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If anyone wants free Ron Jon lip kit sides and rear let me know. Will not ship, but you can pick them up at my storage unit in Vernon Hills, IL. If no one wants them I'll just toss them, but would rather someone use it. Sides won't work on my car with my jack and height.
Might start a sale thread soon, need money for more parts.
If anyone wants free Ron Jon lip kit sides and rear let me know. Will not ship, but you can pick them up at my storage unit in Vernon Hills, IL. If no one wants them I'll just toss them, but would rather someone use it. Sides won't work on my car with my jack and height.
Might start a sale thread soon, need money for more parts.
If you decide you want to ship them, or at least the sides, I will PayPal you immediately lol.
Not sure when I'll have rear diffuser update. Having trouble figuring out how to make whole thing removable and be able to install it by myself with only a jack. The middle section is basically complete. Just trying to figure out a way to mount side sections and still be able to reach all the hardware for the middle section.
The side sections need to mount to middle sections Carbon fiber fins. Almost need to bolt them up after the middle section is already installed. Problem is reaching the bolt heads from one side and nuts from other.
Hardware is all Stainless besides 3 Aluminum Washers.
Aluminum Angle was bought locally. Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, Ace, etc. all carry angle in 1/16". Noticed at Home Depot they carry 3/4" angle in 1/20" thickness, but only in 8 foot length. Somehow fit it in my Focus.
Carbon Fiber Panel Taped Up to be cut for Fins. Use tape as an edge for the blade/wheel to use as a guide.
Here is what it looks like from behind bumper. Added a small 1/2" Aluminum Angle Wicker. The panel had some flex so this piece also helped straighten it out. Could change to a 3/4-1" Wicker later.
Got email from Grassroots about rear diffusers. It mentions running Wicker at vertical trailing edge.
Diffuser from behind. Can see tow hook cut-out & 3 Aluminum Countersunk Washers.
Furthest Back Mounting Point is Rear Bumper Brackets. M8 Hardware used.
Next Mounting Point is by the "trunk hump".
There was already a hole in upper panel, so just drilled through lower panel also. M5 Hardware used. Main Panel rests against the hump.
Here are next mounting points and only brackets I made that have been used so far. Only part used metal bender for. Would recommend against buying economy metal bender, they are worthless almost.
For top drilled holes and riveted brackets on. For bottom used M3 Hardware.
Drilled 2 holes and added 2 small mounting points to subframe. M3 Hardware used.
Still need to mount furthest forward part and maybe add 1 more bracket by passenger side.
Here you can see the mounting bolts from below.
This view shows a good overall shot.
Still a few changes might make.
Might add a wall by exhaust to keep air from flowing off edge.
Might add 2 more fins. This could help with air stall and also block part with exhaust off some.
Noticed after looking at pics that the angle of diffuser seemed too steep. Everything I've read recommends an angle between 5 & 12 degrees.
Tried measuring with a triangle angle tool and it seemed close to 20 degrees.
Added some Nylon Spacers to the rear 2 mounts. This dropped it down to under 15 degrees. Will get longer bolts, then can drop it even more and test different angles.
This thing is pretty damn sturdy. Will get weights also. Next will be the side sections, then move up to more panels further forward. That is all can think of for now.
Last edited by brian6speed; 11-19-2015 at 06:04 PM.
Nice work! Impressive craftsmanship. Are the CF fins sturdy?
I guess you won't get to really test it until the springtime. I can't to hear your review.
The CF Fins are very sturdy. It is quality carbon. Same stuff used for mirror panels and switch panel. More rigid than sheet metal for sure. Are you asking because I mentioned mounting the side sections to them? Probably won't be mounting to them on driver side and just a small section on passenger side to rear of muffler with extra support. You can see some of the aluminum support rods hanging in the pics.
Will take all winter to finish all the aero plans, plus few others. Hope my times don't get slower.
More updates to come. All the panels will be removable and will probably end up Powdercoating black.
Thanks. Have not weighed anything yet since it isn't finished. Thinking of just disassembling it and dropping it off to be powdercoated(black) once it is finished. That will add little more weight.
Not really that concerned about weight. Would guess 10-20 lbs when done. Used some CF to save weight and tiny M3 hardware. Reminded me of working on RC Cars.
Could have used alumilite or corrugated plastic instead of sheet aluminum. Might be more structural/rigid and lighter.
Would it be/look stupid to make other 4 fins/strakes out of sheet aluminum instead of CF? Not sure can afford making all 6 out of CF. Just the one 12"x24" sheet to make 2 cost me $105 from McMaster.
The rear end gets pretty light under braking. Hoping this rear diffuser, rear lip spoiler, and rear wing combo help with that. The drag and lift reduction should overcome any weight penalty hopefully.
The weight and making car bigger with front splitter could affect autocross. Will try and keep everything removable.
Wish could do both sides this way, but the stupid exhaust and muffler.
It would mount to top of middle panel. Then use 2 support rods and 1 bracket connected to bumper beam.
Here is from underneath. Would extend panel almost to the suspension.
Support Rods Mounted to 2 holes in trunk floor. These holes were already there, so why not use them. Had them plugged off before.
Then added a Fin/Strake with a Wicker to try and seperate the turbulent air from tire and keep it out of the diffuser.
Passenger Side
On this side there is not an option of mounting panel above muffler(no room). Only option seems to be to mount to CF piece. Some ppl might want me to do same on driver side for a symmetrical look.
Because it would be mounted to the CF piece, I'd rather it not be so long for structural reasons. Thinking of having it go past rear of muffler.
Support Rods
Need to figure out a mounting/bracket location in this area still.
Might do a separate panel little lower down in this section. Really need to clean my exhaust.
Mocked-Up a new design for passenger side. Think like this best so far. Little tunnel section looks cool, and it helps match other side more. Will adjust panel under muffler to be flatter(noticed after looking at pic).
Last edited by brian6speed; 11-22-2015 at 04:38 PM.
I'm no expert in this, but by looking at the width of your wheels, you may need to go wider - no? Now that you're redirecting air, won't there be a considerable amount of lift causing a possible traction issue? I would think your approach will now change as to how you drove prior to this. i.e. braking, coming in / out of corners, etc.
Interested in seeing real world / environment results with your lap times.
I'm no expert in this, but by looking at the width of your wheels, you may need to go wider - no? Now that you're redirecting air, won't there be a considerable amount of lift causing a possible traction issue? I would think your approach will now change as to how you drove prior to this. i.e. braking, coming in / out of corners, etc.
Interested in seeing real world / environment results with your lap times.
kudos to you with the build dude
Could make it wider(have thought about it). Lots of diffusers end before wheels though. You want to keep that dirty air out of the diffuser IMO. Have been thinking about cutting sides of the bumper to match the cut in rear. Another option is rear bumper canards behind wheels.
Making it wider would mean more material costs, harder to mount and reach hardware, heavier, and might make car footprint longer/wider which would be bad for autocross.
This aero work is to reduce lift, not increase it. If lift is increased I am doing something seriously wrong. It could affect car balance, that is why a front splitter is planned. Can always change things to get desired handling traits.
Last edited by brian6speed; 11-23-2015 at 12:00 PM.
Ordered a Sarona Trunk Spoiler today. Decided this option was better than Ebay or Spoiler King. Those are flexible plastic.
Sarona ones are made to order in NY, USA. Made from hand laid fiberglass with Gel Coating. Built to order, so should take 2-4 weeks. The fiberglass should be very stiff/strong and it should fit CL perfectly since it is made for our car. Only negative is they are pricey.
Sarona has 3 options. One is like M3 lip Spoiler, one is bigger and more duck tail, and then the 3rd is quite large.
Went with the duck tail one since it looks like the most effective from aero perspective. Part number is AC-034_TW. This will be teamed up with Aeromotions Wing and rear diffuser. Now just need $2k to buy wing.
Just 10 minutes ago I drove by one of my employee's cars and got to thinking about spoilers, myself. He has an '03-'05 Accord V6 coupe with the OEM flushmount spoiler. The trunk curvature looks similar, as well as the angle of the taillights. I suppose none of that matters if the width is wrong.
Your option is the better fit, but I like the style of that one. It seems to hang off the back of the car more than on top of the trunk lid.
Just 10 minutes ago I drove by one of my employee's cars and got to thinking about spoilers, myself. He has an '03-'05 Accord V6 coupe with the OEM flushmount spoiler. The trunk curvature looks similar, as well as the angle of the taillights. I suppose none of that matters if the width is wrong.
Your option is the better fit, but I like the style of that one. It seems to hang off the back of the car more than on top of the trunk lid.
I was looking more for something to aid aero of rear wing. Duck tail style seems the best for directing air up towards bottom of wing.
Really like the oem carbon fiber lip on my mom's 2013 M3, but it won't fit our trunk without jacking it up. Not wanting to hack up an expensive piece.
Our trunk is a pretty common shape, so could modify lots of options to fit. Plastic would be easiest. Know one person used lip from Volvo.
Have had my eye on Sarona lips for 10 years now, so excited to get one. Removed oem spoiler for test fitting, and was surprised how light it is. Felt like 5 lbs.
Last edited by brian6speed; 11-23-2015 at 02:29 PM.
I'm no expert in this, but by looking at the width of your wheels, you may need to go wider - no? Now that you're redirecting air, won't there be a considerable amount of lift causing a possible traction issue? I would think your approach will now change as to how you drove prior to this. i.e. braking, coming in / out of corners, etc.
Interested in seeing real world / environment results with your lap times.
kudos to you with the build dude
Because of your post I have been doing more research on rear bumper canards and vortex generators(serve same purpose). It might help the turbulent low pressure air behind tire by creating vortices.
Never imagined this project could take so long. Already spent probably 40 hours on it and not even close to done. From pictures you would think I spent maybe 4-6 hours. If added in research time, it'd be over 100 hours already.
One option would be bumper canards like used for front bumper. They would need to be curved though, not flat. Might be hard to make myself with my limited tools.
Another option would be vortex generators. Would cut side of bumper level with diffuser and mount vortex generator to diffuser.
I was looking more for something to aid aero of rear wing. Duck tail style seems the best for directing air up towards bottom of wing.
Really like the oem carbon fiber lip on my mom's 2013 M3, but it won't fit our trunk without jacking it up. Not wanting to hack up an expensive piece.
Our trunk is a pretty common shape, so could modify lots of options to fit. Plastic would be easiest. Know one person used lip from Volvo.
Have had my eye on Sarona lips for 10 years now, so excited to get one. Removed oem spoiler for test fitting, and was surprised how light it is. Felt like 5 lbs.
I don't know if you've seen these yet but you might be interested in something like this.
You have small diffuser, fender flares, etc. Looks like you've been busy.
Idk. I bought it off some Taiwanese company on eBay but they were super nice. Paint matches perfectly.
Yes! I've been trying to get it more aggressive. Might try to have a company custom fab me a rocket bunny look alike kit for the CL so that the flares are no longer but the look is fine for now. I'm watching your diffuser build as a cheat sheet to modify mine.
Idk. I bought it off some Taiwanese company on eBay but they were super nice. Paint matches perfectly.
Yes! I've been trying to get it more aggressive. Might try to have a company custom fab me a rocket bunny look alike kit for the CL so that the flares are no longer but the look is fine for now. I'm watching your diffuser build as a cheat sheet to modify mine.
No fair, I don't have anyone to copy from.
Here is a link to Spoiler King's website. They have 7 trunk spoilers and 4 roof spoilers listed for 01-03 CL.
Another option for rear diffuser sides could be something like these Varis Universal Vortex Generators(link below shows pic on 3rd gen TL). The panels are roughly 18"x18".
These panels mount up seperately and leave a gap between them and middle section. Not sure how I feel about leaving a gap. Would make mounting easier.
Ordered these Password JDM Evo X Canards from Corsport for $110 shipped. They look like the best fit for our bumper curvature. Another good option might be S2K ones. Decided to try them since pre-made would be better than made by me.
Contacted PCI about their Race Spec Aluminum Side Skirts(same company made my floor board). They said longest ones they make are for EK Civic at 75.5" long. CL skirts are 76-76.5". Ordered a set of the 5" skirts from Password JDM for $230 plus shipping. Might need to make custom brackets.
Contacted Aeromotions about making custom rear wing. They can do wing in 28", 33.9", or 41" Pitches(this is space between mounting points). They can also do custom pitch for $100 extra.
They mentioned wider pitched wings may be more aesthetically pleasing, but there is a performance decrease the wider you go(from excessive drag & turbulence). Will mock up different pitches, then decide based on rear visibility and aero efficiency. Wonder if trunk mounting would be more sturdy from middle or sides of trunk. They mentioned their very expensive S2 wing(most aerodynamic) comes with a pitch of only 20". Also have option of wing height of 12" or 17".
Last edited by brian6speed; 11-30-2015 at 04:57 PM.
Making slow and steady progress on diffuser. Trying to work on it a little every day.
Had a few rivets pop out of the CF fins when working on diffuser, so decided to drill them all out and use M3 hardware instead. This will be more sturdy and allow me to remove angled aluminum for powder coating.
Here is a teaser pic of progress so far.
Got email from Grassroots Motorsports about FWD Autocross article from 2004. Pretty good article, though I do disagree with few points.
Think figured out why wheel was so cheap. It will not bolt to my works bell quick release or momo hub. Shouldn't a Sparco wheel bolt up or is their bolt pattern a little different? All the bolts line up but 2 are slightly off. Do I need Sparco specific hub?
Yea wheel should fit, but doesn't. Must be defective and reason for sale.
Seller had it listed as No returns, so now gotta see if I can get my money back from ebay or paypal. Will also contact sparco and see if they will exchange it. Fun stuff. I am done buying used parts. New only from now on.
11-13-2015, 06:24 AM
