July 16, 2023
Northern California native Fred Chapman’s ’96 Honda Civic is a project he undertook after having owned a handful of water-cooled Volkswagens. Chapman decided it was time to make the move to the Japanese market, and he found himself owning more Hondas than you can count on one hand. Having been around the Honda scene for well over a decade now, Chapman, with the help of his wife, recently acquired the one “H” car he had always wanted—the one you see here.
0Comments
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.
0Comments
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.
0Comments
The Honda Prelude may not be as popular as the Civic or the Integra, but it does have a rather large tuner following. One of the reasons that the Prelude isn’t as modified as often as other Hondas is that the model’s initial purchase price is considerably more than a Civic Si or Integra GS-R, since the Prelude was better appointed with options and a more powerful engine.
0Comments
We all know and love the Honda/Acura B-series motors and for good reason. They have been and continue to be the mainstay of the sport compact performance market. Sure, the new K-series motors are making headway with more and more performance pieces and they look to succeed the B-series once the supply of used motors becomes available in the quantities (and pricing) currently enjoyed by the B-series. But for now, Civic, CRX and Integra engine swappers, not to mention the horde of those originally so equipped, have made the B16A, B18A/B, B18C and B18C5 the performance Honda motors of choice.
0Comments
As I was walking around the NOPI Nationals looking for cars to feature, this one stood out from the masses. What surprised me even more is that it stood out in a very impressive Toyo Tires booth. That is not an easy location to score. Toyo always has one of the hottest booths at NOPI and Hills MR2 literally stole the show.
0Comments
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.
0Comments
When it comes to performance, there is one steadfast rule: All the good air that goes into making horsepower must eventually find its way out. This means that adding all the cool camshafts, intake manifolds and even superchargers to help improve airflow into the motor will be useless (okay, maybe not useless, but certainly much less effective) if the motor is not able to rid itself of the exhaust. Cork up a serious performance motor and watch it struggle and gag on its own exhaust fumes.
0Comments
Hot Import Nights: Chicago Author Everyone in the Midwest was getting ready for this show and seemed to have marked this event as his or her battleground. All of the competitors I spoke with said that this was the show where they were going to show the world what their rides had to offer. I was pumped and really looking forward to going back to the Windy City to see what new toys and modifications would be popping up after the last Import Revolution event held in Chi-town, just a couple months earlier. The last time we made the journey to the Midwest, we saw some of the best built cars in the country. When we headed back, I knew that the cars, people and show would be even better. Boy oh boy, was I right! As soon as we walked through the main doors of McCormick Place, we could feel the tension in the room. Competition is a great thing, but this night the rivalry would be taken to a whole new level. You see, at the first Import Revolution event, some of the newcomers weren’t around just yet. They may have been there in spirit or walking around, but their new toys were still at home or in bodyshops. This time would be different. Everybody was ready to battle it out with Jay Laub for Best of Show bragging rights. Laub had his hands full this time around with not just one or two competitors, but a small army of them. He also had a battle and a half in the 2-Door Wild class. Laub faced off against the biggest names in the Midwest … but yet again, he took them all down (see “Best of Show,” p. 150). He didn’t care what it took. All he knew was that he was going home with the Best of Show trophy. It made the long drive up from Florida worth his while. Besides Laub’s RX-7, Larry Chachko from Body Werks had it going on. Not only does he have one of the baddest S2Ks in the country, but he also has one of the most respected bodyshops in the Midwest. When these guys come to a show, they come in full force. Body Werks didn’t just bring out five or six cars—these guys came to party and brought over 40 cars with them! And if you’re thinking that 25 of them must have been stock, think again. Chachko and the boys don’t play that game. All 40 were built with the Body Werks touch and they all had it going on. At the end of the night, the Body Werks crew cleaned house and walked away with several individual trophies and the Hottest Import Club award. So, if you have Chachko and Laub battling it out for Best of Show honors, does that leave room for anyone else? Surprisingly, it does. The two other cars that caught our attention are more than worthy of their fair share of drooling. Bob Mull from Team GMCI and his one-of-a-kind Cavalier gave Laub and Chachko all they could handle. This car was probably the most complete show car there, but after all was said and done, Mull fell just short. Don’t feel too bad for him, though. The other car that really drew us in was that of Jon Antes and his candy-green wide-body Supra. Not only does this car win the Meguiar’s Best Paint award on a regular basis, but it also puts out over 900 hp. Holy crap! There goes the notion of “all show and no go.” This car caught our eyes a couple of months back and still makes us drool every time we see it. Incredible cars, gorgeous models, an atmosphere like no other and great judging … what more can anyone ask for at a show? Another great job by the entire Vision Entertainment and NCCA crews. You guys keep doing what you are doing and I guarantee that people will keep coming back for more. In the meantime, keep building your cars because Laub can’t stay undefeated forever!
0Comments
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
0Comments
