,
The APR carbon fiber splitter is now sealed against the bottom of the front bumper. Even minor leakage of air here can greatly reduce downforce. The car has a complete carbon fiber flat bottom which is unchanged from last year.
Carbon fiber stagnation plates are now positioned in front of the wheels to increase the splitter's effectiveness without much drag penalty. The stagnation plates have a strong spillover at the junction of the splitter endplates that creates a side vortex that helps the car's undertray work better in conjunction with the side skirts.
The custom carbon fiber headlight covers shaves 12 lbs off the front of the car. With a more rigid roll cage, the car gained 80 lbs over the previous year. 
Since the Spoon Sports Civic is underpowered relative to the other FWD unlimited competitors, increasing downforce is preferably done without increasing drag. With lower power, any aero elements that can increase drag have to be considered carefully. Overall, the size of the aerodynamic elements was not changed and the car's frontal area was not changed. With the sealing of excess vents in the front bumper and the ducting of air to the heat exchangers there is a possibility that the drag has been reduced while downforce was definitely increased over the previous year. A front diffuser was planned but could not be completed in time for the event.
Insufficient front downforce was a factor in the car's losing the record to two other cars, the car was clearly slower in some of Buttonwillow's high-speed turns and Dai complained of not being able to put the power down like some of the other cars in the fast run group in these turns.
The side and rear aero was unchanged since the last year. A fenced side skirt helps keep air from curling under the car. The planned front diffuser was going to take better advantage of the side skirts.The flat bottom feeds the main diffuser. The diffuser angle is relatively steep but generous vortex generators help keep the airflow attached. There is no problem with developing sufficient rear downforce, just that the car needs more in the front.
Previously the car had a barely legal minimalist cage reminiscent of a Cusco bolt in street cage with a single door bar added to the driver's side to meet the rules. Chris Eimer built a more American style cage that triangulates all of the suspension pick up points together. This is much safer and has the potential to improve the handling as well. You can see the cage structure through the rear trunk opening.
