Explore the world of chassis codes and the influence of the JDM movement as tuners decode vehicle identities. Dive into the unique story of Johnny Bauer’s Camouflage Green Effect DC2, a right-hand drive powerhouse with a meticulously designed interior, A’PEXi coilovers, Ray’s Gramlight wheels, and a potent 210hp JDM B18C ITR engine. Discover how form follows function in this exceptional build, where every detail, from the custom paint job to the performance-enhancing modifications, contributes to a standout presence in the competitive JDM scene.

Street Concepts Shining Star Author Have you heard of a company called Street Concepts? If you haven’t, get ready, as this month’s cover car belongs to its founder, Shawn Williams. But before we get into the story of this Mitsubishi EVO VIII, we have a couple questions for you. What makes a good tuner shop? How do you know if a tuner shop has the right personnel to help build the car of your dreams? How important is it for a tuner shop to have credibility in the scene before you hand over your keys and your money? We have a feeling that most readers will agree when we say that the answers to all those questions are critical for anyone looking for the right shop. With that in mind, let us give you the rundown on Street Concepts and its totally tricked-out EVO VIII. Not only does Street Concepts know what serious enthusiasts are looking for, but it also knows how to build wicked tuner cars. Street Concepts is run by some of the biggest names in the industry and has some of the highest-profile clientele you can imagine. Williams is not only the owner, but he is also a very respected car builder and the main man for Valvoline at numerous car show events around the county. Along with Williams and a very talented staff is none other than Joe Galante, owner and builder of one of the most respected Supras of all time. Now that stacks up very well on the personnel side. So imagine dropping your car off and handing over your keys to either one of these guys. We would definitely have to say going in that you and your car would be in good hands at Street Concepts. But don’t just take our word for it. Look at some of the corporate icons that this crew has worked with over the years, like Pepsi and Oakley. And if those brand names don’t do it for you, think Kenwood USA, Nissan Motor Company, Mitsubishi North America, Toyo Tires, Nitto Tires and Hyundai Motor America. Those are some of the corporate accounts that have called upon Street Concepts for its services. Not only that, but some very big names have also worked closely with Williams and his staff. R.J. DeVera has been seen at the shop on several occasions. In fact, Street Concepts played a major role in helping him design and build both of the Pepsi Blue EVO VIIIs. Okay, this provides a little background on Street Concepts; what else has it done to pump up its reputation? This is the question many enthusiasts have asked Williams and it goes something like, Do you build anything for yourself? Not only does Williams build tricked-out cars for customers, but he also owns a couple of toys that will stop you dead in your tracks which leads us to the focus of this story: a firsthand, intimate look at his newest and by some opinions, wildest creation to date. The first thing that catches your eyes when you look at this car is the beautiful candy-yellow paint job or maybe it’s those huge 19-inch gunmetal Volk wheels. Of course, it could also be the massive GReddy front-mount intercooler. With a car of this caliber, it’s nearly impossible to concentrate on just one modification. The Street Concepts EVO VIII has been built to perfection and each and every modification just screams for attention. Even the exterior has been modified from top to bottom and is oh-so-hot. The interior is clean and totally done up in black suede and carbon fiber, the audio/video is sweet and to the point, and the motor has been outfitted with tons and tons of toys from GReddy. So where do we even begin to explain all the hard work and detail that has gone into this car? Not only is this EVO VIII ultra-impressive, but wait until you hear how quickly it was built! This Street Concepts work of art went from stock to holy crap! in just under 30 days. It made its debut at the 2003 SEMA Show, with a presence no one could forget. You can tell right off that the entire exterior of this car has been totally reworked. Before the crew at Car Prep could apply the new candy-yellow paint, it was responsible for removing the stock front and rear bumpers and the original side skirts. Next, the team installed a new body kit from C-West, which included a front fascia, side skirts, rear valance and eyelids. Once all the pieces were test-fit and prepped, sanded and smoothed, only then was it time to apply the custom paint. After several coats and hours of detailed painting, the car was beginning to take shape. Once the paint had dried and the car wet-sanded and buffed, Car Prep finished off the exterior by installing a JSP carbon fiber rear spoiler. The final touches came with a clean and simple graphics package from Garage Graphics. Sponsor logos were the main concern here and Street Concepts made sure that each company involved got the love and attention it deserved. With the paint still smelling fresh, the car went from Car Prep straight to Diamond Star Specialties for some special engine modifications. Williams knew that if he wanted to keep with the tradition of building hot cars, he would have to do something to the stock EVO VIII motor. He made a couple of calls to his good friends at GReddy and within days, a bunch of new toys arrived for the EVO VIII. Diamond Star installed the huge GReddy front-mount intercooler, an E-manage system, Profec E01, oil catch can and an engine oil cooler. To go along with the GReddy parts, the crew also installed a set of Sampco hoses, Vitek custom wires, Mackin cat-back exhaust, Rod Millen downpipe and undercarriage brace, RMR valve cover insert and a healthy dose of nitrous from the boys at NX. Once all the engine

IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE TO MAKE 650 HP FROM A B18C? Author The next level we refer to is the kind of sick power found only on the racetrack. Make no mistake, stuffing a 475hp turbo motor in the engine bay of any Civic will make for one wild ride, but we’re talking about crazy turbo power now. If 475 hp isn’t enough to get the party started, how about 500 hp? Still not enough—what about 550? Now things are starting to get serious, don’t you think? But we think we can do even better than 550 hp. Thinking that 600 hp had a nice ring to it, we decided to see what it took to produce over 600 hp from a turbo B-series.  Your first thought may be that all it takes to go from 475 hp to 600 hp is more boost. I mean, if the B16A produced 475 hp at 21 to 22 psi, won’t the power increase with more boost pressure? The answer to that question is actually both yes and no, as additional boost pressure will usually add power, but there is a limit to how much additional power is available from the turbo and how much additional boost will be tolerated by the motor itself. In terms of the turbo, the T04E-46 used on our 475hp B16A was just about maxed out at the 475hp level. In fact, the power level actually exceeded the numbers indicated by the compressor map, so more power from more boost was not in the cards. Sure, we may have been able to sneak another 25 hp from the combination with more timing, less fuel and a tad more boost, but running the motor on the edge like that is never a desirable situation. More total timing and a leaner mixture can combine to create havoc in a turbo motor. The same can be said for increasing the boost pressure, since more boost equals more inlet heat, something that again increases the chance of detonation. It should be obvious that more boost is not always the answer when it comes to making more power; however, if more boost is not the answer, then how do we reach our goal of 600 turbocharged horsepower? One route may be to upgrade the turbo, since we had reached the limit of the smaller T04E-46 on the B16A. While a larger turbo would indeed allow us to increase the power output of the B16A, we would still have to resort to a sizable increase in boost pressure to further the power output of the little B16A. In reality, the turbo wasn’t holding us back from producing 600 hp, nor was the cam timing or the cylinder head flow or the intake manifold. The truth is that the entire combination was at fault, as the turbo B16A was never designed to pump out crazy turbo power. What we needed was to literally start from scratch and build a dedicated 600hp turbo B-series that would allow us to produce the desired power without resorting to astronomical pressure ratios (boost pressure). The key to producing 600 hp can actually be found in the buildup of the 475hp B16A—at least the basic principles. The success of the 475hp B16A came from the combination of an efficient turbo system with an already powerful normally aspirated combination. This recipe for success holds true even for our 600hp motor. All we had to do was “super-size” both sides of the equation. Stepping up from the 475hp kid’s meal to the super-size 600hp menu required a more efficient turbo system, along with a more powerful normally aspirated motor. Seems simple, right? Unfortunately, we had already produced a pretty healthy B-series for the 475hp buildup and additional normally aspirated power was getting harder and harder to come by. The key to the additional normally aspirated power came (primarily) for an increase in displacement from 1.6 liters to over 1.9 liters. Simple math told us that the normally aspirated 1.6 liter produced 125 hp-per-liter (200 hp from 1.6 liters). If we retained the same specific output, but increased the displacement to 1.93 liters, the normally aspirated power output should jump to over 240 hp. Adding the proper turbo to a 240hp motor would make reaching our goal of 600 hp much easier and require less ultimate boost pressure. The first step was to build the larger, more efficient B-series. We started with a 1.8-liter GSR block and had the motor sleeved to increase the wall strength. We did not install a deck insert, as the sleeves have proven more than strong enough to withstand the additional power, providing the motor is tuned to eliminate any trace of detonation. The short block included a stock steel GSR crank, a set of forged Eagle connecting rods and a quartet of forged pistons from Probe Racing. The forged pistons featured dished tops and valve reliefs to lower the static compression while allowing high-lift cams. The short block was assembled using new Honda rod and main bearings and a fresh oil pump. Additional goodies included a set of ARP head studs and a Moroso oil pan that featured a provision for the oil drain for the turbo, which eliminated the need to weld a fitting onto the stock pan. Had the timing been right, we would have run our new Dart block, but we’ll reserve that for a future buildup. While the extra displacement was a step in the right direction, we knew that additional efficiency would also be beneficial. To that end, we installed one of the new Dart CNC-ported Honda cylinder heads on our turbo motor. The fully ported GSR head featured precision CNC porting on the intake, exhaust and even the combustion chambers. In addition to the porting, the Dart head also featured a complete Ferrea valvetrain, stainless-steel valves, springs and retainers. The springs and retainers allowed us to replace the wimpy stock cams with a set of Stage 2 cams from Skunk2.

So, you are the proud owner of a brand new Dodge SRT-4 and you love the sound of boost. Better yet, you love how quick your little four-door is. The only problem is … you want it to be faster. The need for speed is killing you and you will do anything and everything to get your adrenaline flowing. You have seen Mike Crawford and Shaun Carlson go down the track in their very fast SRTs and now you want the same thing.

Sleeving A B-series Block Is Not New, But How It Is Done Can Make All The Difference Author These days, if you want to go fast on the track in a Honda, forced induction is almost a must, as most vehicles come with relatively small-displacement engines when compared to their domestic brethren. Basically, the more cylinder pressure and fuel that you can ignite, the faster you go. Admittedly, this all sounds pretty general, but for now, let’s roll with that thought. THE FIRST STEP IS TO REMOVE THE GREASE AND DIRT FROM THE BLOCK. THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO PLACE THE STRIPPED BLOCK INTO WHAT IS CALLED A HOT TANK. BASICALLY, HOT WATER AND CHEMICALS ARE SPRAYED ON THE BLOCK AND COOKED TO REMOVE YEARS OF GRIME AND GUNK. ONCE THIS IS DONE, THE BLOCK CAN BE INSPECTED FOR CRACKS OR OTHER IMPERFECTIONS. The problem with running a lot of boost on the B-series block is that the open-deck design, is great for efficiency, but lousy for strength. The factory sleeves tend to flex, causing ring sealing problems and resulting in a loss of power. They may even crack under the high-pressure conditions associated with extreme racing. B-series blocks are made from aluminum alloy, which is great for saving weight, but it’s not as strong as an iron block that affords increased strength at the cost of added weight. In both cases, there’s a tradeoff: you either get strength and a weight penalty with the iron block or lower weight and frailty with an aluminum block. Another problem with the B-series block is that if you wish to increase the bore size due to replacement pistons, you must bore the factory sleeve. This leaves less material for strength, which compounds the open-deck problem. Luckily, this isn’t as bleak as it sounds. Owners of B-series blocks have solutions to these problems, such as CNC-fabricated block guards or spacers that are pressed in at the top of the block to minimize flex and distortion of the cylinders. There’s also the all-new Dart block, but we’ll save that one for another article. However, the problem with block guards or spacers is they are limited to the installer and many builders have been led to believe that these spacers can be tapped into place with the butt end of a wooden hammer. What happens is that the spacer seldom goes in correctly and can cause failure, instead of preventing it. The current practice that is used in open-deck blocks like the B-series Honda block is to install a set of ductile iron sleeves. This isn’t anything new, as tuners have been using sleeves in domestic V-6 and V-8 blocks for a long time, and they have proven that the technique works. Out of all the materials available for this purpose, ductile iron was chosen because of its strength and versatility. In the past, gray iron was considered to be the most versatile of all foundry metals because its high carbon content made it easy to melt and cast. It had a low shrinkage rate and a tensile strength up to 60,000 psi; but aluminum alloy, such as 2024 alloy, has a tensile strength rating up to 63,000 psi. While both have high tensile strengths, the resistance to fracture is high as temperatures increase. Ductile iron is a graphitic metal that contains a high concentration of graphite spheres in its composition, unlike iron that contains flakes of graphite. If you have ever bent a graphite fishing rod or golf club, you know how strong it is. The same is true in ductile iron. It’s very resilient to fractures and cracking, while having 100,000 psi of tensile strength. The sleeve of choice for many high-performance engine builders is the Darton sleeve. Darton uses sleeves that have been centrifugally cast, a process where molten ductile iron is evenly distributed over the interior of a mold that ensures proper thickness without voids left by traditional casting methods. This process affords the Darton sleeve tensile strength of 130,000 psi. Aside from being strong and resistant to cracking, ductile iron affords thermal resistance able to withstand temperatures as high as 800 degrees F, while being very resistant to corrosion. Non-OEM blocks (like the Dart block) and welding of deck surfaces are outlawed by the NHRA. This ruling is a double-edged sword in a sense, as products like the Dart block would elevate the performance and power potential of B-series-powered vehicles. However, it also opens the doors for companies such as Dodge, General Motors, Ford and even McClaren to develop special engines for well-funded race teams. This could then make it virtually impossible for many racers to compete. Imagine a McClaren-powered Civic scorching the dragstrip. For now, blocks such as the Dart can be used on the street and racers will continue to use sleeved blocks because it is cost-effective, proven technology. RS Machines in Carson, California, is one such shop that has been machining blocks and installing sleeves since 1996 and has grown to be the best-kept secret in import drag racing. Not because it innovated something that nobody else did, but because RS makes a quality product that the world’s best tuner racers trust. In any form of competitive sport, the team that can maintain an advantage the best will always be successful and hard to beat. The team that keeps that advantage a secret the longest is even better off. This is exactly where RS Machines shines. Racers such as Bisi Ezerioha, Erick Aguilar and Jojo Callos use blocks prepped by RS Machines to dominate and smash records. What does RS Machines do that is so special? We were curious too, so we dropped by the shop to cover the process of installing ductile iron sleeves that are guaranteed not to leak. Here’s what we found.  1. When the block has been removed and dried off, its stock cylinders are gradually bored out in steps to accept the new ductile iron sleeves. In this

As an automotive enthusiast, you know that a huge part of our scene is showing the world your pride and joy, and car shows have traditionally been the best places to do so. They give you the opportunity to talk shop with people who share the same passion. Individuals with different makes of vehicles are drawn together by the same love affair, whether they are into Hondas, VWs or Nissans, so these are great networking places to learn and make things happen.

Installing Electric-Life’s Power Window Kit Author If you are like many of us who have at one time or another opted for a less expensive vehicle to build, then this how-to will be of interest to you. At the cost of certain features or creature comfort conveniences mundane items like power windows and locks we often begin with what may be considered a strippo model or a basic transportation car that is … well, available. These cars can, after all, make for a great foundation that can easily be personalized, just like we are doing here. If you are unfortunate enough to own such a vehicle like the Civic DX, which never offered power windows then the thought of adding them has no doubt crossed your mind. The notion that power windows would make your vehicle just a little bit nicer is a sound one and that is where an Electric-Life power window kit comes into play. Electric-Life offers several different types of electric window kits, along with a full range of accessories for just these types of cars. And how about this little-known fact: Electric-Life power window systems are standard equipment on all Ferraris. So, with a set, you could say that you have the same! In addition to the typical universal-style power window kits, Electric-Life manufactures a large number of vehicle-specific kits that completely replace the manual window regulator and can also be used to replace a faulty OEM power window regulator. In our case, for the Õ00 Honda Civic, Electric-Life builds a complete, custom-fit, bolt-in window kit. Along with the window kit, a complete switch kit and wiring harness were also obtained from Electric-Life. To do the job right and to get the lowdown for this how-to, we took the car and the kit down to Unique Car Audio in Gilbert, Arizona, to document the installation. Check out the following photos and see if you feel this is something you can do in your backyard to add a bit of convenience to your ride. Another thing: when customizing the interior of your car, it is often easier to replace the existing window mechanisms and include a power set for that custom touch. Either way, this is an inexpensive way to add a bit of class to that tuner car of yours. 1. Here is the door before we started with the power conversion. Soon the manual crank will be gone and the pure convenience of power will take its place. 2. Before the door panel could be removed, the door pull was unscrewed and removed from the door. 3. The panel behind the door handle needed to be removed as well. 4. The clip that secures the window crank was removed and discarded. 5. Finally, the speaker grille was removed, as well as the screws that secure the door panel behind it. 6. The door panel was removed by pulling it away at the bottom and lifting up to clear the inner door panel structure. 7. Here you can see the factory manual window regulator and the four bolts that secure it to the door. 8. The four bolts around the crank were removed, along with two bolts that secured the bottom of the regulator to the door. 9. A pair of bolts secures the window glass to the regulator. Both of these were removed and the glass lifted up. 10. A few strips of masking tape hold the window in its up position so it will not interfere with the removal and installation of the window regulators. 11. With everything disconnected, the manual window regulator was removed through the large hole in the door and set aside. 12. Here you can see the Electric-Life electric regulator (bottom) and manual regulator (top). 13. Before installing the new electric window regulator, the wiring was plugged into the motor, as it is difficult to access once the regulator is in the door. (Trust us!) 14. The new regulator is simply fit into the door through the same hole that the manual regulator was removed from. 15. The new unit was test-fit before bolting on the screws. 16A,B. Using factory holes and the included hardware, the power regulator was secured to the door. 17. Next, the window was dropped back into position and secured to the regulator using the factory hardware. 18. Since our switches were going to be mounted in the center console, only two wires were run into each door. These wires were connected to the leads coming from the window motors. 19. To supply power to the system, the wiring harness was tapped into the ignition wiring beneath the dashboard. 20. The ground wire was secured to the metal chassis of the Honda, also beneath the dash. 21. With the wiring connections completed, the lower dash panel was reinstalled and all wiring was run through the center console. 22. The loose ends of the wiring were run up through the factory opening in the center console and through the Electric-Life switch plate. 23. Quick disconnects were added to the switch wiring to allow them to be removed in the future, if needed. 24. The switches were plugged into the wiring, making sure to test the polarity of the motors to see if it was correct. 25. With the wiring connected, the switches were snapped into place. 26. The finished switches fit perfectly into the blank spots in the Honda center console. 27. With the window crank removed, the opening in the door panel was filled with fiberglass and the panel was re-covered with matching suede. ARTICLE SOURCES

Installing The MagnaFlow Ti On A Nissan 240SX Author Everywhere we go, we hear people talking about how cool the new titanium stuff is. But do people even know what titanium is? Does it really make a difference? When I got a call from Craig Lieberman, marketing director of MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust, to tell me about the company’s new Ti line, I was totally stoked. Not because it had anything to do with titanium, but because I was going to get a firsthand look at what the new stuff looked like and how it performs on the dyno. Although we didn’t expect anything in particular in terms of power, the weight savings alone was worth the install. I was given a tour of the huge MagnaFlow Tech Center from Richard Waitas, the gentleman in charge of doing the tech install and dyno runs on our new exhaust. The crew offered me a dyno run with my old exhaust and promised it would perform other dyno runs after the new Ti exhaust was installed. After strapping the 240SX in and double-checking all the straps, we were ready to rock and roll with the first couple of dyno passes. After four passes, Waitas was satisfied with the numbers and it was time to move the car from the dyno onto the lift. As you can tell from the photos, these guys don’t play around. Waitas took a peak underneath the car and made sure that the new exhaust would have no problems bolting on. Upon inspection of the old exhaust we noticed right away that it was a little beat up. The old unit was considerably larger than the new MagnaFlow unit and the piping and canister had been dinged up from the daily grind. With its smaller piping and smaller canister, the new exhaust will make road clearance 100-times better. The crew removed the old exhaust and it was time to bolt on the new Ti unit, which requires one or two people. Most other applications that we have come across are built as one piece, requiring at least two people to do the installation. For this particular install, Waitas enlisted an assistant. The Ti unit is broken down into two sections: the front section connects to the resonator and the second section contains the canister. The first thing that Waitas did was bolt the first section to the resonator. Then he connected the first section to the stock hangers. Nothing was fully tightened always make sure that everything is correctly installed and aligned before fully tightening the hardware. Another important rule: Always start the install from the front and work your way toward the back, making sure that everything is aligned. Waitas then took the second section and bolted it up to the front section, which was now hanging securely on the hangers. Then he made sure that the canister was secure by connecting the second section to the hangers located at the rear of the vehicle. Next, he made sure that everything lined up and that the canister looked just right from behind the car. After it was all secure, he went back and tightened everything. The only tools needed for this install were 12mm and 14mm wrenches and a set of hanger pliers. Magna-Flow supplies the rest of the hardware, including washers and an Allen wrench. Before we did the final dyno run, Waitas and Lieberman wanted to sound-test the new exhaust. Now, this exhaust unit was made for a 240SX with a KA24 motor; they had never dyno’d the product on a 240SX with an SR20DET motor. As Waitas drove the car outside, I could already tell that the new piece was a work of art. It not only looked great, but it sounded even better. As we watched Waitas do the sound test, we noticed how quiet the new Ti piece is. With the silencer in place, the level never got over 93 dB at full throttle. After testing the exhaust with the silencer, Waitas took it out and redid the test, just to see if there would be a difference. To our surprise, the decibels only went up to 96 dB without the silencer. Not bad at all. I loved it because it was nice and quiet, yet sounded just right. Now was the moment of truth. Would the Ti exhaust be able to put out better numbers than the old unit? Waitas pulled the car back on the dyno and strapped it down one more time. Most importantly, before we started our next series of dyno runs, Waitas disconnected the battery for about 10 minutes. This resets the computer and gives it a fresh start with the new unit. After a 10-minute break, it was time to see what this baby could do. A total of four dyno runs were done and the new Ti exhaust put out an extra 6 hp and 3 lb-ft of torque. Not too bad if you ask me! Note that the 240SX didnÕt have a stock exhaust; it had an upgraded unit with 3.25-inch piping. The new Ti exhaust is only using 2.25-inch piping and the numbers still improved. If you would like one of these beauties, you can pick one up for anywhere between $895 and $1,400, depending on whether you get the resonator (which is not to be confused with the silencer; that is included at no extra charge). 1. Notice that the 240SX had to be put on the dyno in reverse. Remember that the car is rear-wheel drive. 2. After reversing the car onto the dyno, Richard Waitas placed a stopper underneath the front and rear tires to make sure that the car stayed securely in place. Next it was time to strap down the entire car. Waitas made sure that the front and rear were totally secure before the dyno runs began. 4. After the car was secure, Waitas ran the wire from the computer to the coil. This has to be