FlashBack : Sam Brazier’s EG6

I titled this Flashback due to this being a feature I wrote and had printed in Total Honda magazine, since the feature, the car has been sold on & unfortunatly not for the best, the new owner has replaced the Enkei’s with some Lenso BSX’s. I guess its his car now so no one has any right to comment on his choice but, it was the wrong one.

Anyway here is the feature for those that missed it first time round, Hope you enjoy it!

To some of us, this little hobbie we have of Hondas & the modifying world can just seem a past time, browsing forums, ebay just to see if we can find the next part to enhance our car however we can. To others though, its a game of specifics, knowing exactly what you want from the get go is a rarity in this game. Eventually being able to get some of the hardest parts that you set your heart on also can seem a very long winded task that most will give up on by simply asking “is it really worth it?”.

Sam Brazier on the other hand is one of the tacticians in this game, like most people working hard for a living, and having a long term girlfriend and a very active social, life can be expensive, hobbies sometimes have to take that back seat. Sam makes sure he can alway’s keep his hand on the ball though and by having the mentality of “Getting what he wants”, spending hours searching American eBay, American forums & American website’s just to get that must have item for his Civic.

The Civic isn’t Sam’s first adventure into the Honda world, he really managed to get the forum’s talking when he rocked up to a previous Endless Horizon Ace Cafe meet in his Honda Jazz which he had dropped to the floor stanced on BBS Rm’s. This car was really what opened him up to the Honda world, his only complaint about the car was that it “wasn’t quick enough” but he still had a lot of love for the Jazz & so did the UK Honda community.

He started searching for the Honda Civic once the Jazz had been sold to his parents, he managed to come across a completely standard UK Spec 1.6 VTi, going from a newer car, with all the comfort and build quality most people would think he was crazy for opting for a car that is almost 12 years older, without half of the gadgets the Jazz had but Sam stands by his decision saying the looks attracted him, but the absolute thrill factor of driving it has kept him hooked. quoting “I love the way the 90’s Japanese cars look and i think the EG Civic is one of the best to come out of that era!”

After the journey back from collecting the car, Sam set about sorting the bodywork back to how it rolled out of the factory from Honda. Anyone that has had the pleasure of owning a Honda Civic from the 90’s you’ll understand that arch rust and the Civic goes hand in hand, Sam’s was no exception. He took the car to C-A-R-S (Chelmsford Accident Repair Specialists) for rust & Sills repair and the paint correction. They have done a fantastic job giving the civic its Milano Red flair back & Sam is planning another visit for the other arch before the show’s season well & truly gets under way next year.

The addition of the Carbon boot lid & Spoiler both produced by Seibon came along with the OMP Red steering wheel. Seibon have been a very reputable Carbon fibre manufacture in the Honda world for years now, not only specialising in Honda Carbon parts but generally across the tuning scene. So being able to purchase these as a pair from a Honda enthusiast stateside Sam grabbed the opportunity. As well as the EG going on a slight weight loss plan, Sam claims the real reason he opted for the Carbon boot was that it came with the smaller and some would say more desirable JDM Numberplate recess as a standard feature instead of the extended, longer UK recess which the car previously had from the factory. The Weave on the carbon fibre is fantastic, with the carbon matched up with the Milano Red it give’s a unique flair to the rear end of the car making it very visually, aesthetically pleasing and also serving a handy purpose when it comes to lightening the shell itself.

Sam then set himself on finding him a set of his dream wheels, which come in the form of Enkei RPF1’s. Finding a company once again in America after sourcing the internet, he made the purchase and had them shipped over as a very welcoming gift to himself. The 15 inch wheels not only make the car handle like its a go kart, but also with the Meister R Coilover kit (Superlows) give the car a great presence whether you are simply looking at it when it is not moving or watching it hug the ground whilst hitting Vtec. Speedbumps do come as a slight problem, but when you are rolling around in a lowered car for most of your driving experience you learn how to maneuver over these with care and precision.

Whilst sat on the American forum Honda-Tech one evening, checking out some build threads of our oversea’s Honda brothers, Sam came across a set of Denji Headlights, these are a very sought after & very hard to come by item, so once he saw the advert that had been posted at the same time he had checked the for sale section he bought them there & then, no questions asked. These give the civic a much stronger appearance and these also along side the Enkei’s have become Sam’s favourite modification to the EG So far.

The JDM Double Din Dash Console has a funny story behind it. ever since getting the car Sam had wanted one to fit his Sony DVD Headunit. The JDM Unit is the only way of mounting a Double Din in an EG but they are very rare and still fetch large figures second hand. One of Sam’s friends had a near mint one in his SIR-S EG6 which wasn’t being used for a Double Din, and he said he would swap it for a Single Din Console so his headunit could go in that. So the hunt began for a Single Din one. The minute one popped up on CivicLife.net Sam saw his opportunity and had to get it. Only it was not as simple as going and buying a Single din Console, the problem was it was part of an entire interior out of an EG9 and the owner did not want to split. So Sam had to buy the whole interior which he really had no need for and collect it. This saw sam driving back from Birmingham with everything from a dashboard to seats to floor mats piled up inside the little EG! This did however give him some other parts I could use. The front seats out of the EG9 were much nicer than his seats so Sam swapped them over. He also used the Floor Mats from the EG9 and parts of the dash to replace some niggly bits on his own car. I then sold the rest of parts and got back than what I originally paid out, and of course I eventually got my JDM console in his car along with my Headunit! – A lot of work just to fit a head unit if I say so myself!

Sam has also fitted the noise maker in the form of a Buddyclub spec 2, I cannot express the noise, it is another level of loud. But it does serve a purpose, Sam is yet to have it put on the rolling road to see the increase but the pull in Vtec is stronger & the noise certainly make’s it feel much more like a race car.

Edit (2012)

Sam has now stepped away from the EG & parted ways, he now has a 2.4i Type S Accord, which he cannot wait to start putting his touches on & I cant wait to see it either.

Spec list

Engine/Exhaust
• NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
• Spoon Reservoir Covers
• Buddy Club Spec II Cat-Back
• JDM-Length De-Cat

Exterior
• Denji Projector Headlights
• Amber Corner Lights
• Seibon Carbon Trunk
• Seibon Carbon Duckbill
• JDM Tailight Conversion

Interior
• OMP Corsica 330mm Wheel with OMP Boss
• ITR Bronze Shift Knob
• JDM HOP Optional Double-Din Dash Console
• Sony XAV-70BT Headunit
• EG9 Front Seats
• HOP Arm Rest Unit
• HOP Floor Mats

Suspension/Chassis
• Meister R Zeta-S Superlow Coilovers
• D2 Lower Control Arms
• D2 F&R Camber Arms

Wheels
• Enkei RPF1. 15×7 +35. Black
• Yokohama S.Drive 195/50/15