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| 1992 Honda Civic CX JCR |
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By most accounts,
179 mph is fast. And by most accounts, to do so in about 8.8 seconds is
nothing short of remarkable. Those were the digits that the Pacific
Northwest’s SpeedFactory Racing Civic chalked up for itself less than
three years ago, and those were the numbers that compelled SpeedFactory
co-owner James Kempf and crew—who’ve never been ones to rest on their
laurels—to target uncharted territory—low eights
Despite the timeslips, Kempf says that “[2012] was the year we
decided it was finally time to move away from [our] street car roots and
make this thing a real race car.” Although a street car only by one’s
wildest stretch of the imagination, a “real race car” it is now indeed.
And it takes a real race car to compete within the likes of import drag
racing’s modern-day Outlaw class. Since its 15-week transformation,
SpeedFactory’s Civic has gone on to post a record-setting 8.29-second
quarter-mile pass at 185.21 mph, with successive trips down the strip in
excess of 190 mph—that’s quicker than any Outlaw car’s gone to date and
faster than anything in front-wheel-drive Honda history. .
Don’t make the
mistake of thinking that SpeedFactory’s hatchback was any sort of slouch
prior to all of this, though. Since its debut in 2009, Kempf and
company’s dominated turbo street car classes, winning almost every event
they’ve shown face at. Later it became the first Street Comp car in the
Northwest to run nines and eventually the first Outlaw car on the West
Coast to break into the eights. In the words of Kempf: “This is the
Outlaw car that put the Northwest on the map.”
Right about now you’re expecting to read a story of how difficult
it was for the SpeedFactory guys to gain ground so quickly within the
Outlaw ranks. You won’t read that story here. Cars like the SpeedFactory
Civic make it easy for writers like us to not have to reach into the
predictable grab bag of automotive journalistic clichés. You know the
ones: “Timmy always wanted a Honda but couldn’t afford one. When Timmy
finally got his, though, the engine blew/car got stolen/transmission
failed.” Foretelling hard times and sob stories ensue. Poor Timmy.
Unlike Timmy, the
SpeedFactory guys know what they’re doing, and with the help of title
sponsor Competition Clutch, they now had the means to do it.
Horsepower—lots more of it—was chief among items to be addressed.
Transcending from high eights to low eights is exponentially more
difficult than getting your mother’s 17-second Accord sedan into the
16s. As such, the limit of SpeedFactory’s original 900-plus-horsepower B
series was raised to 1,300hp and 750 lb-ft of torque—roughly eight
times the engine’s original output. Despite the horsepower figures, the
engine block, cylinder head, and crankshaft all remain factory-issue.
Whoever from Honda designed its B series some 25 years ago should be
proud
Anyone who’s ever
participated in organized drag racing knows that in order for any
sanctioning body to acknowledge a record, the car’s got to be legal. And
anybody who’s ever participated in organized drag racing knows that in
order for the court of public opinion (i.e., the interwebz) to
acknowledge a record, the pass has got to be backed up. Kempf and
company took care of both of these concerns. To start, an SFI-approved
25.5-spec rollcage was fabricated into place. That along with a Stroud
parachute and window net as well as a Safecraft fire-suppression system
(among other things) help appease track officials. To ensure
repeatability and superior data acquisition, SpeedFactory swapped its
Hondata engine management system for a MoTeC M800 ECU and individual,
external ignition coils. Kempf will be the first to tell you that
Hondata’s system is no joke and that the team fared consistently with
it, but none of that was without challenges. “I had to constantly chase
the tune,” Kempf quips about the demands of racing at numerous tracks
with varying circumstances and weather conditions. “Much of the tuning
[was] raw and based on gut feelings combined with what we could see via
in-car and out-of-car video footage.” Under the JCR three-piece front
end, the crew also elected to swap out its air-to-air intercooler for a
custom liquid-to-air core that’s good for up to 2,000hp. Kempf comments
on what originally drew fans to the car and why the upgrades weren’t as
straightforward as you’d imagine: “The S300 and air-to-air setup was one
of the car’s biggest draws, though, and a lot of people really liked it
for its pure simplicity. It showed what can be accomplished without
having the best of everything out there, so making the change was kind
of a difficult decision for us.”
It turns out that the
SpeedFactory boys are getting comfortable with change. Kempf says the
alterations aren’t over with and that significant engine and chassis
modifications are drawing near. “Some of it might be a step backward,
but at this point it’s all about testing different things,” he says. “As
she sits right now, it should be able to run 8.20s on a great track,
possibly 8.10s if we get some amazing conditions. Only time will tell.
Running sevens is a bit of a stretch and seems damn near impossible, but
you never know. We never thought we could do what we are doing now
either.”
SPECIFICATIONS
Propulsion
2.0L B18C1 engine block
Avid Racing solid engine mounts
Precision Turbo 7285 T4 turbocharger
SpeedFactory custom liquid-to-air intercooler
Custom 3.5-inch intercooler piping
Wilson 90mm throttle body
SpeedFactory-modified Golden Eagle intake manifold
SpeedFactory exhaust manifold
TiAL V60 wastegate
Custom 4-inch up-pipe
Golden Eagle sleeves
Arias 10.5:1 pistons
BME aluminum rods
ACL bearings
ATI Super Damper
Ported B16A cylinder head
Skunk2 Pro 1+ camshafts
Ferrea Competition Plus valves
Ferrea valvesprings
Ferrea titanium retainers
Ferrea keepers
SpeedFactory custom fuel cell
Weldon 2345-A fuel pump
Weldon fuel filter
Weldon fuel pressure regulator
Golden Eagle fuel rail
Injector Dynamics 2,000cc/min fuel injectors x 8
XRP AN fittings and lines
SpeedFactory oil catch tank
Koyo radiator
Spal cooling fan
SamcoSport radiator hoses
Denso IK31 spark plugs
M&W Ignitions PRO-Drag4
Honda CBR ignition coils
Albins dog box transmission
SpeedFactory shift change holder assembly
T1 Race Development G Force shifter
Competition Clutch triple-disc clutch
Driveshaft Shop Pro-Level spool
Driveshaft Shop Pro-Level axles
MoTeC M800 engine management
Suspension
Strange double-adjustable coilovers
PCI bronze bushings
Resistance
Brembo rotors
Integra brake conversion
Earl’s steel-braided lines
Wheels & Tires
Front: 15x10 Bogart Pro-4, 26x10 M&H
Rear: 15x3.5 Bogart Pro-4, 24.5x3.5 M&H
Exterior
JCR three-piece front end
JM’s Auto vinyl wrap
Stroud parachute
Interior
SFI 25.5-spec rollcage
Kirkey Econonomy Drag seat
G-Force 5-pt harness
Stroud window net
Safecraft fire-suppression system
Sparco Tuner steering wheel
AiM Sports MXL Strada dash
Props
Entire SpeedFactory family, Competition Clutch, Golden Eagle
Manufacturing, Arias Pistons, BME, Avid Racing, Ferrea, Albins, ESA
Designs, M&H Tires, Bogart Wheels, Honda-Tech.com, South Tacoma
Honda
By Aaron Bonk Photography by Josh Mackey (Honda Tuning)
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