My 2017 UKDM Civic Sport Plus Hatchback - Build Thread

[eob2000]

Finally time to start on a proper thread for all my stuff rather than throwing it all over the place.

I bought my car in May 2021 on just over 15,000 miles. It's a 2017 UK/Euro Spec Sport Plus Hatchback. This trim entails pretty much all the options aside from leather seats and chrome trim (Neither of which I want so bonus!). This includes the full sensing package with front and rear parking sensors and blind spot monitoring.

The colour is Polished Metal Metalic (NH737M)

The car the day I purchased:

In the first few weeks I only did a handful of cosmetic mods, this included a set of stamped metal reg plates and smoked side markers (One of my OEM ones was entirely flooded and rusted out anyway). I also threw in LEDs everywhere that didn't already have them and got Honda Hack on the head unit (mainly to get rid of the endlessly annoying popup on start). Aside from this I didn't do a whole lot of anything while I settled into the car. Did some odd jobs like transferring over my dashcam from my old car also. The car had been Honda serviced up until I purchased it but I could not justify the cost when it's such an easy car to work on and opted to service it myself when the time came and have been doing so since. I plan to keep the car for the long haul so I am not bothered by the lack of service history hurting value.

Next was tuning! I purchased a Ktuner V1.2 and ran on one of the basemaps for a short while before picking up TSP Stage 1, The car has been tuned most of the time I've owned it. Absolutely transforms the car and cemented the fact that I will happily keep this car long term. With a tune it gives me exactly the amount of power I want in a daily.

After tuning I didn't really do anything major for a while. I did order and fit the OEM Honda spacesaver spare and raised boot floor as I really do not like driving a car with no kind of spare. I also picked up the OEM mudguards and fitted those, the instructions for the sport call for cutting into the bumper but it felt plenty secure without doing that so I did not bother.

The car as it stands:

Thanks for reading!

 

[eob2000]

Head Unit Upgrade

Since getting the car I've been annoyed by two things, the first being the capacitive buttons on the head unit and lack of volume knob, the second being the necessity to use the touchscreen for basic climate control functions such as fan speed and direction. Thankfully after some searching around on this forum I discovered that options exist to fix both. I'll start with the head unit.

I had a few options. The first being to buy the head unit from a 2020+ facelift car, the second being an aftermarket head unit such as Joying. I opted for the OEM 2020+ unit for a couple of reasons. The first being that the Joying units only come with the knobs on the left which is awkward for a RHD car and the second being that no aftermarket android head unit has decent DAB support, they all require dongles and apps which are just messy. I also have the OEM "Premium" audio system with the external app which has been known to pose issues.

When swapping to the 2020+ head unit there are two options, the first is just swapping the display assembly and keeping your original head unit. This has the benefit of being cheaper and not requiring a radio code however you lose the ability to dim the display which is unacceptably imo. The second option is swapping the entire head unit, this requires a radio code and costs more but you keep the dimming functionality.

Thankfully pretty much all UK spec cars with the 7in screen were configured the same (5 button with nav). So picking up a unit was trivial, I grabbed one from a wrecked 2021 FK8 on ebay. Making sure it was for the audio system with the external amp. This one was listed for quite a bit cheaper than the other ones I saw and ended up being an awesome deal.

Swapping the units was easy enough and it powered right on... and asked me for a radio code. The seller didn't really know anything about radio codes so I took it into my own hands. I had the serial number of the radio and VIN from the doner car so I could have gone to Honda and probably got the code from them (For a fee I imagine). However, I had one other option. https://mygarage.honda.com/s/radio-nav-code is a site operated by Honda USA for recovering radio codes. Great! Except it only works with US VINs. On a whim I fired up vinwiki and found a random 2021 US Type R and threw that VIN into the site with the serial number of my radio, and it worked! Turns out the Honda site only checks the VIN exists and does not check if the radio matches the car. Popped in the code and the radio unlocked and paired itself to my car. So even after power loss it does not need the code anymore.

After install everything worked perfectly, all my vehicle controls worked as expected and the system overall behaved as expected (Aside from some arbitrarily different Android Auto behavior between the pre and post facelift headunits). However, the head unit had the Type R splashscreen rather than the Honda H. This annoyed me so I dug into the advanced options and found a vehicle type setting with 3 seemingly identical options for a hatchback. But I figured out that from top to bottom they are: Civic Sport (Red by default), Civic EX/Prestige (Blue by default) and finally Type R (Red by default and Type R Splash). After picking the top option the unit switched to the Honda splashscreen and behaves exactly as intended.

So I can highly recommend just swapping the entire head unit rather than the display, the radio code is a non issue and the dimming works great. Another bonus is I get a few more years of map updates since the HU is a 2021 (Not that I ever use the built-in nav but it's a bonus).

Climate Control Up(Down?)grade

After sorting out the head unit it was onto the climate controls. I wanted a fan knob and ideally to never need to use the touchscreen for controls. There are a few climate control options for these cars:

1. The regular controls for the pre-facelift 7" (What mine came with):

2. The regular controls for the facelift 7":

3. The base model climate controls with built in screen:

I initially looked at option 2 but discovered that the fan control buttons don't work. I later found out that if you swap the climate control ECU then you can get the fan buttons to work. However that was not the real issue with this option. My car has heated seats and in 2021 with the facelift Honda stopped offering any trim above the Sport, which doesn't have heated seats. (At least not in any real quantity, I have seen a handful of facelifts with heated seats but I think it was an optional extra). As a result I was unable to track down any RHD climate controls with the heated seat controls, I did try a LHD set but all the controls were backwards.

At this point I mostly gave up because I figured there was no way I would find option 3 with heated seat buttons either becuase where the hell are you gonna find a base model with heated seats (Note that the base model over here was much less popular than the US LX).

Enter Japan. I later discovered that for whatever reason Honda uses an entirely different head unit in JDM cars which honestly looks like an aftermarket unit. And as a result presumably has no climate integration. This means that all JDM civics use the climate controls with the screen, even ones with heated seats. JDM controls tick all the boxes: Heated seats, RHD and displayed in Celsius.

After a bit of searching I finally located one, exactly what I need. Placed an order and got it shipped in from Japan. Threw it in the car and it works perfectly! It does lose the dual-zone climate control but I've always found dual-zone to be a bit of a gimmick and I will happily give it up for controls over everything without needing to use the screen.

After all this I am finally (mostly) happy with the infotainment and climate. In an ideal world the head unit would suck less but we can't have everything. What I would like to figure out is a way to stop the climate changes from appearing on the head unit, it's not major but would look cleaner if it didn't show the temperature in 3 different places!.

I have been investigating the possiblilty of swapping in the head unit from a 4th gen Jazz/Fit. It seems to be approximately the right size and shape (Closer than the 11th gen Civic anyway) but there would be a *lot* of translation work for that to work, if one ever comes up cheap I might just pick it up.

 

[eob2000]

A month or so back I got back onto Facebook with the sole intention of finding cheap parts and almost immediately stumbled across a Mishimoto Intake for less than half the price I could find it new. It arrived in alright condition, a few dents and absolutely filthy. Gave the thing a proper clean and re-oil and got it fitted. Love the extra noise it gives. Don't like how the new intake hose actually makes contact with one of the coolant hoses, need to figure that one out. Also need to get some new hose clamps since the ones I have are slightly rusty.

 

[eob2000]

Audio Upgrades
I'm currently in the process of upgrading the audio in my car, starting with the speakers. Head over to https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/audio-upgrades-on-my-ukdm-hatchback.87177/ for my dedicated thread on the topic, here are some photos:

 

[eob2000]

Fog Light Relocation

For those who don't know, in the EU/UK a rear fog light is mandatory, but only one, and when only one is fitted it MUST be on the driver's side. This means on the right in the UK and the left everywhere else.

Honda decided to go the cheap route and only fit the one fog light, and they put it right here:

It's fine, it works, it's very bright but it's very small. But there are two issues, the first is that there is only one, I don't like having only one. The second is that basically all aftermarket tail lights either have no fog light or have it on the left, which would not be legal for me here in the UK.

The solution to this is to relocate the fog lights to somewhere that isn't the actual tail light assembly. The obvious choice is the reflector positions, while I would have loved to get one of the available black out options I still need rear reflectors to be legal so I opted for a set with LEDs in but that are also still functional reflectors. (Second image is me checking they are actually reflectors, and they are)

They also seemed bright enough to me so I decided to go ahead with this, being reflectors when off and being on both sides should keep me well withing the law.

First step was taking the bumper off, this was easy enough after dealing with persistent plasic clips. I needed to get the bumper off anyway since I had a minor accident with a small pole in a carpark a while back and the rear crash bar poked a hole in my right side garnish so I would replace that while I was in there.

I also gave it a clean, there was at least a kilo of dirt inside the bumper! (unfortunately forgot to take a photo of that). Then I drilled a small hole in the bumper behind each reflector position ready for wiring. I was debating swapping out my inserts for the facelift ones but I could not find them anywhere at a reasonable price.

Next was wiring, this turned out to be easier than I expected, I ran the 3 power wires through an existing gromet in the center of the rear:

And wired equivalent plug to the bumper side:

And all this resulted in this:

Overall I'm really happy with the swap, seems to be plenty bright, looks better and now gives me full choice of aftermarket tail light which is a swap I plan to do at some point down the line.

 

[derbo904]

Nice!

You gotta document some of the cool stuff us north american guys don't get. Like the headrests or extra blind spot monitoring.
I'm jealous of your rear fog light.

 

[eob2000]

Nice! You gotta document some of the cool stuff us north american guys don't get. Like the headrests or extra blind spot monitoring. I'm jealous of your rear fog light.

I plan on it! There are a couple of things but the sensing and fog lights seem to be the main ones.

There are also some things that you guys get that we don't though. For example our keyless entry is weirdly limited. The car will not lock itself when walking away, you have to press the button. Could not explain why that's a difference but it is.

 

[derbo904]

Yeah its weird how regional differences work out.
UK has the crazy panoramic sunroof option, glovebox has a light, parking sensors optional, rear fog lights. Would be interested to see what else is different. Do you get both mirrors with the convex outside edge of the mirror?

 

[eob2000]

Yeah its weird how regional differences work out.
UK has the crazy panoramic sunroof option, glovebox has a light, parking sensors optional, rear fog lights. Would be interested to see what else is different. Do you get both mirrors with the convex outside edge of the mirror?

Heh, didn't know your glovebox didn't have a light. The mirrors are all flat, I was actually looking at some aftermarket replacements with a wide-angle section but I couldn't find any with the blind spot monitoring LED.

 

[vtecr]

Yeah its weird how regional differences work out.
UK has the crazy panoramic sunroof option, glovebox has a light, parking sensors optional, rear fog lights. Would be interested to see what else is different. Do you get both mirrors with the convex outside edge of the mirror?

I have the panoramic roof on mine but I actually hate it. It feels like the ceiling is noticibly lower than in the basic roof models.

If I remember correctly, you guys didn't get the glove box damper either, is that right?
Our mirrors have a slight curve towards the outer edges, yep. They also have orange LEDs in them for the blindspot monitoring.

 

[vtecr]

Finally time to start on a proper thread for all my stuff rather than throwing it all over the place.

I bought my car in May 2021 on just over 15,000 miles. It's a 2017 UK/Euro Spec Sport Plus Hatchback. This trim entails pretty much all the options aside from leather seats and chrome trim (Neither of which I want so bonus!). This includes the full sensing package with front and rear parking sensors and blind spot monitoring.

The colour is Polished Metal Metalic (NH737M)

The car the day I purchased:

In the first few weeks I only did a handful of cosmetic mods, this included a set of stamped metal reg plates and smoked side markers (One of my OEM ones was entirely flooded and rusted out anyway). I also threw in LEDs everywhere that didn't already have them and got Honda Hack on the head unit (mainly to get rid of the endlessly annoying popup on start). Aside from this I didn't do a whole lot of anything while I settled into the car. Did some odd jobs like transferring over my dashcam from my old car also. The car had been Honda serviced up until I purchased it but I could not justify the cost when it's such an easy car to work on and opted to service it myself when the time came and have been doing so since. I plan to keep the car for the long haul so I am not bothered by the lack of service history hurting value.

Great thread mate. Yours is identical to mine. Like you, I hate that touchscreen volume control and I've been meaning to pick up a facelift head unit. Very well done.

 

[derbo904]

I have the panoramic roof on mine but I actually hate it. It feels like the ceiling is noticibly lower than in the basic roof models.

If I remember correctly, you guys didn't get the glove box damper either, is that right?
Our mirrors have a slight curve towards the outer edges, yep. They also have orange LEDs in them for the blindspot monitoring.

That would make sense considering how much height is required for that. It's just an interesting option!

It is on both mirrors with the aspherical edges? I'm jelly. I bought a set of aspherical mirrors for my 2011 M3 and love them so much more.

Yeah we don't have the glovebox damper either. That shit just drops in the dark.

 

[eob2000]

Maybe I do have the mirrors, if I do then it's not something I've ever noticed.

The glovebox damper is nice but it's an absolute pain to remove and reattach when doing a cabin filter swap.

I never realised that the glass roof was advertised as "panoramic", it's no bigger than a regular old sunroof. It's fine, I never open it but the extra light is nice

 

[vtecr]

That would make sense considering how much height is required for that. It's just an interesting option!

It is on both mirrors with the aspherical edges? I'm jelly. I bought a set of aspherical mirrors for my 2011 M3 and love them so much more.

Yeah we don't have the glovebox damper either. That shit just drops in the dark.

Yep, it's on both mirrors. I've considered getting some of those wider angle type mirrors instead, though I'd probably have to modify them to see the blind spot LED.

If I remember correctly, the damper is made by Piolax and the one from a 3rd or 4th gen Ford Focus is the same.

Maybe I do have the mirrors, if I do then it's not something I've ever noticed.

The glovebox damper is nice but it's an absolute pain to remove and reattach when doing a cabin filter swap.

haha. Yep that irritated me too. I have it down to a fine art now after a lot of trial and error.

You likely do have the same mirror glass as me. It's only a slight curve towards the outside edges that gives a little bit more visibility. It's easily missed.

 

[eob2000]

ukwhitelineperformance.com is currently doing 20% off sitewide with free shipping so I finally pulled the trigger on the full "series 1" kit.

Mainly after the bars, rear will go on straight away, front will go on when it's convenient. Not sure if I'll run the springs yet, my part of the country is not particularly compatible with a lowered car but for the price difference I figure I can get more than the difference back selling them later if I don't. The drop is small with these so it may just work out. 4-6week lead time, hopefully the weather will be a bit nicer when they come in!

In other news I finally finished filling out the placeholder posts and the thread is now more or less up to date with the car. Still need to get out and get some photos.

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