J's Racing Fk8 Grill

[fatherpain]

Thanks metal_driver for the quick and detailed reply. My nephew works at a quick pace and had everything disassembled in an hour, where it would have taken me a couple days, figuring things out, reading instructions and taking lots of photos, heh.

the J’s picture is hard to make out where the cut line is. Yasu @J’s USA consulted J’s Japan and translated the instructions..

The J’s picture shows the center plastic remnant being flush with the side pieces... but when I view how we cut it, the remnant appears recessed.
When my nephew pointed out he thought the center emblem metal piece looks like it was supposed to screw into the plastic stub that would have been there if the cut was higher, it got us thinking. Wondering if this may be a reason some folks report saggy fitment.

Unfortunately, after the forum upgrade, I can no longer upload and post photos. It’s saying the file size is too large for the server to process, grrr. Hopefully this gets resolved soon.

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[fatherpain]

ok compressed the photo... what a pain, heh.

here is what I’m referring to. We cut at the red line. Wondering if we should have cut at the blue.

My nephew thinks it will be ok.. but My OCD is kicking in. I may try to reattach it somehow, but will see how it goes first heh.

 

[metal_driver]

I cut along the red line as well. I think if you cut at the blue line it might have worked if it is recessed deep enough to fit the new grill... If so, you would still then need to narrow down the portion above the red line to match the with of the J’s metal center support bracket otherwise it would show from the front of the grill opening.

After seeing the picture you just posted above I’m not really sure this bottom piece would be recessed deep enough to do this but for anyone else installing it might be worth a try at least. Unfortunately my bumper is still in my brothers shop right now so I can’t have a better look at it.

 

[fatherpain]

Where the cut was made... the J’s photo though makes it look like it was cut higher, even though it says to cut it at the base, like we did here.

Gonna see if can re-attach it using some JB weld, then recut it higher at the blue dash line. Then see if the support screen will fasten to it. Worse case can recut it again at the original red spot.

 

[frtorres87]

all this is very informative, thanks guys.

 

[fatherpain]

Following metal_driver’s and Boosted180sx’s lead and painting the crash bumper black and also the AC condenser (lightly).

powder coated the center metal support for $10.

 

[metal_driver]

Thanks Tom. That powder coated center bracket looks good.
I painted the metal mess that came with the J’s grill black along with the center metal J’s support bracket. In hind sight I should have powder coated both instead for better durability. I had not thought of painting the crash bar or condenser though..

 

[fatherpain]

Had the mesh powder coated matte black also. Cost $30.

It’s been raining all week and my progress has slowed to a crawl, heh. Spent yesterday picking rocks and pebbles out of the intercooler. The bent paper clip worked like a champ... so many rocks though.

The J’s instructions are really poor, so it’s confusing. Will probably bring the bumper inside the house and try to make sense of what goes where..

The bummer is will have to take it back apart when it’s time to paint

 

[fatherpain]

Here’s my attempt Frankensteining the center plastic back together with JB Weld from Home Depot. Worked great, feels super strong. Good thing is it shouldn’t be visible once the grill is installed.

Recut it higher, but haven’t had a chance to test fit the grill to see if having this stub provides any benefit, needs to be trimmed or cut back to how it was originally done.

 

[hikaru]

Here’s my attempt Frankensteining the center plastic back together with JB Weld from Home Depot. Worked great, feels super strong. Good thing is it shouldn’t be visible once the grill is installed.

Recut it higher, but haven’t had a chance to test fit the grill to see if having this stub provides any benefit, needs to be trimmed or cut back to how it was originally done.

I'm not sure if the weld will held up good over time, but I'd have put a L shape metal brace secured with self taping screws as safety measure if I were you.

 

[metal_driver]

/\ Might want to insert the new J's grill in place first to make sure that it is not deeper than the OEM one and that this piece won't be in the way if the J's grill is in fact deeper on the bottom...

 

[maaaaackle]

you guys are really providing some valuable info!

will this grille work with the fk7 bumpers?

 

[hikaru]

you guys are really providing some valuable info!

will this grille work with the fk7 bumpers?

It sure does. The grill is the same for all 10 generation 16-18 civic be it sedan, coupe or hatchback.

The 19 and 20 are another story, Honda has updated the bumper cover, even the hatchback, with new part number so I assume larger bumper tabs to lock in better like the 19 refresh on regular civic.

 

[fatherpain]

Turns out, the lower plastic base I glued back on served no purpose at all, so whacked it back off ?

It was just getting in the way.

 

[fatherpain]

Whelp, after a couple weeks of rain and procrastinating and confusion over the J’s Racing subpar installation instructions... decided to pull a Nike and just do it.

Huge thank you to metal_driver for his informative posts... that, combined with the J’s instructions and some tinkering around, got it done

Brought the bumper and grill inside to get a good look at it and have room to work.

As metal_driver stated, this thin adhesive foam is placed inside the upper groove...
Measure and cut it into lengths to fit between the slots that are open.

Like this. Foam cut and inserted into the upper groove with slots exposed.

If using the optional center emblem holder, cut the foam that comes with the kit in half.

and stick on the top and bottom of the emblem holder like this.

The emblem holder then attaches to the center metal bracket. Turns out this bracket is not visible If the holder is attached.