TheShadow
Senior Member
- First Name
- Ben
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2018
- Threads
- 20
- Messages
- 238
- Reaction score
- 343
- Location
- Iowa
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 FK8 Type R #00561, 2012 Civic Si, 2000 Civic CX Hatchback
- Thread starter
- #31
Two years in. Man it feels like forever ago that I picked my R up. I actually just got my two year anniversary card from the lovely greeting card division at Honda about a week ago. There was no complimentary screen cleaning cloth included this year. Shame. But to think, two years of enjoyment driving and learning about this car, both in how it handles, how it comes apart (and how it can make my wife squeal like a piggy when I manage to scare her.) Seeing how it comes apart is why we are all here though - what can be adjusted and what can be made better. I'm ready to dive in with some long awaited updates. So grab your tools - we're going to need a file for this one.
It really has been awhile since I last updated this page, but I will make up for it in a picture heavy post that makes your phone lag when trying to open it. That is because I haven't exactly been forgetting about the car, it just kept turning into a situation of "oh, I will update the thread later, once I have this next part on. No one wants a half-assed update." So we got a big one. Full of plot holes and spelling errors.
First up was a set of Radium Engineering dual catch cans. Now let’s get a disclaimer out of the way first – I’m not here to say catch can’s are a miracle cure and contain angel tears, or that they are the bees knees, or anything of the sort. I do think they do something though, even if that something would not normally effect the normal usage of the vehicles in its expected life. I do however want to do anything preventative maintenance wise that could help. So I already had a Mishimoto PCV side before, and everyone said that was likely the main culprit area. And it was – I haven’t caught a ton of blow by but there has definitely been a few ounces over several thousand miles. But – when I went to install my PRL intercooler and piping over the winter I actually found oil in the factory pipes. It was only a few dribbles but enough to make me want to add the CCV catch can. I won’t go into too much detail here as I actually whipped up an instillation video for Radium that details the process (probably too detailed honestly.) The video is linked below if you are interested. The PCV side mounting scheme and bracket were very similar to the Mishimoto method, and the CCV side had a similar idea but involved more hose re-routing as it mounted to the passenger side engine mount. The Radium cans look cool, feel slightly nicer than the Mishimoto ones, and even come with a dipstick to check the level. Neat. The lessons learned during this go around were:
The look of this set is nice and matches the rest of my engine bay well, especially since I have Radium’s coolant expansion tank. I’m not incredibly happy with the hose routings that result from the CCV can mounting location though – that will take some time to figure out how I want to clean it up. Since the photo was taken I did add a few zip tie based swivels that are at least stopping the hoses from rubbing. More to come later on this.
The next update involves a super-sized bundle of Titan7 boxes at my doorstep. Man it was like they built a cardboard castle outside my house. I didn’t have much involved in this install, basically went to Discount Tire, got a set of Michelin PS4s (265/35/18) and mounted them up. I have the Kics Iconix lug nuts holding them on. I will say the lug nuts felt a little stiff going on, don’t know if that is my wheel studs or the lugs, but no impacts were used in an effort to prevent damage. They did eventually go on and seemed to break in a little so that is a plus. Make sure to up the torque spec to 103 ft*lbf too. The setup is sexy though – I am super happy with this. Just be sure to take care when installing your center caps. Yes, I was using a hammer against a block of wood, and yes, I still missed.
Despite my blunder I still want to end this section on a good note with a picture titled “The hell is this?!”
Anyway. Things were quiet for several weeks while I waited for the next biggest thing since sliced bread: the HKS oil cooler. I want to start by saying this is more than a performance part, it’s a work of art. Very well made, all pieces were high quality and it was just an impressive and all encompassing kit. Seriously, HKS provides you with everything you will need. Technically. Just don’t lose any of the itty bitty screws or washers, because there are no extras. And I guess they didn’t include any metal wire to secure the heat wrap for the remote oil lines. Outside of that this kit was awesome. And it was kind of nice being able to build the radiator and duct work on a bench like an old school erector set.
Make sure you have some time set aside for this install. Getting to the above point wasn’t bad and could likely be done in an hour if you rushed through. The vehicle side requires some prep work though – get ready to pull the bumper and the whole under engine body panel. You will also probably need to take a few extra pop clips from wheel well liner on the drivers side to be able to flex it and get more room when installing the cooler. You will want to take your time and make sure you modify the factory parts correctly, mainly when installing the mesh screen on the wheel well lining and modifying the brake duct bracket. And this little bastard – he takes forever.
I used a combination of a Dremel, small files, and a blowtorch to get these holes out. It isn’t perfect, but no one will notice or care except me. I know I could have used a box cutter instead, but I’m not convinced my results would have ended up much better. I think the wheel well liner turned out ok though.
Once you actually get to putting in the cooler it is a little finnicky. You kind of want to have the brackets a little loose to get everything lined up and then torque everything down. At least it should be that easy. Apparently my car has an ever so tiny factory defect of missing a welded nut inside the frame rail. Where HKS wanted me to put a bolt I had a hole, but no threads. I ended up actually taking a tap set and threading that hole, hollowed out the metal bushing and used a larger bolt. It looks odd having the larger bolt, but you also never see it so oh well.it works. Took a lot of extra time though. And then, there was this stupid bar in the way. Again.
I’m actually surprised that the hoses were able to assemble onto the new oil filter plate because of the monocoque bar. It is tight, but everything went together. And again, it looks wicked good.
And as an added bonus having the bumper off allowed me to tackle another problem! Not only was I missing the threaded location above, but apparently my crash beam was assembled to the car just low enough that the tow hook bracket I got from Evasive would not assemble. I tried doing it through the vent in the bumper first, but when it wouldn’t fit at that point I had to wait till the bumper came off. I was able to loosen all the bolts securing the crash beam (which involves loosening the headlights and moving them out of the way) and got the beam shifted up and re-secured. I also knew it wasn’t going to play nice with my Hella horns, which were already a tight fit, but I was actually able to get them oriented in such a way that everything fit nicely. I did have to notch one bracket in a very small way to mount the horns like I have them. I don’t fully love how the forward horn mounts, but it will work. And I can keep an eye on it for awhile or come up with something better. Pretty low on my worry about list.
And I think that’s about it this time… I feel out of breath. I guess I also did throw my Girodisc titanium front brake shims in as well. Why didn’t I put them in when I did the brake job earlier? Because they didn’t come in the mail at the right time. No pictures for this, it was pretty unexciting and simple to do. Brakes still work good and that’s the main thing!
I also still have my Karcepts rear sway bar to install, but with the headache in my oil cooler install I didn’t get around to it. There is always another day. Even so I think I am good to go to my local track next month as I sit and I am getting excited. In the meantime, there will just be more time for things like the focus of this piece, titled “Dancing and re-flashing.”
Link to the catch can install video:
It really has been awhile since I last updated this page, but I will make up for it in a picture heavy post that makes your phone lag when trying to open it. That is because I haven't exactly been forgetting about the car, it just kept turning into a situation of "oh, I will update the thread later, once I have this next part on. No one wants a half-assed update." So we got a big one. Full of plot holes and spelling errors.
First up was a set of Radium Engineering dual catch cans. Now let’s get a disclaimer out of the way first – I’m not here to say catch can’s are a miracle cure and contain angel tears, or that they are the bees knees, or anything of the sort. I do think they do something though, even if that something would not normally effect the normal usage of the vehicles in its expected life. I do however want to do anything preventative maintenance wise that could help. So I already had a Mishimoto PCV side before, and everyone said that was likely the main culprit area. And it was – I haven’t caught a ton of blow by but there has definitely been a few ounces over several thousand miles. But – when I went to install my PRL intercooler and piping over the winter I actually found oil in the factory pipes. It was only a few dribbles but enough to make me want to add the CCV catch can. I won’t go into too much detail here as I actually whipped up an instillation video for Radium that details the process (probably too detailed honestly.) The video is linked below if you are interested. The PCV side mounting scheme and bracket were very similar to the Mishimoto method, and the CCV side had a similar idea but involved more hose re-routing as it mounted to the passenger side engine mount. The Radium cans look cool, feel slightly nicer than the Mishimoto ones, and even come with a dipstick to check the level. Neat. The lessons learned during this go around were:
- You are going to struggle getting the barb fittings into the hoses that Radium provides (great seal, great big pain in the ass to assemble.) Get a vise to hold the fitting.
- Measure twice, cut once. Don’t mess up because
- When you pull the coolant hose off, coolant just keeps on coming out. Be ready.
The look of this set is nice and matches the rest of my engine bay well, especially since I have Radium’s coolant expansion tank. I’m not incredibly happy with the hose routings that result from the CCV can mounting location though – that will take some time to figure out how I want to clean it up. Since the photo was taken I did add a few zip tie based swivels that are at least stopping the hoses from rubbing. More to come later on this.
The next update involves a super-sized bundle of Titan7 boxes at my doorstep. Man it was like they built a cardboard castle outside my house. I didn’t have much involved in this install, basically went to Discount Tire, got a set of Michelin PS4s (265/35/18) and mounted them up. I have the Kics Iconix lug nuts holding them on. I will say the lug nuts felt a little stiff going on, don’t know if that is my wheel studs or the lugs, but no impacts were used in an effort to prevent damage. They did eventually go on and seemed to break in a little so that is a plus. Make sure to up the torque spec to 103 ft*lbf too. The setup is sexy though – I am super happy with this. Just be sure to take care when installing your center caps. Yes, I was using a hammer against a block of wood, and yes, I still missed.
Despite my blunder I still want to end this section on a good note with a picture titled “The hell is this?!”
Anyway. Things were quiet for several weeks while I waited for the next biggest thing since sliced bread: the HKS oil cooler. I want to start by saying this is more than a performance part, it’s a work of art. Very well made, all pieces were high quality and it was just an impressive and all encompassing kit. Seriously, HKS provides you with everything you will need. Technically. Just don’t lose any of the itty bitty screws or washers, because there are no extras. And I guess they didn’t include any metal wire to secure the heat wrap for the remote oil lines. Outside of that this kit was awesome. And it was kind of nice being able to build the radiator and duct work on a bench like an old school erector set.
Make sure you have some time set aside for this install. Getting to the above point wasn’t bad and could likely be done in an hour if you rushed through. The vehicle side requires some prep work though – get ready to pull the bumper and the whole under engine body panel. You will also probably need to take a few extra pop clips from wheel well liner on the drivers side to be able to flex it and get more room when installing the cooler. You will want to take your time and make sure you modify the factory parts correctly, mainly when installing the mesh screen on the wheel well lining and modifying the brake duct bracket. And this little bastard – he takes forever.
I used a combination of a Dremel, small files, and a blowtorch to get these holes out. It isn’t perfect, but no one will notice or care except me. I know I could have used a box cutter instead, but I’m not convinced my results would have ended up much better. I think the wheel well liner turned out ok though.
Once you actually get to putting in the cooler it is a little finnicky. You kind of want to have the brackets a little loose to get everything lined up and then torque everything down. At least it should be that easy. Apparently my car has an ever so tiny factory defect of missing a welded nut inside the frame rail. Where HKS wanted me to put a bolt I had a hole, but no threads. I ended up actually taking a tap set and threading that hole, hollowed out the metal bushing and used a larger bolt. It looks odd having the larger bolt, but you also never see it so oh well.it works. Took a lot of extra time though. And then, there was this stupid bar in the way. Again.
I’m actually surprised that the hoses were able to assemble onto the new oil filter plate because of the monocoque bar. It is tight, but everything went together. And again, it looks wicked good.
And as an added bonus having the bumper off allowed me to tackle another problem! Not only was I missing the threaded location above, but apparently my crash beam was assembled to the car just low enough that the tow hook bracket I got from Evasive would not assemble. I tried doing it through the vent in the bumper first, but when it wouldn’t fit at that point I had to wait till the bumper came off. I was able to loosen all the bolts securing the crash beam (which involves loosening the headlights and moving them out of the way) and got the beam shifted up and re-secured. I also knew it wasn’t going to play nice with my Hella horns, which were already a tight fit, but I was actually able to get them oriented in such a way that everything fit nicely. I did have to notch one bracket in a very small way to mount the horns like I have them. I don’t fully love how the forward horn mounts, but it will work. And I can keep an eye on it for awhile or come up with something better. Pretty low on my worry about list.
And I think that’s about it this time… I feel out of breath. I guess I also did throw my Girodisc titanium front brake shims in as well. Why didn’t I put them in when I did the brake job earlier? Because they didn’t come in the mail at the right time. No pictures for this, it was pretty unexciting and simple to do. Brakes still work good and that’s the main thing!
I also still have my Karcepts rear sway bar to install, but with the headache in my oil cooler install I didn’t get around to it. There is always another day. Even so I think I am good to go to my local track next month as I sit and I am getting excited. In the meantime, there will just be more time for things like the focus of this piece, titled “Dancing and re-flashing.”
Link to the catch can install video:
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