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I picked up my new car a couple of weeks ago after a long search and an even longer wait. Creating this thread to track any progress/mods over the years to come. First off...a bit of history. One of my all time favourite hatches, an RS Clio 197 + Cup Pack. Despite being french, this was very reliable for me. One of the last 197s off the line and I miss it dearly! Very fun and not bad as a daily! This was my very first performance car from over 10 years ago now.
Next up was my MK5 Golf R32 which I owned up until recently. Spent quite a lot on this car, mainly on fuel I must admit! Here it was in its early days, with a set of fresh KW V1 coilovers on...
And what it eventually ended up looking like...
Evidently, my taste was heavily JDM influenced at this stage lol. Loved the noise of this thing, not many hatches that sound this good. Great daily with the haldex AWD but fairly expensive to maintain, especially when things went wrong. I had this for over five years and got a bit bored in all honesty. Was seriously hankering for something JDM, which is what I've always wanted since obtaining my license. Leading us nicely onto my first JDM car...
I finally experienced VTEC y0 when I bought this DC5 off a mate. What a car. This one has Bilstein B14 coilovers, Mfactory LSD, Spoon 5.3 final drive and K100 ecu tune. Best bit is the legendary K20A engine..it's a proper screamer! I currently still have this but not sure whether to keep it or not. I owned the R32 and ITR together at one point and this car was great for a weekend blast and most likely track days, which I never got round to. I sold the R32 and got a bit tired of driving this car as a daily. I haven't ruled out keeping it a little longer as a toy but I guess we'll see how things go.
Anyway, onto the interesting stuff. So it was around March 2018 when I got in touch with Torque GT to enquire about bringing in a JDM Hatch. After many emails to and fro, I finally decided what I was after - a Spark Silver Spec C with 18 inch wheel pack + Recaros. To cut a long story short, we ended up winning a bid on this low KM grade 4.5B example that is BONE STOCK. Only downside for me was that it didn't have the Recaros but not too big a deal. Then there was the longest wait ever for the car to be shipped to the UK. Torque GT did send some teaser pics...
Super fresh! This was around November 2018, if I remember correctly. During the wait, Darren @ Torque GT was looking after all my requirements. Arranged for security/servicing/undersealing to be carried out when the car arrived. Top notch communications throughout the process, I have to say. Fast forward again and the car landed around Dec/Jan.
Some pictures of the undersealing that was requested. Car was then registered and all we had to wait for was the IVA testing and for the DVLA to issue a plate, which happened fairly promptly in all fairness...bringing us to Feb 2019, collection day!!!!!
Caught a flight down to the bottom of the UK on the rainiest of days this year. At this point, pretty much nothing could've spoiled this day lol, I'd been waiting just too long! Quick tour of the site with Darren and a look/feel of some of the VERY tasty motors they had in, one of which included a super low KM GEN 1 NSX-R. Car **** at its best!
After a smooth handover, I just had the small task of driving 500 miles home in the torrential rain. If you've noticed, all the performance cars I've owned are N/A. I feel quite dirty having been corrupted by boost but I do love the torque! Equipped with the (legendary?) EJ20 motor that revs to 8000RPM, I feel this car is a combination of all the one's I've owned above. It's a high revving, 4WD, cornerning machine. As I understand, compared to the normal JDM variant, the Spec C has some weight stripped off it, uprated turbo + fuelling, lightweight bonnet/windows, less luxuries and an intercooler-cooling spray.
Anyway, that's where we are now. Not many plans for the car yet apart from keeping it clean. I still have the Recaro seats that I had in my Clio so I may put those in at some point. I also have some rear light overlays which will be going on once I get a chance and I'm also thinking of a double-din headunit to smarten up the interior a bit. I still have the RPF1s but I'm not sure they will clear the brembos on the hatch, will hopefully have a test fit in the future but I quite like the factory wheels as they are. I hope you've enjoyed my little journey up until now
Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Sorry, I haven't been able to update on here.
I'm not going to do a full write up just yet as I haven't sorted the pics out but I did manage to fit a new double din headunit and also a mirror-matic module from our very own Major-Sarcasm as well as some rattle killing - not the most exciting of things but they make quite a nice difference day-to-day.
Also been reading about economy that other people have been getting in their hatches and mine seems to be the worst (circa 12mpg). Any idea what this could be caused by, assuming I'm not driving like an idiot? Could it be caused by timing belt issue or anything like that(I had this replaced on import)?
Not what I wanted to hear Raggy lol. I hear the twinscrolls are thristier than their singlescroll equivelents too but never thought it'd be such a big difference!
Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Sorry, I haven't been able to update on here.
I'm not going to do a full write up just yet as I haven't sorted the pics out but I did manage to fit a new double din headunit and also a mirror-matic module from our very own Major-Sarcasm as well as some rattle killing - not the most exciting of things but they make quite a nice difference day-to-day.
Also been reading about economy that other people have been getting in their hatches and mine seems to be the worst (circa 12mpg). Any idea what this could be caused by, assuming I'm not driving like an idiot? Could it be caused by timing belt issue or anything like that(I had this replaced on import)?
Hi @ribena I think your km/l to mpg conversion is off. 4.6 km/l is what I get also when doing local trips. I can't remember the working, but 4.6 x 5.8 = roughly the mpg, I'm 75% sure.
But rest assured 4.6 km/l if the car has been converted from kmh to mph is normal.
I would recommend getting it on a rolling road to check everything is fine on UK fuel, a remap would make the great car you have even better.
These seem to be past their best at 8 years, so worth replacing at mapping time
Interesting! Is there any way to confirm this? Would a scan pick this up? II was hoping there would be a Subaru equivalent of VAGCOM but I haven't come across such software yet.
I do plan to get a remap in the future but there's other things I'd prefer to upgrade first.
Originally Posted by RAGGY DOO
I have a genuine lambda for sale it’s done 400 miles
Changed to go wideband with syvecs
gimme a pm if your interested
Cheers matey, let me do some digging first before I try to fix something that might not even be broken!
Hi @ribena I think your km/l to mpg conversion is off. 4.6 km/l is what I get also when doing local trips. I can't remember the working, but 4.6 x 5.8 = roughly the mpg, I'm 75% sure.
But rest assured 4.6 km/l if the car has been converted from kmh to mph is normal.
I would recommend getting it on a rolling road to check everything is fine on UK fuel, a remap would make the great car you have even better.
I just used an online calculator to get the figures but going by your maths it certainly more acceptable haha!
Not been able to update much, I've just been trying to get the car up to scratch paintwork wise. Removed the horrible protective sticker thing from the rear doors as they were dirty and looked awful. I haven't had time to do the skirts yet as it's a pig of a job. Also treated the front and and sides to a stage 1 paint correction...have yet to go around the rest of the car! Headunit is in and it's starting to take shape nicely now.
Potential next jobs are wheel refurb and fit Recaro seats in.
Interesting! Is there any way to confirm this? Would a scan pick this up? II was hoping there would be a Subaru equivalent of VAGCOM but I haven't come across such software yet.
I do plan to get a remap in the future but there's other things I'd prefer to upgrade first.
Cheers matey, let me do some digging first before I try to fix something that might not even be broken!
Download Romraider not too sure if its all same with JDM imports but id guess u need a Tactrix cable or OBD connector
22 February 2019, 09:37 PM
2011 GRB Spec C Hatchback
:Suspicio u……...
...…..love you really Phil.... 
, now just enjoy your new Hatch ……..
