Our Plans For The AWD Civic EK Hatch
Posted by Matthew Marks on 16th Sep 2024
Welcome back to the Exoracing AWD Honda Civic build series! We're thrilled to share the car's plans with you, including the ECU, fuel system, bodywork, and more. This project has us buzzing with excitement!
If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel as we document the complete build from start to finish. Your support means the world to us.
We have already released two videos: our AWD in 24-hour swap and plans for the car, which I will link below if you would rather watch them.
There is a huge amount to cover here, so let's get cracking.
Exterior
First up on the list is the exterior, where most of our time will likely be spent making sure everything works and fits together correctly.
The rest of the parts on the list are relatively bolt-on, but we may encounter many modifications for the exterior.
Widearch Kit
So we still had our widearch kit from our old Honda Civic EK coupe, so we thought we might as well use it for the new project.
Being a hatchback now, we will have to modify sections to make it fit, but the only real difference when we were mocking it up would be around the taillights.
As we filled that section in beforehand, it should be straightforward to cut it out again.
The widearch kit is around 100mm wider, so it should allow us to fit some pretty meaty wheels and tyres.
Vinyl Wrap
We are going for a full vinyl wrap with livery and have a friend who has just started a local company wrapping helping us with this to document everything.
This is a long way down the road, though, as we will need to get the car running before then. We have a few more plans for the wrap, but we don't want to spoil too much!
Alloy Wheels
We're at a crossroads with the wheel selection for this build. Your feedback could be the deciding factor! Share your thoughts in the comments below on which style of wheel you think would best complement the car.
We're leaning towards a 16x8 or 16x9 to fit the widearch, but we're open to your suggestions on brand, style, or colour.
On our old coupe, we fitted Rota Grid V 15x9 ET0 wheels in bronze, but we were never happy with the fitment as the wheels always felt too small. So, to try to fill the arches more, we will be going with a 16" wheel on this build.
Tyres
As this will be a road car, we will need something very grippy but also road-legal. We are thinking of going for something like a Nankang AR-1 or Toyo R888r, but we will need the wheels before we can figure that out.
With us running the AWD system, the tyres aren't going to make as much difference as if we were FWD, but it's always nice to have the most grip possible for when it's needed.
Electrical System
Now, onto the juicy part: the ECU and electrical system.
On our last build, we were running a Hondata S300 V3 with an AEM wideband and gauge, but with what we needed to do to the car, it was getting to the point where we had to have an upgrade.
ECU
We initially bought a Haltech Elite 1500 ECU for this build, but we knew we had to change after Haltech released the brand-new S2 and S3 ECUS!
So we sold the Elite 1500 and pre-ordered a Haltech Nexus S2, which should be with us around the 4-6 week mark. We also went with a plug-and-play OBD1 harness to make our lives much easier regarding wiring.
All we will have to do is wire the Honda K-Series coil packs in and the Speedfactory 3 port boost control solenoid; everything else should be plug-and-play.
Wideband
Back when we had the Haltech Elite 1500, we would have used a Haltech WB1 Bosch wideband kit, but now the S2 has an onboard wideband controller; all we need is the wideband itself to make everything work.
Digital Dash
Last on the electronic system list is the Haltech IC-7 digital dash. We love these dashes and have been selling them for a while, so we decided to finally get one for our build!
We also ordered a moulded IC-7 dash panel to remove the OEM Honda clocks and flush mount the digital dash for an updated feel, but something that doesn't look out of place.
All we need to do is cut the panel to shape and mount it for that beautiful flush look!
Battery And Tray
We still have the odyssey pc680 battery and billet battery tray from our last build, so we will be using that for this build and fitting under the passenger seat.
As it has a cut off switch, it's great for not draining the battery when we aren't using the car.
Exhaust And Intercooler
Next up is the exhaust and intercooler. The intercooler and piping are relatively straightforward.
We just need to mount the Speedfactory 2.5" side inlet and outlet intercooler we have here, get our friend Sam to weld up the piping for it, and install the new Turbosmart GenV blow-off valve.
The exhaust is where the real headache starts.
So, to make a full exhaust, we have to move the brake lines that run under the car to the other side and convert from 3" to 3" oval piping halfway under the car, then into a sports cat, silencer, and backbox. We will leave that problem for another day!
Fuel System
When we converted the car to AWD, we had to remove the OEM Honda fuel tank to make room for the rear differential, so we knew we would have to go with an aftermarket option for the fuel cell, pumps and fuel line.
Fuel Cell And CFC Unit
For the fuel cell, we are going for a Nuke Performance 40ltr with CFC to make the system as compact as possible while allowing enough fuel to take it on long drives.
We will need fuel pumps, a rollover valve, and fuel lines for the feed and return to the rail. We have installed a Hybrid Racing B-Series fuel rail to quickly adapt to AN08 and AN06 for feed and return.
Fuel Pumps
We are going to need some aftermarket fuel pumps to go with the shiny new tank, and we have a wide choice.
The fuel pumps haven't been decided, but they need to be able to flow enough fuel to allow the car to run around the 500AWHP mark.
Going through our options, we will likely choose a Walbro 255lph fuel pump for a lift pump and an AEM 340lph main pump, but we must work out the flow we need first.
Fuel lines
For fuel lines, we are going with a crimped AN08 line for the feed and a crimped AN06 line for the return, which will be more than enough for our plans.
Interior
We want to keep the interior as stock as possible, so there are only a few changes here. The rear seats and all the OEM trim, such as door cards, will stay in for now.
We may upgrade to a high-flow T7Design 600w electric heater, but we would rather get the car running before removing and rerouting coolant lines.
Seats
For seats and rails, we have spoken to our friend who bought our Mitsubishi Evo 4 Recaros from our old Civic coupe, and he is going to sell them back to us!
I loved those seats, so I am happy to have them returning for the new project!
Steering Wheel
For the interior's last bit, we will install a Personal Kingston 350mm steering wheel with an NRG quick-release hub, as I much prefer this setup over the stock steering wheel.
Suspension And Brakes
Suspension parts are next on the list, and although we already have a whole host of hardrace parts, we still need a few bits. From the first build list (as always), we missed a few parts, such as the rear toe arms and front upper camber arms, so we will need to get those replaced.
We are already using the Yellow Speed Racing dynamic pro sport coilovers, so the last thing that needs changing is bushes such as the anti-roll bar and front lower control arm bushes.
We really need to get the brakes sorted before the car hits the road. Currently, we are using a stock 262mm setup on the front and a 242mm setup on the rear (which are currently seized).
The plan is to get some new callipers for the rear and a big brake kit on the front. However, we need to choose the wheels first to make sure the callipers will fit. Ideally, we will go with something such as the Yellow Speed Racing 6 pot with a 300mm disc setup.
One last thing to add here, is that to make the full exhaust, we are going to have to move the brakes lines from the prop valve to the rear to the other side of the car.
We had Corey from Hel Performance come down and measure the lines for us, and are currently waiting for those to arrive to start cracking on with that!
Chassis
The chassis is the last thing on the future build list for the AWD Civic project.
We need to address some of the rust (standard Honda), and we will also go through the engine bay while we are there, smoothing it and painting it to get an excellent finish.
Conclusion
As all builds go, everything is subject to change, but this is the original plan for the car. We will document every step on our YouTube channel, so subscribe for the weekly updates.
Please drop us a comment below if you have any extra suggestions on what we could do to the car!
As you can tell from this write-up, we still have many decisions about the car's future, but we're excited to get cracking.