/me wishing to have A052 on sub-150hp hatchback 
Once you’ve found the limit of adhesion there can never be too much tyres for the job… Then again as this is also your daily I understand there’s also a need for balance between performance and streetability.
oh yeah it’s becoming less a daily now, because due to petrol prices and my wife having a job that allows her to work from home, I mostly use the Prius 
Literally halves our fuel bill.
Which means I have greater latitude on my upgrades, so long as it’s still safe on a highway for our longer road trips…
I’ve rotated the tyres, had a nail in one but fortunately easy fix.
The brakes, well hm. Turns out that when they start smoking you’ve well and truly cooked them
The fixes:
Until then the blueberry’s relegated to very light driving duties and the garage until I get my shit together! After that, next time I track it, the lesson is, include cooldown laps!!!
Do they use DOT 3 in them from the factory (or whatever equivalent exists in Australia)? If you’re doing full on track use, perhaps 5.1 would be more your speed (make sure it’s 5.1 and not 5. DOT 5 is Sillicon based vs the Glycol base for 3,4 and 5.1). I’ve only worked on maybe 3 Type Rs at the dealership in the 2 years I’ve been there, and none of those included brake work. Plus we keep DOT 4 brake fluid in large quantities for our brake flushes, so at least a slight temp upgrade compared to 3.
Usually proper high performance DOT4 has higher boiling point than DOT5.1. Something like Motul RBF600 which despite being DOT4 actually has about 30c higher boiling point compared to Motul DOT5.1. I concur though, good brake fluid is vital for track use.
I wholeheartedly recommend Motul RBF600 (or if you’re absolutely crazy, RBF660 or RBF700). Great pedal feel (viscosity is just right for my taste, YMMV) and excellent heat tolerance.
Yes the OEM fluid for my Civic is DOT 3, which is why all the shops heartily recommended I switch it out before tracking, or suffer the fate of several owners I’ve seen who burnt their brakes. I can’t emphasise enough how much everybody was surprised that I managed to cook even this setup, but after some analysis it comes down to the track layout being deceptively heavy on the braking but not allowing all that much higher speed ventilation despite my car having brake ducts, and also the vanes on my vented discs being straight instead of curved, presumably due to cost effectiveness. Once they’re done I’ll be thinking about upgrading them further.
What I’ve learnt is that aside from DOT compatibility, it comes down to your individual needs. I was already using Endless RF650 which is very similar to RBF660 but allegedly had better moisture resistance, though I’ve clearly boiled my fluid before even 6 months… I suspect part of the reason for that is that we’ve had an unusually wet period lately due to La Niña weather cycle but that’s over now.
Regardless after asking around I’ve decided I’ll go with Castrol SRF. Much greater wet temp consistency so I don’t have to worry about it so much.
As for the pads, it’s back to more MX-72s, as I’ve found a brand new set for a really good price and I also happen to have a spare front pair which I might just sell… and then there’s the brake lines, which I’m contemplating just going mid-tier with like Goodridge, but I happen to have contacts with another store and if they can get me a really good deal on some Spoon/Seeker lines I’d be tempted…
more like 2 months these days lol.
Thanks to a strong AUD at the time, EOFY sales, and an inside contact, I got some pretty big discounts on all of these. As for the rotors, my guy went to machine them and found that actually most of the outside had turned into cementite i.e. I’d definitely cooked them above 650C 
So he had to go for the really abraisive grinding first and now my discs look like brake gore.
As for the state of the used pads, on the steak scale it was somewhere between “well done” and “thoroughly burnt”. Given they were still quite new, this hurts to look at:
The discs ain’t pretty, but it works. Maybe it’s the disc being altered, but my first impression is that the pedal feel was slightly more progressive with the Endless RF650 fluid in. But Castrol SRF Racing is more hydrophobic and with unpredictably moist weather like we get around here, I think I’m going to need that super high wet boiling point as that’s probably what did my fluid in last time.
I’ve probably lost a good 25000km of rotor life from this but that’s ok. I’m already thinking I need something slightly “better”. But the calipers and pads are fine so I don’t really want to change diameter (not that I have much room to move), which means that given how close to the limit I am I can’t really afford to lose any heat dissipation by using a carbon-ceramic type so it’s best to stick with the iron brakes, meaning I should look mostly into which has the best ventilation design. Either way, I did a bit of a test run and they’re bedding in ok and still plenty capable of stopping just as sharp as ever. The other thing I should work on is my technique of knowing exactly how much pedal I need to max out braking without triggering ABS coz that ain’t great for track driving… as I mentioned before it was really well balanced stock, then I increased the tyre and the brakes became too weak, and now the friction has increased and the brakes are now a bit too strong…
Anyway. I only had time to get this sorted coz I fell ill and had to take a few days off work. Now that I’m recovering, what I really should be doing is getting FM4 back on track…
Might as well update this while I’m waiting for hardware to arrive so I can continue the FM4 write-up…
So with my upgraded (again) brake setup I went back to the track and within the first session my discs were warped and by the third my (new) pads were toast. To make matters worse, the heat was so intense that my wheel stickers bubbled. It was not pretty.
Also my AD08Rs have now developed this unpleasant vibration when I throw the car rightward with more than 0.8g at speeds of 70km/h or higher. This may have something to do with
So in short I can still drive civilly on the tyres, but I definitely can’t send it. No matter, I now have a 2 month old baby who hates sleeping in the evenings and I’m definitely not tracking for a while yet!
WIth that decided I got distracted and found some… uh…
…RGB tail lights from VLAND I couldn’t resist. The install was a total pain in the ass though, because the instruction manual sucked and some of the parts required, uh, modification to actually fit as intended.
Install process follows:
Disconnect the battery negative terminal before doing work on any electrics
Mask the edges, because the sharp edges of the light housing will scratch the paint while prying it out (ask me how I know)
Remove the light to reveal the wiring harness
Unplug the bulbs and free up the harness, stash the OEM light assembly
This particular model features a sequential indicator light that includes the middle piece on the tail gate, which incidentally is about ten times as much work to remove. So now we have to remove the trim from the hatch.
Unplug the hatch light
Then remove the light housing
And whack the new one in
Hook up the new lights. I found it pertinent to test the connections and good thing I did because some of them were janky. At this stage they will not be synchronised and need a wire running between them to do this. So that’s what we have to hook up next
On each side run the wire from the main taillight housing to the indicator piece on the hatch. This will synchronise the sequential tail light. Then run the wire between each side, which will synchronise the two sides together
Use the weather strip to guide the wire then for extra security and waterproofing I ran tape over the lot
At the middle the wires inevitably have to cross over between the tailgate and the hatch.
Reapply the trim. At this point I decided to test the waterproofing by washing the car and found that yes, indeed the wires crossing the hatch compromised the waterproofing so I took the additional step of adding some foam to that area so that the weather seal would conform better. I really don’t want getting water in the light housing, who knows where it’ll end up.
When the lights aren’t on: they intentionally look very much like the MUGEN style tail lights. Which are twice the price. And don’t have RGB.
The program which runs these lights is crap. There’s already a small dead spot on one of my strips. But it does the two or three things that I want it to do and that’s good enough so catch me blasting 
at the meets haha. Next time I’ll get some RGB headlights too, and rainbow road underglow, and rainbow LED interior lighting too bahahahahahaha
Best part is that where I live this is all legal as long as I’m not operating it on public roads and distracting other drivers.
So with that aside, back to the sorry state of my track setup and realising that it is…
Now that I’m more or less accustomed to how the car does on track at the moment, I know that some significant further performance gains to bump it up a level are actually in quite easy, practical reach and all without much compromise to reliability at that. That’s just how sandbagged the motor is. However most Australians don’t seem to have gone the serious route with only a small handful of FK8Rs getting what I consider the comprehensive full bolt on circuit mode treatment. As such there’s only one local tuner I know of that can cater to what I’m after, which I happen to know because they built this:
which was running somewhere around 450whp and is a proven track comp winner.
Making big power from the K20C1 is actually very easy. You just need more air going in, enough fuel to mix, and a bigger turbo. The block doesn’t need anything changed about it until you’re pushing past 550whp which is already insane for a FWD car. The main challenge with the FK8 is heat soaking because the ventilation isn’t superb and due to the layout the inlet and airbox is a bit too close to the turbo pipes, plus the tubing is a bit kinked and angular. I tracked in the winter and am running a very mild tune, so all my temps were acceptable and the car was pulling strongly with the full 23psi boost all day no problem. Oil pressure remained adequate throughout also. However more power means more boost means more hot air means more heat getting into places I don’t want it. Usually this means with more powerful builds if the cooling setup is not right or the ambient is too hot, you have to run some pretty short sessions before the car cuts boost and limps back to the pit. Not so good.
To address the power and the heat management, I’ve got the following on order:
PRL P700 drop in turbo (womp womp)
PRL High Volume Intake
PRL titanium turbo inlet pipe kit
plus maybe I should think about upgrading the MAF and its housing (TBA, I asked the people at PRL for advice)
PRL Wi-Fi flex fuel kit (for running up to E85)
HONDATA Flex Fuel system upgrade
HKS Intercooler
HKS oil cooler kit (probably the most important cooling device for track enthusiasts)
Koyo Race Radiator (radiators are a controversial topic in the FK8 modding world but this one seems like a good balance between matching the OEM dimensions while slightly improving heat absorption capability)
Varis Arising-I CF hood (ten kilo weight saving and vastly improved top venting and a $1100 discount!)
plus a few other QOL and maintenance bits and pieces like magnetic drain bolt, heat tape, and maybe some heat blankets once I figure out where they go (e.g. NOT the catted downpipe lmao)
The next challenge is getting the power down. With this much power the engine is definitely going to flex even harder than it already does on the frame, and the slightly finnicky gates in the gearbox are probably going to be trickier without a more solid feeling shifter. A lot of the Americans go full send and get an Acuity fully adjustable short shifter kit but some feel this is overkill and just makes the shifting action too difficult. I’ve elected to take a mix of the American and the JDM approach:
Seeker Heavy Shift Knob, collar, and shifter collars for that really authoritative action and heft
Seeker “Super Shift” short shifter
Spoon Clutch Slave Hose
I don’t yet need a new clutch but once the full potential of the P700 + E85 comes out (can make over 600Nm) then yeah that’s gonna BBQ the stock clutch so will think about replacing with an Exedy organic or something. I will also think about the flywheel at this point. This said at 600Nm that’s also when I have to think about conrods (maybe 4pistons?) and a fuel rail.
Honda Performance Development branded Hasport u62a Motor Mounts: really they’re the same as regular Hasports except specially branded (which really just goes to show how good the Hasports are), but HPD parts are only directly available to registered US Honda racers… good thing I know one who gets parts for a nice discount at that 
And since I broke them, I now need my brakes up to a circuit spec without completely sacrificing the ability to street. My friendship with DBA has ended, they’re simply too soft and prone to warping on heavy track use and it’s quite clear that I drive a lot harder than my buddies who use them regularly. I also need a pad that’s slightly better at handling heat. And I’d like to keep the brake heat from other components so I should probably upgrade the brake heat shielding too.
Seeker brake shim heat shields
Endless ME20 circuit spec pads: these are a step up from the street/track MX-72 with a slightly higher temp operating window. They’re best used for short sprints and time attack kinda circuit which is what I’m after.
And the big guns: Girodisc 2 piece slotted rotors. 5 times the price of the DBAs, but theoretically will last 20 times as long, the math is a no-brainer
Finally, I don’t quite want to replace my tyres just yet though if I start tracking/eventing again next year then I will need to. But just to test putting the new power down, I reckon the AD08Rs have a bit of life left in them. However, when it does come time to change, I’m thinking the next tyres to try will be a step up to the super semi-slicks:
Bridgestone Potenza RE71RS
Great at cold starts, fades a bit at max temp. Almost as fast as the A052 in terms of raw pace with less softness/vagueness and rolling over. I’m not ready for A052 yet because they require lots of camber (-4 deg on the Civic) otherwise the shoulder just gets destroyed by corners. But these should have appreciably more dry grip than the AD08Rs and that’s what I really want.
Parts are going to take anywhere from several weeks to several months (for the hood) to arrive. I won’t be finished with installing these parts until probably September. Needless to say, I am not adding up the total budget of this stage of upgrades because I’m quite certain it is eye watering All I can say is that my professional association costs are so exorbitant that when I got my tax return back with all the deductions it had an extra 0 at the end of it and that’s what’s funding this splurge 
But it’s all for the dream and by that I mean, by the time I’m done with this stage I should be ready to not just chase the Cayman GT4s, but destroy them.
TBH I don’t really understand half of what you’re doing with this car, but it’s cool and always amazing to read about anyway 
But those RGB leds are absolutely horrible 
tl;dr: I’m preparing it to survive short bursts of maximum attack on the track without completely negating its ability to run on the street. Stock, you can drive it at like 90% for a few minutes at a time. Cheeky street driving is a lot like this. Take it to the track and push it 100% and stuff starts breaking. Increase the power and improve the performance envelope? Need to make sure that the new package can withstand the beating. I’m doing everything: increasing power, increasing stopping, increasing grip, increasing rigidity so there’s less losses in energy transfer. This means more heat and more mechanical stress. And that’s why the aftermarket is so vibrant for some models: the manufacturer makes a stock model based on what they can mass produce for most customers. But they know some of us want to push the potential and they leave room for that.
I will drink your tears
Yeah, I get the idea, just sometimes I don’t understand why a single mod is important or what exactly changes. I guess it’s a bit like watching a wildlife documentary for me, no need to get everything to just enjoy
If you’re interested I can go through the sequential explanation of everything (i.e. infodump). I’ve done years worth of homework to the point my tuners and suppliers just say “yeah you clearly know what the issues are, I don’t need to tell you much” and it would be a shame for me to not share the knowledge so screw it I’m gonna do it anyway
Apologies in advance for the duplication. This is a fairly comprehensive summary of my modification journey to date.
The FK8 Type R was Honda’s first manifestation of their intent for a return to form. In previous generations, the company was consolidating and largely led by an accounting management which led to a series of competently packaged but relatively lackluster models. To put it simply one of the most telling signs of a move away from driver-oriented dynamics was the prevalent use of simple Macpherson strut + torsion beam. My previous car, the FK2 hatch, was an example of this, but imagine my surprise when Honda announced that it was significantly reworking the underpinnings of the car in order to make an FK2 Type R, and turbo at that. First, surprise that they were upholding their commitment to continuing the Type R line. Second, that it was turbo, after a decade of prolonged insistence that the Type R Civic was to remain FWD and naturally aspirated. Why? Because sending a boosted 200+hp to the front wheels on Macpherson struts is a dynamic nightmare, as evidenced by the rather scary torque steer of the Mazda3 MPS. And cars were getting heavier and harder to package and Honda doesn’t like that and that’s why Honda enthusiasts liked Honda.
So the FK2 Type R featured the first application of the dual axis Macpherson strut and adaptive dampers to great effect. But the underlying architecture of the chassis was relatively unfavourable for best handling, and so the compromises made for an awkward and often harsh ride. Thus, from the FK8 onward, Honda started to put the engineers back at the forefront, giving them space to realise their vision and the bean counters could work it out afterward. Thus they repackaged all the fundamental features they added before into something more cohesive, resulting in a more engaging and natural sporting driving experience with greater execution of their intent. Of course, the FK8 itself has many issues, and these were addressed with the next generation, the FL5, which will be the final Type R to have a pure ICE.
But as it stands, the FK8 Type R and the FL5 after it swept the motoring critic world, winning several “Best of” accolades and finding itself frequently compared evenly with such marques as Porsche. Why? Because when Honda puts its mind to it, Honda is extremely good at doing what it intends to. The FK8 may not look it, but it was intended to be the most engaging sportiest drive you can have in a practical “accessibly priced” (debatable) FWD hatch which can be driven completely normally on the street. And stock, yes, you can drive it completely normally and it will feel like a completely normal car except perhaps for the ridiculous 30 profile tyres and the distinctive manual shifter and the fact that everybody will be staring at you. It’s no secret among motoring enthusiasts that the world of modern cars is a very complicated balance, because stupid power is commonplace, cars are now big and heavy and packed with safety features, the market expects everything to do a bit of everything and worst of all everything is so damn expensive now etc. and Honda said with the Civic ok we’ll do everything it has to do but the driving is always number one. The infotainment and speakers suck. Nobody cares. It’s borderline unaffordable to younger people. That’s unfortunately inevitable in this hellscape economy.
The other thing Honda and the aftermarket world understand is that a mass production company, even small volume like Honda, will make a car to cater to the appropriately broad base to sell. In this sense, Honda tuned it such that this Civic could run on basic 91RON, tolerate all kinds of climate conditions, even drive in the snow etc. and even manage a few laps on a track as is and still drive home afterward. But the beauty is revealed by the range of what you can do to tweak the experience to your liking. The versatility has been enhanced by the plug-and-play notion of “bolt-ons” i.e. literally just take off the OEM part, slot in the aftermarket part, and tune if required. This is not like the extreme fabrication shenanigans required to turbo your rotary 13B RX7 etc. I mean, if you go past a certain point then yes you start getting into having to build up the engine but the K20C1 block is heavily overengineered and the parts will tolerate a lot before you need to fiddle with it.
But even if plug and play, something as honed and balanced as the Civic Type R will change significantly with every performance part and so when the balance changes, often times other mods will be required to support it. Careful consideration needs to be paid therefore to one’s goals and agenda to be sure that one is not compromising their own vision with the wrong choice. I’ve known a few who took a couple of wrong turns in the mod life and ended up feeling like they ruined the car and were unable to revert to stock so sold their FK8. They also end up invariably regretting it.
WIth that here is an organised list of the mods so far, and the narrative of the modification pathway and the specific rationale for each mod:
With a sensible approach the tuner got me from 308hp and 395Nm to around 345hp and 495Nm
Part: K&N drop-in filter
Replaces: OEM air filter
Purpose: slightly less restricted intake airflow for slightly more power and engine efficiency
Side-effects: louder and more whooshy induction noises
Part: Invidia Q300 catback + high flow downpipe
Replaces: OEM exhaust from the turbo onwards
Purpose: Increase the diameter to 3" to reduce backpressure for when more airflow goes through the exhaust after other power upgrades (but specifically chose this model because it is the least obnoxious and quietest as I was still daily driving the car)
Side-effects: Louder and more bassy exhaust noise
Part: Hondata ECU jailbreak, stage 1 tune
Replaces: nothing, this is done via software
Purpose: enable modification of ECU power targets, air/fuel mixing, boost etc. Most modern engines are predominantly controlled via computerised ECU so even a tune with no other changes can yield significant gains
Side-effects: might void warranty if it stuffs the ECU/engine as a direct result
On 98RON this will probably net me up to 420hp and 550Nm, with E50 and up possibly closer to 500hp and 600Nm but before we really send it to those levels I’m going to need even more supporting mods or I’ll break stuff
Part: PRL High Volume Intake system
Replaces: stock intake piping, K&N drop in filter
Purpose: more power needs more air + fuel, this is the entry point for the air so it needs to have more flow
Side-effects: louder induction noises
Part: PRL titanium turbo inlet pipe
Replaces: OEM turbo inlet pipe
Purpose: any part of the piping that is narrower than the rest will bottleneck airflow
Side-effects: louder induction noises
Part: PRL P700 turbo
Replaces: OEM turbo (MHI TD04 single scroll single wastegate)
Purpose: specially designed and billet built to vastly increase flow at higher end without sacrificing spool, can run much more boost and supports up to 700hp. If I wanted to stick strictly to an OEM+ build I’d stick to the SPOON branded upgrade of the MHI, and if I wanted to build a quarter mile record car I’d probably get a Rampage G series instead but for everything else this is it
Side-effects: significantly more heat under heavy loads
Part: Hondata Fuel Upgrade Kit
Replaces: OEM injectors, low and high pressure fuel lines, low and high pressure injectors, ECU calibration software
Purpose: Can inject a net 24% increase volume of fuel into cylinder, protects against fuel starvation for power demands up to 550hp and 650Nm (on stock internals!?!?!?!?)
Side-effects: higher fuel usage, more engine heat generation, going to need beefier tyres again…
Part: PRL Plug 'n Play Wi-Fi Ethanol Content Analyser Flex Fuel Kit
Replaces: nothing, this is an add-on
Purpose: allows for remote device to display the analysed fuel ethanol content for easier tracking
Side-effects: nil
Part: HKS Intercooler
Replaces: OEM intercooler
Purpose: improves airflow and cooling of turbo air which will increase air charge which will enable more power for longer. Does NOT affect heat generated by engine and turbo
Side-effects: due to more power, engine and turbo will generate more heat
Not yet upgraded: even less restrictive catback exhaust, conrods, fuel rail
This is the big weakness of the FK8. Packaging was such that high heat components were placed next to the intake and other things that really don’t like heat. Heat soaking is a frequent issue for track racers and with more power means more heat.
Part: Koyo Racing Radiator + Hyper Radiator Cap
Replaces: OEM radiator
Purpose: improved absorption of heat to delay onset of coolant heat-sinking under hot driving conditions. Also the cap allows for higher pressures meaning a significantly higher coolant boiling point
Side-effects: once the car heat sinks it may take longer for the heat to dissipate in hot conditions
Part: HKS oil cooler kit
Replaces: nil, this is an add-on
Purpose: additional cooling for the oil itself which often runs hot >120C under track conditions. Overheating oil is bad, the oil will shear and the system loses pressure which leads to ineffective engine lubrication and damage
Side-effects: will divert airflow wherever this is installed. HKS version installs behind one of the front vents which shouldn’t but just might reduce brake duct flow. Better that than the radiator-mounted oil coolers (e.g. GReddy) that undermine its own purpose by causing higher coolant temps
Part: SPOON Heat barrier tape
Replaces: nothing, this is an add-on
Purpose: protects certain components that shouldn’t get hot, from excess heat
Side-effects: heat stays closer to the heat sources which may increase heat soak
Part: Varis Arising-1 CF Hood
Replaces: OEM hood
Purpose: The OEM hood weighs in around 17kg and the hood vent on it was an “oh shit what if the engine overheats” afterthought that accidentally had the effect of also increasing front downforce. The Varis CF hood weighs around 7kg and has been specifically designed to maximise heat escape especially from the turbo backwards.
Side-effects: Needs to use a quick clip cover in heavy rain and when washing otherwise water can get into the engine cover, short/rust the spark plugs and cause cyl-4 misfire
Part: SPOON magnetic drain bolt, engine
Replaces: OEM drain bolt, engine
Purpose: magnetic means attracting all the tiny little wear and tear metal shavings from the engine before they foul up the oil. Yes, oil needs to be changed but can’t hurt to be more effective at getting rid of debris.
Side-effects: nil
Part: SEEKER Reservoir tank cover set
Replaces: nothing, this is an add-on
Purpose: flame retardant material to protect against hot spills
Side-effects: nil
More power also means more mechanical strain and more movement in places along the drivetrain that shouldn’t move. This requires reinforcement and consideration of adjusting the shifter action
Part: HPD Hasport Motor Mounts u62a durometer
Replaces: OEM motor mounts
Purpose: Under acceleration, the transversely mounted engine will flex backwards. The rear motor mount is particularly important to reinforce to reduce this movement. The rearward flex is a large part of why the stock FK8 Type R will wheel-hop on a hard launch. The engine may also shift laterally under heavy turning. All of this will also shift the position of the transmission, making shifting under load less precise (I notice this particularly on 2-3 on turns under heavy throttle, the gates seem to move and I often miss the shift). Hasport make the most durable and precise mounts to really lock in that engine for motorsport applications to ensure maximum engine and chassis control. There are 4 firmness levels of the urethrane insert available, for applications ranging from street + circuit (u62a), dedicated road racing (u70a), occasional drag racing (u88a) and absolutely maximum rigidity drag racer (u94a). Other brands e.g. SPOON, Hardrace, tend to use hardened rubber for their mounts which I feel lacks the optimal control.
Side-effects: More vibrations will be transmitted through the gearbox and into the cabin under certain circumstances
Part: SPOON clutch slave hose
Replaces: OEM clutch slave hose
Purpose: Like the brake lines, the clutch slave hose may be prone to ballooning and degradation under heavy use with quick, frequent and often forceful gear shifts. This should preserve the integrity of the system and keep the clutch action feeling firm and predictable.
Side-effects: nil
Part: SEEKER Heavy shift knob + shifter boot collar
Replaces: OEM shift knob and boot collar
Purpose: The OEM shift knob in the refresh is a considered 220g in the traditional teardrop shape reminscent of the NSX and the S2000. However when using a short-shift kit with a much beefier output engine I would prefer the shift action be beefed up to match for better leverage. Plus this Type R shift action has always been sharp and powerful. Hence this Seeker shift knob is a hefty 400g and sits lower than usual.
Side-effects: not sure yet
Part: SEEKER Super Shifter (short shifter)
Replaces: nothing, this is an add-on
Purpose: extends the shift arm to shorten the action of the throw
Side-effects: Needs more force to shift, if there is too much play in the shift housing shifting accurately becomes more difficult
Part: SEEKER shift collars
Replaces: OEM rubber shift collars
Purpose: absorb vibrations and eliminate play in the gearbox under loads by replacing rubber with urethrane
Side-effects: may or may not alter the geometry of the action and the gates
Not yet upgraded: clutch, flywheel
The FK8 has an excellent base with a strong focus on precise steering and solid ride. But it’s still a budget mass produced car. Everything can always be improved for sport driving.
Part: SPOON rigid collar set
Replaces: nothing, it’s a supplemental soft metal insert that fills up the spaces of the bolts that attach the body to the subframe
Purpose: increased body rigidity, eliminates body shifting against subframe for more immediate steering, tighter handling
Side-effects: nil
Part: SPOON rigid plate front lower subframe
Replaces: OEM front lower subframe brace
Purpose: increased rigidity of the brace means less torsional movement in the underbody for tighter handling
Side-effects: nil
Part: SPOON Motion control beam [FR /RE]
Replaces: nothing, these are an add-on
Purpose: like braces and sway bars, these are designed to reduce torsional flex across the body during cornering. However, a very rigid body will transmit all vibrations from the small bumps and actually unsettle the wheels, reducing wheel contact. The FL5 actually suffers from this problem, being 17% stiffer in the chassis but also having springs and dampers set to a much higher rate than the FK8. If you watch say the Nordschleife lap record video, or the in-depth reviews of the FL5 by SavageGeese you’ll see the body jacking around horribly under hard cornering. So what to do? SPOON figured that you could put some bracing on but what if you put dampers in the braces so it soaked up the little vibrations and reduced additional movement? They also identified that the areas of greatest remaining torsional flex after other measures taken were across the front and rear bumper body. So I guess think of this like a bit of a progressive spring for the body to supplement their other rigidisation measures for those who want a track car but still want to drive on street without losing their teeth.
Side-effects: Adds a tiny amount of weight to the front and rear.
Not yet upgraded: springs, coilovers, adjustable camber arms, zero bump steer kit, rear trunk brace, front strut brace (I personally think these would be useless on the FK8 as the strut towers are literally right in the corner of the bay and are therefore already reinforced so all you’re doing is adding weight and blocking the battery), weight reduction (lighter battery replacement, other carbon parts)
Also not yet upgraded: aerodynamics (splitter, diffuser, wing, ?wide body kit??? the latter is available but is a massive undertaking and I am still undecided whether I’ll eventually do it although I would love to)
No serious track goer will race on the road tyres fitted by manufacturer, and in this case, they won’t use the same wheels either.
Part: RAYS CE28 Club Racer ii wheels (18 x 9.5)
Replaces: OEM Honda wheels (20 x 8.5)
Purpose: The original wheels are heavy, tall and narrow. They were designed specifically to fit the geometry of the suspension to minimise torque steer and to give the steering a certain heft and balance. Every track enthusiast thinks they suck. I went for just about the lightest wheels available but forged by one of the industry best because high loads needs high strength that you can trust. 18 x 9.5 has a lot of good tyre options. I can’t go much wider than this currently without the wheels poking past the fender flares which would be illegal. Some argue that you don’t want to do this anyway because wider wheels means heavier and excessive scrub and vaguer turn-in. The controversy continues.
Side-effects: Might get a little more torque steer but honestly the difference was negligible. Much lighter steering thanks to weight reduction. More responsive throttle and less power losses.
Part: Advan NEOVA AD08R tyres, 265/35R18
Replaces: Continental ContiSport Contact 6, 245/30R20
Purpose: The Continental tyres have decent grip in the dry, fantastic grip in the wet, but they’re soft and suck on the track. AD08R is like the gateway semi-slick as it’s still quite good on the road but has extra dry grip when it warms up so it’s the ideal tyre for the casual track driver who still dailies the ride and only has one set of wheels
Side-effects: theoretically more NVH and worse fuel economy but honestly compared to the Contis, not really. Thanks to the 35 profile and stiffer sidewall, a genuinely nicer ride. The objectively higher grip levels mean the previously perfectly adequate OEM brakes start to feel soft and struggle to cope under heavy loads
Part: Bridgestone Potenza RE71RS tyres
Replaces: Yokohama Advan NEOVA AD08R tyres
Purpose: even higher dry grip for track use, the performance properties of this Super 200TW Semi-Slick more closely match my intended use: short session time attack driving with performance best when not hot
Side-effects: more NVH, limited tread life
The FK8 stops really well but if tracking enough it needs to stop better and also not fry the brakes
Part: Endless MX72 brake pads
Replaces: OEM brake pads
Purpose: as mentioned before with more grip, the stock brakes, with well balanced force and temp management, start to struggle. I need more bite force and a consistent, firmer feel. These semi-metallic pads are designed to run as an optimal street pad that take some track use, plus have the added benefit of having less brake dust and no squeal, if you care about those things. Operating window 0-750C.
Side-effects: nil
Part: DBA T3 4000 rotors
Replaces: OEM vented disc front (355mm), solid disc rear (305mm)
Purpose: Greater stopping force requires greater friction which will generate more heat. These slotted, vented 2 piece discs should help manage the heat (well, they did for most, but not the way I drive on track )
Side-effects: Heavier than stock rotors, my steering feel became a bit heavier again but lighter than with the stock wheels
Part: Endless RF650 brake fluid
Replaces: stock DOT 3 brake fluid
Purpose: More heat through the system increases a risk of boiling the fluid. When the fluid boils gas bubbles build up and the fluid becomes vastly more compressible which is bad, because then the brake pedal becomes soft and mushy. Most mass-produced vehicles use DOT 3 brake fluid as stock, which has a fairly low boiling point and this is often the beginning of some serious trouble for the unaware track goer. Depending on system compatibility, DOT 4, 4.1 or 5 is a must. A handful of them boast dry boiling temperatures of over 300C and are used across a range of motorsport codes at all levels.
Side-effects: it is claimed that higher fluid viscosity also increases the firmness of brake pedal feel, which is often a good thing for motorsport applications
Part: SEEKER heat shield- brake pad shim (fronts)
Replaces: OEM brake pad shields
Purpose: these have a ceramic coating so that heat from the pads doesn’t soak back into surrounding components like the dampers and struts
Side-effects: the pads may get hotter
Part: Endless ME20 brake pads
Replaces: Endless MX72 brake pads
Purpose: These are a bit firmer and more durable than the MX72s, and have a slightly higher operating temp window, and are designed to provide excellent bite and firmness for circuit sprints and light time attacks
Side-effects: More dust, may squeal in the cold and at lower speeds
Part: Girodisc 2 piece rotors
Replaces: DBA T3 4000 rotors
Purpose: I’ve since learnt that DBA, being a good quality but budget brand, had some fundamental fatal flaws for my purposes. One, they’re too soft and prone to warping under strenuous conditions. Two, their budget design isn’t the best for heat dissipation. However I do not have space for bigger rotors which is the best solution for heat. Iron is still the preferred material here as carbon doesn’t absorb heat as well and so total temps will be significantly higher for the same size disc. Also my OEM Brembo 4-pot calipers are extremely strong and there is no need to change them out for a big brake kit unless I get even wider tyres or the car gets turned into a professional circuit racer. So I’ve spared no expense and gone for the best you can get in current size and spec.
Side-effects: Really fkn expensive 
Part: SPOON braided brake lines
Replaces: OEM rubber brake lines
Purpose: When brake fluid heats up, there is a risk of the brake lines ballooning out which contributes to the brake pedal losing firmness under hard braking. This happened to me while I was trying to do an inside dive overtake at the end of the start/finish straight and I just went straight and pretty much shat myself because I thought I was gonna get T-boned. Braided lines have a mesh of steel in the hose wall to prevent said ballooning.
Side-effects: nil
Part: Castrol React SRF Racing brake fluid
Replaces: Endless RF650 brake fluid
Purpose: My Endless fluid boiled on track. I think it was mostly because we had some record level wet weather for a few months and so that humidity may have snuck into my fluid faster than I expected. RF650 brake fluid has a wet boiling point some 100C lower than its dry temp. So I thought I’d try a fluid that was made hydrophobic and had a very similar wet to dry boiling point.
Side-effects: nil
Not yet upgraded: bumper vent delete + brake duct upgrade, maybe I’ll try Motul RBF660 brake fluid after this because SPOON won’t use anything else and see what the difference is.
This car is almost entirely a performance-oriented build. But I can’t help myself sometimes.
Part: VLAND full RGB LED tail lights
Replaces: OEM tail light
Purpose: blasting s in the parking lot. Increases happiness of car meet attendees.
Side-effects: My boot weather seal is now a little leaky. If I forget to turn it off on the road I may get pulled over by the cops
Part: SEEKER Ultra light oil cap
Replaces: OEM oil cap
Purpose: not a whole lot, this is bling
Side-effects: now everybody knows I’m a true JDM LMAO
One day I’m going to add rainbow underglow and RGB headlights and RBG LED interior lighting and it’s gonna be hilarious. Especially if I have it blasting rainbow road while I’m sending it on the track and hopefully eating Porsches for breakfast.
Oooh, this is nice, thanks, I’ll have to read it later but will certainly come back to it 
Edit: Now I’ve read it all, excellent summary, pretty educational to me too, I wouldn’t have thought of some of those dependencies before
During my research in a free moment at work today I actually read a very in depth blog from another FK8 owner who has been focusing mainly on everything but the power which is honestly a good approach for the serious driver invested in improving themselves. He goes into a lot more technical detail and documents his stepwise journey scrupulously, plus the real world track testing.
Why this blog is so helpful to me, is that this fellow is far more experienced in general but has gone through the same thought process journey and considerations as I have, and I can strongly relate to many of the specific experiences and concerns that he raises. There is a lot of detailed insight that simply looking on a regular forum doesn’t give me but that I can identify with, so his feedback is something I’d consider significantly more trustworthy already.
The big takeaways I’ve got so far at this stage is:
For the tail lights, you pretty much have to take them out, take them apart, and add extra sealant yourself. Tons of guys here run those lights in their Civics and Accords, including a few of my coworkers. One of them, who has a set of aftermarket tails on his 10th gen Accord did that when he installed his. Had it for a couple years now and they’ve stood up to the very humid and rainy Maryland weather just fine.
And very solid writeup. I’m not gonna go nearly as in depth, but I’m gonna be doing some supporting mods on my GK5 Fit for autocross and canyon carving (it will still be a street car first and foremost, and I don’t want to add much power since I already have a lead right foot and have 0 trouble casually breaking even Maryland’s very lightly enforced speed limits as is with just the stock 130HP), and this was a good reminder for what I should focus on.
Plus I think part of the fun with small, light cars is the focus more on handling, and adding more than just a bit of power kills it IMO. Granted your FK8 is bigger and heavier than my GK5, so it’s not as big a deal.
GK5 fits are heavily underrated and are actually brilliant canyon carvers and autocrossers. I know a couple of people who actually race theirs and they’re much much faster even with minimal power upgrades than people expect. Plus the worst menaces on the Tail of the Dragon drive fits lol.
edit:
This is quite true. My above post was about me learning just exactly what the compromises were between living with a car and having it capable to properly handle certain amounts of power. Much more than 200hp in a Fit would render it quite unsuitable for the street, but that’s precisely why the FK8 is so remarkable: just how much power the chassis can handle and it’s still fine to drive normally on the street: there are people who routinely run 550hp, lowered on coils, multiple chassis rigidity mods, semi-slick tyres and still do the school run and groceries with it. That’s goals to me lol
Autocrossed mine stock a couple times. And it sees a lot of time on DC area back roads. One of the mods I want next is a rear sway bar and maybe some smaller 15" wheels. I’ll look into lighter flywheels when I eventually cook the stock clutch, and I’d buy a set of 2 piece brake rotors if they had them for GK5s.
I’m in this really weird position where I am unable to play Beam, because with any force feedback I can work with, the steering wheel rattles like crazy. That’s normally not an issue except as things stand the only free time I have is after 9:15pm, once the baby is asleep. My wife, formerly of the ability to remain asleep if a tank drove through the house, now wakes up at the drop of a feather, and similarly my mother-in-law has been exiled to the upstairs loft overnight because she’s too anxious and if she hears a feather dropping she’ll come barging in and ruin Wiggly’s sleeping patterns
As a result the rattly controller is in fact too much. However the garage is significantly more sound proof. So I find myself in the position where in the dead of night, I can wrench my car (within reason). But I can’t play Beam.
All this to explain to those of you waiting why I’ve been able to extensively update the Civic, but I haven’t been able to finally release the results of FM4 yet
It’s been 8 months since I fried my brakes for a second time, and since then stopping has been a very crunchy, unpleasant affair. Also the tyres were near dead, and there was that nasty vibration on turning right. Unsurprisingly the Civic has been largely relegated to the garage and the Prius took on most of the duty, and then the kid was born. Funnily enough that’s when I ordered a huge list of parts, see above.
Well after the holiday season finally wound down and I got my life admin somewhat caught up, it came time to do some installs. Some of them I can do myself. Anything that required a lift, well I don’t have access to one so that’s for the mechanic!
A summary of all the parts I acquired:
These tyres are fantastic. I’m yet to really figure out their sweet spot but they have even more grip than the AD08Rs. Fairly up there in terms of outright single lap pace and that’s quite evident by the fact I can casually max out the G meter and hold it there in regular suburban driving. On my first test run I got pulled over by the cops because they thought I was gonna lose it around the roundabouts and I didn’t dare correct them because explaining that I still hadn’t found the adhesion limits of these barely-legal semi-slicks would really not have gone down well!
Also an unintended side effect:
Yeah I’m going to have to lock my doors on street, and tape the hatch over on track. For reference in decent conditions the car can now average over 1.2g in street legal conditions. Stock, it could do around 1.02.
The oil cap saves like idk 30 grams, and after checking I found that all the aftermarket radiator caps have the same opening pressure as the stock one (127kPa) so that was a waste of money too haha. But the radiator shroud (which I’m keeping in place because it’s clearly absorbing the rock damage) covers up my radiator branding so I guess this is how you know I’m repping a Koyorad radiator. Or am I? And that’s why this stuff is often referred to as LARPing. But hey, if it makes you happy!
Removing the radiator technically means removing the top apron and the shroud and fan. But then my mechanic couldn’t reach the bottom hose so he ended up taking the entire front bumper off too LOL. I definitely got billed for that trouble.
The ultra-exclusive motor mounts are in and they feel even better than they look. Everything is tighter and more immediate again. Steering delay has reduced further, axle tramp and braking has improved, and the accuracy of shifting too, because the engine doesn’t flex near as much so the transmission doesn’t move around, which will help with the tricky 2-3 under hard driving.
The mechanic had a harder than anticipated time with the rear mount because the increased diameter frontpipe (see right) got in the way so he had to dismantle the exhaust too, which meant taking off the rigid plate etc. etc.
The downside obviously is additional cabin vibrations, particularly the doors and the dashcam mounts. I rigged up a soft bump for the dashcam but the audio in the footage is full of static now. Not that I care. I don’t spend much time at low speeds, and I actually quite like the massage chair effect at idle. And I couldn’t really see much through the rear mirror anyway so it’s no different to me now that it vibrates so much that I’ll get vertigo if I try looking through it.
Brakes are something that I ostensibly could do myself, but they are a little finnicky and I don’t yet have the confidence. So on went the new rotors, pads and shims.
Having bedded in, god it feels so good now. The initial bite is sharper and the clamping force ramps up faster, both things that I’ve been hoping for. I have to adjust my braking style because I reckon I get an additional 20% or so, meaning that even on the upgraded rubber slamming on the brakes I’m triggering ABS. We’ll see how it holds up on track days, but I suspect I’m going to have to add some venting solutions. Someone I know replaced the shitty FK8 air deflector with the much better FL5 ones (after some modification) and I’m tempted to do the same.
No pics of this, have to remove too many things to see it. Absolutely no reason other than brand wank and saving on shipping with a bulk order that I got a Spoon branded one. But it’s appreciably firmer than the flaccid rubber OEM one which is a good thing. There’s about a 10% increase in clutch firmness, which I discovered when I slammed the 1-2 shift as usual and slightly ground the gears because my hand was a little faster than my foot. Something else to adjust to, but in a good way as I was also thinking that it was starting to feel a bit too facile.
My mechanic installed the front one because all that requires is the car on a lift. He’s very skeptical that it does anything, and so declined to install the rear one because that one involves removing the rear bumper. I thought to myself I’ll give it some time and send it through some paces to see what I think and I do think it does what it claims, considering my steering inputs over bumpy surfaces certainly have calmed down slightly. So I’ll put in the rear one myself when I can be bothered to buy some replacement clips coz removing the rear bumper does involve breaking a few!
I decided since it doesn’t really require a tune, I’d replace my stock intake and turbo inlet. For reference, here it is snaking its way in front of the block, directly above the turbo (thanks, I always wanted my intake air pre-heated)
I basically followed PRL’s documentation on the install and aside from making every mistake possible along the way, it came out pretty good. No leaks or anything and everything fits without rubbing!
Unsurprisingly, the turbo noises are louder, which is good. But it also highlights how boring said noises are, which has lit a burning desire to shoehorn in the HKS SSQV BOV, which recirculates (necessary for this model) but sounds like it doesn’t. However it does nothing good for the car regardless except looks and sounds cool so I’ll leave it down the bottom of the list. Now that I’m looking at it, that downpipe needs neat management too. So much higher on the list will be gold wrapping the titanium turbo inlet and the airbox. Someone actually used the proper thermal hardware and demonstrated that IATs appreciably dropped so it seems like it does actually do something to reflect the radiant heat. But the CF vented hood that I’m getting will be much more important, but that doesn’t get here until like July. I’ll probably order that gold tape sometime this week.
Snuck in some weather-proof strips and lined the door frames. Hasn’t gotten rid of the door rattles entirely but definitely reduced by about 75%. Additionally also slightly reduced NVH! I’ll probably have to have the door cards looked at, maybe when I get the sills custom wrapped in alcantara because there’s a few other alcantara parts I want to get to reduce the damn glare from the hard plastic. That’s a next year job though.
My mechanic baulked at the idea of this because the install involved taking apart the entire centre console and he thought maybe that was a bit too delicate for him. So I thought well if the mechanic with 30 years experience can’t do it, me with approximately no experience should give it a crack!
In all honesty it wasn’t that bad. But it was a lot of effort for how small the mods are, and nobody seems to have actually documented the install process for the FK8 (there’s a good one for the FL5 which helped me, but there are a few key differences and that’s where I just had to guess):
In addition, the instructions from Seeker are obviously in Japanese and let’s just say Google Translate, while helpful, got a few crucial words mixed up which got really confusing.
Big props to this guide for telling me how to tear down the centre console without breaking all of it.
Gave my parts a good clean while I had the chance too.
The shift knob was a total bitch to get out. The reason for this is unlike the 16-20 FK8 or the FL5, the boot collar for the '21 FK8 specifically has ultra tight clips, so I had to worm an ultra sharp screwdriver in to pry it off, which basically destroyed the collar RIP. But I got there in the end.
Installing the shifter assembly collars (polyurethane to replace the soft rubber ones) was a cinch. It’s quite self-explanatory.
Getting this nylon pivot cup that joins the shift lever to the gearbox lever was the hardest part. Incidentally there was NO documentation on this because this particular nylon cup spec appears to be, again, unique to the '21 model and not many '21 Civic modders use the Seeker kit.
Having failed with the gentle methods, I went to town on it with a trim pry tool and for my efforts was rewarded by it popping off with ballistic force, and my hand slamming into the assembly splitting it open in two places. Now I feel like a real mechanic.
Getting the cup onto the short shift doohickey was much easier: I just covered it with a cloth and whacked it really hard with a spanner Tightening the screws was a real contortionist job, this photo does not illustrate the stupid upside down position I was in to get the job done.
This whole thing made me wish I had tiny hands and slim fingers but no, I probably consumed a shit ton of growth hormone from all the cheap meats I ate growing up so I have to make do with my chunky spades. Fortunately I was able to get it all clipped in and freely moving.
Then all that was left to do was reinstall the centre console trim and install the shift knob and boot collar.
Feels like an arts and crafts project sometimes, which I enjoy
Oooooh shiny
All covered up again, the casual observer won’t have any clue what’s changed, just the way I like it
Shortly after that pic was taken I noticed that the locking nut didn’t hold the shift knob all that tight, so it was able to work loose. So I wrapped plumber’s tape around the shaft and it’s now stuck but good lol.
What’s the verdict? The throw is shortened by about 1/5 or maybe even more, considering the shift knob also sits lower than the OEM. The bushings eliminate the play the assembly frame (not the shifter itself) has, so the shifts also feel more precise. The knob is twice as heavy (literally 1 pound), which actually means it’s smoother to move and easier to navigate the gates. I like this change, as I was really jerking the knob pretty hard before hand and it can be tricky to be precise with that much fast twitch, hence I struggled with 2nd and 4th gear lockouts, not so now. Am I shifting faster? No, not yet. Actually I don’t know if it’s wise to try to shift even faster because I’m already vastly outpacing the autoblip, and I think I’ll wear the synchros out. But once I get used to this I’ll definitely be shifting smoother. And as much as I love the nerd factor of the OEM teardrop knob specific to the '21 model, I have to admit that a sphere suits my style better. And it’s a really good looking sphere.
I can’t stress how good it feels to finally be back behind the wheel of the Civic in full working order, enhanced yet again. It’s far more expensive to run but I keep looking for excuses to drive it, which are in abundance now that my wife more frequently uses the Prius to take Wiggly places while I’m at work. I should probably not change the car any further other than the minor mods like the gold tape wrapping just so I can get used to it and rediscover the limits as the handling envelope has deepened yet again.
Due to life and travel restrictions, I don’t think I’ll be getting an engine tune and the turbo upgrades in until November. I’m starting to feel like the car’s a bit “slow” again (probably due to the potency of the updates). The tyres are only 200km old but I’ve been sending it around corners like a madman (because that’s what running time attack semi-slicks will make you want to do). But I’m already feeling when the tyres roll up on the sidewall and can see the increased rate of wear on the outside tread. There’s clearly not enough camber on either front or rear. So suspension has jumped up the priority list. And after asking around and interviewing my track nut and comp race driver sources, there’s a clear winner when it comes to suspension parts:
RV6, who supply Honda Racing. Like Hasport, their parts were used exclusively in the TCR cars and are happily now available to the public. In short I’m going to need something closer to -3.5 deg camber front and -3 deg rear, and I need to eliminate camber and toe instability (hence the compliance mount and spherical bushings: a race car setup).
Then when it comes to lowering springs, there’s also a clear winner there: Swift Spec R. I compared the rates and looked at the harmonic frequencies:
| Product | Stock | H&R sport | Whiteline | Spoon progressive | Eibach Pro | Tein | Swift Springs Spec-R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drop F | 0 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -1 | -1 |
| Drop R | 0 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -0.8 | -1 | -1 |
| Spring rate F | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 6.3 |
| Spring rate R | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 7.4 |
seems that only the Swifts will deliver that balance. Yes the rates are a lot higher but the people that run them have no complaints about the ride quality. Spoon springs are excellent for delivering a close to OEM feel but honestly I’m less interested in that than I am dialling in a track weapon that’s somehow still streetable, where it’s now abundantly clear that I have a much, erm, harsher definition of “streetable” than the average punter.
Once I get the ride dropped and the camber dialled in, I’ll review how much rub I’m going to contend with and then consider whether I should try reverse stagger 295/265 for track use, or should I just stick to 265 square with a stiff rear sway bar setting or something. At that point I’d probably be looking at chances to track at higher speed locations so the aero kit would become important.
Quick addition: here’s the shifter in action (featuring: a little turbo noise thanks to more open intake)
I don’t miss taking those consoles apart. I had to do one on a normie spec 10th gen Civic 1.5 years ago due to a mouse getting inside and dying. The whole interior ended up coming out before I found the little bastard. And you’re right, those consoles are fragile. At least you did the right thing and did it all while it was apart the once, cause it would really suck having to do it again.
Also good eye noting that the recirculating BOVs are required on Hondas. We get a lot with standard ones (typical car meet hooligans) and it always causes problems. I need to get you to explain to these guys why stancing is a horrendous idea.
She’s coming along fantastically and looks a bit nicer each update.
