Raf99 : 1993 Accord EX

[Raf99]

Yaa... When I first seen someone do what that white civic did I thought, cool! But the more I look at it the more my brain realizes something goes there. Something is missing. Sooo can't do it. I'd love a flat set! But those are only for a coupe maybe & also very rare. As for filling it in, i always wanted to try it. But..... our front / rear bumper have the same "bump stops". & then I'd have to change them. And with what.... a body kit. no thanks. The old pics I have of people doing this were running a body kit. I think the bump stops is part of a cb7 .... so I'll keep them.

[CyborgGT]

You mean with the channels filled in, or just removed the strips (like the photo below)? Shaving and filling in the channels makes the doors look too tall, imo. I can't tell if it's just because I know something is supposed to be there that I can't ignore the fact that something's missing. There needs to at least be a design crease or something there to break up such a large amount of flat metal. I wonder if just removing the strips and filling in the tiny clip holes would look alright, like the Civic guys do:

[Raf99]

I have always wanted to delete the door bumps! I seen one guy do it and once I had seen it I was like.... ahhhh I dunno. Still not sure to be honest.

[CyborgGT]

Yup, my folding mirrors do the same thing. Nice to know mine probably aren't worn out, I guess.

I've been debating whether to paint my trim and lips/skirts too. It's a tough call between embracing the '90s charm of the black or making an attempt at modernization, but either way my eyes are drawn to the door protectors... and imo these cars don't look good with them deleted and the channels filled in. Maybe the EDM/JDM slim moldings would help. Your lips and skirts look really nice painted, though.

[Grumpys93]

Jon, glad you figured out the bumper pole issue.

As for the power folding mirrors. Mine are the same, I have to hit the button twice to get them to extend. Since both ours are doing it, I wonder if it was designed that way.

I agree with having it all paint matched. My eyes are drawn to the wheels as well. But you still notice the nice ground effects the lip kit has to offer.

[Raf99]

Well tonight we sought out to fix 2 issues with Sally...

1. The JDM Bumper pole tries to ... "collapse" when you turn on the car. And it's already in. soooo. ya.

2. The bumper alignment on the drivers side.


Answer:
1. I thought the wires were backwards so I took the bumper off and cut them, reversed them and ........ why not.

Lot's of wires down there.



But this lead to weirder problems. Like the button was reversed and the light on the end of the pole stayed on all the time. Even with the key out of the ignition .
But I left the pole ... up when I disconnected it from the 1st failed attempt & when I put everything back together and turned on the car it did it's "retract" thing and the pole went down. From then on out all was good!! It's like the pole needed to be up when you first install / connect it to power. Weird...

This also makes me realize my issue with the JDM Power folding mirrors maybe. They always had this issue, I get home, push button to fold mirrors in, they fold in, turn car off, done. Next time get in car, start, push power folding mirror button, nothing happens. Push button again (2nd push) and they fold out. So I think they need to be out... ... then connect power, push button fold in, turn off car. I dunno, like power applied in position 1 and not 2.

Anywho....
2. .... this....... was bothering me. Bumper needed to come off anyways.



This bolt not in all the way + little bendy bendy. The weight of the intercooler + piping really pulls down on the front bumper. Hard to get things to line up.



All better.



& Looking at photos the other day, I'd say the best thing I did recently was paint the front lip / skirts / rear lip green. Absolutely love the look compared to before!!
It makes you focus on the wheels more and not so much "black parts". And if I want to add more lips I can do that now too.








Cheers!

[Raf99]

Appreciate the visit!!

These were duplicate stickers I too have saved a bunch of stickers and was going to put them on a nice tool chest (which I didn't buy yet).

[CyborgGT]

Lol, I've been saving most of my stickers from over the years in a shoebox for when I get a garage again. The plan is to pick up square plates in random materials (carbon fiber, brushed aluminum, plexi, etc), put the stickers on them, and hang them up as a kind of tiled wall art.

[Daheavyking]

Geez!! I love looking at Sally!! Hi Sally!!

[Raf99]

Yeah I always kept my catch can as a closed end so it never drains back.

From what I am reading it seems like you are in boost a good amount of time lol?
- ahhh sure. yep

How many psi you running? How are you driving it? Slamming gears or just rolling into it or launching?
- Rare for me to slam gears unless it's a burn out which is about once a year. So rolling into it always, no launches. Running around 15PSI.

I am gonna agree & say it is just blow by.
- Agreed.

Was this a built bottom end? What was the ring gap size? Where is your catch can placed at?
- Built bottom end, but now 10 years old. Ring gap unknown. & catch can is at same height as head / valve cover.

I am still running my stock block no head studs or anything 16psi beating it like 5 or 6 pulls in a row in a night & my catch can is always dry.
- Mine was dry for 5 years.

I do have a catch can on one of my other Civics & it is mounted lower than the valve cover so it would easily have oil in it from pressure just pushing the oil around the head then leaking from the intake tube breather piece on the valve cover down into the catch can.

Ya.. so obviously this is just wear and tear on the engine. Good lesson learned for me anyways. I just wish I could talk to a pro and get the conclusion on when a turbo car should start to see blow by and what to expect next...


Went for a drive with Sally..... and then came home to put some stupid stickers on Sally ... because why not. Definitely not my style but I was bored....

[G. Wiffington]

Yeah I always kept my catch can as a closed end so it never drains back. From what I am reading it seems like you are in boost a good amount of time lol? How many psi you running? How are you driving it? Slamming gears or just rolling into it or launching? I am gonna agree & say it is just blow by.  Was this a built bottom end? What was the ring gap size? Where is your catch can placed at? I am still running my stock block no head studs or anything 16psi beating it like 5 or 6 pulls in a row in a night & my catch can is always dry. I do have a catch can on one of my other Civics & it is mounted lower than the valve cover so it would easily have oil in it from pressure just pushing the oil around the head then leaking from the intake tube breather piece on the valve cover down into the catch can.

[G. Wiffington]

Yeah I always kept my catch can as a closed end so it never drains back.

From what I am reading it seems like you are in boost a good amount of time lol?

How many psi you running? How are you driving it? Slamming gears or just rolling into it or launching?

I am gonna agree & say it is just blow by.

Was this a built bottom end? What was the ring gap size? Where is your catch can placed at?

I am still running my stock block no head studs or anything 16psi beating it like 5 or 6 pulls in a row in a night & my catch can is always dry.

I do have a catch can on one of my other Civics & it is mounted lower than the valve cover so it would easily have oil in it from pressure just pushing the oil around the head then leaking from the intake tube breather piece on the valve cover down into the catch can.

[Raf99]

Thanks CyborgGT. I did watch all of that and some things are obvious...

1. All turbo engines eventually get blow-by due to increase pressure on the rings. With 40+PSI you will definitely get it.
2. Something obviously changed with my car. Will never know what it is until I rip it apart. Obviously it's wear and tear at this point.
3. May as well drive it until it breaks, as there's nothing I can do about it now and it's not really killing the car. If I had the $$$ I'd rip it to it, but I don't
4. Don't drain back to the pan = it's gross oil

Thanks again.

[CyborgGT]

This channel's got a few good videos talking about catch cans and breather systems. Maybe you'll pick up something in here you overlooked...

[Raf99]

Yep. Full setup.