Building my Batmobile

froggydogg

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Being a comic book geek I was looking for some way to make the new Civic I was about to purchase an extension of that. The answer seemed obvious. Make it my own personal Batmobile.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2042225931-5


Even if I bailed on going through with the idea of the Batmobile, I had decided to get the CivicX in Crystal Black Pearl anyway. I knew it would be a serious undertaking keeping it looking clean, but it looks downright sexy in that color, but still aggressive. Which a Batmobile needs to be.

When I saw it roll up at the dealership for the first time I knew it was game on. After getting it home, I immediately ordered a yellow 40-inch 80s-era Batman logo. I didn't use the oval outline on the big hood logo, however I also put a smaller 8-inch version of this logo, with the oval, on the trunk lid. I was flooded with ideas, but didn't want to overdo it, and take away from it looking sleek as hell.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1928898476-5


Thanks to this very forum, I learned about debagding and plasti-dipping, and promptly did both to the back, plasti-dipping the rear logo, and the chrome grill as well. A chrome Batman (Arkham City-styled logo) badge adorns the rear bumper. Wrapping up the rear of the vehicle is a "Wayne Tech" logo decal on the rear windshield, a "Wayne Enterprises" license plate frame (also on the front), and the coup de grace, the Batman (Dark Knight-style) logo 3rd brake light. This brake light mask was a pain to install, as it required removal of the back seat and ALL of the trim panels to get to it, but the result is pretty cool, and the process wasn't as intimidating as it sounded at first. It masks a big portion of the light, but not the center, and the bulb is a much brighter upgraded LED, shining right through. I haven't had any issues being pulled over for it. Yet.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2111115330-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1958112224-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2040715390-5


Other exterior touches include the OEM Honda turbo decals. Not sure why the US model of this car came without them, but I thought they looked great, and it's practically proven that they give you a slight boost in HP. :) I opted to spend the extra to get the OEM decals, and the quality is extremely high. They're reflective and have less edges to catch during washes, etc., being one decal and not individual letters. The only other exterior touches are the Batman (Arkham-style) logo rim caps on each wheel. I LOVE these. They look badass. I had originally blacked-out the Honda H's, which looked great, but they took slight roadwear to the plasti-dip, and these stepped it up. I was contemplating getting new rims entirely, but couldn't decide on any. The ones I actually liked most are the OEM alloy rims blacked-out. But I wouldn't plasti-dip them, I'd send them out to be painted or powder-coated. I'm not sure if I feel the need to do that, but I definitely won't be doing it anytime soon, if at all.

Originally I was contemplating the Honda "Aero Kit", but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it, even the Thailand-market version. To me it just looks way too "tacked-on", though I may do the splash guards in the future, and will be keeping an eye out for any cool third party body mods. Much to my dismay, the EX-T isn't able to (easily/cheaply) upgrade to the wing spoiler, or else that would have been done in a heartbeat.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2071435498-5


For interior Batifications, there's the wallpaper on the infotainment center. This is intended to replicate the look of the Bat Computer with (non-moving) gauges/readouts and buttons. There is another of the chrome Batman logo badges on the dash, dead center on the passenger side, and a metal Batman cowl badge on the lower portion of the steering wheel. Mounted to each of the front doors is a battery-operated LED projector shining the Batman (Dark Knight-style) logo on the ground whenever the doors are opened slowly.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1993897341-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2111854112-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2139503320-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2033838170-5


Aside from the vanity plates, that just about wraps up my Batmobile project. I'd love to have the windows tinted as black as possible, but NH has weird tinting laws, and I'm not too fond of the idea of only getting half the windows done.

Aside from the Bat-upgrades, I put WeatherTech digital floor liners in it and a Photodon MXO screen protector. I've also currently got the ExLED interior upgrade kit ordered. Living in New England, I'll also be upgrading tires before Winter rolls around.

Someone on here had a thread devoted to a custom-painted engine cover of some sort, and I find that idea very interesting, and I'm thinking about trying to do a piece or two in yellow. I'm also highly considering the Hondata ECU reflash.

I'll update this thread as I make any changes. Thanks for checking out my ride!
 

4DBox

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Hey Froggydogg, very interesting idea, subtle yet effective. My favorite bit is the Bat computer wallpaper. What, no fin in the middle of the trunk? ;)
 

Gavnzdad

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I would leave it just like it is. Modded, yet subtle. The stock wheels even seem to have a....I don't know....Batman "quality" to them.
 
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froggydogg

froggydogg

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Hey Froggydogg, very interesting idea, subtle yet effective. My favorite bit is the Bat computer wallpaper. What, no fin in the middle of the trunk? ;)
Thanks, and that's a very interesting idea about the fin. I'll have to keep that, or some variation on it, in mind.
 
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froggydogg

froggydogg

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I would leave it just like it is. Modded, yet subtle. The stock wheels even seem to have a....I don't know....Batman "quality" to them.
The stock ones do look cool painted black too. I'll have to get the paint job priced before I really decide.
 


Gavnzdad

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The stock ones do look cool painted black too. I'll have to get the paint job priced before I really decide.
Painted or stock, I think they look better that ANY aftermarket would.

They just floooow.
 
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froggydogg

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Just ordered a set of the splash guards. I was briefly debating painting them yellow (as I was originally intending to do to the Aero Kit I eventually decided against), but I'm not sure that would look very good, and may detract from the overall stealthiness I'm going for. I may play around in Photoshop later to test the idea out.
 

ajacks101

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Very nice! You must really love Batman. I think it all looks really great, especially the lighted bat logo the door casts on the ground when you open the door? How on earth did you accomplish that?
 


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froggydogg

froggydogg

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Very nice! You must really love Batman. I think it all looks really great, especially the lighted bat logo the door casts on the ground when you open the door? How on earth did you accomplish that?
Actually, while I like Batman, I'm not a HUGE fan (Though he is my favorite DC character). I'm just a comic book geek in general, lol. I've got a collection of action figures etc., and this is just an extension of that.

The projectors were very easy, and cheap too. These are battery-operated (though you can hardwire other models) so "installation" was a breeze.
https://www.amazon.com/LAFEINA-Universal-Projector-Shadow-Light-Bat/dp/B016LT338E
 

beanko

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Being a comic book geek I was looking for some way to make the new Civic I was about to purchase an extension of that. The answer seemed obvious. Make it my own personal Batmobile.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2042225931-5


Even if I bailed on going through with the idea of the Batmobile, I had decided to get the CivicX in Crystal Black Pearl anyway. I knew it would be a serious undertaking keeping it looking clean, but it looks downright sexy in that color, but still aggressive. Which a Batmobile needs to be.

When I saw it roll up at the dealership for the first time I knew it was game on. After getting it home, I immediately ordered a yellow 40-inch 80s-era Batman logo. I didn't use the oval outline on the big hood logo, however I also put a smaller 8-inch version of this logo, with the oval, on the trunk lid. I was flooded with ideas, but didn't want to overdo it, and take away from it looking sleek as hell.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1928898476-5


Thanks to this very forum, I learned about debagding and plasti-dipping, and promptly did both to the back, plasti-dipping the rear logo, and the chrome grill as well. A chrome Batman (Arkham City-styled logo) badge adorns the rear bumper. Wrapping up the rear of the vehicle is a "Wayne Tech" logo decal on the rear windshield, a "Wayne Enterprises" license plate frame (also on the front), and the coup de grace, the Batman (Dark Knight-style) logo 3rd brake light. This brake light mask was a pain to install, as it required removal of the back seat and ALL of the trim panels to get to it, but the result is pretty cool, and the process wasn't as intimidating as it sounded at first. It masks a big portion of the light, but not the center, and the bulb is a much brighter upgraded LED, shining right through. I haven't had any issues being pulled over for it. Yet.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2111115330-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1958112224-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2040715390-5


Other exterior touches include the OEM Honda turbo decals. Not sure why the US model of this car came without them, but I thought they looked great, and it's practically proven that they give you a slight boost in HP. :) I opted to spend the extra to get the OEM decals, and the quality is extremely high. They're reflective and have less edges to catch during washes, etc., being one decal and not individual letters. The only other exterior touches are the Batman (Arkham-style) logo rim caps on each wheel. I LOVE these. They look badass. I had originally blacked-out the Honda H's, which looked great, but they took slight roadwear to the plasti-dip, and these stepped it up. I was contemplating getting new rims entirely, but couldn't decide on any. The ones I actually liked most are the OEM alloy rims blacked-out. But I wouldn't plasti-dip them, I'd send them out to be painted or powder-coated. I'm not sure if I feel the need to do that, but I definitely won't be doing it anytime soon, if at all.

Originally I was contemplating the Honda "Aero Kit", but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it, even the Thailand-market version. To me it just looks way too "tacked-on", though I may do the splash guards in the future, and will be keeping an eye out for any cool third party body mods. Much to my dismay, the EX-T isn't able to (easily/cheaply) upgrade to the wing spoiler, or else that would have been done in a heartbeat.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2071435498-5


For interior Batifications, there's the wallpaper on the infotainment center. This is intended to replicate the look of the Bat Computer with (non-moving) gauges/readouts and buttons. There is another of the chrome Batman logo badges on the dash, dead center on the passenger side, and a metal Batman cowl badge on the lower portion of the steering wheel. Mounted to each of the front doors is a battery-operated LED projector shining the Batman (Dark Knight-style) logo on the ground whenever the doors are opened slowly.

Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p1993897341-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2111854112-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2139503320-5


Honda Civic 10th gen Building my Batmobile p2033838170-5


Aside from the vanity plates, that just about wraps up my Batmobile project. I'd love to have the windows tinted as black as possible, but NH has weird tinting laws, and I'm not too fond of the idea of only getting half the windows done.

Aside from the Bat-upgrades, I put WeatherTech digital floor liners in it and a Photodon MXO screen protector. I've also currently got the ExLED interior upgrade kit ordered. Living in New England, I'll also be upgrading tires before Winter rolls around.

Someone on here had a thread devoted to a custom-painted engine cover of some sort, and I find that idea very interesting, and I'm thinking about trying to do a piece or two in yellow. I'm also highly considering the Hondata ECU reflash.

I'll update this thread as I make any changes. Thanks for checking out my ride!
Awesome! Keep having fun withit
 
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froggydogg

froggydogg

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Not that exciting of an update, but I installed the Honda splash guards this evening. This a day after I got yellow road paint on it swerving to avoid someone. Thankfully I keep it waxed and the paint came right off, but these may have helped. I was not thrilled when I saw it.

I've got the ExLED interior kit on the way, but I'm really considering putting a blue LED in the domelight for dramatic effect, while keeping the ExLED lights in the map lights for when actual illumination is required.
 

Gavnzdad

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Not that exciting of an update, but I installed the Honda splash guards this evening. This a day after I got yellow road paint on it swerving to avoid someone. Thankfully I keep it waxed and the paint came right off, but these may have helped. I was not thrilled when I saw it.

I've got the ExLED interior kit on the way, but I'm really considering putting a blue LED in the domelight for dramatic effect, while keeping the ExLED lights in the map lights for when actual illumination is required.
Well, atleast the road paint was yellow. ;)
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