FK8 overheating solutions, or just pointless modifications?

It’s been over a year of battling with the FK8’s incessant overheating issues during my track adventures. I’ve tried everything in the book, or shall I say under the hood?! From vented hoods to coolers of all kinds, reverse-flow hoses to heat blankets, and even cutting my grille like a culinary master. But no matter what I do, those water temps still rise higher than a caffeine-addicted squirrel on a sugar rush. It’s like my car has a personal vendetta against staying cool! Oh, the struggles of racing a hot-headed machine! So, here I am, a warrior on four wheels, constantly searching for that elusive coolness while the FK8 taunts me with its fiery antics. Will I ever conquer this heated battle? Only time, and perhaps a few more ingenious mods, will tell.

Although my previous cooling modifications have provided some assistance, their impact remains limited. While they have certainly increased my on-track time and aided in faster recovery of the car’s water temperature, I am still unable to sustain maximum performance for more than 10-15 minutes before the temperature rises close to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

This chassis has many remarkable qualities and great potential; unfortunately, its heat management leaves much to be desired. It’s a shame for the car, as when I’m on the track, I know that maintaining such a high coolant temperature is not healthy and will eventually lead to head gasket issues and shorten the engine’s lifespan, among other problems. Overheating is definitely this vehicle’s Achilles heel, and sometimes it makes me wish I had chosen a different platform instead of the FK8. Essentially, I have a $50,000 car that can’t complete more than 5 laps on the track before it starts to overheat… Just saying it out loud saddens me, and my friends all laugh at me.

Alas, my deep enthusiasm for Honda prevents me from turning away! I will defend my overheating car until the end because it is truly an exceptional vehicle that excels in every way (except for staying cool). Moreover, they don’t call me the VTEC Senpai for nothing. HONDA is God, and everything else is just insignificant trash on the side of the road.

Don’t confuse my rhetoric for stupidity though; I know there are much more reliable and capable platforms out there that fall in the same price range. I’ll just be a Honda Guy until the day I die, and there is no changing that. I gotta stay true to my roots.

So, in this article I’ll be going over the very last attempts I have left to try to prevent my car from overheating.

• Hondata
• Flex fuel
• J’s style grille
• Titanium inlet pipe

These are quite literally my Hail Mary attempt to try and keep the car cool. If these don’t cure the overheating, then I’m selling the car… Just kidding… (Or not). Maybe… I don’t know.

Jumping right in, below you can see what my engine bay currently looks like.

Right away, I’m going to talk about installing the Flex fuel kit. Many of you may remember me saying that I didn’t want to mess with the tune and how I just wanted to leave the ECU stock for reliability purposes.

I must say, I had some serious doubts and reservations about this one…

On one hand, I could leave the stock ECU and refrain from altering any of the factory settings, ensuring that my engine would remain reliable for many years to come. However, my car would be prone to overheating during every track event, posing a significant risk of premature failure.

OR…

On the other hand, get Hondata, and this would allow me to run a flex fuel blend and hopefully help fight the overheating. If I could stop the overheating, then I wouldn’t feel so bad for having a tune that could potentially prematurely wear out the engine.

You see, either way I was potentially going to do some sort of premature wear or damage to the engine. In the end, I decided that for overall life expectancy, it would probably be better to not have the car overheat.

Let the modifications begin!

Start off by removing the OEM air box.

Then the strut bar.

Flex fuel is a very easy thing to install. Start by identifying where the fuel line will have the flex fuel sensor spliced into.

It’s also worth mentioning that I was coerced into getting Hondata and going flex fuel because one of my buddies here in town had just traded in his Type R for a brand new Supra. This meant he had many take-off parts for me, and they were all at such a great price that I just couldn’t say no. Admittedly, this did help sway me into taking the flex fuel plunge sooner than I had wanted/expected.

If you are only installing a Flex Fuel kit, the battery does not need to be removed. But since I’m doing some other supporting mods that require me to remove a lot of stuff (as you’ll read below), I needed to remove the battery.

Flex fuel is great for many things:

1. E85 provides the highest octane available at the pump. Higher octane fuels combust more completely. Also, E85 creates less denotation and knocking. It also can run more spark advance. All of these maximize the engine’s power.
2. E85 burns cooler than gasoline. This means less heat build-up in the engine. When enough heat builds up, the engine loses power.
3. E85 burns cleaner. It also cleans the engine. This means less risk of carbon fouling and carbon deposits. When an engine gets carbon fouling and carbon deposits, it loses power.

Ethanol combustion is characterized by lower temperatures compared to regular gasoline. Additionally, the combustion of ethanol generates a thermodynamic cooling effect that is absent in traditional gasoline. This distinctive feature of ethanol, along with its lower combustion temperatures, has significant benefits, particularly in terms of maintaining engine health and preventing overheating.

Did you know that E85 is an outstanding engine cleaner? Unlike regular gasoline, E85 effectively removes carbon deposits from the fuel system and engine, ensuring optimal performance of.

• Fuel injectors
• Combustion chambers
• Valve stems
• Pistons
• Piston rings

The ethanol in E85 clears carbon deposits from these areas. E85 is such an effective cleaner that some people run one or two tanks’ worth of E85 through their engine instead of using an engine cleaner. If you regularly use E85, your engine, fuel system, and exhaust system will be in much better shape than if you had used regular gasoline.

Now, please keep in mind that the abovementioned facts are for cars that run only on E85. In my Type R, I will only be running around E30-35 because the factory Type R fuel system is not strong enough to handle full E85. Yes, you can upgrade the intake pump, HPFP (high-pressure fuel pump), and injectors to handle running closer to straight E85. However, it would cost 3-4k just in fuel system parts alone.

It is also worth noting that pretty much all fuel sold in the US, especially in Las Vegas and Southern California, has 10% ethanol added to it. This means that every car is essentially running on E10. Since I will be targeting E30-35, I don’t expect to fully reap all the benefits from running a straight E85 fuel, but I am hopeful that the extra 20% of ethanol will help me keep my temperatures at bay.

Below, you can see where I began removing the metal guard that protected the fuel junction, where it goes from hardline to rubber. Installing a Flex fuel kit is quite easy; however, due to the other supporting mods I’m planning to install, I encountered some obstacles that not all of you may have to deal with.

Once you remove the gray safety clip that protects the connector, simply press the turquoise-colored tabs, and the line will release. STOP! Back up a few steps. Before you even begin the flex fuel installation, you will need to depressurize your fuel system so there isn’t residual pressure left in the line that could potentially cause fuel to spray everywhere.

The most common way to do this is to remove the fuel pump fuse and start the car until it shuts off by itself, effectively starving the engine of fuel.

I didn’t do this method. I simply left the car sitting for 3 days without starting it, and when I went to remove the line, there was no pressure. Only a few drops of fuel dripped out. If you are planning on doing this and don’t need to drive your car every day, I suggest using my method. However, if you need to drive the car every day, then you will need to remove the fuel pump fuse and let the car starve itself of fuel.

Below, you can take a closer look at one of the obstacles I need to overcome, which some of you may not have to deal with. If you look below, you’ll see that I have a catch can that mounts directly where the Flex fuel sensor needs to be mounted. Further down, you’ll see how I was able to address this challenge.

Since the Type R’s fuel system is pretty much maxed out from the factory, this leaves little room for increasing injector duty and fuel pressure because quite simply the fuel system just can’t cope with the added demand.

One trick or hack that has been discovered that helps increase fuel flow without putting more strain on the fuel system is to increase the size of the hole in the hard line going from the HPFP to the fuel rail. This allows fuel to flow more easily since there is now less restriction where the hardline enters the fuel rail. Before drilling out the hardline, there is effectively a bottleneck that slows the flow of fuel to the fuel rail.

I will discuss this topic in more detail later in this post. For now, simply take a look at some of the pictures showing the steps I took to access the fuel hardline.

Disclaimer!!! There are some people who can remove the hardline without going to the lengths I did. But they stated that it was incredibly frustrating, and you had to contort your hand and arms in such a manner that mine will simply not do. Also, there is a small 10mm bolt that holds the fuel line to the head, and people have stated not being able to get that bolt back in and just leaving it out permanently.

Instead of all that, I chose to simply remove the intake manifold, which would allow for much easier access to the hardline where it connects to the fuel rail. Other professionals also recommend this method. Yes, it takes more time and requires removing several pieces. However, it is more relaxing to do it the way I did. You have easy access to everything and can ensure proper installation to avoid any leaks. Keep in mind that, after the HPFP (high-pressure fuel pump), the fuel pressure can reach nearly 3000 PSI.

In preparation for Intake manifold removal, you will need to remove the following parts.

• Airbox
• Battery
• Aluminum intercooler pipe
• Bracket that holds intercooler pipe
• OEM rubber fuel line (this needs to be removed anyway if you’re installing a flex fuel kit)
• Disconnect some vacuum lines and electrical connectors.

You will also need to unbolt the 4 bolts that hold the throttle body to the intake manifold. You can leave the throttle body in the same location and all the water lines connected too.

After removing the throttle body bolts, the next crucial step is to detach the brake booster vacuum line as well as some smaller vacuum lines and the plug for the map sensor. Following this, it becomes possible to confidently loosen the X3 bolts and X3 nuts that secure the manifold to the head. It is important to note that all of these components are conveniently accessible from the top of the engine, eliminating the need to crawl underneath the vehicle.

The most difficult part of removing the manifold is accessing the small support bracket that is under the intake manifold near the throttle body. This can be accessed from the top of the engine, but it does require some socket extensions. The bracket is indicated as number 5 in the picture below. The image below also shows the simplicity of how the manifold is secured to the head.

Below you can see what it looks like right after I pulled it off the head.

Below is a closer look at everything that needs to be removed (which isn’t much), and you can also see how the throttle body is still in its factory location, with all the water lines still connected to it.

Another angle of the manifold.

Do not hesitate to detach the manifold. It utilizes rubber gaskets instead of the paper-style ones commonly found in B/D/H/F series engines and older K series engines. Furthermore, on engines with low mileage (typically below 50,000 miles, depending on the prevailing climate conditions the vehicle primarily operates in), there is no need to replace these rubber gaskets. Additionally, observe the check valve for the brake booster vacuum line in the provided illustration, showcasing how the line remains connected to the manifold while being disconnected from the firewall.

The throttle body also uses the same rubber-style gasket, and the same rules apply for reusing. You can also see the stud on the top-left of the throttle body inlet; this is where the bracket for the intake manifold bolts to, which you will need to remove before removing the manifold.

It might be hard to see in the illustration below, but I did all this work removing the intake manifold to allow me to easily remove #4, the fuel hard line from the HPFP to the fuel rail.

First, start by breaking loose the hardline where it connects to the HPFP. Below, you can see that I have a 19mm wrench on it.

Once that is broken loose, we now move to the part of the hardline where it connects to the fuel rail (this is the whole reason I removed the manifold). As you can see below, it’s super easy to attach the 19mm wrench to the fitting and loosen it. If the intake manifold were still attached to the engine, the wrench wouldn’t have been so easy to put on the fitting that needs to be loosened.

Now that you have loosened both ends of the hard line, it is time to remove the 10mm bolt that secures the hardline to the head. Some people choose not to reinstall this part, but I believe that not reinstalling it could lead to cracking or premature loosening of the hardline. This is just my opinion, and it may just be me overthinking. I feel better knowing that I have reinstalled everything the way Honda designed it to be.

Here is the hardline removed.

Rather than drilling out my OEM hardline, I opted to buy one that was already drilled out and properly tapered. They say (and the people who say this are the ones that sell it) that you need to ensure it is drilled out properly and has the correct taper; otherwise, you can actually decrease fuel flow and cause negative effects in fuel line pulsation. So, I drank the Kool-Aid and decided to buy one that is predrilled out.

Along with the hardline, I also picked up a few other things from JSR as well. They make a bracket that allows me to run my catch can and flex fuel sensor. This way, I don’t have to sacrifice one mod for another.

I also acquired some top-notch Ruthenium spark plugs. Ruthenium, being the latest breakthrough in exotic metals, is highly regarded as the ultimate solution for our engines. If you delve into the subject, a simple search for “ruthenium spark plugs” will provide you with an array of compelling information explaining their superior performance. Rest assured, these spark plugs are the epitome of excellence for our automotive needs.

Okay, back to the hardline installation. JSR ships you the two OEM bolts that secure the HPFP to the motor, and the special lube you need to apply to the tapers on each end to ensure that the fittings are completely secure and that no fuel leaks.

Below, you can see the difference in the OEM outlet hole size (on the right) and the larger drilled and tapered size from JSR (on the left).

To ensure that the new line is installed correctly, the instructions from Honda state that you need to remove the HPFP (which is why JSR includes two new OEM bolts for it). By removing the HPFP, you ensure that there is no binding in the hardline anywhere when reinstalling it. Because it is a hardline, any binding may result in either end not properly sealing, and this could be a potential fuel leak. Remember, the fuel in that hard line is nearly 3000 PSI.

Remove the two hex bolts that secure the HPFP.

You can move the HPFP out of the way and insert the new hardline back in. When removing the hardline in the first place, you should pay close attention to its orientation. Obviously, the hardline is only designed to fit one way, but once you have one that has been drilled out, it is difficult to see a size difference that dictates the factory orientation of it.

Ask me how I know *facepalm… If you have it in the wrong orientation, it will look like it almost fits but it just doesn’t quite. Relax, you probably have it in wrong. Flip it around, and it will line up much easier, and you’ll be able to start threading both fittings on by hand.

Start by getting the fuel rail fitting threaded by hand but still loose enough to allow play in the hard line. Then, loosely thread the other end of the hardline onto the HPFP. Then reattach the HPFP to the head, while leaving the hardline still only hand-tight. Take caution when doing this because there is the potential to damage the head where it fits in or the HPFP itself. Honda states that you should evenly tighten both hex bolts until the HPFP is snug on the head. Then, before tightening the hardline at either end, thread the 10mm bolt in that supports the hardline in the middle. Then, torque the hardline down on both fitting ends. (See the instructions three images down below for more clarity)

Remember to use polyethylene glycol on the threads of the hardline and where tapered parts that fit into the HPFP and fuel rail. (See two images below)

Ok, we are now quickly going to take a detour and go through the extremely easy installation process of the PRL titanium inlet pipe. I decided to do this because I was missing some tools to complete the Flex Fuel install, and they were coming through Amazon the next day.

Below, you can see the OEM inlet pipe. You can also see how I have gone to great lengths to keep heat away from it.

I opted to go with the PRL titanium inlet pipe for a few reasons:

• Larger diameter which increases air flow
• Titanium has great cooling properties
• The two-piece design helps slow heat transfer from the turbo to the inlet pipe. Thus, slowing the inevitable inlet pipe heat soak.
• It looks fucking SICK!

The inlet pipe is easy to remove. Start by removing the four bolts that attach the two water lines to it. Then, there is a bolt that connects it near the valve cover. Next, there are two 10mm bolts that hold a black plastic bracket on the “bend” of the inlet pipe. Lastly, remove the two bolts that connect it to the turbo (these can be a pain to get to, but they are accessible with a long extension.) Below is what it should look like with the OEM inlet pipe removed.

The PRL is much easier to bolt on because of its two-piece design, which allows for easy access to the two bolts that attach it to the turbo. Everything else will bolt up just as it was removed from the OEM inlet pipe.

Do yourself a favor and ensure that your hose clamps are facing the same direction and are lined up in unison. Misaligned hose clamps are a dead giveaway that you don’t have any business modifying your car.

Reattach all the water lines, and for me, I needed to reattach the catch can lines too.

And now we will jump back to the Flex fuel installation.

The hardline has been completely reinstalled. The intake manifold is now all back on the car and tightened, except for the small supporting bracket. This will need to be put back on from underneath the car using a long extension. It’s a tight squeeze to reach your hand up in there, but it can be done. It was just going to be too tedious to do it from the top.

Above is what the small bracket looks like. I just waited until everything was all back together, then I jacked up the car and removed the undertray to allow access to snake my hand underneath the intake manifold and attach the support bracket.

Things are now starting to go back together.

I am using the Penguin Tech Racing Flex fuel kit, and if I’m being honest, this wouldn’t have been my first choice to go with. Just so happens, this was the kit my buddy was selling, and for the price, I just couldn’t pass on it. It was still brand new in the box and came with the ETFE Tefzel Upgraded fuel lines (which is great because they are supposed to not degrade when used with E85).

This kit, like most other kits for the FK8, mounts to the firewall, and then you run the wiring harness to the secondary O2 sensor, to the lower temp sensor on the radiator, and lastly, there is a one-wire eyelet ground. As I mentioned earlier, a flex fuel kit installation is quite easy if that’s all you’re doing and can be done in an hour’s time.

It’s strange that I used two different color bolts to secure the flex fuel kit to the firewall, yet I lectured you about aligning your hose clamps properly. Don’t worry, I realized I made this mistake when editing the pictures and then immediately went out and swapped them to make them match. All is right in the world again.

If you look above, you can see that I have installed the JSR catch can bracket. However, it can be quite challenging to hold the nuts at the back of it while trying to tighten the bolts for the catch can.

Below is why I was waiting for Amazon to arrive. I needed a nutsert tool. This nifty tool helps make life much easier when trying to attach things to brackets that don’t have nuts welded to them. See the hole on the right now has threads, whereas the hole on the left has no threads.

Now both holes have threads. You’ll also notice that I had to slightly elongate the holes of the bracket when it bolts to the firewall. I’m not even mad at JSR; it’s so easy to fix this, and you’ll never see the sloppiness once the bolts are on.

Here is a better look at the Flex fuel kit. Make sure you use the rubber grommets and metal inserts from the factory bracket.

See, you can’t even see the hollowed-out holes on the bracket, but you CAN see the two different kinds of bolts I used. SMDH…

Fuel line is now fully reconnected.

Catch can is now reinstalled too… But wait, there are now some interference issues between the catch can and the intake manifold. This is because the catch can can no longer sit tight against the firewall like it could without the flex fuel kit.

My solution… Take an angle grinder with a flap wheel, and shave down some of the plastic intake manifold. I’m only shaving down a tab on the manifold where a clip was previously secured to.

From this angle, it looks like there still isn’t much clearance, but trust me, there is plenty. I even took into consideration the engine movement when accelerating and decelerating (which there isn’t much of because I have a 27Won 90A rear motor mount).

Below is everything all bolted back on and permanently installed.

Next, I’m moving on to the spark plug installation. This is super-duper easy. Simply unclip the harness from each coil pack.

Remove the four 10mm bolts that hold each coil pack on, then simply lift the coil packs out to access the spark plugs.

Part number for the Ruthenium plugs.

OEM spark plug removed has about 9,500 miles on it and about 8 track days.

and all four.

Ruthenium propaganda.

Spark plugs have now been installed and it is time to reinstall the intercooler piping.

Make sure you attach and secure the hose for the vacuum pump.

Get the throttle body coupler back on.

Now, the OEM aluminum intercooler pipe can be reinstalled.

Make sure all bracket bolts, hoses, and plugs are reattached.

Battery tray can now go back in.

Battery back in.

Strut bar back on.

Annnnd, another part my friend was selling for cheap was this gently used PRL HVI. Again, for the price, I just couldn’t pass it up.

I was worried about the clearance between the strut bar and the flex fuel/catch can, but there is plenty of clearance.

SEE, FUCKING SICK right!?

Lastly, I finally got around to installing this “J’s grille” (it’s not real, it’s an FK8 parts USA one) that I bought the week after I got my car. But after finding out that you needed to cut a plastic support piece from the bumper (it’s hidden behind the red H emblem on the factory grille), I decided to wait. I didn’t want to cut anything on my brand-new car just yet.

A year and a half into ownership, many rock chips (from the track), and a still very prominent overheating issue. I decided it was time to cut that piece of the bumper and install the grille.

I’m glad that I didn’t end up getting a real J’s grille because with my massive GREDDY oil cooler right there front and center… I had to cut/trim and remove the mesh to get it to fit.

At this point, there isn’t anything else I could or would like to do to increase cooling efficiency. Unless I get a spoon bumper! But that’s not going to happen anytime soon. I’m also not interested in spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars on hard-lagged cooling shield parts from Dream Auto… THE CAR SHOULDN’T OVERHEAT from the factory.

With everything reinstalled, I uploaded the Hondata FlexFuel base map…

The car FUCKING RIPS now!!! Even with only the base map, on E30 blend, car is wayyyyyy faster. If it wasn’t a cheater car before, it definitely is now.

In conclusion, all the mods mentioned were actually quite easy to install, other than having to remove the intake manifold and swap out that high-pressure fuel line. However, removing the intake manifold and the hardline wasn’t hard but rather very tedious and time-consuming.

You hear me speak a lot about peace of mind when it comes to making certain modifications to my car. I try to ensure that all the modifications I make help me gain increased peace of mind. This way, I can feel much better when the frustration grows while driving on the track and pushing my poor car to its limits. Granted, I could have installed flex fuel without also installing a drilled-out fuel line and without replacing the spark plugs… However, these are just small modifications that bring me peace of mind and alleviate any guilt I may feel about pushing the car to its limits.

Admittedly, I feel like I crammed way too much into this post, and I’m sure it would have been a lot better if I had documented each modification individually. Unfortunately, like most things on this car, it’s difficult to access or remove certain components. So, usually, I just try to tackle everything at once instead of upgrading one thing at a time. Moreover, this process had some hiccups along the way and took about a week in total before I could get the car started again.

PRL had sent me the inlet pipe kit for a race MAF, and I’m still using the stock MAF. This meant I had to wait a few days for them to send me the correct coupler size for the stock MAF. I had thought I would not need to use a nutsert tool and just hold the nuts on with my fingertips. However, there is not very much space between the catch can bracket and the fuel line. Rather than fidget around, I just decided it would be easier to buy a nutsert tool.

Installing a Flex Fuel kit alone is an extremely effortless process and doesn’t require much skill. I would recommend that if anyone is thinking about doing this but isn’t sure of the difficulty level… Just do it, it’s extremely easy.

Installing or drilling out the fuel hardline isn’t necessarily hard, but you do have to remove a lot of stuff to allow for easier installation. Additionally, there is a potential risk of catastrophically damaging your engine, such as affecting the HPFP, introducing dirt or debris into the fuel system, or causing a potential fuel leak that could result in a fire. It is important to note that the drilled-out line is not essential when running flex fuel. While it can help relieve some stress on the stock fuel system when using a higher ethanol content, many individuals have successfully installed Flex Fuel kits and achieved good power without drilling out the hardline. This personal preference stems from the belief that since the fuel system is already nearly at maximum capacity from the factory, any measures taken to alleviate stress from the fuel system can provide peace of mind when demanding a lot from the car.

Installing the PRL Titanium inlet is an amazingly easy task, except for dealing with the X2 bolts that secure the inlet to the turbo. Those can be quite challenging to remove and might make you utter a few curses. However, the rest of the installation process simply involves unbolting the water line bolts and the coupler from the intake. Additionally, everything is conveniently accessible from the top of the engine, so there’s no need to lift the car (unless you accidentally drop bolts into the seemingly endless void of the engine bay) and no special tools are required.

Spark plug installation is also another really easy one. Like the drilled-out hardline, spark plugs aren’t necessary, but I figured while I was in there, I might as well put in some more peace of mind. Honda does recommend that the spark plugs get changed at 100k miles, but there is never going to be any harm in changing them too soon or too often.

The PRL HVI (high volume intake) is also another extremely easy installation, and there are so many DIYs out there about it that I didn’t even bother. Some notes from the installation: Instead of using X2 10mm bolts to secure the airbox, the PRL only uses one (nearest the battery). The PRL slides in much easier than the OEM airbox (making it much easier to remove whenever you need to service the filter). Lastly, the MAF plug harness will need to be removed from the OEM plastic, then wrapped in electrical tape, put some electrical loom over the parts you just taped, and then it will get routed under the PRL airbox. These are all quite easy tasks to do, and the installation is exceptionally low on the difficulty scale.

The Hondata can be a bit intimidating to install, but if you follow the directions from Hondata’s website, you’ll be fine. If you don’t feel comfortable with any part of the process, I would recommend reaching out to someone who has done it before. I would say that this is more of a moderate difficulty rating only because it can get a bit confusing. Jailbreaking, ensuring you choose the correct country that you are registering the car in, if you have a 2020/21 you need the jailbreak dongle, and then you also need to purchase the jailbreak from Hondata’s website, ensuring you correctly copy the VIN number to be jailbroken, amongst a few other things.

Lastly, the “J’s Grille”. This involves removing the bumper, which I hate doing because every time you remove the bumper, you break a clip or two, and the bumper never fits as well as it did before. Plus, there are a million clips, and it’s so stressful to ensure that you don’t scratch any paint on the fenders or the bumper itself when you remove it. Once the bumper is off, you will need to unscrew a bunch of stuff and unclip the grille to get it all removed. Once removed, you will need to cut the OEM plastic piece of the bumper that supports the uppermost part of the bumper. Then, the black plastic pieces that are above the headlights need to snap into the J’s grille, and then the grille can be clipped back into the bumper. You will need to also install a few screws to ensure the grille is secure. I’m not sure if it’s because I have a knockoff grille or what, but there was some “massaging” of the fiberglass to get it to fit.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the performance gains from the Hondata and flex fuel, especially considering I’m just on the flex fuel base map. Obviously, those two mods alone made the biggest impact on increasing the performance of everything I just installed.

Sure, the PRL HVI is neat, it makes sweet turbo whooshes, and theoretically should increase performance. But there are many different opinions about intakes and what performance gains they produce, especially 400 hp and below.

The PRL titanium inlet… Sure, it looks cool, but again, was it really necessary? I mean, yeah, titanium is better for heat management, but let’s be honest, the inlet is still going to get hot. It sits directly above the turbo, and the increased diameter of the inlet pipe size isn’t really needed until you want to make a large amount of power.

The drilled out hardline is only really a supporting mod that is necessary when trying to make more than 400 hp. This was really just a “peace of mind” mod that helped me feel better about not maxing out my fuel system while running increased ethanol content.

The spark plugs were probably just a gimmick as there are many, many people making gobs of power with OEM plugs. However, again, these just help me sleep better at night, knowing I’m giving my car everything it needs to be happy.

I do believe that the “J’s grille” is an incredibly good cooling upgrade, and this can also be quantified by the number of people using this who are tracking their cars. Unfortunately, I think that because I had to remove the mesh to get it to fit around my giant oil cooler, it makes it look ugly, and I’m not totally happy with the aesthetics of the front of my car anymore. I appreciate it for its functionality, but it’s a bit too raw-looking for my taste. I do hope the look grows on me, but I think moving to a side-mounted oil cooler might be in my future. I am going to be installing an oil temp sensor soon and hope to get some real-time data on track. I want to see if covering the oil cooler, having it completely open, and then halfway makes any drastic fluctuation in oil temps to warrant having it front and center versus on the side.

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough data collected to determine whether or not my cooling issues are completely remedied. However, the results do seem to be promising. I recently did a track day at Buttonwillow on November 10th, 2022, and ECT temps were perfect all day long. The only reason results are inconclusive is because the air temps never got above 60 degrees all day. So, until the weather starts to warm up, the jury will still be out on whether or not my overheating issues have been completely resolved.

I apologize for this post being all over the place; I just had so much to try and cram into one post. In the future, I will try to make sure that the posts are shorter and more concise. As always, thank you for finding interest in my ramblings and for reading through such long-winded tales of my FK8 modifications.

If you’re interested in making any modifications to your FK8 and you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can email me atfunctiontheory.com, DM me on Instagram @Functiontheory, or simply leave a comment below, and I’ll get back to you.