rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

WOw, great!

I vote NO paint, they look great as is...and I'm HOPING you adjust ride height to something nice and low to not have wheel gap. Nikov has these wheels and it looks amazing with them. I'd do a little 3MM spacer just for peace of mind.

Wow, my car is a cow. Even my 18 by 8.5 Enkei Aspecs with 235/40/18 weigh in at 48.5 pounds and the work wheels are 19 x 9 with a 225/35 @ 51lbs.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

^^^ their ride height is adjusted for the track LOL....i doubt he will drop/slam it.....

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I wasn't asking if he wanted to. I was telling he that he has to.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Yeah I'm still thinking about the paint. The ride height will be adjusted to give me the same gaps I have before. I've just finished the right side and am headed back out for the left. I was just looking at 3mm spacers and yeah, definitely worth the piece of mind on the calipers. I'm pretty sure my old tires were the culprit on the weight. Good grip, but at a cost.

You are correct. Us track guys have a lot of considerations when determining ride height. Slammed is definitely no bueno but neither is 4x4 status obviously. I have found that about a finger gap in the front and just a bit more than that in the rear is a good all around height. Heck I even have to think about getting the damn thing on a trailer. Even before this I had to lift my splitter up to the max on the adjusters, make about 10ft of ramps to the ramps to ramps, and still the front of the car would rub getting on the trailer.

LOL, well luckily you two are both right on this one.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

whew...
glad to hear it!

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

Rex, why dont you put 3mm worth of washes rather than getting spacers....remember the spacers will add a lot of unwanted static + dynamic weight

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

you do know the pics I posted yesterday were when the car was up on the jack right? lol

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

But of course, I must be traumatized by Innac's disdain for a lowered ride height.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

I was actually being serious rex....get some washers and put 3 of em on each lug....each washer should be ~1mm....so get 15-20 of those and try with 3 and 4.....i do not think you will need extended lug nuts for 3mm....

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

new pics after lowering the car a bit.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Dude, looks great man. One is usually used to looking at this car in the context of it's "luxury" form. Seeing it in a pure race form is very fun.

Inaccurate

Those CF cover panels for the removed headlights look awesome. Rims be looking HOT

BTW - is that a glass sunroof?

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Can't be. What's that weird thing in the middle?

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

lol no, must have just been the sun angle. Now I gotta get back to the lexan

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

my NACA duct for driver cooling. In the 3rd pic you can see the duct that blows the air out by left shoulder. It's invaluable at Road Atlanta in the steamy summers

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Makes sense!

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Well one side is about done. HELL of a lot of work.... Still gotta work with the silicon a bit and probably add some just to ensure it's 100% sealed but I know how you all are with wanting pictures so here's some for you. Gonna paint the heads of the rivets black as well.






By the way, the three right angle corners are going to need special attention. It's not at all level with the other 95% of the frame around the window so I'll need to figure out an alternate way to seal them because a rivet or screw would not work in these areas. don't really need to add anymore rivets or screws or anything, just enough silicon to seal it up tight.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

It would probably look good painted black but I think the silver screws add to that "jet fighter" look we all like

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Hell yea man good job! Is this a first on this forum?

Inaccurate

Thanks for the pics!

Thanks for including the explanation about the corners. Before reading, I kept thinking "why you leave the corners with no rivets?".

The black border looks GREAT. How did you make the borders? Masked off and spray painted from the backside?

A part of me sorta likes the unpainted rivets. Looks tough.

Inaccurate

This is the first for the Third Gen TL. But, Cocoa on the Second Gen CL side has had lexan for many years on his CL (weekend car?).

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

And IIRC Cocoa has/had(?) a 1G CL.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

This is true...may have to keep them silver then haha

For the 3G I'm sure it is, I know there's a CL here somewhere that has Lexan as well though.

The black border was done pretty much exactly as you described. When working with lexan, you want to leave the protective film on as long as possible. So, I traced the line on the film, pulled it back JUST far enough so I make a nice paint line with painters tape, then painted.

Thanks for the comments everyone....now just for the other side haha

Inaccurate

Thanks for the save on the CL versus TL. I was able to edit my post to say CL instead of TL.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

wow...amazing, brother...amazing.

Inaccurate

Here are pics of Cocoa's First Gen CL. It has flat black paint -

05_NBP_TL

iTrader: (1)

+3 I like the rivets silver too.

Black would blend well and have a "factory" look.

Either way, to your progress

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

damn Rex....

that came out awesome.....

when are you attempting the other side and the fronts ?

Lazer187

iTrader: (1)

hey can i send my car out to you, to make my car like yours, but street legal

Awesome work man!

brian6speed

iTrader: (5)

Most lexan installs I have seen look pretty awful. Yours looks like one of the best I have seen. Looks like the corners were a slight hassle tho.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

I'll knock out the other side here in the next couple days. The cost of the rear window might make me wait a while being it's a pretty large piece of lexan.

Thanks man. It was a lot of work thus far and I still have more to do. And yes, the corners are a pain. I might try to level the corners out before I put the lexan in on the other side to see if it makes it easier but the design of the window frame doesn't make it a quick and easy job.

Inaccurate

Here are two pics of the Thunderhill race-prepped TL. The pics show the lexan for the big back window and the rear-door glass. The red arrows are pointing to the rivets.

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

^^Yep Yep, thanks for sharing.^^

the fenda rolla

Villo, are those 17x8 RPF1's I see??? When did you get those?? You know I'm gonna say you need to rock at least the 17x9's for that tasty deep dish look!! Besides you can run a wider tire too!! and if weight is a concern, they weigh pretty much the same!!

Also, what Carbotech pads are you running again?? And which tires??

And how are your control arm bushings and other steering/suspension components holding up so far??

Inaccurate

The following is not directed at fenda rolla, but the entire forum.

"weigh pretty much the same"

That little difference means a lot when discussing rotating mass.

I don't know much about track, but I would weigh (pun intended) the decision carefully if that one inch wider rubber is Really worth that extra weight or not to the handling. I would argue that the added weight of the wider rim and tire is damning to the handling, acceleration and braking more than that extra inch will help. But, I am talking over my head at this point. Rex, what are your thoughts on this topic? And, you may want to wait until you see how awesome those lighter rims feel before you answer.

Again, nothing against fenda rolla directly. I have seen the same mentality from too many other people.

the fenda rolla

No offense taken Inaccurate. I understand the hardcore mentality some have towards the diet...something I'm not nearly as fanatic about, but do see the benefit in...

In response to the exact weight of the 17x8 compared to the 17x9, it is 15.6 and 15.9 lbs respectively. That difference is not as large of a difference compared to the larger sized tires one may run. And to respond to the tire size difference being beneficial on the track, my input is the larger the tire, the larger the contact patch, which would aid in better cornering and braking. Of course this point must be taken within reason and is not a complete blanket statement.

From my own personal track experience with my 08 Civic Si, I ran the same17x8 and 17x9 RPF1's...with 225/45 and 235/40 tires and yes, I could feel better all around grip with the wider tires...

Inaccurate, you need to take that lean mean TL of yours to the track and experiment for yourself so you can give first hand input as to what works better so you aren't talking over your head as you said (and to which I def agree...) Seriously bro!

vill0169

iTrader: (4)

Yeah they're 17x8, I got the best deal in the history of RPF1's here locally and just had to get them so someone else didn't haha. Yeah wider would have been fine but remember the Brembo fitments aren't nearly as easy as the AT so it's a bit harder for us to make the RPF1's work.

Currently running XP10's front and rear which is a great setup for my car's skinny ass lol Although I'm thinking about picking up some XP12's just to see the difference. Tires this season are secret for now

From what I've seen the bushings are holding up just fine. Also been checking the wheel bearings and they'll holding up great as well.

I personally would say that the increased tire contact area is worth the wheel width and weight. Totally get what you're saying Tim but SO MANY things go into determining the car's handling, acceleration and braking it's impossible to narrow it down and just consider the wheel/tire setup. When considering wheel/tire setups, here are just a FEW of the things road racers have to consider:

Car weight
suspension setup
type of track
What tire compound?
Sidewall stiffness?
How much does the tire roll over while turning?
Optimal tire pressures
do the tires like more camber or less?
Race class rules?
just dry tire or wet too?
do I want endurance or short lived extreme grip?
etc, etc, etc

All of these things will need to be addressed before choosing a wheel and tire setup or else you may go backwards and who wants to do that? Would I love a 17x9.5 RPF1, low offset wheel with a 255 or hell 275 Hoosier on it? FUCK YEAH I would and would take the hit on the weight because I know the lap times would justify it all day long. But you obviously can go TOO far with the same reasoning. Tim is right on this because at some point, the positives don't outweigh the negatives nearly as much and you're just throwing money away and raising your times. I'm rambling I know but really what I'm getting at is the art of balance. Everything must be in balance or optimal performance is impossible to achieve. So simply combine Tim's and Fenda's logic and you damn near can't be wrong! haha



Tim, get your butt to a road course and get hooked like the rest of us hahahaha

But Fenda, like I kinda mentioned above the 17x9 RPF1 is hard to get fitted to the 6MT so the easier solution is the 17x9.5 which weighs 16.5lbs IIRC, so yes it's only a ~1lb more on each corner but Tim is right in saying that rotating mass is critical to keep at a minimum if at all possible.


Would I have preferred a wider wheel? Yes, I would have so I could feel more comfortable running 255's if I wanted to. With the 17x8's, I'm a little bit more limited to the 245's which is kinda a let down but it can easily be made up for with tire selection I think.

Did I help or hurt this discussion? LOL

Inaccurate

Rex and Fenda, thanks for the insightful feedback. And, I agree that the 0.3 lb difference is small. I was thinking the weight difference was more than that.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Have you guys done the underdrive pulley upgrade?!?! Supposedly can save some serious weight here for reasonably cheap and easy. Plus, more HP freed up...plus, you can do underdrive since you're killing AC anyway. Forgive me if I missed it.

J.