomb about a 1 inch drop from stock with RE71RS Tires also spoon diff mounts I do think for a street car tires made a much bigger difference than coilovers not blown away with ohlins Oem were way more compliant overall in most situations money vs performance, tires make the biggest difference Its A STREET CAR and it maybe gets 3500 miles a year . so tire wear in a not a issue for me .i am curious if the spoon shocks the yellow ones with Oem springs would be better for the street, kind of like a OEM + part for a cost of 1700/1800$
I have Spoon ridge collars debating on installing them Not sure the effort to install is worth the reward .

 

That's pretty crazy. Going from OEM struts to Öhlins was like a night and day difference for me. The car felt more compliant, would roll over bumps, and setting the rebound to full soft was excellent for daily driving.

The rigid collars are pretty great. I have them for both the subframe and the steering rack. If you want a compliant daily, you won't like it. I don't really want my daily to be compliant so it's not an issue for me. The benefit is they reduced shifting in the subframes entirely and made the car feel super rigid. It also increased feedback and reduced shifting in the steering rack. Really glad I did them.

Anyway, I disassembled my latches and added some loop tape (the fuzzy part of Velcro) to reduce the vibrations. Made a huge difference now that they don't rattle as much.

 

I am in love with how it retains a lot of the original design but has a more aggressive look. Definitely an OEM+ vibe, because I couldn’t decide on a aftermarket front bumper nor did I want to get one painted.

 

Finally got back to working on the harness install on mine. Has just been sitting a couple of weeks because I was busy with other stuff. Got all the new mount points for the sub belts and inside lap belt (outside lap belt uses the stock location) buttoned up yesterday. They were mostly ready to go but I was short a backing plate so had to make one and paint it so it would not rust. So pulled them back out where I temporarily mounted them last night and put some sealer on them and bolted them in for the final time. Such a "little" task that ends up being putting the seat in and out of the car about 20 times to get it all where you want it I am making a nice mounting plate for my emanage while the seat is out so it is bolted down vs being wire tied in place where it was after the roll bar went in.

Next is figuring out what I want to do with the factory belts. I still like to drive the car on the street some but trying to get the factory belts to work with the race seat is not the best way to do it. No matter how you do it they will not be nearly as safe in a crash as with the factory seat. But, given I can swap my race seat and factory seat in about 15 minutes I am seriously just considering swapping seats between events if I think I will be driving it on the street. Some race seats are a biatch to get in and out of this car but mine is pretty easy.