Fatherpain’s 2018 Type R

[ehernandez]

I love the attention to detail. I look in my Car Journal the next day and it is like, "Installed RMM, was kind of a pain and I hurt my thumb with the mallet".

Keep up the good work and keep sharing all the knowledge!

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[fatherpain]

When I first began modding this car, one item that caught my attention was the BMSPEC ducktail spoiler extension.

However, BMSPEC closed their web shop and moved onto other endeavors so I missed out and have wanted one ever since.

As luck would have it, @Cowtyper listed one locally for sale. New and unused and I was fortunate to snag it.

Didn’t come with instructions so did a web search, posted queries to the FB FK8 Track and Main group pages and emailed BMSPEC’s owner Brian Matsuda and received the information needed.

The BMSPEC ducktail comes with (4) aluminum mounting brackets and screws.

The brackets attach to the duckbill like this. The material is similar to plexiglass, which was a little surprising. Flexible but tough. The finish was a raw matte black/gray.

Fixed that by powder coating the brackets and bolting hardware gloss black, to match the rear hatch trim. Primo Powder Coating in Huntington Beach do a fantastic job every time

Also took the ducktail to Aerowerkz in City of Industry to get wrapped in STEK CF. Looks so much better and will match the Voltex 2V wing.

Used a hand file to remove excess Powder coat from the bolts so they would sit flush when installed.

Attached the brackets to the ducktail. Applied some Loctite thread locker then tightened using a 3mm Allen.

Brackets mounted. Ducktail ready to install

These are the tools needed for the install:

• Loctite threadlocker
• Pick to mark holes
• Cordless drill with 5/32” drill bit
• 3mm and 5mm sucked and ratchet

And a buddy to hold the ducktail in place. Made sure everything was centered then marked each hole using the pick.

Drilled each hole using a low speed setting and gentle pressure.

All (4) holes drilled.

Applied Loctite to the threads and carefully installed each bolt using the 5mm Allen.

Voila! BMSPEC ducktail extension installed.

View from the rear. Unfortunately the ducktail didn’t include a BMSPEC sticker. Reached out again to Brian Matsuda and he is taking time out of his busy schedule to send one. Very much appreciated.

Side view.

The gloss black powder coated brackets are an exact match to the car.

Another angle.

Mirror view from the inside of the car. The ducktail obscures vision slightly.. enough that I’ll have to be careful.

Despite that, am pleased with how it turned out. Need to get it ceramic coated then will be all done.

 

[fatherpain]

Decided to permanently affix the Carbon Zone Poland CF mirror caps, which I’ve postponed for several months.

Really like the OEM motto color scheme, but finally took the plunge.

Wiped the mirrors with witch hazel. Pretty sure it’s the same as rubbing alcohol.

Applied some 30lb double stick 3M tape.

Peeled the backings.

Then pressed them on.

Carbon Zone Poland CF mirror caps applied.

Seems to fit the color scheme of the car

 

[Unity Performance]

This build just pleases the soul! Great job sir, and love seeing that you're actually tracking it!

Hoping to add a CTR to our stable in the near future, and this thread will certainly be referenced frequently

 

[fatherpain]

Thank you ehernandez, glad you found us and are enjoying the content

Hey, just because I haven’t always included those extra little details... doesn’t mean they don’t happen from time to time.

Like this one: While installing the HKS BOV and Motec, had the strut tower brace undone. The entire time, kept telling myself not to forget to re-install it before raising the car.

Whelp, once the finish line was in sight, got excited, had a brain fart and started lifting the car to perform another task.

Immediately noticed something wasn’t right with the wheels...

What the heck is going on? Hey these wheels are on the verge of falling off!

Turns out with the strut tower removed, the shocks and wheels fell out as the car was moving up. Could have been catastrophic.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. Caught it in time.

With the help of my son and brother in law, lined both struts back up and lowered the chassis back onto to shock absorbers/wheels.

Whew!

I love the attention to detail. I look in my Car Journal the next day and it is like, "Installed RMM, was kind of a pain and I hurt my thumb with the mallet".

Keep up the good work and keep sharing all the knowledge!

 

[fatherpain]

Thank you Unity Performance, appreciate the positive salutations.

Props and respect for being a CivicX Elite sponsor, so we have this cool forum to enjoy.

This build just pleases the soul! Great job sir, and love seeing that you're actually tracking it!

Hoping to add a CTR to our stable in the near future, and this thread will certainly be referenced frequently

Worked on my ongoing driver mod at Streets of Willow.... my 3rd time driving the course.

Got a personal best lap of 1:29.958 in the first session. A (2) second improvement over last time.

Good turnout of Type R’s and a couple clocked in the 1:23 range

One of those faster drivers had the leaking C&R Race radiator hose connection I fixed a couple months back. He rode shotgun my final session and shared pointers that should help shave seconds.

Was my first time with Speed Ventures and concerned there wasn’t a (70) car limit like other events I‘ve attended...

But Speed Ventures group drivers by self reported lap times, then seed after the 2nd session. The result was not much traffic, surprisingly, despite lots of vehicles on track. I ran in the 2nd group: high intermediate.

Speed Ventures are very well run and organized. Something had to give though, with 130+ cars. That being track time.

There were (6) run groups with just (4) sessions each... So a total of about (1) hour of actual driving for the day, with a couple of hours waiting in-between.

Was a little disappointed at first, when realized this would be the case.

Have attended other track days (Speed District) where there are just 3-4 groups going every hour, on the hour for 2-3 hours of track time.

However, as the day progressed, found the Speed Ventures format equally enjoyable.

The limited number of sessions and time between, made for a more relaxing day.

Got to sit back, talk to other drivers and really take in the whole experience... As opposed to a frantic go-go-go schedule.

The side benefit of the limited runs was less wear and tear on the tires.

First time on Yokohama A052s after being on RE71R’s. Very sticky and performed well throughout the day...Can see why a lot of track guys praise them. Probably the reason I achieved my PB.

That said, they wear super quick.... Had the number of sessions been doubled, there’s a chance they might have lasted only (1) track day.

Might be able to get away with replacing just the fronts, but at that wear rate, still stings.

All didn’t totally go great however....

During the 2nd session, chased a BMW M2, but didn’t get the point by until the dude couldn’t shake me after (2) laps on his tail.

Literally (5) seconds or so after passing and brimming with confidence, went hot into a low speed turn, understeered, hit the brakes then went full off into the dirt and rocks at about 10 mph. That BMW driver must have laughed his @ss off at my expense.... I know I would have.

Totally stupid and ridiculous. This is the 2nd time my inner machismo has gotten me into trouble in (7) events.

Also got black flagged for keeping on trucking after getting back on and not immediately returning to the pits to get checked out....which makes sense to do.

Fortunately when I came in, didn’t see any damage and the car didn’t feel out of sorts or make any weird noises.

The old adage “better lucky than good” is still holding true, but need to knock that crap off... otherwise expect a sad post someday about how I totaled the car.

Despite that, the Type R feels it was designed for a track like Streets of Willow, even on stock suspension and alignment.

Next track outing is 11/21/20 @Chuckwalla and Speed Ventures. Debating whether to stay in or withdraw.

Would like to get the Motec properly set up and back on the car, get a dyno tune, install the suspension upgrades and get a proper track alignment. Work schedule is heavy at the moment so doesn’t leave much time for a slowpoke DIY modder like me.

 

[fatherpain]

Here’s one more cool photo from Streets of Willow 10-31-20:

My buddy Tim in his 2020 hot on my tail.

——————————-

Also wanted to share this story from the weekend....

It’s Friday night. Busy prepping the car for the track and my 16 year old asks what I’m doing.

I explain and half heartedly invite him to come along, knowing he probably Isn’t interested.

To my surprise, he says “yeah...sure dad, I’ll come along”

I’m like “Hey wow...cool son, we have to go to bed early because we’ll be leaving at 530am.”

Offspring #1 then answers “uhhh... well I’m playing XBox with my buddies late tonight... Can we go at 8am instead?”

“Ah Hell Nah!!!” I reply “We gotta arrive at the track around 7 so we have to leave early!”

Several hours pass and I’m sitting alongside my old lady in the living room.

Same son takes a break from playing, passes through, stops and asks “What time are we leaving for the track again, dad?”

Of course this blatant spilling of beans re-awakens the Kraken: “TOM!!!?? WHAT?? YOU’RE GOING TO THE TRACK AGAIN???”

“Whoa, hey honey, remember I asked you if I could go?” I sputter

My son, sensing the imminent demise of dear old dad quickly chimes in “Yeah mom, dad’s been telling you all week he has a track day tomorrow...”

Scout’s honor I did too. Haha

Needless to say, the night ended up fairly frosty.

Funny thing is, junior ended up playing all night til around 4am so didn’t even go... But he succeeded in pushing me out in front of the bus, Gee, thanks son!

 

[williamcham]

Picked up a set of Varis rear fender extensions, with the goal of adding accents towards the rear for visual balance. Unfortunately, they are only available in FRP, so had them CF PPF wrapped.

Masked the fender area with painter’s tape to guard against glue drips and also test fit the extensions.

Taped off the top side edge to protect against glue pushby mark the placement of the extension.

Roughed the surface with sandpaper to break the ceramic coating for the glue to adhere better.

Until it looked like this.

Wiped clean with a microfiber towel and rubbing alcohol.

The Varis extension has a recessed groove on the backside where double stick tape or glue can be applied. Opted to go with glue as I occasionally track and don’t want an extension flying off.

Wiped the extension groove with alcohol also.

Then applied Gorilla glue in a zig zag manner.

This seemed to be the perfect amount . Didn’t want too much where it pressed out, or not enough for a proper bond. The blue tape was there so it was ready to secure once pressed on.

Pressed on the fender vents and my youngest son hovering around, doing his best to distract me.

Opened the door to make sure the holding tape had enough to grab onto.

Applied extra tape to hold the fender in place while the glue set. Didn’t want any unwanted sags.

Repeated for the other side. Our lawn sprinklers came on during the installation of the last fender extension, so scrambled and pulled the car forward, heh.

Let it set overnight, then removed the tape in the morning. Voila! Close up of the passenger side.

Close up of the driver side.

Passenger’s side fitment

Another angle.

I lined the fender up and let the extensions overhang about 1/16-1/8” all along the side and bottom edges so white could not be seen behind them.

Driver side fitment.

Varis rear fender extensions successfully installed. Relatively fun and easy, but was a little stressful, heh.

Wasn’t an overly big fan of the Varis extensions at first, but now that it’s on, seems like something that could have been on the car from the get go. Digging how it turned out....Very impressed with Varis’ fitment and quality.

May i ask What kind of cf ppf is used.?

 

[fatherpain]

Sure thing williamcham. The work was performed by Aerowerkz in City of Industry, CA. The CF wrap is made by STEK.

Looked so good on the Varis fender extensions, had the same done on the BMSPEC ducktail

Took a chance not color matching the rear fender extensions, but am happy with how the CF accents the car.

May i ask What kind of cf ppf is used.?

 

[williamcham]

Sure thing williamcham. The work was performed by Aerowerkz in City of Industry, CA. The CF wrap is made by STEK.

Looked so good on the Varis fender extensions, had the same done on the BMSPEC ducktail

Took a chance not color matching the rear fender extensions, but am happy with how the CF accents the car.

They look amazing. I have a 3m Wrap Film but they are matt and yours is shiny and looks better. Thank you for your reply. I will try to order it. Because I’m in Canada

 

[circuit.heart]

When I first began modding this car, one item that caught my attention was the BMSPEC ducktail spoiler extension.

AH. Now I'm finally putting faces to names lol. Glad you like it!

 

[fatherpain]

A quick video clip from my track day 10/31/20 @Streets of Willow, chasing a BMW and with my friend Tim Nieh’s 2020 Type R and a Civic Si hot on my tail.

 

[CTR-Los]

Wow, your build is awesome! Keep up the great work and sharing it with us!

 

[fatherpain]

Picked up one of these nifty EP Auto cigarette lighter powered tire inflators from Amazon after seeing one at the track.

I normally drop tire pressure to 30psi to begin a track session then forget to refill, which usually results in a low tire pressure alert the next day.

The EP Auto inflator has a long cord to reach all of the wheels.

And a discharge hose that threads onto the tire’s Schraeder valve.

Once everything is connected, set the desired pressure. I like 36 psi for the daily drive.

Flip the switch and the inflator starts pumping away and displays the actual tire pressure.

After about a minute or so, the tire is filled to the desired output. Repeat for the remaining (3) tires. Super easy and convenient!

 

[fatherpain]

Appreciate the kind recognition CTR-Los

Welcome to the thread. I hope to still have some interesting and worthwhile slmodd and stories remaining in the tank to keep you coming back

Wow, your build is awesome! Keep up the great work and sharing it with us!