Lust's FK8 Civic Type R Track & Street Build

Minor update:

Still waiting for either the refund or the downpipe at this point. Not sure why this company is having such a hard time. During this time the company will remain unnamed. Unfortunately I’ve been waiting on this part in order to get everything else Cerakoted, installed, and finally tuned by Derek at IMW.

In the mean time I finally got around to installing the hybrid racing short shifter. It’s been installed for a few days now and so far so good. Shifts are definitely shorter but I feel the notchiness has become more apparent. I’ll want to give it more time before I make any final judgements, though I am leaning towards getting the acuity shifter instead.

I drained out the Amsoil MTF and replaced it with Motul Gear 300. I immediately noticed a difference with the fresh oil. It was much easier to get into gear and the shifts were smoother. Not sure why the Amsoil sucked in my car but it did. Some shifts would be crisp like lettuce and other times it would feel extremely notchy. Not to mention that it would require a significant amount of force sometimes to get into or out of gear.

Lust said:

Minor update:

Still waiting for either the refund or the downpipe at this point. Not sure why this company is having such a hard time. During this time the company will remain unnamed. Unfortunately I’ve been waiting on this part in order to get everything else Cerakoted, installed, and finally tuned by Derek at IMW.

In the mean time I finally got around to installing the hybrid racing short shifter. It’s been installed for a few days now and so far so good. Shifts are definitely shorter but I feel the notchiness has become more apparent. I’ll want to give it more time before I make any final judgements, though I am leaning towards getting the acuity shifter instead.

I drained out the Amsoil MTF and replaced it with Motul Gear 300. I immediately noticed a difference with the fresh oil. It was much easier to get into gear and the shifts were smoother. Not sure why the Amsoil sucked in my car but it did. Some shifts would be crisp like lettuce and other times it would feel extremely notchy. Not to mention that it would require a significant amount of force sometimes to get into or out of gear.

Click to expand...

Hopefully this downpipe comes in soon! I want to see your review on the Cerakote!

Cant wait!

The hood looks so good. I’m concerned about rain getting into the engine compartment.

do you have a picture of the hood with the rain guard attached?

Petrolicious said:

I’m concerned about rain getting into the engine compartment. Do you have a picture of the hood with the rain guard attached?

Click to expand...

Not the OP's car but here are a few pics of the rain guard installed I have saved.

you gotta be careful not to use synthetic trans fluid that is TOO slippery (i know that sounds nuts but its for real). if the synchros don't develop enough friction to match the shaft speeds inside the trans then the shifts feel really crunchy/notchy.

in my EG K24/20 turbo racecar, I have settled on using 10w40 Valvoline synthetic Blend motor oil. its a tiny bit stiff for the first half a lap but after that the shifts are perfect. when it's time to change the trans fluid on my CTR (it doesnt see any track time) i'm going to try GM Synchromesh fluid. it's thinner than the 10w-40 Valvoline motor oil so should be much better when its cold and isn't too slippery so should be nice shifts in my CTR on the street. i wonder if the Amsoil is just too slippery to make the synchros work well especially when cold

d15b7 said:

you gotta be careful not to use synthetic trans fluid that is TOO slippery (i know that sounds nuts but its for real). if the synchros don't develop enough friction to match the shaft speeds inside the trans then the shifts feel really crunchy/notchy.

in my EG K24/20 turbo racecar, I have settled on using 10w40 Valvoline synthetic Blend motor oil. its a tiny bit stiff for the first half a lap but after that the shifts are perfect. when it's time to change the trans fluid on my CTR (it doesnt see any track time) i'm going to try GM Synchromesh fluid. it's thinner than the 10w-40 Valvoline motor oil so should be much better when its cold and isn't too slippery so should be nice shifts in my CTR on the street. i wonder if the Amsoil is just too slippery to make the synchros work well especially when cold

Click to expand...

Yea the Gear 300 is thicker than the Amsoil SM. Maybe I’m just unlucky because everyone else has had good luck with the Amsoil. The GM SMFM seems intriguing since so many people rave about it. So far Gear 300 has worked great for me even when the trans oil is hot on track.

Made some time today to swap out my Hybrid Racing short shifter for the Acuity Instruments short shifter along with the Acuity Instruments shifter cable bushings.

I installed the bushings first to see if it would improve the feel of the Hybrid shifter and it did. The gears no longer had a crunchy or notchy feel to them. Still I wasn't satisfied. The Hybrid shifter is decent but it wasn't as tight and precise as I wanted. There was too much play IMO and just felt loose and sloppy.

The Acuity shifter solved this for me. It makes the car feel more mechanical, direct, tight, and precise. The Acuity seems to be a higher quality unit as well. After making some adjustments to my liking, I found that the Acuity shifter transformed my thoughts on what a shifter should be. Shifting up or down was effortless. I really didn't have to think when shifting.

So all in all, the Motul Gear 300, Acuity shifter bushings, and Acuity shifter all greatly improved shifting feel. Notchy or crunchy shifts are no longer existent.

I can't comment on the Hybrid Racing shifter but I love the Acuity shifter and bushing combination as well. I'm 100% happy with it!

Acuity is ace. Beautiful pics. Tempting me to remove my center console altogether, heh. Love your build Lust.

Did you apply o-ring lube or non hardening silicone to the cable shift bushings? Highly recommend doing so. In addition to protecting the rubber, it imparts a buttery smoothness to the shifts.

Used this, but any O-ring lube should do.


Applied a light coat to the outside edge of the bushings before inserting.

fatherpain said:

Acuity is ace. Beautiful pics. Tempting me to remove my center console altogether, heh. Love your build Lust.

Did you apply o-ring lube or non hardening silicone to the cable shift bushings? Highly recommend doing so. In addition to protecting the rubber, it imparts a buttery smoothness to the shifts.

Used this, but any O-ring lube should do.

Applied a light coat to the outside edge of the bushings before inserting.

Click to expand...

Yup. Applied a bit of grease before install. Shifts are butter now.

Been really productive with the build with this whole shelter in place thing. I had planned to do a complete brake job on the CTR but that was put to a halt after I realized my wheel lock keys went missing
If anyone knows how to get replacement keys for R40 Iconix please let me know lol

Decided to install the following: Rigid Collars front and rear, Radium Engineering coolant tank reservoir, PRL silicone intake tubing, and ZL1 rock guards.

The rigid collars were annoying to install. Luckily I had a friend help me do them. I would assume it would have been way easier on a lift but we made due. I realized that my front and rear subframes had a ton of play and were far from being centered with the body. That would explain my front camber being drastically different on each side. Hoping to get the car aligned sometime this week. I plan to reduce rear camber too since -2.7 for street is just too excessive. My fault for not rotating the tires enough though. Initial impressions of the collars are good. Car feels firmer yet less bouncy/jarring over bumps. The change is subtle for sure but something I can appreciate. Time will tell how it feels on track. Steering felt a bit tighter too and more precise. I wonder if this will all be amplified after a proper alignment.

Radium coolant tank was a piece of cake to install. Such a high quality product and something I should have installed a long time ago. I don't think it improves much other than reliability and cosmetics TBH. With how much track time this car will see its a no-brainer to install this. I've heard a few CTRs cracking the OEM tank due to repeated heat cycles. Allegedly the aluminum will aid in reducing ECTs. By how much? Who knows. Upgraded the radiator cap too with the Radium 1.3bar cap while I was at it.

PRL silicone intake tube took me 5 mins to install. Again, don't know why I didn't put it on sooner. No perceivable difference on the butt dyno. Looks cooler and the concept makes sense. Maybe a custom tune can maximize gains for this. Hopefully my PRL Ti inlet pipe will ship soon to finish off my intake upgrades.

Struggle is real when trying to acquire a DP and FP in California due to CARB. If someone has a PRL or RV6 catted DP please hit me up lol.

I went with the ZL1 rockguards to prevent chips on the sides of the car. My previous CTR and all my track buddies have tons of rock chips on doors. Hopefully this subtle rock guard will mitigate this. Cheap enough and not too loud like Rally Armor.







Someone asked for photos of the Varis hood. Here they are with the rain guard attached. Leaving it on to keep dirt out of the engine bay.

Did you get one of the first Hybrid shifters? Did you get the updated Wave spring with it? Could have helped with the sloppiness.

Gmedalion said:

Did you get one of the first Hybrid shifters? Did you get the updated Wave spring with it? Could have helped with the sloppiness.

Click to expand...

Yea it was the gold one. I bought it when it first came out

Yea it would have helped but since you have the Acuity now it doesn't matter.

Sweet build. Rockguards front and rear or just front? Any drilling required or do they use existing holes? Really interested to see if the Ron Davis radiator makes a big difference.