Some My Aerodeck Pics

[epic1400cs]

Today I waxed my Aerodeck and I thought I should take some pics.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_134_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_151_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_149_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_146.jpg http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_150.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_140_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_144.jpg http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_143.jpg

It is just suspension and exhaust mod and the engine is stock. I will work on that step by step. Thanks for all the knowledge you 3geez.com guys gave me. Without this site, I couldn't do this much.

[YK86]

Nice and clean! No rust either. The only thing you need now is a short shifter (I need one too LOL).

[danronian]

Yeah that shifter does look super tall with that big knob. I must say the pacesetter adjustable shifter was one of my favorite mods on my Accord. It just makes it that much easier to shift.

[epic1400cs]

Thanks YK86. Oh, I forgot to say this car is Automatic. The knob is aftermarket thing made by Nardi (Italian) for auto and the centre plate on top works as shift button. It looked too long so I used leather boot for 6th gen to make it look a bit shortish.

[1320boy]

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/12/web/504000-504999/504842_20_full.jpg

I love how my car always looks like this.

[BITESIZE]

Is it wierd shifting with your left hand?

[Lok]

Your car dear Epic1400cs, simply looks fantastic, one of the best Aerodeck in U.K!!!!!!!!
You don't need to do enything more for Exterior-Interior update.
If you care about speed., you can very easy find one Accord 4d 2.0I-16 for £400-600
and swap the B20A2/manual gearbox to your Aerodeck(you will retain your cruise control system) or just go your Car to JAKAN HONDA, and they swap you a newer
VTEC ENGINE or I-VTEC engine, if you want?...........................But this will cost thousands of pounds.

Anyway Beautiful car!!!!!!!!!!!!Congrats!!!!

[Legend_master]

The car looks great and everything on it looks like it is in mint condition. One question I have for you is. What exaust is that it flows so well with the car and to the untrained eye looks stock. :rockon:

[88accordhb]

nice aero. very clean.

[HondaBoy]

i waxed my car today. doesnt look as good as yours does though. it might look nice in a pic i guess. anyway, the aerodeck looks pretty slick. :thumbup: on the shifter mod. that was something i was thinking about doing.

[YK86]

Thanks YK86. Oh, I forgot to say this car is Automatic. The knob is aftermarket thing made by Nardi (Italian) for auto and the centre plate on top works as shift button. It looked too long so I used leather boot for 6th gen to make it look a bit shortish.

In that case, looks GREAT! :)

[epic1400cs]

1320boy, your paint work has a lots of shine and looks great - mine surface start loosing the smoothness so I am thinking of polishing with polisher this summer.

Master bitesize, yes it is very confusing experience if you swap the side first time. When I go to continetal Europe, where they drive other side, first time I went crazy:nervous: - I felt like I was driving up side down in the air but after 10 years now I can do both no problem.

Lok, thanks for your compliment. I will keep the exterior like that as I dont want to attract too much attention from joy riders. Yeah, B20A might be the next project but the insurance in UK might kill my life so wait and see. I had a JDM Aero with B20A before and it was memorable indeed...

Legend maseter, thanks, I polished where possible and repainted the leather steering, shift knob and armrest. The exhaust is stainless steel 'cat back' system made by PowerFlow - its UK franchise thing originally from South Africa - and the pipe is 2 inch dia. I needed good flow with minimum exhaust note so I didn't use 2.5 inch pipe - they couldn't gurantee the quit sound. They recommended me to go with big oval tail pipe like bus but I insisted descreet old school type. The tail is 2 inch internal and 3 inch external dia with silencer. It flows good and 3k to 5k is much more torqueful. It is ok and now I am thinking getting stainless header made by www.haywardandscott.co.uk. They quoted 500 GBP = $1000. :omg: I might go ahead this summer.

Master Hondaboy, the pic are adjusted with Photoshop - I didn't manipurate or add but I make the contrast and saturation stronger and make them sharper. You can pic up Photoshop Element on ebay like $10 and if you are into the picture, it is very handy. I have looked into the shifter from other cars like 2nd gen prelude but the fitting seems to be a bit different. If you find nicer one let me know!

YK86, hehe, cheers! :D

[Legend_master]

Legend maseter, thanks, I polished where possible and repainted the leather steering, shift knob and armrest. The exhaust is stainless steel 'cat back' system made by PowerFlow - its UK franchise thing originally from South Africa - and the pipe is 2 inch dia. I needed good flow with minimum exhaust note so I didn't use 2.5 inch pipe - they couldn't gurantee the quit sound. They recommended me to go with big oval tail pipe like bus but I insisted descreet old school type. The tail is 2 inch internal and 3 inch external dia with silencer. It flows good and 3k to 5k is much more torqueful. It is ok and now I am thinking getting stainless header made by www.haywardandscott.co.uk. They quoted 500 GBP = $1000. :omg: I might go ahead this summer.



YK86, hehe, cheers! :D



Well If you can wait till I get my motor swap done, I will sell you the header that is on this car. I am nto sure what brand it is, but seems to give the car a great sound. I can't really tewll if there were any gains from the header, because I bought the car with it on there. I will tlak to the previose owner and see what brand it is.

[SteveDX89]

epic, great looking car. That shit is so clean. I wish we had Aerodecks in the US.

1320boy, good job hijacking someone else's thread. Post pics of your car in your own thread.

[89accord_lxi_coupe]

man, if i was driving that aero, i don't think i would be able to stop smiling. even if it is a slightly modified stock it shows stock can be sick. great car my friend.

[epic1400cs]

Legend master, thanks for your offer about the header. Is yours mild steel or stainless steel? I am a bit of shiny stainless fetishist... but if the steel is in good condition, I will sand blast and paint VHT. Wow, I am excited now. :rockon:

Master SteveDX89, thanks, I am grad that 4 hours of polishing make sense.

89accord_lxi_coupe, well, I am smiling quite often when I check my car parked on the street from a window of my house. My wife thinks I am a wierd and askes me 'are you all right?' :nuts:

[Cheeseburger]

nice areodeck you keep it relly clean

[1320boy]

Mister Epic, Thank you very much on the compliment but that shine didnt come easy. when my dad gave me the car it was a little wheather beatin but luckily the clear was still able to be salvaged. Now i've been detialing cars since 11 years old and one thing i know about a white car is that its very deceiving color. It looks clean even when its dirty, and dirty when clean. I dont know if you can find "Meguiers" wax,(like i said i never been there) but if can get ahold of the "next gen" wax trust me you wont have to spend four hours buffing the crap out of your car. I've been using it and i havent thought about anther wax. Now my car is smooth as glass, and im NOT exagerating. Its literally smooth as glass. So hopfuly this will help you out some so you can work smarter and not harder. I love the way your car looks. It has a perfect stance and looks to be so suttle. Take care.

[Legend_master]

Legend master, thanks for your offer about the header. Is yours mild steel or stainless steel? I am a bit of shiny stainless fetishist... but if the steel is in good condition, I will sand blast and paint VHT. Wow, I am excited now. :rockon:

Master SteveDX89, thanks, I am grad that 4 hours of polishing make sense.

89accord_lxi_coupe, well, I am smiling quite often when I check my car parked on the street from a window of my house. My wife thinks I am a wierd and askes me 'are you all right?' :nuts:


the little tag on the header says that it is a pace setter. I am not quit sure what they are made of, because they are to burnt. Seems kinda pointless to paint or even shine up a header cause they always change colors due to the heat :dunno: .

PACESETTER (Ceramic Coated / Non - Coated)
Style: 4-2-1
* Socket Joint Pipe (poor)
* Average Construction
* Poor Gaskets
- Carbed Motors (LX and DX)
- EFI Motors (LX-I and SE-I)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/Legend_Master/DSCF0029.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/Legend_Master/DSCF0028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v667/Legend_Master/DSCF0026.jpg

[epic1400cs]

Cheeseburger, thanks. I have bought it two years ago. Two lady owners before me and kept in a garage. It has never been smoked, all the ashtrays still had shine inside. I was smoker but I decided to stop smoking to keep it clean and I am non smoker!

Mister 1320boy, I have looked up the Meguiars NXT Tech wax - is that the one with curvy bottle? Sounds good. Price is a bit steep, $32 a bottle in UK, but if it lasts long, its worth it. Most of all I like the shine on your car. How long does that last? At the moment I am using Auto Grim Lesin Polish. It is pretty good and lasts about half year. Liquied Glass was other wax I liked but it took me whole one day to apply so I gave up in the past. Yes, white body keeps me busy. I liked grey metallic on my old Aerodeck - if I wash the wheel clean I could get away with it.

Legend_master, thank you very much for showing the picture. Your pacesetter looks very nice. Let me think about it - SUS header has been my life-long dream so I need to think about it. I will keep eye on the market place if you are going to sell there. Thanks a lot!

[Busted_Blue]

looking good epic,

i have a question.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_140_full.jpg

what is the two buttons behind the shifter? I like that armrest and there is a storage compartment next to the handbrake too! wow. :D

[epic1400cs]

Busted_Blue, cheers. The two buttons are antenna switch and headlight wash switch. Head light wash only works when the head light is up (of course).

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_153_full.jpg

and there are two other switches below air outlet. One is autocruise as you know and the other is the back fog switch for European market and in JDM it is front fog switch. Sorry for the bad pic.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_154_full.jpg

The small box next to the handbrake is good for sunglasses. But I have to admit, I envy the SE-i armrest - it looks very solid. The JDM armrest is ok but its a bit flimsy.

[Busted_Blue]

I want that OEM foglight switch. Any way of getting one for me =)

[epic1400cs]

Busted_Blue, You can't get this fog switch at all in US? I can't promise when, but I will keep eye on it if I go to junk yard. I slightly feel all 3g accord must have this switch in UK because the back fog is mandatory here. That means if there is our accord in a yard, there is a fog switch.

[Busted_Blue]

well, the switches i've seen around here in the US are like hostilejava's

I like the white one rather than the orange. Goes better when the interior IMO.


Taken from Java from older threads, if that is ok with ya. =)

http://www.hostilejava.com/images/IMG_2299.JPG

[carotman]

The orange switch must be for a 2nd gen prelude.

I would really want to add the wiper wash thing on my car... any way to get that?

Oh, and I love that antena switch.... it's different from the one we have here.

[epic1400cs]

Busted-Blue, your fog switch looks nice. What is the switch next to the side mirror control switch on the hosile's picture?

Sir carotman, the switch shows wiper and wash but for aerodeck, wash funciton only. The 4door sedan with fixed light have wipers. I think we share the same switch. As far as I understand, to install the head light wash, you need to replace the washer tank with specific one with extra pump for the head washer then install two wash nossles on the bumper, hoses and some wiring. It is fitted only on the EXi(injection) Aerodeck so it is pretty rare to find them in junk yard but will see. This is because Aerodeck is fairly rare and majority are Ex (carb). Once before I have bought brand new wash nossle from Honda dealer in a rush and it cost about $80 each :jaw:. It is like small plastic box like match box. Tell me if you don't know where to spend your fortune :naughty: Antenna swich must be the same as 4door so should not be difficult. I will start asking around at some junk yard when I am free from baby sitting duty this week.

[1320boy]

Mister Epic, i've been using it for a while now and i really wouldnt know how long it will last cause i wax my car every time i wash it, its a habbit. Plus i have the spray wax and i use that just about every other day. I've had the bottle since last June and the spray has about one more week. I use the spray alot more than the actual wax. And yes it is the one you discribed, it IS expencive but my car is more than worth it. As a matter a fact i met a guy named "Zion" and he had a third gen 4dr and the color was white but it had oxidized a little so i gave him a little sample of what it can do. The one thing that he was really impressed was the fact that he diddnt see me put any elbow grease and how much of a difference that it both looked and felt. So i hope that kinda gives you an idea.
-1320boy

[epic1400cs]

1320boy, mmm, it sounds convincing. So does it contain good compounds to renovate the tired paint film? I've got a try it.

[epic1400cs]

I want that OEM foglight switch. Any way of getting one for me =)
I have been bit busy and couldn't manage to pop in to dismantlers but I have found one on ebay. May be you ve seen already.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7971893822&category=50459
Price seems to be a bit expensive but the postage is very cheap I think.

[HondaBoy]

epic1400cs, would you post a pic of the rear fog lights turned on? i've never seen them turned on. i was looking at those switches in some of the pictures. i think i'm going to make some out of old switches to look like them. like the fog light switch.

[epic1400cs]

epic1400cs, would you post a pic of the rear fog lights turned on? i've never seen them turned on. i was looking at those switches in some of the pictures. i think i'm going to make some out of old switches to look like them. like the fog light switch.
Mister HondaBoy, do you want a pic of both rear fog turned on and switch turned on? The switch itself has orange indication light which indicates you when the fog is on. I am busy at the moment but I might be able to do it next week.

[epic1400cs]

Time has passed by and I had another MOT test(car test in UK) and decided to take some picture.
It should be routine maintenance but when I removed front wheel I saw busted cv joint boot... Oh well, its life,
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_179_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_180_full.jpg
I have bought replacement outer joint only and replaced it rather than replacing whole shaft.
Changed oil/filter/airfilter/coolant.
Neuspeed plug code has busted boots finally so replaced with Splitfire Plug Code - well Crane or MSD ones would be the best but it is impossible to buy from US. I have washed the engine bay and took a picture like a Japanese tourist.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_178_full.jpg

[epic1400cs]

I have always problem with Aerodecks rear wiper. It jadders and embarrasing to use in public. One wiseman in Japan told me that I can use rear wiper arm from Honda CRV before minor change. I have ordered last months and fitted it.
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_181_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_182_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_183_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_184_full.jpg
It looks great and wipes with no noise but due to the curve of hte rear hatch window glass, when the wiper blade came to the vertical position, top bit is not wiped. I am planning to bent the arm a bit so that blade will touch to the surface of the glass. The wiseman also told me that PIAA blade will work good but in UK PIAA is almost impossible to buy...

[MessyHonda]

sucks about the busted axle....well your car is super clean. looks new...any plans on making it a 5 speed?

[epic1400cs]

sucks about the busted axle....well your car is super clean. looks new...any plans on making it a 5 speed?
Yeah, it sucks but the CV joint itself was not that difficult in the end - the lower ball joint was very difficult to remove and needed to buy good gear puller.
Thanks for the compliment - looks clean but actually here and there some rust spot started so need attention. Last month a fat woman driving ford knocked the rear bumper so her insurance will repaint whole rear bumper by Honda dealership soon.
For 5 speed, mmm good point I am fancy doing that from time to time but my wife also drive this one and we live in rather busy area with lot of traffic jam so auto is more convenient. I am interested in to tune the auto to reduce the slip if possible.

[Fushi]

Man, your Aerodeck is so clean !
Can you tell me what is the brand of your muffler ?

I just love Aerodecks :)

[epic1400cs]

Thanks FUSHI, well I need to catch up with your speed of progress :lol:
The exhaust is one off stainless steel system and it is called powerflow (http://www.powerflowexhausts.com/). Originally it is South African company and there are some franchise shops(like McDonalds) in UK. There is no after market SS system available for our car so I had go this route. But it is not very good quality material (not SUS304) and the sirencer is not making very good sound - I wanted very high note like F1 or Ferrari :rant: It is at least stainless so it sould last pretty long though.

If you are ready to throw a lot of cash, I recommend to go Hayward and Scott (http://www.haywardandscott.co.uk/) or French equivalent. They are specialized in SS system and they made systems for WRC Rally Lancer and Subaru(!). Once I have asked their quote for SS header and they said around 500 GBP (750 Euro) inclusive of fitting. :bowrofl: They still have jig to make a header for our car so if I sold my house in future I might try it out.

[smufguy]

I envy your abs. Its cool that you can still get the ABS axles for that. Oh also, can u take pics of your Hub and the wheel speed sensor for me please? :)

[epic1400cs]

I envy your abs. Its cool that you can still get the ABS axles for that. Oh also, can u take pics of your Hub and the wheel speed sensor for me please? :)
In fact the ABS is not working anymore - probably compressor is working but it doesnt hold the pressure. They say it cost fortune to fix the trouble so, I just cut off the fuse and warning light. Actually what I have bought was CV outer joint only for ABS car and its not genuine honda parts - honda doesnt recommend to take apart the outer joint. I might work on the car before the summer end then I will take a pic for sure - my work is a bit busy at the moment.

[Fushi]

Thanks for the links about exhausts.
We have also a few companies here that makes full custom SS catbacks.

For the moment, I'm happy with my crappy Walker exhaust.
I love the sound, but the design is just ugly...

Keep up the good work with your car !

[smufguy]

damn that sucks. ABS = Rocks. But good looking car none the less.

[epic1400cs]

I have managed to make some time to work on the Aerodeck yesterday and I installed Colt mild grind tri-flow cam and recaro.

work in progress
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_186_full.jpg
I used two screw drives to hold the cam gear from falling down and 3 straptie to hold the belt to the gear.


Comparision of two cams

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_185_full.jpg
(http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?bg=000000&image=http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_185_full.jpg)
Top one is the UKDM OEM cam and below is the Colt regrind cam.
You might be able to see the intake robe shape on Colt are slightly different than OEM - if you see first robe and third robe from far left, on the OEM cam they are identical but on the Colt, they are slightly different (can tell from the reflection on the robe)
I set the valve clearance at IN 0.15mm EX 0.25mm as OEM standard initially but I hear a lot of tapet noise like old bangers.
Then I tried IN 0.15mm EX 0.20mm. It worked and became quiet.
About the power gain, obviously this is very subjective but from 3000rpm it pulls much stronger but low end torque is still there so I should say it is very practical and enjoyable at the same time - I can feel adrenaline is running so my body says it is good.

[epic1400cs]

Sorry double post...

[epic1400cs]

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_188_full.jpg
As an old man, I had problems with my back several times already and I know one of the cause is delived from the Aerodeck's low ceiling and my too long upper body (100cm) that makes me sit in very strange posture. So I was hoping to improve these by fitting recaro seat with lowest position to make head room. I knew that buying recaro is rather straight forward in ebay but the problem is the fitting. I did a bit of research and found out that there is no seat rail from recaro in UK anymore but recaro Japan are still selling brand new rail for Aerodeck at full price - almost identical to used recaro seat. Problem is that this rail is handed - driver seat on the right has belt feeder so the rail has to have this bracket. As I am low budget, I managed to find second hand rail in Japan through my family but find the one in Yahoo auction took half year:violin:

The rail is on its way to UK so I bought one reasonable recaro in ebay at 80 pounds=150 USD? I know it is not cheap but if I my back goes, I can't work like a week which is much more expensive than this so it is still good economy.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/783000-783999/783843_187_full.jpg

I am not entirely sure about the color/design of this seat so if I win a lotterly I might buy a pair with descreet gray leather with heater inside (bivrator will be good, too) but for now it is totally fine. I have drove one day already and I am slightly dissapinted by the hight difference - it is definately lower but not dramatically. May be one inch lower. Positive side is the direct feeling - the seat is like solid wooden bench so there is no play between my body and the car. My body dont move in the seat so I feel as if I am wearing supporter - good for my back. Also side support is very good - cornering is much easier because my body dont move at all. Boys, if you are laughing thats fine, just remember when you become older, recaro is your best friend :D

[MessyHonda]

^nice set up...:thumbup:

[mkymonkey]

what car are those seats out of?

[epic1400cs]

^nice set up...:thumbup:

Cheers!


what car are those seats out of?
The drivers seat Recaro you are asking?
You can buy it as is and you install with seat rail which is specific to your car.
Otherwise they are all original OEM seat apart from the child seat (blue/black) on the back.

[thegreatdane]

Very clean aerodeck Juan! Done a great job with it! How tall are you in fact? I'm 195cm and I'm still comfortable in the accords. Both the sedan and aerodeck.
That's the add-on armrest you are using right? looks good!

[Hash_man_Se_i]

Love your car ... its a very nice aerodeck, and very clean.

Nice recaro too, I love those cool patterns they have on some of their fabric.

[keruhas184]

I set the valve clearance at IN 0.15mm EX 0.25mm as OEM standard initially but I hear a lot of tapet noise like old bangers.
Then I tried IN 0.15mm EX 0.20mm. It worked and became quiet.

For those in the USA keeping score: IN 0.15mm/EX 0.20mm = IN 0.0059in / EX 0.0079in.

These are the specs [intake: 0.006, exhaust: 0.007-0.008] recommended by Geof from Colt for this particular cam grind, which are a little tighter than the OEM specs [0.005 - 0.007 int and 0.010 - 0.012 ex].

When installing a new cam, please double and triple check all your clearences, as well as making sure the cam gear is still in the original place. The motor itself should be COLD, not having been operational for at least 4 hours. You do not want to screw this up.

For more info, please read:

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37583

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15450

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39319

[epic1400cs]

Very clean aerodeck Juan! Done a great job with it! How tall are you in fact? I'm 195cm and I'm still comfortable in the accords. Both the sedan and aerodeck.
That's the add-on armrest you are using right? looks good! Thanks! About my height and your height, well, that the genetical difference between you and me. Believe or not I am about 6 foot. It is handy that I can share trousers with my wife who is 165cm tall, means I have very short legs hahaha. I can sit straight if I adjust the seat far back from the steering wheel with straight arms. But I prefer to sit closer to steering wheel - like rally drivers I want the both arms well bend so that I can give counter steering in case if the rear breaks.

The armrest is JDM optional parts for 4door saloon bought it from NewZealand on ebay. Yeah, it is handy to accommodate some bits and pieces. As you know our EU centre console is different from North American models so only JDM optional armrest is the way to go.

[thegreatdane]

You share pants with your wife haha, yea that must be nice when your going out at night pransin around lol :D
I wish my legs was shorter though, would be nice to be able to keep the legs below steering wheel height, oh well.

So have you ever figured out why on earth they mounted the e-brake in 3 different positions depending on the market? I figure we can move the ebrake to the center postion by making some brackets, but I always forget to take a look at whether it's do-able or not.

[epic1400cs]

It is an update - the idling was around 750rpm but with my A/T, if the selector is in D range or R, I experienced stroll some times. I made the idle faster bits by bits and now idle is around 950rpm and in D or R range the idle is 750ish. It is a bit high idle but it seems to be ok now.

There seems to be one valve making tapping noise so I will double check the clearance on coming weekend.

Recaro is already making big difference on my everyday life - I feel much better after driving and I dont feel any unconfortable feeling on my back. What? You dont get what I am talking about? Oh well, leave me alone...

About the location of side brake lever, I don't have slightest idea why Honda made it in three positions. One thing I am sure is that JDM option armrest is rather fragile and it wouldn't be strong enough for US market. I saw the US market centre arm rest in picture and I think it looks very robost.

[carotman]

Well, we don't have any storage compartment in the center console in North America. Also, since the cars had virtually no options other than the electric antenna, there was no need for extra expansion holes in the center console. I guess honda decided to just put the E-Brake in the middle instead to fill the empty space.

In other markets, the E-Brake is closer to the driver, allowing a storage compartment in the console and 3 expansion holes for different switches.

I do agree that the optional armrest is weaker than the full US armrest. I have both here and I prefer the full one. However, I would really like to have that center console you guys have :D

[thegreatdane]

Well, we don't have any storage compartment in the center console in North America. Also, since the cars had virtually no options other than the electric antenna, there was no need for extra expansion holes in the center console. I guess honda decided to just put the E-Brake in the middle instead to fill the empty space.
In other markets, the E-Brake is closer to the driver, allowing a storage compartment in the console and 3 expansion holes for different switches.
I do agree that the optional armrest is weaker than the full US armrest. I have both here and I prefer the full one. However, I would really like to have that center console you guys have :D

Trade? :) Preferrably for a mint black one with leather :D

I'm not really sure anymore which one I would prefer though. Your explenation makes sense but still I think that they could have worked out a better solution. But I guess thats just honda for you, always have to make 1 billion different parts instead of using the same.

I want cupholders though... Too fill in that empty space where that stupid cassette holder is.

[BITESIZE]

I think it'd be weird to shift with your left hand, but you probably think it'd be weird to shift with your right hand.

[epic1400cs]

I think it'd be weird to shift with your left hand, but you probably think it'd be weird to shift with your right hand.
I have practiced the shift lever action with right hand on arcade game like Sega Rally since I was small so there is little trouble - I guess you have simillar arcade game like Initial D which has shift lever on the left, no?