Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback)

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Feddy_Ace

Feddy_Ace

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Nothing new on my hatchback, but recently I’ve been in the market for another car. For a long time I’ve wanted a focused sports car for weekend drives and modifying for light track duty. I started looking for something cheaper and more rare/classic than the default Miata.

I considered a few different options, narrowing down the list to a 986 Boxster, C4 Corvette, SLK 280/300, and the gen 1 BMW Z4 3.0. It was tough because I like all these cars for different reasons, but one came out on top as the ideal combination.

BMW Z4 3.0i 6MT

Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) BA5723C3-82B7-401D-A74D-74CC42E8EFEE

Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) 06314A1E-645E-479A-A029-1FDD9F71BECF


I’ve loved the Z4 since it was first debuted, but over time it kinda slipped from my mind. Right now they’re a great sports car value buy. Under $10k can get you one in great shape. Getting a modern-ish RWD roadster with 230+ HP at this price point is almost unbeatable. This one popped up in the exact specs I’ve always dreamed of and I made the owner an offer immediately. He’s done an amazing job keeping it now only in perfect wear condition, not only with all the preventative maintenance done, not only 100% OEM appearance, but also modified with Dinan suspension, exhaust, and engine upgrades. It now produces 250 hp. It’s a total turn key build.

I can’t wait to pick it up tomorrow and go for a drive. I think people are catching on these and they’ll only shoot up in value. I just got the cleanest example in all of California, maybe the whole US right now, in one of the rarest colors, in a manual, and paid for it with a song. I’m giddy as fuck.

Planned mods are basically new wheels, black grille, and tints. Maybe a front lip. That’s it. She doesn’t needs anything else.
 

bmfontdevila

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Nothing new on my hatchback, but recently I’ve been in the market for another car. For a long time I’ve wanted a focused sports car for weekend drives and modifying for light track duty. I started looking for something cheaper and more rare/classic than the default Miata.

I considered a few different options, narrowing down the list to a 986 Boxster, C4 Corvette, SLK 280/300, and the gen 1 BMW Z4 3.0. It was tough because I like all these cars for different reasons, but one came out on top as the ideal combination.

BMW Z4 3.0i 6MT

BA5723C3-82B7-401D-A74D-74CC42E8EFEE.jpeg

06314A1E-645E-479A-A029-1FDD9F71BECF.jpeg


I’ve loved the Z4 since it was first debuted, but over time it kinda slipped from my mind. Right now they’re a great sports car value buy. Under $10k can get you one in great shape. Getting a modern-ish RWD roadster with 230+ HP at this price point is almost unbeatable. This one popped up in the exact specs I’ve always dreamed of and I made the owner an offer immediately. He’s done an amazing job keeping it now only in perfect wear condition, not only with all the preventative maintenance done, not only 100% OEM appearance, but also modified with Dinan suspension, exhaust, and engine upgrades. It now produces 250 hp. It’s a total turn key build.

I can’t wait to pick it up tomorrow and go for a drive. I think people are catching on these and they’ll only shoot up in value. I just got the cleanest example in all of California, maybe the whole US right now, in one of the rarest colors, in a manual, and paid for it with a song. I’m giddy as fuck.

Planned mods are basically new wheels, black grille, and tints. Maybe a front lip. That’s it. She doesn’t needs anything else.
Those Z4s are clean tbh. One of the more reliable BMWs to push as well. Paid for it with a song? You a musician? Or is that a turn of phrase Im unaware of ?
 
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Those Z4s are clean tbh. One of the more reliable BMWs to push as well. Paid for it with a song? You a musician? Or is that a turn of phrase Im unaware of ?
Haha it’s definitely a very old phrase meaning I got it for a great deal. And true, this is one of the more reliable BMWs they’ve ever produced. The common issues with it are all the same as with my e46 (expansion tank, VANOS) and once those are taken car of they just run. Reliability was a big focus for me and the Z4 had the best out of the group.
 
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Well, since the owner of the Z4 convertible decided to be a jag off and sell it to someone else at the last minute, I had to go on the hunt again. I settled on another convertible at a dealership in the area and went to go buy it. Sadly, the car ended up being sent to the shop to get some work done, so it wasn’t available. The salesman said it should be back Tuesday and we agreed to do business then.

Before I went home, I checked listings in the area one more time and I saw a Z4 Coupe popped up fore sale at a dealer just 10 minutes away. The coupe was always my preferred Z4, but they are so rare and pricey. This one was close to my price range, so I figured maybe I could talk the price down. I drove over to take a look and after working my magic, I got them to take a considerable amount off the price. I drove away with one of my dream cars.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) 2EE38DB0-0D43-4C96-A43F-C91782304DF8

Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) 54B0D504-AEC7-48FF-AD0D-C433736D2439

It’s not perfect. It’s a ZF auto instead of a manual and it’s in need of suspension and cosmetic work, but the engine runs terrific. Even with everything not sorted it’s still a blast to drive. It’s weird how some bad luck turned out in my favor at the end.
 

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Well, since the owner of the Z4 convertible decided to be a jag off and sell it to someone else at the last minute, I had to go on the hunt again. I settled on another convertible at a dealership in the area and went to go buy it. Sadly, the car ended up being sent to the shop to get some work done, so it wasn’t available. The salesman said it should be back Tuesday and we agreed to do business then.

Before I went home, I checked listings in the area one more time and I saw a Z4 Coupe popped up fore sale at a dealer just 10 minutes away. The coupe was always my preferred Z4, but they are so rare and pricey. This one was close to my price range, so I figured maybe I could talk the price down. I drove over to take a look and after working my magic, I got them to take a considerable amount off the price. I drove away with one of my dream cars.

2EE38DB0-0D43-4C96-A43F-C91782304DF8.jpeg

54B0D504-AEC7-48FF-AD0D-C433736D2439.jpeg

It’s not perfect. It’s a ZF auto instead of a manual and it’s in need of suspension and cosmetic work, but the engine runs terrific. Even with everything not sorted it’s still a blast to drive. It’s weird how some bad luck turned out in my favor at the end.
SOMEONE DID THAT WITH THE 9TH GEN Si I WAS GONNA BUY BEFORE I GOT MY 10TH GEN THOSE PEOPLE ARE GARBAGE. Happy you ended up with the coupe.
 


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SOMEONE DID THAT WITH THE 9TH GEN Si I WAS GONNA BUY BEFORE I GOT MY 10TH GEN THOSE PEOPLE ARE GARBAGE. Happy you ended up with the coupe.
For real, man. Garbage ass people. There’s no shame in just saying someone made a better offer. That’s understandable, but dude ghosted me for 3 days.
 

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If I may ask how hard was it to get the Type-R spoiler color matched for the sonic gray?
 

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Clean build man! You’ve inspired me to look into the intercooler
 
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If I may ask how hard was it to get the Type-R spoiler color matched for the sonic gray?
I had the shop I bought it from outsource the color match paint job. The color match is a 9/10, but the paint work itself is maybe a 6/10. There were some runs and imperfections I had them correct. In their defense though, the odd angles of the winglets are a bitch and can cause runs easily. I painted my own roof fins and it took me a few tries due to clear coat running along the edges. It’s totally worth it to find a good paint shop and have them take care of it.
 
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Back with an update after my build has stagnated thanks to a crowded garage with too many damn project cars.

After all my deliberation here I finally got tuned. A user here sold me their KTuner v1.2 with TSP already uploaded. As soon as I got the unit I installed it without a hitch. I also installed TunerView on my head unit to keep an eye on everything.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) 47AB3D0B-9C69-44CD-B39A-D2EEBB576021


First impressions are that there’s definitely more power. Hard acceleration puts my ass back in the seat. It mostly feels like my midrange power picked up. My car still feels pretty close to stock down low and up high. A quick 0-60 test saw her crack nearly 6 seconds flat, without a doubt the fastest time I have ever seen. With only about a 100 miles driven on the tune right now I don’t have a lot feelings to share. Next group ride in the canyons will be the true test. As of right now, it was definitely money well spent.

I’m still seeing some choppiness with the car while driving at lower speeds. Sadly, the tune didn’t fix that. I’ll have to keep trying to find the source of the flutter I feel when letting off the throttle. Other than that, I got no complaints about the performance of the car. It’s a damn quick and fun DD that can punch above its weight class a little.
 
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Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) B1B71256-8EFD-4F69-8279-6A063D17F0E8

Welp, it’s the end of an era. I’ve had so much fun with my Civic over the years, but a constantly busy life and permanently working from home has taken away a lot of time and opportunities I used to have for modding/driving. On top of this, the market for 10th gens is going up and they’re selling for top value.

For these reasons, I decided to sell my hatchback and move on to something new. It’s been really dope being part of the community, but I have to lean out my life a bit and pursue other ventures. I’m sad to see my car go, but I know it’s 100% the right move.

Today I picked up her replacement: a 2015 Mercedes GLA 45 AMG.
Honda Civic 10th gen Building a Better Civic (2019 FK7 Sport Hatchback) C3E4C748-BC79-4042-8D1F-F80B27072E20

In my opinion, this is one of the most slept on cars around. I saw them when they first debuted and always hoped they’d depreciate enough to snag them on the cheap. It’s a forgotten hot hatch that Mercedes really fucked up marketing (which worked in my favor).

It’s got 355 ponies out the box, so even by CTR standards it’s powerful as hell and was only half the price! Only 1 owner and zero modifications. It’s 100% bone stock. Not even any window tint. I fucking stole this thing too. It was the exact price I sold my Civic for. Just a stupid upgrade for a stupid fast car no one would ever suspect as being capable of anything special. Hopefully some day I’ll come back to the 10th gens, but for now, I’m super happy with the switch. I’ll still be lurking here for years to come, no doubt.
 


 


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