J's Racing Fk8 Grill

[metal_driver]

You and I both - lol
I’ll get pics up as soon as I get a chance to get the bumper back on

Sponsored

 

[fatherpain]

Thanks metal_driver. What was the reason for the green painters tape?

You and I both - lol
I’ll get pics up as soon as I get a chance to get the bumper back on

 

[fatherpain]

J’s Racing USA “had” (1) grill and (1) center emblem holder in stock...

 

[metal_driver]

/\. I bet you can’t wait.

I had put that tape on there to help avoid any scratches/scrapes from tools during bumper removal and install. At this rate your going to beat me to the finish line - lol. I think you will be pretty happy with it.

 

[frtorres87]

I’ve held off as long as I could...Spoke to Yasu and he has one in stock, so committed to picking it up tomorrow + badge holder.

Following you and Frank on this. I think it looks beast, heh.

Did you order the optional JDM Honda Badge for $36?

Im def jealous Tom, as I will be waiting several months for my J’s Grille to arrive.

 

[fatherpain]

Whoa which company did you order through? The silver lining will be both metal_driver and (hopefully) myself will have performed this mod, so there should be plenty of documentation and tips to make the install as smooth as possible

Im def jealous Tom, as I will be waiting several months for my J’s Grille to arrive.

 

[RStoR]

Can anyone comment on the following;

• Does the J's grill require any additional prep work prior than painting? Since it's FRP was just wondering.
• Has anyone tried refitting the OE grill after cutting the center brace out? Wondering how secure it is and whether fitment is impacted should you ever want to revert to stock.

 

[frtorres87]

Whoa which company did you order through? The silver lining will be both metal_driver and (hopefully) myself will have performed this mod, so there should be plenty of documentation and tips to make the install as smooth as possible

Evasive Motorsports

 

[fatherpain]

The paint and body shop quoted $180 to paint and clear coat the grill. Will drop off tomorrow if get time. Will take 4-5 days, then likely will wait (30) days for PFF and ceramic coat, then install, or vice versa....No way I catch metal_driver. Heh

 

[hikaru]

Can anyone comment on the following;

• Has anyone tried refitting the OE grill after cutting the center brace out? Wondering how secure it is and whether fitment is impacted should you ever want to revert to stock.

You definitely need to fabricate a center beam brace back if you are putting back the oem grill. Even if you are having oem grill with oem bumper, it'd be better off if you reinforce that center beam, and two other beams at each side to avoid the tabs in the grill pop out. I notice that two years ago when my oem grill was popping out, and I placed a metal brace there to reinforce the beam so that it won't get collapsed. So far so good, and touch wood.

Honda knows the problem, and that's the reason that they now make the center beam much bulkier with more materials as reinforcement in different angles as well. Check the picture.

 

[frtorres87]

The paint and body shop quoted $180 to paint and clear coat the grill. Will drop off tomorrow if get time. Will take 4-5 days, then likely will wait (30) days for PFF and ceramic coat, then install, or vice versa....No way I catch metal_driver. Heh

Congrats bro. Really happy that you got it and things are coming along. I’m definitely a little jealous, but you deserve it.

 

[fatherpain]

Thanks Frank, appreciate it man

Not looking forward to this install. Seems like it will be a bit of work. Following metal_driver’s lead on this and will share any tips and tricks found along the way, heh.

Took it to the paint and body shop and described the fitment problem some of these grills are reported to have.

They suggested:

1. Install first without paint to avoid scratches.

2. Make adjustments to obtain the best fitment. If needed, the body shop uses a heat process to remove bowing and eliminate gaps.

3. When the fitment is dialed in, remove the grill, paint and clear coat.

4. Allow it to cure, then take the piece for PFF and ceramic.

5. Reinstall grill to the car. Done.

Congrats bro. Really happy that you got it and things are coming along. I’m definitely a little jealous, but you deserve it.

 

[frtorres87]

Thanks Frank, appreciate it man

Not looking forward to this install. Seems like it will be a bit of work. Following metal_driver’s lead on this and will share any tips and tricks found along the way, heh.

Took it to the paint and body shop and described the fitment problem some of these grills are reported to have.

They suggested:

1. Install first without paint to avoid scratches.

2. Make adjustments to obtain the best fitment. If needed, the body shop uses a heat process to remove bowing and eliminate gaps.

3. When the fitment is dialed in, remove the grill, paint and clear coat.

4. Allow it to cure, then take the piece for PFF and ceramic.

5. Reinstall grill to the car. Done.

Please let us know how that goes because I will try and do the same.

 

[fatherpain]

The J’s grill official instructions and photos are definitely not the best...

It says to cut the center pillar at the base and I interpreted to cut it flush, exactly the same as yours... but my Honda nephew thinks the center post is supposed to screw into the “remnant” of the base....and maybe we were supposed to cut just above the bottom of the base, instead at the first bend.

The J’s supplied picture lacks detail, but it almost appears like it would be the case? Have you experienced any issues with the remainder of the install?

My nephew thinks it will be ok, but wondering if we should try to fuse or JB Weld the plastic back together and cut higher?

Apologies, I tried to upload additional photos to show what I am talking about, but the forum “upgrade” won’t allow me to do so. I am getting messages the files are too large for the server

Okay, here are some pics of the J's Racing front grill install.

Here is the piece of bumper plastic that must be cut to fit the new deeper J's grill back in. The instructions which are in Japanese tell you to leave 2 cm's at the top. If you look at the picture close enough you will see the cut lines. I left 3 cm from the top and it was still not in the way, or visible from the front, once the new J's grill was in
Here is the piece of bumper plastic that must be cut to fit the new deeper J's grill back in. The instructions which are in Japaneses tell you to leave 2 cm's at the top. If you look at the picture close enough you will see the cut lines. I left 3 cm from the top and it was still not in the way, or visible from the front, once the new J's grill was in

 

[metal_driver]

Hi Tom, I agree the supplied instructions with the J’ grill are definitely not the best. When using a translation app, as you did for the Japanese instructions, it simply translated this step to - ‘cut at root’. The picture in the instructions for this step definitely shows the plastic bumper middle support brace/base cut pretty well flush, so that’s what I did.
Having said that, your nephew might be onto something. If you did leave a portion of the OEM plastic center support brace remaining above the root, you might be able to screw the bottom bracket screw into it during install (if the base/root is slanted in deep enough to clear the new grill). If this did work, you would need to trim off the plastic OEM bumper center support piece outer edges on both sides of the root/base piece to match the width of the metal support bar otherwise the wider OEM plastic base piece would show from the front if you did not have the optional center emblem holder.
After reading your cousins thoughts I went back and reviewed the photos I had from the install and I believe there maybe a simpler way to do this, if you have already cut the bottom plastic center piece flush.... It appears there are two molded screw insert bases in the OEM bumper that you could screw down the bottom of the J’s screen that extends below the grill opening. to secure the piece and have the same effect. These screw bases are circled in blue in the picture. They appear to be approximately a few inches out from the bottom of the J’s metal center support bar. I’m going to give this a try when I finally get back to this. Alternatively, it appears that you may also be able to glue or screw the bottom of the J’s center metal suuport bar to the top of the black plastic front bumper suuport bracket directly below the installed grill (depicted just above the red arrow in the picture).
Unfortunately, I have still have not mounted my bumper yet as I have had to self isolate for the last 2 weeks after my last trip and my car is in my brothers shop. It also maybe a while longer now as I’ve decided I might swap the OEM radiator out for a better one since the bumper is off anyway..

Sponsored