[AutoShow] 1997 Honda Civic - 12 Years Strong

A fully built K24 sits within the confines of a meticulously crafted (almost to an obsessive level) engine bay. The exterior, armed only with a few carefully chosen aero bits and aggressively designed flared corners, proudly sports a new hue borrowed from the BMW family. Inside the cabin, more fresh paint takes the place of any and all “extras” deemed nothing more than dead weight, while a custom rollcage serves as security at multiple points. It’s like a dream—a build that would look right at home on a weekend track sprint, the red carpet, or simply hustling through city streets, avoiding potholes and patrol cars like the plague.

On paper, most Honda heads would assume it’s the perfect hatchback scenario, never even considering the thought of stacking all of that engineering into a chassis with two additional doors. In fact, if you review the last 20 years, as the progression of the Honda enthusiast market has continuously changed at breakneck speeds, one thing has remained exactly the same: The hatchback and coupe platforms are by far the most popular to heavily modify. Perhaps it was that very reason that led Daniel Hernandez, owner of this immaculate Phoenix Yellow Metallic sedan, to stray away from the masses.
If you’re assuming that Danny put together a game plan, ordered a bunch of parts, then executed the build as you see it pictured, you’re sorely mistaken. He admits that the car, through all of its changes over the past 12 years, has been taken apart and reassembled at least 100 times. He adds, “The car was originally purchased as a daily in 2000. I decided to build an LS/VTEC motor…that didn’t last very long. The next motor was a stroked B16, then a poor man’s ITR.” Along the way, he ran across one John Nguyen, aka “Supertwinz,” somewhere around 2003. He’d recently completed a K20A swap, and after taking a spin in John’s 2.0L iVTEC-powered hatch, Danny ordered his own swap just a week later. Along with the swap, the blue DC5 Recaros you see were sourced as well as a slew of other parts and a Laguna Seca Blue color change. With the exception of a few different naturally aspirated builds, the car remained the same for years. Danny states, “The current build happened when I got into a fender bender last May. I brought it to Franklin Autobody (now 5Fifteen Autobody) in SF for Sunny to look at. He said he could repair it, and we decided to paint the outside and inside of the car, but then he gave me the option of a color change.” A longtime fan of BMWs, specifically those draped in Phoenix Yellow Metallic, Danny gave the green light for a complete makeover.

To complement the new hue, simple bolt-on aero bits in the form of a Mugen rear wing and J’s Racing front lip were added to the paint booth, but the customization would go quite a bit further. Sunny grafted a set of Sportcar Motion fender flares to the already aggressive J’s Racing fenders for a one-off look and more wheel and tire clearance. He then built custom rear fender flares to match the wider fronts.
While the body shop performed extensive surgery on the chassis, Danny set out to piece together a new, built K24. He chose Supertech pistons and BluePrint rods as the foundation, while up top, a set of Blox cams with Supertech valvetrain components push gasses through a hand-made DTR header. With Hondata’s world-famous K-Pro calling the shots, the 2.4L belts out 257 whp with a healthy 196 lb-ft torque through its K20A transmission. All of the car’s wiring has been completely replaced and rerouted for a cleaner and much more organized look.

Danny finally brought the car home and, with the help of friends, spent the next two weeks putting everything back together. That was followed by approximately four weeks of working out any bugs and essentially buttoning up the loose ends.

Formerly a member of the infamous AM7 crew, Danny parted ways and, along with a friend in Nebraska, founded Bandits. “I didn’t think it would be much, considering how the scene was going back then. Later, Mike Trevino joined, and we started going to events together. Since we’re always hanging out with the same group of guys and cars, the crew evolved into what it is today. The public hasn’t seen half of our cars because we aren’t primarily a show car crew. We care more about the person being a part of the family than just the car itself. Just because you don’t have the nicest car doesn’t mean that you don’t put your heart into what you’re doing—that’s what it means to be a part of the Bandits family.”

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[AutoShow] 2007 Honda Civic Type R - Across the Pond

Although here in the States, the Type R line has been dead for over a decade, in England, Honda’s performance pedigree trundled on until 2011. The final iteration of the “R Legacy” is what you see here—the FN2. This particular custom version belongs to David Haswell of Newton Under Roseberry, UK, who’d never even owned a Honda prior to this red pocket rocket.

He states, “I’ve always been a fan of cars bearing the red H…but had only ever ‘owned’ or ‘driven’ them in video games!” David’s Mugen love was spawned by the one-off Mugen version of the FN2. “I wanted the aero parts that made it look so distinctive and aggressive.” David’s mod addiction began with a simple Mugen oil and radiator cap and was quickly followed by the Mugen intake, garnish, and rear spoiler. A few months later the Civic was treated to paint-matched vented front wings, or fenders for us in the U.S. Enamored with the Mugen bits so far, he opted for a Mugen Sport suspension kit and switched out the original alloys for a set of 18-inch Work Emotions wrapped in Hankook tires.
By this time, Honda Japan had released the Euro-spec FN2 in Japan, giving some of the JDM tuners a crack at the car, and giving Dave a chance to buy some Spoon mono-block calipers and Project Mu pads. The FN2 is packing a 200hp K series under the hood, but Dave wouldn’t be a true tuner if he left that alone. He adds, “Despite being happy with the power of my car, I decided to try to extract a bit more from the excellent K20.”

A Tegiwa Kevlar intake brings the K motor some fresh cold air, and J’s Racing provided a new manifold and exhaust system. With a little help from U.S.-based Drag Cartel, a set of its drop-in cams were employed. With all of the new parts installed and an associated Hondata reflash, the Civic made a healthy 239hp at the wheels, and to help transfer that power to the ground is a Quaife LSD. The stock chassis is no doubt stiff, but not stiff enough for Dave’s liking, so a shock tower, pillar bar, and floor brace was provided by J’s Racing as well as a Type V hood.
Dave’s future plans are to simply enjoy the fruits of his labor and hit the track as much as possible. With the outstanding list of mods he’s done so far, we’re sure he’ll have a blast!

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[AutoShow] 2008 Honda Civic Si - Redrum

One of the debates you most often hear among Honda enthusiasts is whether or not a build is truly functional. Functionality is really only relative to what the owner’s intentions were during the assembly of the vehicle in question, but you’ll frequently hear people talk about how there are too many show cars that never see an actual track time. There are individuals who care very little about racing their cars, but since they’ve installed performance upgrades, it’s assumed that their focus is the racetrack. The race enthusiasts are usually at the opposite end of the spectrum of the show car crowd, and it’s been that way for as long as anyone can remember. You either beat the crap out of your car racing it, or you want to keep it as pristine as possible for the next show. It’s a rare thing to find someone in the Honda community who is into both and willing to embrace both sides.

 Ken Suen is one of those guys who loves all aspects of the tuning world. He’s often being pulled in two directions and trying to find a balance between show and go. When he first acquired his 2008 Si, he never had any intentions of doing anything crazy with it. His plans were to build a clean street cruiser that he could drive to work every day, as well as various automotive events. The Civic you see today is a far cry from his original intentions. What was supposed to be a simple, daily driven Civic has now been transformed into a full-blown time attack race car.
“I bought this Civic brand-new from a local dealership four years ago,” Ken explains. “Back then, it was the stock Taffeta White color and I had planned to just put some wheels on it and maybe an intake. I began doing research on the car later and often found myself looking through countless Japanese car magazines for inspiration. It was in one of these magazines when I first discovered the FD2 Civic Mugen RR. I loved how aggressive the car looked and decided that I wanted to do the conversion.”
Not long after, Suen was able to locate an RR front and rear end conversion. Many of you are probably wondering if it is an authentic kit, and Ken will admit with no hesitation that it certainly is not. The authentic Mugen RR kit is not something you can just buy at your local tuner shop. There were only 300 Mugen RRs ever produced, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to actually get your hands on a complete “real deal” conversion. The way Ken would later pound on the car, it’s probably better that he has a replica kit. (Continue reading and you will understand why.) After acquiring the kit, he made the decision to respray the car in a red hue to match the look of the Mugen RRs he saw in Japan. He didn’t want to have the RR look without some power to back it up, so he installed some bolt-on parts like an intake, exhaust, and header. With these new additions, Ken was pretty happy with his Civic. He began attending local meets and going to car shows but never had any thoughts of racing the FA5 on a closed course.

After some convincing from his friends, he agreed to take his Civic to a weekend track event—one session later, he was hooked for life. The pursuit of speed had consumed him and he found himself participating in every weekend track event he could possibly find. Ken’s Civic was also living a double-life as his daily driver during all of the action-packed weekends. The combination of harsh weekend racing and a long daily commute began taking its toll on the stock K20Z3. Luckily for Suen, he made some new friends during his racing exploits, one of them being Loi Song of Sportcar Motion. Loi was not only an expert when it came to Honda K engines, his shop had become very well known for dominating the Limited FF class at various time attack events and setting record-breaking times. If there was anyone that could help Ken find more performance from his K, it was Sportcar Motion.
Suen entrusted his faith in Loi and the SCM crew and wasted no time in bringing the car to their shop in San Marcos, California. Loi and his crew quickly went to work, pulling the worn-out K20 in order to refresh the powerplant. To maximize power, a bevy of Skunk2 goods were installed, and the transmission was removed and shipped to Gearspeed. Torn down and rebuilt using their signature carbon synchros and a new Kaaz LSD, Gearspeed made quick work of the process, and SCM pieced the car back together in just a few days. For tuning duties, the Civic was transported to Church Automotive Testing where it was fine-tuned using Hondata’s FlashPro.
Confident in the power of his new motor and his growing experience as a driver, Ken resolved to compete at a Global Time Attack event. He then spent time with Loi designing and creating a one-off front splitter to help plant the front end. However, the new aero package wouldn’t mean a thing without a rear wing for proper balance, so Evasive Motorsports was contacted and was able to source a Voltex GT wing and canards to complete the package.

Over the next few weeks leading up to the Global Time Attack event, Ken spent all his time trying to improve his driving skills. He even enlisted the help of longtime front-wheel-drive record breaker Clint Boisdeau. The Apollo Performance driver accompanied him on the track and taught him some time-slicing driving tactics. By the time Ken finished testing his new setup, he was pleasantly surprised to learn that his lap times had improved by over eight seconds! This is a huge, huge feat for someone with no more than a year of experience under his belt. At the Global Time Attack event, Ken managed to win the Street Front Wheel Drive class, outrunning Boisdeau, a driver who he looks up to as his mentor.
It is wild to see how much of a transformation Ken and his Civic have made in just a short amount of time. He went from a young kid who barely knew anything about cars, to a very formidable driver in the road racing community. Although he’s experienced a significant amount of personal success, he’s quick to point out that it is all in good fun. And in case you’re wondering, he still makes that lengthy commute every single day from Ontario to El Monte, California, in his RR-converted Civic. And when he’s not chasing down lap times or daily driving, you’ll find his Civic at various car shows throughout the Southern California region, albeit with a few more battle scars. Ken Suen is a true enthusiast who does it all, and we’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for a guy like that.

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[AutoShow] 1996 Honda Civic DX - Big Red

The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics or automobiles, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

 

Built and boosted, this K24/K20 combo belts out over 500 whp.

An addiction to cars, you say? It’s not all that farfetched. How about building an engine at home for which you have no car to place it in? That’s exactly what happened to Andel Garces, owner of this tight red hatchback. When he told us about the incident, we couldn’t help but laugh a little. The story, in his own words, goes like this, “Big Red’s legacy began with a phone call from my friend who worked at the Honda dealership. ‘Bro, if you don’t come over here to pick up this mint hatch, we’re not boys anymore.’ That was his exact wording, lol. I had been building my K20/K24 for a while and was still deciding on which chassis I wanted to drive around in. Then it hit me, fate wanted me to get that car. Why else would such a deal come as I was completing my engine? I took the trip to the dealership the same day, and to my surprise, there she was, just 4 inches off the ground with 14-inch steelies. The interior of the car was fresh, and it was a ’96 DX automatic. She only cost me $1,200, which wasn’t at all a bad price for the condition.”
So what started as a $1,200 car with a partially built engine has taken two years and morphed into a $40,000 money pit. Luckily, the owner has his daily Infinity G35x to drive. Along with friends Jose Devares and Caitlin Aaron, Andel has built a monster that still sees street duty and track abuse. Being from New York City and having friends like the guys at VRaceworks as your “dealer” doesn’t hurt.

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So what’s the recipe for big power? Well, take a balanced K24 block with a set of Carillo rods and CP pistons, then mate it to a Portflow K20 head, complete with Skunk2 cams and valvetrain. Then call Z10 Motorsports to do all of the necessary machine work and enlist the help of Adrian Built to piece it all together. Sounds like a plan for a monster, right? It is. But we’re not finished there.
Andel decided to give the folks at Bullseye Power in Muskegon, Michigan, a call and get one of their twin scroll Comp 68R custom purple housing turbos. He added an Edelbrock 75mm throttle body and a 4-inch Garrett core AFI intercooler, and while AFI was producing the intercooler, Andel had the folks there make up a sidewinder turbo manifold as well. Two 44mm TiAL wastegates help keep boost pressure in check, and a 3.5-inch stainless downpipe and exhaust help move the spent gases. To finish things up under the hood and ensure there is enough fuel to light this bad boy up, Andel added a set of Bosch 044 fuel pumps, 1,200cc RC injectors and a Golden Eagle fuel rail. What does it all add up to? Well, at 15 pounds of boost, DRT was able to extract 544 whp/520 wtq! Not bad for a car that once made less than 100 whp. You have to wonder how all of that gets put to the ground, right? Andel relies on a K20A3 five-speed transaxle, Quaife LSD, and an Exedy ceramic twin disc clutch that puts the pressure on a set of DSS 5.9 axles. In the suspension department, Skunk2 Pro C custom rebound coilovers and adjustable camber kits help keep things stable at high speeds. K Sport toe kits are on duty as well, and finally, an Energy Suspension polyurethane bushing kit helps to keep this monster firmly planted on the road.

To perform and look good doing it, a set of Volk CE28s wrapped in Bridgestone RE11s sit at each corner. We all know that trying to throw that much power at a set of street tires on track day is only going to result in a cloud of smoke. However, Andel managed to push his street tires to a 12.0 during the huge Hondaday event at Atco Raceway in New Jersey.
Having a car that handles and makes jam is only half of the equation, though. Whether they’ll admit it or not, everyone wants a car that looks good while it’s tearing it up. Andel opted for a number of CTR goodies to the exterior, then had GRT Paint Shop spray the entire car for a perfect match. On the inside, intelligent performance is the name of the game, and this enthusiast wasn’t about to use cheap alternatives. He went with the best in the form of AEM electronics, relying on its boost controller, engine management, and vital gauges.
While Andel loves his Honda, his addiction is pushing him toward a monster build that he says will be a 2JZ Supra. Sounds like a fiend jonesing for their next fix, but we’re pretty sure he’ll be back to the Honda camp in no time. Best of luck Andel!

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[AutoShow] 2006 Honda Civic FD1 - The Air Up There

Standing proudly some 1,500 meters above sea level lies what locals refer to as the “summer capital of the Philippines.” Well known for its mild weather patterns that, on average, hover approximately 8 degrees cooler than the rest of the country, the 57 or so square kilometers that make up the hilly terrain of Baguio City serve as a destination stop for tourists and countrymen alike. While it may serve as the “great escape” for many visitors, this region is simply known as home to one Ralph Mendoza, owner of this well-built FD1.

Five years ago, Mendoza purchased this sedan with a very specific plan in mind. He adds, “Initially, I just wanted to install a few bolt-on parts, drop it, and put on some decent wheels and tires. But just like every other Honda enthusiast, the mods never really stop once they start!” Additional upgrades soon made their way to the Civic, and the natural act of progression continued. However, just like any other part of the Philippine islands, rain and scattered puddles are a constant threat. One fateful rain-filled afternoon, Mendoza’s cousin borrowed the car to head to a local performance shop, and while passing through a puddle deep enough to submerge the cold-air intake’s filter, the car completely shut down. He recalls, “I remember it rained really hard that day, and when the filter took in some water, sure enough, the motor was blown.” Correcting the carnage caused by Mother Nature’s wrath would have put quite a strain on Mendoza’s bank account. In fact, at the end of the day, the monetary total was almost equivalent to that of a used K-series ITR motor from the legendary DC5. Not one to stand still and mull things over, the eager builder decided to progress and sourced the “R” motor after selling off the majority of his car’s earlier upgrades.
With the new motor on its way to the Philippines, Mendoza and a few close friends completely stripped the car down to begin the rebuild process. The chassis was transported to FM Garage, where it was treated to multiple layers of PPG Deltron blue, inside and out. To freshen up the look, a very rare Max Racing front lip, Mugen Type R rear wing, and Spoon aero mirrors were added to the paint booth for a perfect match. Once the fresh paint had cured, a carbon-fiber hood, trunk, and J’s Racing rear diffuser were added for a bit of contrast. Rolling stock was also addressed in the form of 18-inch Volk Racing CE28s with 225/40-18 Advan Neova AD08 tires. Put quite simply, the overall look is deadly. But as we all know, appearance doesn’t mean much without the power to back it up—fortunately Mendoza was already working on the power portion.

FD2 interior, Bride seats, J's Racing steering wheel, and Defi gauges make for a stunning 

In stock form, the DC5’s K20 is quite the performer, and Mendoza was already well aware of its attributes. He turned a blind eye to any thoughts of a stock motor, and instead, compiled an inventory of go-fast goods to make his K motor perform even better. With the help of H3 Autoworks, the motor was torn down and reassembled. A Skunk2 throttle body, cams, valvesprings, and retainers spit fire through a Toda header and HKS titanium exhaust system at the direction of Hondata’s K-Pro management system. The combination is good for over 230 whp, and more than enough to keep Mendoza satisfied when he feels the urge to stab the gas pedal. Keeping with a balanced theme of performance and appearance, a color-matched valve cover laced with Circuit Hero’s coil pack cover was added for visual effect.
The interior of Mendoza’s sedan is nothing short of perfection. A complete FD2R interior conversion was performed and highlighted by big-ticket items like a set of Bride Low Max Stradia bucket seats, J’s Racing carbon-fiber/leather steering wheel, and a number of Defi gauges that string elegantly across the car’s dash. Before you point the finger and assume this car is only parked in the garage and taken out for a local car show or perhaps a quick photo shoot, think again. This enthusiast daily drives this car, and yes, he attends car shows, but also puts the car to the test on the track as well. Both circuit and drag racing events have served as playgrounds for Mendoza to put his FD1 to work, with very pleasing results. Killer appearance, a healthy powerplant, daily driving, and track day adventures all rolled into one complete package—that’s how it’s done in Baguio City.

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[AutoShow] 1994 Honda Civic CX - The Art of Spoon-ing

The ported and polished B16A2 head is fitted with Skunk2 cams, 

valvetrain, and Unorthodox

Many enthusiasts’ projects lean toward a specific purpose with their builds, which ultimately influences, and sometimes limits, their decision making throughout the entire process. This isn’t one of those enthusiasts. In fact, the custom blue pearl ’94 Civic you see before you received some love in every department. Fresh paint, slick wheels, go-fast goodies, sexy interior, you name it and he touched on it. The adventure took owner Efren Diaz of Texas eight years and many, many dollars to complete. Efren’s satisfied with the end result, and why wouldn’t he be? He’s taken the classic Spoon Sports catalog build and put his own spin on it, and the results speak for themselves.

Probably the most unique aspect of this build is that it’s considered “finished” by the owner, and he truly feels he’s achieved all of his goals. Like many, he paid for and performed the modifications little by little when finances and time allowed. Unlike many, there are authentic Spoon Sports parts sprinkled throughout the EH2. How much, you’re asking? In total, he’s spent well over $6,000 just on Spoon merchandise. If Spoon actually made a spoon, this guy would be shoveling breakfast cereal with it daily. “I’ve always been a fan—they make quality parts. The first thing I ever bought was a (Spoon) steering wheel,” he explains. Other bits and pieces include the highly-sought-after (and copied) carbon-fiber bucket seats, the very popular four-pot twin-block brake calipers, and the very rare instrument gauge cluster.


Ample amounts of time, hope, faith, and a little luck along with some unique situations occurred in his quest to acquire his authentic parts. For example, Efren once drove with a friend and his friend’s father across Texas for a set of used Spoon Sports spark plug wires. They left at noon and returned close to midnight. Additionally, a local friend heard that Efren had a set of brand-new Enkei RPF1s wrapped in fresh rubber chilling in his garage. Because the guy didn’t have the cash to actually buy the wheels, Efren agreed to have him use his credit card to pay for several Spoon Sports items online to trade for the virgin rollers.
Like any well-rounded build, there were a few setbacks throughout the journey. The EH2 is on its third paint scheme, second short-block, second cylinder head, and second transmission case. There was that time that a garage shelving unit decided to commit suicide off the wall and straight onto the Civic’s defenseless fender. Then there’s the night Efren was cruising home from the paint shop when he lost pedal braking power. “I noticed there was fluid leaking from the brake master cylinder and realized I was going to have to use the handbrake all the way home,” he recalls.

Looking back, Efren says he only would have done one thing differently—he would have purchased a Rywire engine harness. He had no knowledge or experience with engine wiring harnesses at the time he dropped the swap, and it was his first attempt. “I’m getting better now that I’ve done three of my friends’ cars,” he says. Besides the tune and the paintjob of course, all of the work was performed in his home garage as well.

And speaking of the swap, the powerplant consists of a B18C1 short-block with ITR pistons paired with a B16A2 head with Skunk2 valvetrain components. The “poor man’s Type R” produced a very respectable 210 whp on a DynoJet relying on Hondata’s S300. While most catalog-style cars are identical inside and out, Efren was sure to mix things up in order to stand out from the clones. Once the hood is popped, eyes usually focus on the ARC super induction airbox, and then there’s the extremely rare carbon-fiber intake manifold designed by A.I.R. and Endyn. Carbon dioxide and water vapor exit via Hytech’s exhaust manifold and an A’PEXi exhaust system. A Carbonetic LSD and Competition Clutch Stage 4 clutch and flywheel combo make no qualms about transferring power to the pavement. The performance enhancements lend themselves to a fast and fun drive reliably, every single time. When asked what memory stands out the most, he reminisces, “The most memorable moment I’ve had in my car was when I beat a Civic Si that had a K20 swap back in the day when they were first coming out.”

The plans are simple for now: Efren wants to sit back in his high-dollar bucket seats, bang gears, break necks, and who knows, maybe even take home a few trophies. He really has no immediate plans other than just enjoying the fruits of his labor. Next up, he’s going to focus on restoring a ’99 Si to factory specifications. Factory specs? Famous last words…

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[AutoShow] 1994 Honda Civic DX - Fortune Favors The Bold (Honda Tuning)

1992 Honda Civic CX JCR

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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