Night Drives

The best way to enjoy a car is to drive a car. Only the driver can truly feel this sensation, the joy of applying pressure to your right foot and getting a direct reaction as you rev it through the RPM's knowing you are solely responsible for the power and sound it produces only to shift milliseconds before redline. Only the driver can directly feel the feed back from the steering wheel as he goes through a turn, and only the driver can truly feel as one with machine. After all the driver truly is the secret ingredient in the workings of a car, because if it wasn't for the driver you would  basically just have big electric generator. The driver is the key element to making the car an amazing car or just a basic car, for he has the ability to apex the turn correctly, apply the correct amount of throttle, shift at just the right moment in the power band, and apply the correct amount of brake. knowing when and how to exploit these elements of a car separate the Ricers from the true enthusiasts. I believe bridging the gap between ricer and enthusiast comes from within ones self, the feeling they get when they drive their car, and the passion behind driving their car. for instance if you are only concerned about how many likes you get, magazines you get featured in, and the increasing the value of your car based solely on its popularity. then this would make you a ricer. Someone that is a truly passionate  enthusiast would be more interested in the performance of his car, improving driving techniques, driving the car on canyon roads or track with out fear wrecking the car because after all the passion is in the build, and the feelings you get when you stiffen your chassis, add more braking power, or increase power. going out and driving the car after adding some new modification can be a very rewarding thing.

The point I'm trying to make is that its hard to load your friend(s) in your car and take them out for a spirited drive, they just won't have as much fun as you the driver will be having. this leads into my post "Night Drives." All enthusiasts love to drive their cars weather is be on the street or on the track sometimes you just want to "go for a drive" you know it will be therapy for you, you know it can help you get through a tough time or relive stress or just cheer you up. everyone knows that the darker and later it is the less people that will be out, this theory makes what is normally a crowded road during the day that at night becomes a desolate highway pretty much all to your self. the best way to enjoy these "Night Drives" is to invite your friends that have other modified cars, so they can enjoy the driving sensation privately in their own cars, but you can stop at gas stations, and restaurants to discuss how the drive has been going for each other, or ways to improve your driving skill, or the OH SHIT moments you might have had. in my opinion there is no better way to experience the thrill of driving, and having good company than doing just this.

here are some pictures from the other night.

p.s. Ever takes the most amazing pictures with out his pictures the blog wouldn't be half as cool 

Athazagoraphobia

                   As I come into the home stretch portion of my K-swap I took a moment to reflect on why this has been such a time consuming swap. Nearing 2 years of not driving my civic, I have almost completely lost touch with cars. Motorcycling has pretty much taken over my life, helped influence my friends to get motorcycles, or to get more serious with motorcycles. after acquiring my Brothers FZ 09 in may of 2014 my love of motorcycling began to explode, almost exactly 2 years later in April of 2016 I purchased this...

A 2016 R1M, which I purchased with track days in mind. I ended up catching the track day bug which directly affected the amount of money going in to the K-swap. It ended up being zero money for K swaps, and all money towards motorcycle track days. At the risk of babbling ill spare you the details, and jump into the Civic part of this post. 

As the civic sits today it will only need... Wiring harness, Kpro, Exhaust, and Primary O2 sensor. My goal is to have it ready for the Porsche club track day in march. Once i get the civic all the way driving i will do a complete write up on it. For now please enjoy these awesome pictures Ever snapped of my neglected project. 

My work is done

It's official, Erics car is all the way done, K pro and tuned by church automotive. It's an indescribable feeling to have seen this project from start to finish, too see the happiness that his car brings him makes everything worth it. In the beginning his expectation and desire to have the fastest street dominating car was a bit unrealistic, so to convince him that a k20 would be fast when all he wanted was to beat super cars and motorcycles was a bit of a challenge. But to be honest with him having that much power in a daily street car would be pointless, all you would do is spin out everywhere and lose races because you weren't at a prepped  track rather on an inconsistent street. So I told him to have faith in me and let me build him a fast reliable car. With this weight on my shoulders and not knowing if an all motor k20 would meet his unrealistic demands for power, I proceeded to build his car.  I knew that a k20 would be more then enough power to make a fast car, especially in a civic hatch platform. Horsepower is just a number, it's all about power to weight ratio and how you use the power. I hate people that say " if we were at a track I would smoke you." Or "if I had slicks I could beat you." Eat a dick douche bag, don't bring a gun to a knife fight. Always in the back of my mind I was worried that his car wouldn't  be fast enough for him. But a month ago when I deliverd the car to him I was much excited when he was pleased with the performance of his car, and the constant phone calls trough the month to help drive home the fact that he loves it. Mind you this was PRE tune, stock ecu only making 210-220 hp to the wheels. 

So as of today I'm happy to say that the car is on kpro and completely tuned, with numbers exceeding my expectations  and his expectations. He couldn't be happier that the car is making 250 hp and 174 ftlb torque. He realizes that he's not going to be beating Ferraris and Lamborghinis but he is more then excited with the end result of it, which makes me feel very relived. 

I didn't have cameras or anything so all the pics and videos are from my phone. So sorry in advance for quality. 

Throwing some new plugs in before the tune 

Thanks to justin my Honda hookup with out him this project would have cost a million bucks. 

At churches

And the final reaults. 

The Weight Has Been Lifted

                    As you might know if you follow my Instagram Erics car is done. HOOORAAAYY, I will finally be closing a very challenging chapter in my life. In no way am i complaining or even suggesting that I regret doing this build. However i do realize now, that i took a much rougher road along the journey then i should have.
                             
                          Lets go back to 1998 maybe 99' when i was sophomore in high school, and I learned of "rice burners" and purchased my first issue of supper street. I was immediately hooked and i knew then that i wanted a honda civic. it was just a style that i liked, it was different, and it was cool that a 4 cylinder could be as fast or faster then a v8 "muscle car." fast forward a few years and i got my first "honda" it was a white cx hatchback it was awesome but ridiculously slow. But it was mine and i loved it, not having much money i got a second job working at a small shop in Carson as a shop bitch, But learning everything i know today from there. Some how i found  a way to get a b16 in my car, I totally pieced it together but it worked great, i had the head built by Tom at portflow three angle valve job, port polish, milled 40K, titanium valves and valve springs. I payed it off by working at the shop. I got a used clutch from a tranny job i did, threw some oem axles in, that were laying around the shop, one of the guys that worked there helped me wire the knock sensor and the 4 wire o2, I borrowed someones chipped p28, and boy did the car rip. well at least by late 90s/early 2000's standards.I always lusted after the HOLY GRAIL. The JDM Type r swap, this being 5000 bucks and pretty rare at the time i knew i was never going to get it. fast forward to 2003, I got a great job opportunity to move to Las Vegas. (this story is going somewhere i promise) so having multiple tickets for street racing, and wanting to start fresh in Las Vegas with no debts i decided to sell my car and pay everything off. I thought this was it, i am out of the scene. But much like being in the bloods or crips (I assume) you are never really totally out of it, and my passion for imports layed dormant while i struggled as a adolescent out on my own with my girlfriend, in a strange new city having to pay rent, phone bills, utilities, food to eat, and all other essentials of living. blah blah blah, i bought a truck tried to be a bro with a preunner. blah blah blah, met my best friend. blah blah blah, he had a mirage. With that small crappy 500 dollar car he got from some mexican that beat the crap out of it. We tinkered with it doing small things to get it running and driving correctly, then we slammed it and put a cage in it, and he was even thinking of putting a 4G63 in it. With that car the spark was reignited and i felt that i could know longer stay away, i had to get another Honda. this was 2005ish, and he was kinda realizing that  a mirage was lame. so he bought a 240sx and we swapped a SR20 in it and he started drifting. and we took the mirage out in the desert and DESTROYED it! I drove my truck into it, he gashed a hole in the tranny oil pan(it was auto) from a rock and the car would no longer drive, I pushed it back to his house with my truck. That marked the end of my down time from hondas, and i ended up getting another Civic but this time a vx, and again wanting a type r motor but knowing that there was no way i could afford one. I met "jdm mike" a dude from the original mid 90's boom of hondas. this guy probably has more rare/race stuff in his three car garage, then anyone else in las vegas. He had a jdm sir 2 swap that he was going to put in one of his cars but ended up getting married and not wanting anything to do with imports any more he sold it to me with payments so i could afford it. and its still the motor i have today in my civic today.

                Now that you know a little bit about my past, i can move on with my main point i was getting too. I have always wanted a Type R swap. its more then just a fast motor, It has meaning, sole, personality. its not just a B16 or a GSR. its a legit race version motor. it helped honda achieve the title of fastest production FWD car.

                Like every single person in the world, i am selfish. With Erics inheritance i saw that not only could i build him one awesome civic, but i could finally live out my teenage dream of having a type r motor. So Eric being the awesome brother he is knew that i always wanted one, and he had enough money to buy him and I one. so we did it i took the plunge i dove in head first researching everything for a K swap,and price everything out. Then figuring out how  i could take all the money he had allocated for car stuff, Build him an awesome civic and still have money left so i could get a type r motor too. on paper i was able to work everything out, it seemed like everything was added up i could afford everything. but after buying the two motors, the car, and the first wave of parts it became apparent that i would not have enough money to complete his car, through that time the selfish part of me did not want to give up my motor. The teenage dream that had finally come to fruition, One of the goals that i was able to accomplish in my life.so rather then selling it to get the money to finish his car, i dragged out his build for almost a year buying car parts with everyone of my checks. putting all my bill son the back burner and living paycheck to paycheck just to keep my dream alive, the dream of a type r motor. this not only put stress on my brother and I's relationship, it was putting tons of stress on my actual relationship with my girlfriend. This caused much animosity, and put much strain on our relationship. I cant even blame her, i was making such stupid decisions to help keep my type r motor. blowing off bills for a fuel system, or a traction bar. borrowing money just to keep our phone on and keep that damn motorcycle insured. As i dug deeper into a financial hole i could see that it was getting bad but i knew that i was so close and if i could just get a couple extra bucks i could finish the car. I felt like a heroin addict or something, i could see the downward spiral i was in, im 32 years old and playing with hondas. still acting irresponsible and selfish to achive my own goals. but i could not deviate from my plan. i truly felt like i had to have a type r motor in my car, i felt as if it was some sort of milestone that i needed to reach. In a way i feel like saying set your goals and do what ever it takes to accomplish them, but in another way i realize how selfish that is.

                 I am such a lucky guy that i have my sweetie pie, and that she loves me more then she probably should. As of today April 6th 2015 Erics car is DONE, I am driving it to D.C. on April 17th. i would also like to say that i am very lucky that my brother loves me as much as he does, and Bro i promise its worth it.
   
                 Now that the chapter is pretty much closed i do not regret anything, it was an amazing journey. I found out that i almost like the "building" almost more then the actual having the completed project. each time i accomplished something on his car i felt so good, it was soo rewarding. I was able to build a car that is my ideal image of what a honda should be. fun, fast, reliable, and respectable. I have so much pride in this build, so much soul. I am very sad to see it go i feel like i built my dream car. But the saving grace is that i still have my type r swap sitting in the garage, and though it may not be going in anytime soon. I can rest assure that it will always be an amazing motor, and that my dream will one day be fulfilled. but until that day comes Eric will have an amazing car, and I hope that he will enjoy it as much as i do.

                Now i probably could have just told you all that i a few words, but you wouldn't have a heard a great story and learned a little more about me.


                Here is a detailed spec list of the car
MOTOR
2006 JDM dc5 prc swap
hasport mounts
skunk2 swap header
RBC intake manifold
Karcepts throttle body adapter
Karcepts CAI with velocity stack
Karcepts Fuel rail and lines
AEM FPR marshal liquid filled gauge
Ktuned stainless steel clutch line
Ktuned tensioner pulley
Made my own charge harness/ ground wires
Hasport conversion harness
Secondary O2 harness made by 2point1 (k20a.org member)
Ktuned radiator hoses/heater hoses
Oem gsr throttle cable with Karcepts bracket
Exedy 3 puck sprung clutch
Hybrid racing timing chain tensioner
Drive shaft shop level 2.9 axles
Ktuned traction bar
Ktuned no cut shift box
Skunk2 alpha radiator
Oem prc stock ECU
walbro 255lph fuel pump
Custom 3 inch exhaust.

Chassis/Suspension
GSR brakes all around
DA booster/master cylinder
40/40 prop valve
Brembo cross drilled and slotted rotor all around
Stoptech pads all around
ARP extended studs all around
JDM type r front sway bar
ASR rear subframe brace and sway bar combo
Skunk 2 PRO S V2 coilovers
New bushings through out the car

Wheels/tires
Kosei K1 15x7 +35
Nitto NT-05 205/50/15

MISC
All brand new brake fluid
OEM Honda coolant
OEM Honda MTF
Wix oil filter
Castrol GTX oil

Now on the the real reason you clicked the link. THE PICTURES!!!!!!!

thanks again to my BFF ever for shooting the pics, they are awesome as per youzhe.

And a quick video of a 2nd thru 5th pull till it hits the speed limiter. yes it is a 6 speed trans too.