Back on the road…
She rides!! I completed the conversion on Sunday. Its was beautiful sunny day - which is always nice. My first ride was very exciting, nervy and most importantly, extremely satisfying.
So I’m officially in the testing stage. I do have a few teething issues to sort out but these are minor. My speedo is very erratic - works one minute, gone the next - which I’m a little disappointed at, I had it running perfectly on the bench. The temp gauge has also gone the same way. As these both run from the old ECU, its probably a good places to start looking and debugging. Apart from that all seems well. I’m just getting used to the new sounds and smells of my car. The heat wrap has a certain scent to it - which has got right up my nose. The plan is to do at least 300-500 miles, take the undertray (belly pan) off and do a thorough spanner check. I’ve paint-penned across all the major bolts to a day-to-day visual inspection is possible.
As for the performance, its a little scary - the VTEC kicks (and I mean ‘kicks’) in at 7k (ish) and the car just takes off and it really does go. The gear change seems to fall back at the start of this band and it all happens again. What a treat!!
I’m pretty pleased with myself - a real sense of accomplishment. Can’t wait to get the car on-track - it’ll be awesome.
Its taken 95 hrs to complete, this has been calculated including the 2.5 days I had help. So two people could do it in under 48hrs, which would equate to 6 days. As I prepared quite thoroughly I believe I shaved days off the process, but I could have done more ahead of time. I wasted a day in total farting around with stuff - hopefully I’ll save you that effort with this blog. Fitting the actual kit is quite quick but I’ve also replaced toe-links, bearings and brake discs etc, which doesn’t sound like much, but it all adds up. The important thing is to start as you mean to go on - don’t rush any part of the install. It’s you that’ll be driving it and you want it to be safe and reliable. Spend time on the detail and enjoy the process.
Anyway, a week away from the car now (apart from driving it), feet up on the sofa. See the nippers and my wife (who’s been very good about the hours I’ve spent tinkering). Full build guide to follow shortly, so go and get your kit ordered!!