Advan GT

FK8 2022 Aesthetic Update

/ jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Sorry in advance for the iPhone photos and the random edits. I haven’t had time to take my camera out and take proper photos and whenever I do remember, I have no battery LOL!

Anyway, I haven’t really posted many updates on the Civic since I barely drove it last year and it just kind of sat there for most of the year. A big reason was because we were just moving into the new place, the garage was getting painted and the flooring done, etc and then I bought the Fit. As you all know, new toys means you forget about the old ones and that was that.

Over the winter, I decided to put the Umber bronze GT’s up for sale just to see if there was any interest. I know there aren’t many around here that are willing to spend the money on wheels if they didn’t already have a set of their own. If they didn’t sell, then no biggie. I’d just continue to run them. I was only looking for a black set to change the color scheme anyway.

Well, stars aligned for a bunch of us and the set is going to Casey and his white FK8, meanwhile Nam in Montreal was selling his set of limited Smoked Black GT’s that was for his FK8 which he sold for a Supra. It’s like it was all meant to be.

That, paired with the awesome cool fact that Yokohama Canada sponsored me this year was another blessing in disguise and I’m totally stoked to be working with them and their brand. To be honest, I was never big into the idea of being “sponsored” because I never thought I needed it. There was always those guys (you know who I’m talking about) going out there and asking for sponsorships and it just made them seem so desperate that it was more about getting “free parts” or discounts than it was about repping the brand. I think that’s why many brands have such a bad taste in their mouths when it comes to that sacred word – “sponsorship”. To put it simply, if I loved a brand and their products, I was going to buy it from whoever could get it for me. But to have the audacity to email or message a company asking for handouts is the worst.

Anyway, the Yokohama Canada team was kind enough to send me a set of 265/35 AD08R’s. Slightly wider than the 255’s that were on the Umber Bronze GT’s. What better pairing than to have it go on the new Smoked Black GT’s. Thanks again to Yokohama Canada for the set of tires. Too rad. I’m just posting some shots of the swap and some other random pics I had that were somewhat worthy of posting on the blog… I’ll take some proper photos soon!

It was a nice day a few weeks back so I decided to do the swap and get the wheels cleaned for Casey.

I love them both…

If only I could afford to keep both and run both LOL

Aria – helpful as always – drying the wheels carefully. It’s funny because she knows to be careful and never to let the cloth touch the ground or the tire because it could pick something up and scratch the paint/finish. LOL

Umber bronze in the sun is still amazing tbh.

Umber bronze off. Smoked black on.

Just a quick shot outside before pulling her back in again. Back to the issues of black wheels on a white car – basically underexposed or overexposed – no inbetween LOL

Excuse the dirty/muddy floors…

This was after I washed the floors as best I could for now until winter is officially gone. The Fit might be taking the back seat for most of the year while I enjoy the Type R this time…

With the change over to 265 AD08R’s means the need for more camber. AD08R’s run fairly wide so these would guarantee rubbing. Luckily again for me, Nam had a set of Eibach rear camber arms that were coming in that he obviously couldn’t use on his Supra, so I took them off his hands.

For only 2 bolts, this was a bitch to install without the right tools. The innermost bolt is really tucked away inside leaving very little room for maneuverability and wiggling…

Eventually was able to get it all done after borrowing some tools from a handy neighbour (Thanks Lanny!)

I just recently took it to Mike Wu over at Airdrie Honda to do some maintenance and then dial in the suspension piece. He’s the only dude that touches my car at the dealership – I don’t trust anyone else. When you find a good tech, keep em close LOL.

I asked him to dial the rear camber to -2.5 and the front to -1.6. The fronts are OK with no rubbing – even on that front tab (yet). And the rears rubbed the plastic lip underneath that you can see in the picture above. I ended up marking and dremelling  the lip that it was hitting and it has reduced the rub significantly. On big dips, it still rubs the inside metal which I don’t think I’ll be cutting anytime soon – but it’s bearable since it’s only a tiny scrape. If anything, I might get Mike to dial in to -2.7 and see if that does the trick, otherwise all is good now.

And the shot of it last night LOL. Right after this, I also got a massive rock chip which sucked. That makes for 3 massive rock chips that have spread about 10″ each on each corner. I’ve had them all filled because I ain’t about the $1200 windshield replacement life just yet LOL.

Once the weather warms up a bit more, I’ll take proper photos of the new combo.

More Editing Exploration… The Endless Journey

/ jasonhoang / 2 Comments

Decided to go out at sunset last night to try some different lighting for photos. I usually go out during the day which starts to make me feel a little complacent. Like I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been playing around with editing again rather than my usual. I’ve been shooting and editing the same way for the last 6 or 7 years and while I don’t have an issue with it, I just feel like it needs to evolve a bit more.

A big part of shooting and editing for me comes from the location and the subject. If one or the other or both are uninteresting to me, I just can’t find the inspiration to shoot. Luckily for me, the Type R still intrigues me enough as a subject that all I have to do lately is find a good location – which is also a tough thing to do LOL

Anyway, played around with a few different types of angles and colours/edits to see where it would take me… Quite happy with the end result on most of them. I think next time I’ll try going out when it’s totally dark out to see what I can do.

This was probably one of my favourite edits. Part of the editing process for me is deciding what tone I want to move forward with and then start weeding out the colours that don’t belong. In this particular example, I wanted to move towards the warmer side of the spectrum so lots of orange/yellow remains but with the weather also being a cooler day with some clouds, I left some of the complimentary colour (teal) in as well.

The sunset was perfect for this shot IMO.

For this one, I took the same approach except I took out the complimentary colour and went straight with a warm tone. Again, something I don’t always do because I like to keep my colours natural but I like the look here.

About the same edit as the one above. I left a little more teal in but orange/yellows still dominate the picture.

And the opposite of above – I took out more of the warmth and left more cool tones in only because the sunset was no longer directly in the photo.

I moved to a new location – similar to the one from my previous post – and I was just trying out different angles. I’m not much of a vertical shooter, but this one turned out decent. Works well as my phone background too 🙂

Another vertical shot with a little desaturation.

🙂

Gas station pic…

I spent a lot of time on this one believe it or not… Trying to get the colours and the feel of the photo right. I ended up playing with some custom smoke/fog brushes and added a bit here that you might be able to slightly see. Not sure how I feel about adding artificial effects yet… But we’ll see how I can learn to play with it more.

Mission: Cool Daily Driver – Completed

/ jasonhoang / 2 Comments

Finally got a chance to take some pics of the final form of the FK8 for now. It’s been a long (and expensive) few weeks to get to this point. I had the vision long before I picked up the car, it was just a matter of getting all the parts to get it done. I was lucky enough to be in a “at the right place at the right time” situation for everything and it all started with the wheels, like I mentioned in my post when I got the wheels. Everything kind of followed along from there.

I’m lucky to be surrounded with such a diverse group of friends and companies that are able to source and get me what I need quick. If you know me (or have dealt with me), I always want things yesterday and can be super impatient LOL. Luckily, everyone that has helped me along the way knows this and that’s the only reason why the car sits the way it does today – less than one month in of owning the car.

I’m pretty damn happy with how it turned out – not a huge surprise if I’m going to be honest – only because I’ve imagined it, photoshopped it, and illustrated it so many damn times. It’s just good to see in person and to have it all come to reality.

Profile shot so you can see the drop – this shows it well. I spent a lot of time deciding on which suspension to go with. There isn’t much, which makes it easy but hard at the same time…

A few options off the top of my head is the infamous Swift Springs – which is one of the lowest drops you can get right now. RSR Super downs which would be pretty damn close or lower. Both of which would be too low for my liking and my needs, despite it looking super slick.

Another option on the more conservative side is the Eibach pro-kit. I was originally thinking of this, but then Kevin Yong (also another FK8 friend) swayed me away from it because of the progressive spring rate. It essentially lowers the rear slightly more than the front but it looks uneven at the end of the day. It’s also about a 0.8″ drop so it’s a very light drop. The same goes for the Spoon springs – progressive, but also a lot pricier than it’s counter-part Pro Kit.

At the angle above where you’re down low – it almost looks like there’s a lot of gap but at other angles, there isn’t. It really depends on where you’re looking at it.

I settled on Eibach Sportlines instead – a nice 1″ drop all around, not progressive – practical and usable for daily driving with the two kids and a wife in the car. Don’t have to worry too much about clearance or not being able to get places.

For the tires – Alex was able to help me out and source a set of Yokohama AD08R’s in 255/35/18 really quick. This man does not sleep and is able to get things in so quick. I’m happy to be part of the Honda family again because of him LOL!

It’s a nice change from the Michelin PSS that I’ve been using over the years. I think these are the most aesthetic tires IMO and it’s a nice pair up with the Advan GT’s.

I just hate hate how the spoke engraving is upside down when lined up with the Brembo rotor LOL. F!

I know there are some elitists out there with lug nuts and balk at the idea of pairing Rays lugs with Advan wheels. I’ll be honest with you – I didn’t even think of the pairing when I purchased them nor did I know Advan made lug nuts LOL. Still looks good to me though… I just tell people I’m trying not to be racist. 🙂

Overall – a nice simple look for me for now. I enjoy how the car looks and it really doesn’t need much to be decent.

The Umber Bronze looks fantastic – slightly darker than the Volk bronze but also much glossier. I mean at first glance, you might even think these were TE37’s if you weren’t paying much attention since that’s the combo most FK8 owners are on.

The great thing about Umber Bronze is that it looks different depending on the lighting. It looks like a very dark brown in the shade, but turns to a high gloss and bright bronze in the sun.

Here’s a shot in the sun for comparison…

The one thing that I “try” to do when building my cars is to be different. I know, it’s so cliche but it’s just what makes building a car so much more rewarding, you know? It’s not like these Advan GT’s in Umber Bronze were made just for me – there are probably hundreds of sets worldwide in this colour by now. The same goes for the Mugen visors and de-striping the red and every other mod I’ve done.

The FK8 – like the FRS platform – is such a popular one that it becomes hard to make it different. The only thing that can help you stand out at the end of the day is the execution. Anyone can take a Type R and slap TE37’s on it but the execution of it all is what’s important – how clean is the car/wheels, how’s the ride height, how’s the paint condition – everything comes together. I think of building my car as getting ready to show it at a car show every time. If you only get your car ready for a car show during a car show – chances are it won’t look like it’s full ready for a car show. Don’t @ me.

On another note – I really dig the concavity of the GT’s even in this size. It’s a little more aggressive than TE37’s that it almost competes with the new Face 4 TE37’s that just got released.

And one from the back – I wish I had a nice 135L F2.0 to really get a good shot of the rear but I won’t talk about spending money anymore because Diana will read this soon and she’ll kill me before I make it to bed.

I’ll try to get more shots soon!

Gyeon Q2 Rim x Advan GT Premium

/ jasonhoang / Leave a comment

You know… The one thing that sucks about modding cars is that it’s never simple. It’s never just “I’m going to get some wheels and call it a day”. It’s always “I’m going to get some wheels… Wait, I need tires too. Wait, I need lug nuts too. Wait, I need suspension too. Wait, I need to mount and balance them too. Wait, I need to install everything too. Wait, I need to protect the wheels with ceramic coat so they don’t get fucked too”. I mean, the last part isn’t necessarily everyone’s train of thought but it was mine and the point is that it sucks because it gets really expensive really fast.

I’m not going to dabble in the specifics because this post is supposed to be about ceramic coating the Advan GT’s. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got Advan GT’s for the CTR. My plan wasn’t really to do anything to the car this year (I promise), but Peter Luu (@realwheeldeal) of Invision Motorsports up in Edmonton happened to DM me one day of a shot of the new Umber Bronze Advan GT Premium asking me if I wanted it before he posted it up for grabs.

Just a quick note on Peter and Invision Motorsports – they are one of the few physical standing shops left that is around here that carry a wide range of JDM parts so that they are readily available for customers. Most shops have a few display sets here and there but most of the time, it would be special order and you would rarely walk out of a shop with a part the same day unless it was an air freshener or something along those lines. I’ve been following Peter and the shop page on Instagram for quite some time now and their parts inventory is impressive – the only time I’ve ever seen a shop remotely close to theirs are those in the States – ICB Motorsports, RavSpec, etc… And it’s exciting because we’re so used to hopping on our phones or computers to do online shopping and getting it done quickly that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a kid in a candy store and physically see these iconic JDM wheels on the wall or coilovers on a shelf for you to touch and pick up. A big part of building your car is being physically able to look at something to admire the colour, the fit and the finish because it helps you imagine your build. There’s only so much an image on a browser can do for you.

Peter has a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/realwheeldeal) where he talks mainly about all your favourite JDM wheels (and other accessories/parts) and reviews them thoroughly. It gives you an extra viewpoint and angles on wheels that you don’t get through blogs or manufacturer website specs. It’s quite a rare thing to see nowadays in the world of online shopping – but after following along for sometime now – I knew I wouldn’t be making a mistake picking up the GT’s from Peter. When he DM’d me the first time, I declined because I didn’t want to be poor and it wasn’t in the stars for me but I think that’s what Peter’s plan was… To put the bug in my head to eat away at me slowly, and that’s exactly what happened. I think I talked about it everyday to Diana and she eventually told me to splurge and do it for an early Father’s Day gift. Do you know what that feels like? It’s like a brain orgasm for car dudes.

It was Saturday morning and I messaged Peter about the GT’s. I know in his mind, he knew what he did and I know he’s not guilty of it but he should be. He started up the video chat and said “let me show you more angles of the wheel and how it compares to Volk bronze”. That was it. Game over – even though Diana had already given me permission, I had a small ounce of power left to say no but as soon as he put it up to a TE37v and then put it on a scale, I let go. The foreplay was too much. I asked Peter to send me additional pics just so I could tease myself a little more for whatever reason and the straw that broke the camels back was when I asked him for a low angle picture to get the concavity of the wheel. The second he sent it, I said “Fuck you, Peter. Take my money” and that was the story of how I got the Advan GT’s.

Peter also arranged for his friend to deliver the wheels down to Calgary from Edmonton the following Monday. A++++ service from the team up there – I have nothing but good words for them and now I have my dream wheels.

But I digress, let’s talk about ceramic coating for a bit!

I’ll admit right now that I’ve never ceramic coated anything in my life. I’ve been interested in the idea but never followed through. I enjoy detailing and I enjoy the process of paint correction and finishing up with a nice touch of wax and sealant so that you can take in all your hard work when it’s all done. The idea of ceramic coating to me is the easy way out because you do it once and it’s done for a long time – but what if I like waxing my cars? I actually don’t know how I feel about it…

However, the thought of ceramic coating my wheels is a much less arduous task than ceramic coating the whole damn car. The other plus side is that there is much less prep involved in coating brand new wheels that have never seen dirt versus prepping a full car that probably needs everything under the sun before ceramic coat touches it.

The only go-to place for detailing solutions around here is Carzilla. It is THE best place because they have a huge amount of products and the best customer service hands down. I picked up a bottle of Gyeon Q2 Rim – designed specifically for wheels. I got home and prepped the wheels by polishing them lightly and then removing all the oil and grease that might have been left over after production. After that, the gloves go on and the application begins…

I don’t have any pictures of the progress because my hands had ceramic coating on them so I didn’t want to touch the camera and the speed at which you have to work makes it difficult to take breaks in-between. Instead, I’ll just write about it…

All these pictures are after the first coat was completed. I’ll be honest – it doesn’t add much more shine or gloss to it than the rim already has. I don’t think that’s the purpose – so if you’re looking for extra gloss – you can top up with wax after the fact.

The process for Gyeon Q2 Rim is actually very straight forward. You apply a generous amount in a nice vertical line on the suede cloth provided. The foam brick is helpful for spokes but not so much for the inner parts of the wheel.

Once applied on the cloth, you’d work in sections ideally depending on the wheel design. The GT is simple enough that I’m able to work on each spoke as one section, then each inner spoke as another section, the inner and out lip as another section and the center area as the final section.

For Gyeon Q2 rim specifically, there’s no actual waiting or drying time needed. You wipe on and wipe off. It adheres as soon as it’s on the surface. However, depending on the humidity you’re working in would depend on how fast you wipe it off. The higher the humidity, the quicker you’d wipe it off.

By waiting too long, the coating can get tacky and hard to remove which is not what you want. I was working inside so the humidity was pretty average at around 46% according to my Nest so I applied the coat, waited about 15 seconds and then wiped off with a clean microfiber cloth. It’s that easy.

The curing time after you’ve wiped it all off is a minimum of 4 hours before applying a second coat. If you don’t want a second coat, it needs 12-14 hours before you drive it and then 2 weeks before the wheel sees any type of detergent or soap to fully cure.

I will be applying three coats of Gyeon Q2 Rim as there is plenty in the bottle for at least that much depending on wheel design. The main reason I want to ceramic coat my wheels is because cleaning wheels is a bitch, to put it simply. Especially the inner barrels – ceramic coating the inside should hopefully make it an easier task to clean them when the time comes.

The life expectancy of Gyeon Q2 Rim with one coat is quoted at 1 year. I don’t think 3 coats means 3 years, but hopefully it brings me many years of easily washable wheels LOL.

The end! Can’t wait to get these suckers on.