2019 CPB Hatchback Sport 6MT - daily spirited driving (LA, socal)

[geeeek]

some updated pics

--useless backstory:

Around the beginning of 2018 I started looking at civic hatchbacks (no knowledge of how cars worked at all). Long story short I started looking into black wheels for the black hatchback and fell into the deep rabbit hole of mods and learned more about how cars operate. Around this time I accidentally discovered the autostick mode in the hyundai elantra my family was leasing but I had no idea how gearing worked. When I tried accelerating in 1st gear I got scared because I felt the engine resistance increase with the rpm and the speed was tapering off lol, but after a while I got comfortable selecting my gears. Pretty soon I was having fun beating on the car with the autostick for a few months between school and work. After learning how torque converters/clutches worked, I thought to myself, how awesome would it be to have an actual clutch to disengage the engine between shifts?



05/18/2019

Hatch sport arrived in front of my apartment. Never drove manual before but I did a lot of research (thanks Matt from TheSmokingTire for most concise video). Getting the car to the parking garage was pretty rough, I chirped the tires and then stalled within like 50 feet of driving. Practiced 1st and reverse gear in the parking lot all day, with a little bit of second gear towards the end. When the sun set I did some laps around the block then did a 2 mile round trip when the city roads were somewhat empty. Some third gear going on, no downshifts yet.



05/19/2019

Drove around all day, can pretty much handle los angeles traffic now with the quick stop n go's and sudden speed changes. Biggest issue was consistently feathering the clutch in hard stop traffic (rarely get to cruise) and the 1-2 gear shift which is pretty rough because the anti shift triforce of rev hang, heavy flywheel, and clutch delay valve. Can do downshifts now but sometimes I either hit the gates or not blip the throttle hard enough so I have to double blip. Definitely feel more comfortable with the shifter and clutch but I'm still pretty tense in traffic because I'm always one mistake away from stalling on a busy street.






Short term mod list:
-driver mod
-ktuner with stage 0 + no rev hang and better throttle response
-acuity shifter cable and shifter base bushings
-clutch delay valve removal and prl ss clutch line
-rear engine mount (27won or hasport 62a)
-hfp tailgate spoiler

Ultimately this is my daily driver and I just want to be able to have fun in the streets whenever I'm commuting (nothing crazy, I just genuinely enjoy shifting). Once I'm decent at driving stick I want to have the best shifting experience and I think these mods will do it, also the hfp spoiler because I always thought it looks awesome. Probably will install these in a month or two, break-in period will be over as well by then



Future mods:
-ktuner stage 2 base map
-spec clutch (stage 2+?) and smf flywheel (aluminum?)

-possibly coilovers based on how I feel with stock suspension
-possibly sway bars based on how I feel with coilovers, but probably not because I don't want any wheel lift on the bumpy streets
-intercooler, catted dp, fp; sri for sound lol. don't want to risk cai when it rains because there's always drainage issues
-invidia q300 catback or ark dts catback
-18x9.5 close to stock offset wheels, summer tires (probably 245/35 or similar based on fit)


some pics

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[bluehatch17]

If you end up getting ktuner or hondata. Almost pointless to do stage 0 or something like a +3 tune. Just go straight to the highest base tune they offer. It’s honestly the best feeling to mod something that fast installation time wise and get back that much a result. Having been Adding mods to cars for over 18 years, tuning was a great revelation.

 

[geeeek]

05/31/2019

flashed my car with ktuner stage 1 starter map with quick adjustments all set to improved level 2 (not aggressive 2 for the options that had it). Wow.. this is how I imagined driving this car would be like. It feels so much better in every sense, it's hard to quantify every part that's been upgraded. Now I'm just waiting for ktuner to update their codebases for the 2019 models so I can disable rev hang; I believe most options are unavailable for 2019 models.

only complaint I have now is that I can hardly feel the clutch anymore because the throttle is a lot more responsive. I'm used to the the sluggish throttle from before so I have to pay more attention when starting from a stop. Really want to get an rmm and remove the cdv now, I can feel the engine wobbling around and would like the improved clutch feel. Might hold off on the cdv delete for now because it actually does make shifts smoother when the revs are still hanging, but I guess it's just a matter of clutch control without the cdv.

The best upgrade would be no rev hang and a lighter flywheel, I can't accelerate fast from 1st because 1-2 shift is extremely jarring with the super long wait time for the revs to come down. Like I have to sit there for what feels like 5 seconds before putting the shifter into second, or else it's a bit crunchy. I can still do a fast shift but the rpm literally has not come down at all by the time I'm in 2.

bad news, car got keyed across the entire passenger side and lightly scuffed on the hood with keys, but I don't think it went through the clear coat so it should be fine. Really upsetting but I'll move on.

If you end up getting ktuner or hondata. Almost pointless to do stage 0 or something like a +3 tune. Just go straight to the highest base tune they offer. It’s honestly the best feeling to mod something that fast installation time wise and get back that much a result. Having been Adding mods to cars for over 18 years, tuning was a great revelation.

I was initially considering the stage 0 tune that just has the drivability improvements and removing the rev hang. But then I found out that there's no rev hang disable for the 2019 models yet. I slept on it, and decided to go with the stage 1 starter map with some quick adjustments. It's way better than stock, I think I would have been happy even with the stage 0. I don't think I'll be doing stage 2 since some people are seeing their clutch give out. Some people reporting slipping with stage 1 but I'm pretty sure some level of car abuse was involved. I very rarely go WOT but I'm still a noob driver so I don't trust myself either way lol

 

[geeeek]

06/06/2019

got car tint all around and a windshield visor. Front windows 35%, rears and visor 20%. Visor especially feels nice to drive with.

06/15/2019

Had d2 springs and 27won rmm installed. Springs were put on in the morning, feels a bit stiffer over bumps but the ride is far from "tight", think I will need good coilovers to get the feel that I want.

The rmm is a complete game changer, I feel so much more confident in 1st and 2nd gear at all times. Shifter and clutch action feel tighter and I swear the shifter is stiffer as well somehow. The random crunchy shift doesn't happen anymore. I'm honestly getting some dash rattles below 2000rpm but I don't mind, the car feels AMAZING to drive. Car feels insanely solid to drive now. Lot of drone though, I don't mind but I'm always worried that the passenger is whenever I have one lol.


d2 spring ride height

27won rmm

06/17/2019

Had a bunch of cosmetic stuff changed with the car.

-5500K LED headlight bulb swap
-3000K foglight assembly
-smoked blinker LED side markers
-front mounted hella supertone horns
-black "jdm style" emblems
-"civic" and "sport" debadge


Left the shop without having finished the debadge and rear emblem swap because of the time. 2 issues so far:
-fog light aim needs to be adjusted and made even (I think the light may be facing almost directly up or down at the moment lol)
-side markers don't blink with blinkers, but they do turn on with the headlights

will be going back on saturday to finish things up, pretty excited. The supertones + stock horn sound pretty unique and definitely will be heard if necessary.

really weird output at the moment, can see the bright spot right under the car and the strange echo-ing output beyond that. Definitely need to adjust

 

[SangreRaven]

You did the same thing I want to eventually do with the Hella Horns nice to see how they will actually look when the time comes for me to do them. Your FK7 looks really good by the way.

-R

 

[TypeSiR]

+1 for G5. I sent all my cars there.

Have you looked at Acuity shifter rocker and spring to further improve shifting feel?

 

[geeeek]

You did the same thing I want to eventually do with the Hella Horns nice to see how they will actually look when the time comes for me to do them. Your FK7 looks really good by the way.

-R

Thanks, yeah I was a little on the fence about the front mount because of how the grille doesn’t show the inside of the car much, but the red pops in a subtle way. Also the sound is unique with the stock horn, no regrets!

+1 for G5. I sent all my cars there.

Have you looked at Acuity shifter rocker and spring to further improve shifting feel?

I actually discovered them because someone recommended in the socal subforum, because of the one piece hatch windshield cut. They were awesome, will definitely go back if I need to tint again.

I looked at it now, what’s the exact difference in function between this and the base/cable bushings? Seems like they all basically reduce shifter play somehow

 

[Hollywoo0220]

Since you reside in the LA area; I’m surprised you didn’t make your first modification an upgraded IC? That stop and go traffic that goes on all day has your IATs really hot. Look into that change, you will be day vs night in getting your response back.

 

[geeeek]

Since you reside in the LA area; I’m surprised you didn’t make your first modification an upgraded IC? That stop and go traffic that goes on all day has your IATs really hot. Look into that change, you will be day vs night in getting your response back.

I know, whenever I have open road after creeping below 10mph forrever it feels so bad. But I'm a ricer when it comes down to it and that's why I did all that other junk first lol. Upgraded intercooler is definitely on my list though. Also looking at the mesh grille, I think you're the one that posted the thread about mesh grille + IC being core mods?

 

[Hollywoo0220]

I know, whenever I have open road after creeping below 10mph forrever it feels so bad. But I'm a ricer when it comes down to it and that's why I did all that other junk first lol. Upgraded intercooler is definitely on my list though. Also looking at the mesh grille, I think you're the one that posted the thread about mesh grille + IC being core mods?

I reposted it really trying to help someone out. But, yes the grill helps add more circulation - but highest Octane possible and an upgraded IC would be your bread & butter.

 

[geeeek]

06/22/2019

So the morimoto XB foglights actually project a rectangular block of light with a cone shape in between the light patch and the car, so the light is actually supposed to look like that. Took a closer look at 360glitch's thread with his white fog lights and his seems to be the same.

Driver side fog light has good angle and cutoff with the headlights after adjusting at nighttime (angled lower than the pic I posted previously). Need to adjust the passenger side fog light but I THINK I have to remove the whole bumper because my hand cant reach in there like the driver side.

Also the LED side markers have been set so that they are white with the headlights and amber when the blinkers are on.

27won catted dp/fp installed. The car sounds a lot deeper, it's noticeable yet subtle which is nice. The high flow cat still has SLIGHT gas smell in certain situations but when I saw the difference between it and the stock cat I totally see why lol. My butt dyno says that the car feels smoother above 3500rpm especially, but of course still dies off near redline because the turbo.

inside the 27won catted dp

 

[geeeek]

06/24/2019

Fog lights are level now. Not sure if they are angled too high or not because they usually seem to be pointed in the area directly in front of the car when I see them on other cars. But at this angle I just barely see the yellow on the ground when I'm driving.

I tried to make them have cutoff with the headlight patch, maybe will make them lower, but I'll probably leave them be for now.

 

[SangreRaven]

Looking good

-R

 

[geeeek]

07/12/2019

3 things today:

-got the hasport 62A full mount kit without their rmm since I already have 27won's. So the side engine mount and transmission mount with their brackets

-acuity short shift adapter, centering spring, cable and base bushings.

-KTUNER REV HANG DISABLE!!!!!!!!!



Hasport mounts. First time I started the car up the guy that runs the shop hopped in the car with me, we both noticed our voices were vibrating lol. Car feels impossibly solid. But driving home the cabin drone had such a weird resonance that my right ear was hurting. It's been two days as of this post and it's already settled down, definitely louder than just rmm but now that it's not hurting my right ear anymore I don't mind the NVH.

Short shift adapter with all the bushing upgrades took some getting used to. The shorter throw and reduced play (as abundantly advertised in all of acuity's product descriptions) really takes effect and makes the shifter feel so much "smaller". Shifting feels snappier and more awesome in general. I do have the complaint that getting into R is even tougher than before though

Rev hang disable was everything I expected. The faster rev drop with the shorter shifter throws feels so good. That with the engine mount cabin noise = r a c e c a r



stock and upgraded shifter

shifter cable bushing

hasport side engine mount and transmission mount

 

[geeeek]

07/14/2019

I actually enabled rev hang again, will keep it that way until ktuner adds the option of throttle padding for my ECU. The difference of gas -> no gas is so huge even when feathering the gas, it made driving extremely jerky and unpleasant. And that's coming from the guy with a full mount set (minus the front mount I guess?). It actually felt as if the force of the jerks went straight to the axles because the mounts were so stiff and it had nowhere else to go, I thought something was going to break. Now with the rev hang back it drives just as I wanted which makes me a bit sad lol