[JRoc]

Hey everyone!

My name is Jason and I wanted to start a build thread to track the progression of my 2019 Passport EX-L. I am a big car enthusiast. I enjoy working on, learning about and just overall caring for cars. It's therapeutic for me. I am very excited to get working on the Passport and see what adventures I can experience with it.

The Details:

Vehicle: 2019 Honda Passport EX-L
Color: White Diamond Pearl (WDP)
Date Purchased: May 15, 2021
Mileage at Purchase: 22,996

A little background, my love for cars started when I purchased a 2006 Honda Civic Si coupe in March of 2011. I was 19 years old at the time and it was my first major purchase. As soon as I purchased the car I instantly fell in love with cars. I would find myself tinkering around on the Civic for no real reason and I would search the forums (8thcivic) for hours on end.

A couple photos of the Si:

How the car looked when I bought it:

The first car show I attended with the Si:

Honda Day where I won Top 100:

This was one of my favorite "phases". The wheels were MB Battles and were very aggressive. I enjoyed them for awhile but they got to be real annoying. Every bump or imperfection in the road would cause the tire to rub and I was not willing to roll the fenders. Finding a shop to align a lowered car was also a challenge, at least at the time:

I have owned the Si for over 10 years now and have put on 170,000 reliable miles. Today, the car is much less attractive. The clearcoat is all but gone and the car has plenty of scrapes, dents and a whole ton of rust. So much rust that the right rear pinch weld completely rusted off. Thanks NJ winters!

So, with life changes and not being 19 anymore, it was time for a bigger car. After about a year of researching and test driving, I landed on the Passport as the ideal next car. It's a little more vehicle than I need at the moment but, with the length of time I tend to hold onto cars, I should be able to grow into the Passport nicely. First impressions, this car is a major upgrade from the Si. In room, comfort, and features. The Si didn't have AC the past 3 years so I am enjoying that for sure.

The day I purchased the Passport:

I already have a couple of updates and random photos to share which I will put below in a new post.

I am still trying to figure out exactly what my plans will be with the Passport. I want to use the Passport for camping and very light off-roading adventures but I will also daily drive it (I still drive the Si from time to time). Since I like tinkering and DIY'ing with cars, I am sure I will go through phases and change it up multiple times. I would like to create some DIY guides for upgrades, maintenance, etc. I also am an avid detailer. I have ran a side car detailing business in the past so I will most likely try out some new products with the Passport and share the results. Most of all, this will act as a memory bank for myself so I can look back the progression of this awesome car.

Let the journey begin!

 

[PNWGarageDad]

Bro! Flashing that 8th gen in my face brings back so many good times I had with my 8th gen Si! A lot of current and previous Si owners in here. Always welcome people that likes to mod their vehicles, imo , this is how one makes a vehicle special!

 

[JRoc]

First order of business was taking the car to the local body shop to fix some damage that I was aware of (and negotiated with) when I bought the car

Whoever owned the car before me must have scrapped up against something, pressing in a small piece of the left rear door. This caused the doors to no longer align on the passenger side. Luckily, all the damage was on and under the plastics so the body work was minimal. I probably didn't have to fix it but it was a relatively cheap repair and there was a small amount of rust showing under the plastics. The body shop took care of that which helps me sleep better at night.

After 3 days at the shop, all fixed:

 

[JRoc]

Bro! Flashing that 8th gen in my face brings back so many good times I had with my 8th gen Si! A lot of current and previous Si owners in here. Always welcome people that likes to mod their vehicles, imo , this is how one makes a vehicle special!

This was actually the first year of the 8th generation Si. In 2006 they only offered the Si in 2 door and I kicked myself for years for not getting an 07 or newer sedan.

Either way, looking back at the photos I have and even the old build thread I have on 8thcivic brings back so many memories. I met some many people because of that car and had the time of my life. Those were the days when I would drive to a parking lot in town at night and wait for others to drive by randomly and stop to hang out.

I still would like to buy another 8th generation Si at some point in the future. One that is in better shape than my current one.

 

[JRoc]

Took the Passport on its first road trip from NJ to Lake Ontario in upstate NY. About 5 hours of driving each way and it performed great. I tried out the ACC and, like many before me have mentioned, it was not very smooth. Lots of slamming on the brakes and jerky acceleration. In light traffic situations, it performed adequately so I am not too concerned with it. I also rented a Mazda 2 years ago that had ACC and it was much more refined than the Passport.

Some random photos from up at the lake house:

And a photo from the front porch:

 

[MisterX]

Nice Si
I had one of the first 06si coupes (retrofitted with navi, hfp kit, te37s and one of 32 comptech supercharged before they went under.

miss that car alot!

very clean, im in nj also and 90% of the fg’s i see are heavily abused or oxidized paint!

 

[JRoc]

Nice Si
I had one of the first 06si coupes (retrofitted with navi, hfp kit, te37s and one of 32 comptech supercharged before they went under.

miss that car alot!

very clean, im in nj also and 90% of the fg’s i see are heavily abused or oxidized paint!

Sorry for the late reply! That Si sounds amazing! I always wanted to boost mine but never pulled the trigger. Now mine would definitely fall under the heavily oxidized category. I honestly don't even think there is a spec of clearcoat left on the roof. It has turned into my weekend beater car but it still runs!

 

[JRoc]

Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this thread. Not much has changed with the Passport, life and work have been busy. I did do some upgrades that I am happy with:

First, I upgraded the interior lighting to LEDs. They are BRIGHT! My only gripe with them is that they rapid fire flash when starting the car and it's slightly disorienting if you are not expecting it. This didn't happen in my 2006 Civic Si when I upgraded the lights to LEDs. Has anyone else upgraded their interior lights and also experienced this?

The next upgrade was the trunk mat and WeatherTech rain guards. I've had the rain guards on all of my vehicles in the past and these are usually always my first purchase.

Next up was a much needed tire upgrade. The OEM tires handled terribly in the rain, even with only 25,000 miles on them. After doing some research, I decided on the Pirelli Scorpion AS +3. I have had them on since October of last year and I love them. The perform excellent in the rain and equally well in NJ snowstorms.

And finally, I had 20% tint applied to the front two windows and the windshield strip.

Plans for the near future include:

• Die cast running boards
• Dashcam (if you have one, I would love recommendations!)
• Professional detail

I would love to add the roof rails but the car would not longer fit in our rental garage. Those will have to wait until we buy a house.

 

[Janizary]

Either way, looking back at the photos I have and even the old build thread I have on 8thcivic brings back so many memories. I met some many people because of that car and had the time of my life. Those were the days when I would drive to a parking lot in town at night and wait for others to drive by randomly and stop to hang out.

Did you come to the 8th Civic Las Vegas meet back in January 2007?

West MEET! Jan 13 & 14, 2007. VEGA$ BABY!

i thought the 15fwy was closed. Open right now, just a bunch of snow. But traffic is moving. http://www.thehighwaystations.com/skin/feature.php?sectionId=131

www.8thcivic.com

 

[JRoc]

Did you come to the 8th Civic Las Vegas meet back in January 2007?

West MEET! Jan 13 & 14, 2007. VEGA$ BABY!

i thought the 15fwy was closed. Open right now, just a bunch of snow. But traffic is moving. http://www.thehighwaystations.com/skin/feature.php?sectionId=131

www.8thcivic.com

Unfortunately not. I'm on the east coast and went to a couple of the meets around here over the years. I vaguely remember one being in Maryland that was a lot of fun. If only I knew back then that those were some of the best times I've had in my life so far.

 

[JRoc]

After doing a lot of research and forum stalking, I decided on the Viofo A129 Pro Duo 4K dashcam. It was a price that I was happy with, offered fairly simple hardwiring to the fuse box for parking mode, and the resolution is great. If you include the hardwiring harness, a set of fuse taps, polarizing lens covers to reduce glare, and a 256BG Pro Endurance SD card, the total price was about $330.

(not pictured are the fuse taps and polarizing lens covers to reduce glare)

I was originally planning on paying someone to install the dashcam but after watching some YouTube videos, I was confident I could do it myself.

In order to utilize the parking mode feature, I hardwired the cam into the fuse box. You need to find 2 fuse slots to tap into, 1 that is constantly powered and 1 that is only powered when the car is on. It is important you do not tap into any fuses that operate any safety related features of the car. I used the lumbar seat adjustment fuse (10A) for the constant power and the rear windshield wiper (10A) for the power only while the car is running. The fuse taps need to be oriented properly to make sure current is flowing through the fuses. I got lucky that both of these fuse slots allowed me to have the cable point downward to avoid any hard bends on the cable.

I ran the cable for the front camera and the rear camera in the headliner, ensuring to stay clear of the airbags. This was the most time consuming part. I spent a lot of time making sure everything looked as if nothing was ever there.

I also spent a lot of time finding the ideal spot to mount the front camera. I have a tint strip and wanted to avoid sticking the adhesive directly on the tint to avoid any potential issues if I ever need to remove the adhesive mount. Luckily, I found that I could mount the camera on the plastic housing behind the rearview mirror and run the wires into the opening where the mirror enters the plastic housing. The camera surprisingly sticks very well here (I was worried about sticking it to plastic). It is out of my view when in the drivers seat and the angle of the video is great. Below are some photos of the front and rear camera locations:

And the rear camera...