Behind Detail Driven: Tai's EK9 Civic Type R

To tell the story of Tai’s EK9, we needed more than the car itself.

We traveled to Southern California to meet with Tai of Coto Collection, Aaron from Spoon Sports, and Kenji from GReddy Performance, three people who each understood a different chapter of how it became what it is today.

At the center of the trip was Tai’s Spoon-certified EK9 Civic Type R. We were there to document the story behind the car and capture its latest chapter: the installation of GYEON Paint Protection Film.

Tai is the owner of Coto Collection and a GYEON Partner Studio. His connection to detailing began while growing up around his father’s body shop, where he was introduced to polishing and paintwork at an early age. After building a career outside the automotive industry, he eventually returned to that foundation and created a studio centered around high-end detailing and a particularly obsessive standard of finish.

His EK9 is the clearest expression of that mindset.

Tai’s connection to the car began long before this particular example entered his life. Like many Honda enthusiasts of his generation, he first encountered the EK9 through Japanese videos, tuning culture, and Gran Turismo. It was the Civic Type R the United States never received and the Honda he never forgot.

The opportunity arrived through a phone call from a friend who had come across an exceptionally clean EK9. It was a low-mileage example with mostly original paint, but Tai had never seen it in person. He took the chance, brought the car over from Japan, and began shaping it into the EK9 he had imagined years earlier. Spoon Sports and GReddy Performance would each become an important part of that process, making Aaron and Kenji essential voices in telling its story.

Over the course of the shoot, we sat down with all three to discuss the car from their perspective. Tai shared what the EK9 represented to him and how he approached the build. Aaron spoke about Spoon’s philosophy and the significance of its official certification. Kenji walked us through the mechanical work and the level of care that went into areas most people will never see.

Rather than explain every component or modification, the film focuses on the thinking behind them. It is a story about how far an iconic car can evolve without losing the qualities that made it worth wanting in the first place.

By the time we arrived in California, the EK9 had reached another important stage in that journey. Tai had already used an extensive correction process and GYEON ceramic protection to bring its mostly original finish as close to perfection as it could safely go. With portions of the paint too thin to correct again, protecting what remained became increasingly important.

The GYEON PPF installation brings the story into the present. It adds protection to a finish that cannot simply be recreated, while allowing Tai to continue using the car as intended. The EK9 was not built to spend the rest of its life beneath a cover. It was built for canyon roads, track days, and the experiences that made him want one in the first place.

Detail Driven brings those different chapters together through the people who lived them. It is Tai’s story, but it is also a closer look at the community, experience, and attention behind one of the most thoughtfully built Hondas in the country.

Watch Detail Driven: Tai's EK9 Civic Type R