Aero Block-off Plates for the DC5 Update

Photo taken from EvolutionM

Last time on Lexi.Laron I spoke about making plates that cover the lower-left and lower-right parts of the grille to prevent air from entering into the engine bay and making frontal lift and drag at high speeds.

Since sharing my idea with the readers of this wonderful blog I have made some significant progress.

For starters I picked up a new Dremel.  The one I bought was only sixty bucks and it came with a slew of attachments and accessories along with the ability to vary speeds-- which is extremely important.

Originally I started out with an acrylic sheet.  Using my dremel, I cut out the shape of the cardboard that I mocked up in my previous article.

Then I took out my heat gun and went out to the garage to start doing some testing.

I bent the edges to fit the bumper and I bent the far-right part of the acrylic to fit into the center part of the grille as well.  I used some tape to hold it on for mock up.  While mocking it up I formed around the edges to make it fit the bumper in a better manner.

As you all can see, the fitment was less than optimal.  Bending the edges with my fingers made ugly looking dimples all around the edges.  So, I tried to do it again with a sheet of Lexan (polycarbonate plastic)-- this time not molding with my fingers.

As you can see I used postage tape to mock up the block-off plates.  I then used a heat gun and a metal bar to bend the Lexan to shape.  However after enduring numerous jokes about postage tape being the fastest way around the track from some fellow members in ClubRSX.  I decided to scrap the idea of Lexan altogether as well.

I then set out to do some research.  I asked people what they wanted to see with the plates.  I made an Instagram Post to see if people would be interested in spending money on them.  I posted pictures of my progress to Facebook.  I posted pictures to ClubRSX's Track Chat Thread and to K20A...

And a lot of people wanted to see these mounted flush to the bumper, for one.  And another thing I found out was that people who would actually be using these to serve a functional purpose wouldn't even be running fog lights.  So I decided that making the block-off plates out of a clear material for fog lights would be useless anyway...right?

And since metal WOULD be easier to bend anyway...and since it IS thinner, the fitment would be flush and would leave tighter clearances...right?

So, I decided to use some aluminum instead!  Yes, aluminum is ductile (easy to mold or bend), it is a light metal, and it will definitely be functional, flush, and look pretty good for those interested.

Here you can see how the plate bends into the center part of the grille.  I used tape to mock it up and my bare, man hands to bend it in!

Then I trimmed around the edges where necessary and bent the plate around the edges toward the corner of the bumper and molded that as well..using tape, once again, to mock it up to the bumper.

Here is how the final fitment will look..when I finish the brackets that hold it on.

The brackets need to allow the user to take the plate off without removing the bumper for ease, while still holding the plate over the area firmly.  

With all of that in mind, I decided I needed a bracket with a hole on one side to allow for the user to first bolt the bracket onto the bumper, and with threads on the other side to allow the user to secondly bolt the block-off plate onto the bracket.

However, how in the hell would I get threads on one side of this bracket?  Speed nuts...but how would the speed nuts be kept in the bracket?

That's right, I soldered the speed nuts onto the bracket.  I sanded down the sheet metal, I sanded down the speed nut's edges (with a Dremel of course) and to test to see if my theory would work.  First I put a hole in the bracket.

Then I took my machine bolt and threaded it through the speed nut on one side of the bracket.

Then with that speed nut clamped down using the machine bolt I soldered the edges of the speed nut to the bracket.  It's my first go at this, so be kind with your words.

With all of that said and done, I'm currently working on a way to mount these brackets to the front of the car without having to drill any holes in the bumper.  This may require that the OEM duct cover (not the fog light) be used and drilled through for mounting points for this block-off plate.

However, given that it is difficult to do this fabrication I may end up using expansion nuts in drilled holes in the bumper.  This would require minimal modification and wouldn't look horrendous.

Until then I'm going to let you guys go.  I hope that you all keep up with the blog and stay tuned for more articles.  

I am proud to say that I am going to be doing a review for Private Label Mfg. for one of their race headers for the RSX and EP3!  This will be my first technical "sponsorship" and I hope that everyone is looking forward to reading up on this great company's product.

Until then, peace out readers!

Project DC5 Update: Wheels, Tires, Coilovers, Fogs, and More!

Hello and welcome to another addition of Lexi.Laron's Project DC5.  I last left off with an article about my torque damper installation and have since gone through quite a few different modifications.

Aside from the new wheels and tires, coilovers, and fog lights, I have had some great experiences and have made some awesome DIY's as well.  I've attempted to make parts for the car, eventually giving up the idea due to impracticality, and I've been looking toward the future to with my own K24 build up which I will cover in later articles.

So, long story short, It's time to catch you guys up.

I purchased a set of gold, reverse-stagger CR Kai's in bronze in shotty condition.  They had paint chips in them, but when spun on the balancer they were not out-of-round.  Here's what they looked like when I first got them.

For a while I was debating on re-selling them too, given that I had got them for such a cheap price.  But with encouragement from my girlfriend and from my friends and family, I decided to keep them and do a little something special to them through Vibrant Finish in Penndel, PA.  Here are the specs:

Championship White CR Kai's
17x9" +42 mm offset up front
17x8" +32 mm offset in rear

I was super stoked to get them on, but when you're in school and you're funding all of your own ish, it's not so easy as a lot of you already know.  So I sat around for a while and attended meets and chilled with car friends!  For example, I went to #ShrinkAllTheCars in 2013 with all of my friends!

And while going to #ShrinkAllTheCars in 2013, I heard a loud popping sound..but I ignored it.

However, when I got to FDR Park in Philadelphia, I was notified very rudely about how my tire was flat due to my "VTEC kicking in too hard."  Needless to say, I pulled over, tried to fill up my tire, but was unsuccessful and had to resort to this:

Well that was a kick in the butt.  It's funny how in the car world when something f**ks up on your car sometimes it forces you to replace it with something even better.  It was exactly this that forced me to finally pick up a dang set of Sumitomo HTR Z III's through N-Spire Performance and have them mounted and balanced.

Finally, I had a set of aftermarket wheels on my car.  It's something I had been working on at the time...I didn't want to just settle for a set of knock-offs and I pay for my car myself, so it was important that I could buy it and still be on-budget.  I couldn't have been happier with the results!

However, as it usually goes, the modding bug always bites back and it wasn't too soon before EVERYONE was telling me I needed to lower my car!  So, again, I looked through my budget, planned carefully and BIT THE BULLET!

N-Spire Performance had some issues with Tein due to a discontinuation on the Tein Super Street's with the Pillowball Upper Mounts, but as always, Josh came through and hooked me up with a set of Street Flex's for the same price.  Thanks N-Spire!

It was installation time >:)

Then I went to get the car aligned after having the coilovers installed.

Followed by a healthy fender roll out back.

And of course I had to do a photo shoot after all of this ish was done:

Then I made some small adjustments...Honda decals and Work Emotion CR Kai decals for my wheels.

That's as far as I've come with my baby.  In the distant future I aim to be dropping a k24 frank into my Type-S!  I've already obtained the block and began my dissection which I will cover in some articles in the future ;)

Thanks for reading guys!  I am thankful for my fan base and wish you all the best!

Editorial: What the New NSX Should Have Been

Honda enthusiasts and car lovers alike have been awaiting Honda's new move-- their replacement flagship supercar...the legendary NSX.  

Yes, the NSX is the car that was partially designed by Ayrton Senna, the legendary F1 driver.  Originally created by Honda to be the ultimate driving machine which was cheaper than its competitors, more reliable, and of overall better ride and build quality, the NSX was a dream on wheels.

Yes, this is also the same car that inspired the chief engineer of the McLaren F1 (Gordon Murray) as well, setting a goal for ride quality and handling.  Heck, Murray even went to Honda's R&D facility in Japan asking them to build him a V12 or V14 motor, only to be disappointed by a denial and ultimately having to settle for a mere BMW engine instead.

And yes, as one can imagine, replicating this dream on wheels can only be amongst some of the world's toughest tasks.  Asking engineers to make it eco-friendly, competitively priced, and an amazing vehicle to drive as well???  Well, that's unthinkable...or so you believe.

You see, this 2015 NSX in question is an amazing machine.  Sporting a longitudinally mounted, twin-turbo V6 motor with a hybrid drivetrain and all-wheel drive, this car is expected to be pumping out an estimated 500 horsepower (per Jalopnik).  But I'd like to pick a bone with Acura...and I sort of did in this letter I conjured up while in a conversation with my brother.  

This is what I think the 2015 NSX should have been.  A lot of what I say is just comprised of multiple ideas which I believe would lend themselves well to a new, unique, reliable, quick, light, fun to drive supercar.

So here's what I think the 2015 NSX should have been....all opinions welcome, negative and positive:

Since Acura's concept for the NSX was a cheap, reliable, and fast super car that is also eco-friendly, they should have done a couple of things differently.

The weight associated with a hybrid drivetrain, especially one involving three electric motors (two up front and one in the rear) along with regenerative braking and the large lithium-ion battery is insane.  According to Motor Trend Magazine, the curb weight of the NSX would be about 3100 pounds.

Supercars are supposed to be light, but making a fully carbon body like the new Porsche 918 will cost a lot of money and that is not an option for the new NSX since it doesn't fit the car's concept well.

Since the new Civic Type-R is a turbocharged 2.0 liter meeting emissions requirements in Europe, which are extremely stringent, and since Honda is so good at building motors, what would stop them from building a stout, high-performance, twin, sequential turbo four cylinder capable of revving very high but also capable of good emissions?  For example, an adjustable waste gate that responds to throttle input to bypass much of the exhaust gases when cruising to turn down the boost and use less fuel could be one of many ways to cut back on pollution.

Turbocharged engines also create much more torque than naturally aspirated engines, so the final drive could remain relatively high which would be great for keeping RPM's down at cruising speeds which could also save on gas.  In addition, turbocharged engines are more volumetrically efficient as shown by MotoIQ.com.

There would be drawbacks to the turbocharger.  An OEM turbocharged engine is much more reliable than an engine turbocharged with an aftermarket kit, so perhaps reliability wouldn't be an issue.  However, what about turbo lag?  That would take away from the response otherwise present with the electric motors which give so much torque goodness without the wait!

To assemble the car, take the aforementioned engine and put it in a light, small, aluminum chassis, longitudinally mount it in the middle of the car, and give THAT all-wheel drive.  This would cut down weight by a lot, and it wouldn't need much more power to beat the other "hypercars" because the power to weight ratio would be so high.  The design concept would almost be similar to an Ariel Atom, but with wider tires, more aggressive stance, cleaner looking body panels, full interior, and more.

Ariel Atom

There would also be drawbacks to a small chassis similar to the Ariel Atom's.  If it were like the Ariel Atom's it may not be quite as safe as a chassis in an average production car, or in a top of the line supercar.  It may also be uncomfortable for the driver to get in and out of the car, but then again, when you're getting in a racing bucket seat is it that big of a deal anyway?

Regardless of potential issues, the pros associated with a design concept like this would result in a unique and alternative creation.  Not only would this be a four-cylinder supercar, but it would be affordable, light, and quick...at least in theory.

Of course details are always a pain, but let's be honest-- great ideas don't flourish when someone points out why something won't work, but rather when someone points out ways to get around the limitations.  THIS is a design philosophy I believe Honda and Acura have had for years...and that's why I purchase their products.

Thanks guys,

--Lexi.Laron