VIS Carbon Fiber Trunk *GOOD INFO HERE*

**Stewi** · 03-11-2010, 08:42 PM

OK so I was in on the HiRev CF Trunk GB that went south and I lost my $100. I did consider spending the extra money and getting the trunk from GT Fabrications but I really didnt want to pay shipping twice since I was going to get a CF hood as well. I decided to get the VIS OEM CF hood and Trunk. I bought these from JM Auto Racing as they are close to me about 15 mins away and they were helpful with my questions. I received my hood and trunk yesterday, all is well except the trunk has a little chip on the edge, 100% repairable with a little TLC and VIS is going to make good on compensating me to fix it, so im OK with it.

So here is the deal. There is alot of talk around the forum that the VIS trunk doesnt fit. We have all seen those pics of MrJaydeeone's trunk, Cali's trunk, Censee's trunk and everyone else who had one that fit terrible. I was a little hesitant to order mine at first, but like everything else on my car, I know how to make things fit and im not scared to get my hands dirty. With tht being said, I saw pics of 2kGalants car and his trunk fits pretty damn good and I was convinced I was gonna buy it.

I installed the trunk today and belive me, its not a "direct bolt-on" affair, but its very doable with some patience.

First remove the tension bars in the trunk, I dont know how to remove them the "right" way but I think your supposed to remove the hinges, since I had no intentions on keeping mine, I cut them in half with an air cutter and slid them out. I did not have the latch on the CF trunk at this point.

I started off putting the trunk on and doing a rough test fit, the bolts from the OEM trunk dont fit WTF!?!? Ok they are totally different, the bolts the VIS trunk needs are a size down in diameter from the stock trunk bolts, I went to the hardware store and got them, I dont remember the exact size/pitch. The trunk sat close to the passenger side, loose on the driver side, high on both sides and short (front to back). I took the trunk off, set it aside and went to town on the hinges. I "opened" up the holes in the hinges using a dremel and a carbide cutting bit, essentially you want to make the hole longer from top to bottom by about 5-6mm and wider by about 3-4mm. Remember to open the holes on both sides of the hinge since the bit isnt long enough to do them together. I put the trunk back on, fits much better, was able to get the gaps close to even on both sides and was able to get the trunk to sit a little further toward the back of the car so it would be flush with the tail lights as its supposed to be.

Now I install the latch and slowly close the trunk down, it doesnt latch. I put a little dap of grease on the striker inside the trunk (the piece the latch catches is called a striker just in case you werent sure) I slowly close the trunk, let the latch hit the striker and the grease, open it back and see the latch is hitting the top of the striker so it doesnt catch. I get 6 small washers, but 3 under each side of the striker, total thickness of the 3 washers stacked together about 3-4mm, bolted the striker back in, close the trunk and finally it catches and hold. Great right? Nope not quite yet....

So now its latched and the trunk is sitting about 4-5mm high on both sides. So now I remove the striker again and enlarge the bolt holes in it, I made them longer vertically allowing me to slide the striker sorta downward or "inward" if you will pushing it toward inside the trunk. I enlarged the holes about 4-5mm. Close the trunk again, nice, now it fits really well. The gaps are all in check and fit acceptable, nearly as good as the OEM metal trunk. I make sure the trunk is latched close and I try to pull up on it, it has a little play up and down, so I removed the rubber bumpers from the stock trunk and installed them into the CF trunk, they just screw in like stock, the VIS trunk had the holes for them, I screwed up in nearly all the way, closed the trunk, it latched and the pressure from the bumpers being compressed took that up and down play out, so now it fits good.

A few important notes... Some people say the VIS trunk is JDM spec thats why it doesnt fit, this is false. The VIS trunk is in fact EURO spec if anything. If you look around you will see the JDM VR4's trunk looks like ours, the license plate "pocket" area is shaped like ours, the VIS trunk has the long narrow one meant to fit Euro style plates like those founds in Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc. With that being said the stock molding doesnt fit and it also has two license plate light openings where the 8g has only 1. You can easily install 2 USDM license plate lamps and be fine, they fit. For the molding most people say to use the 00-01 Civic Coupe trunk molding and trim it for the light, I might try that, but im trying to get the Euro spec molding first, as I really dont feel like buying the civic one and cutting it, but if it comes down to it, I will. I also have a JDM rear bumper on my car, not sure if that matters, some people with the VIS trunk say it hits the top of the US spec bumper, on mine, it ever so slightly grazes the bumper, when I say grazes I meant barely rests against it when closed.

I also want to note my trunk has the VIS Authenticty badge with the production date, the date is 10/2007, which means they never re-did their mold, so maybe those guys with trunks that arent fitting well can make them work. I think the biggest fitment problem is if you try to use the stock tension rods or trunk shocks, the force of those when closed lifts the trunk. For now I have nothing to hold it up, I may make a prop rod for it like the hood has, or make my own spring system, I will do that in a few weeks and keep you posted. At the end of the day, I would rather have a manual prop rod on my trunk versus having it look/fit like SHIT!

I am tired of all this typing... I hope this info helps someone out there.......

now for the pics........

here is what im talking about the license pocket being wider than the USDM one, most people know this already but anyway for reference....

notice the tape measurement from the tail light across the body line in the trunk to the "pocket area" roughly 2.5"

now the same on the stock USDM trunk... about 6.5"

**Da_Prodigy** · 03-11-2010, 08:51 PM

wow looks good after all the modifications you did to make it fit as best as possible makes me wanna get one

**polishmafia** · 03-11-2010, 09:48 PM

All it takes it a little time and effort. Good write up!

**Galantfan88** · 03-11-2010, 09:55 PM

Stewi this is awesome, thank you vary much for this, and it looks awesome on the car great job

**BGR** · 03-11-2010, 09:56 PM

Do you think water will leak in? I noticed some gaps from the side view.

**Stewi** · 03-11-2010, 10:03 PM

maybe the angle is little funny, the gaps at most are 1-2mm larger than stock, thats not going to cause any leaks. I went in thru the back seat and looked at it from the inside and its sitting against the weatherstrip pretty firmly.

**qnz** · 03-11-2010, 10:11 PM

Great Info Brian.

Have you thought about using gas shocks like Jason, Noel and I have?

**Cali** · 03-12-2010, 01:45 AM

good work. it does fit perfect when you remove the tension bars but not having anything to hold it up gets old reaaall quick.

the gas shocks did cause it to move up a bit for me but it was a trade off...im sure with a little work you'll be able to make it fit just fine.

**Stewi** · 03-12-2010, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by Cali

good work. it does fit perfect when you remove the tension bars but not having anything to hold it up gets old reaaall quick.

the gas shocks did cause it to move up a bit for me but it was a trade off...im sure with a little work you'll be able to make it fit just fine.

yeah im working on that next. Im pretty sure im gonna make a prop for it just like the hood has. It will be fairly easy and inexpensive. I dont daily drive the car so I dont think its a huge inconvenience. I have also entertained making my own spring system but its a little more complex, I will need to research it further.

**tjones156** · 03-12-2010, 02:18 PM

Looks great bro and good looking out the on the detailed write up

**mrjaydeeone** · 03-12-2010, 06:50 PM

nice write up and great job Brian. I have had my trunk since before 2007, so it's possible that like you said the earlier ones might have fitament issues even beyond the work you did. I know I have a bunch of washers under the trunk catch piece, a few ended up getting lost when the car was repainted so the shop used nuts instead, less to worry about dropping once the bolt is pulled out. I don't have the tension bars, those were removed when the struts went in. As far as the civic garnish, that's what I am using and that didn't have to be cut down at all. I had attempted to get my hands on a euro garnish, but those got pretty pricey.

**Dominicano** · 03-12-2010, 11:05 PM

Brian hope this help below is a picture of the VR4 trunk and how it holds up the trunk, since you have a welder you should be able to do this easily and decide what tension you want on your trunk. and its not so visible if you put it close to the inside panels.

**Stewi** · 03-13-2010, 01:03 AM

Nice. Thanks Rich. Who's car is that pic from?

Thats sorta what I invisioned it looking like in my head, I have another idea too that im going to check out but the srpings are probably the cheapest and easiest.

**starh4x** · 03-13-2010, 01:37 AM

ah thats how my 8G was as well, and it has a little carpet cover thats missing in the pic

**Dominicano** · 03-13-2010, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Stewi

Nice. Thanks Rich. Who's car is that pic from?

Thats sorta what I invisioned it looking like in my head, I have another idea too that im going to check out but the srpings are probably the cheapest and easiest.

Thats from Bernard's car I asked him to snap a pic a long time ago cause I forgot to do it myself when I went to the MD meet that weekend.

**Stewi** · 03-13-2010, 06:01 PM

Nice. Im gonna experiment this week.....

**qnz** · 03-13-2010, 07:23 PM

did you happen to weight the stock vs cf trunk?

I got my car corner weighted the other day. Total was 3109 lbs not including me in the car. Thats with my heavy 19" wheels, sub, spare, dozens of electronics, 1000 yards of wiring....

**Stewi** · 03-13-2010, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by qnz

did you happen to weight the stock vs cf trunk?

I got my car corner weighted the other day. Total was 3109 lbs not including me in the car. Thats with my heavy 19" wheels, sub, spare, dozens of electronics, 1000 yards of wiring....

I didnt weight it but just judging it myself by holding both of them, the CF trunk has to be a solid 15-20lbs lighter.

**GOOSEY2099** · 03-15-2010, 12:44 PM

Great Writeup man, and it fits really nice.. Aaron, my car is 2600lb all around... Lose the AT Tranny!!!

**Stewi** · 03-15-2010, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by GOOSEY2099

Great Writeup man, and it fits really nice.. Aaron, my car is 2600lb all around... Lose the AT Tranny!!!

LOL

Dude I think you got weighed on a broken scale. The car stock is roughly 3050lbs with the auto trans. shave 45 lbs for the auto tranny to 5 speed and your closer to 3000, then add your heavy turbo, intercooler, extra piping, larger exhaust, all the electronics, sub box, brembo calipers, larger rotors, etc, there is no way your car lost weight by adding that stuff.

My car is getting heavy now to push into & out of the garage after I installed that beast of an EVO tranny. I bet the EVO trans & modified T-case weigh about 20lbs more than the stock auto trans.

......end rant