Green Speed
OK, I know that you would probably rather give advice on a boosted 240SX or Supra...but, I have a plain-Jane, dime-a-dozen, '01 Civic EX coupe, and I could use your help. It has the five-speed, 1.7 VTEC-E making 127 hp. It's not very powerful, but in this day and age you need a car with good gas mileage; mine is fortunate enough to get 40 to 44 mpg. So, what bolt-on cheap parts do you recommend I put on this grocery-getter that will give it a little more pep in its step without killing my mileage? Also, I don't want to go all out on it, so I just need a few upgrades-I'll save going balls-out for my Z32 TT.
--Hayden Cook, Johnsonville, N.Y.
P.S. Don't let that dumb ass Jonathan Verna (Going Postal, July 2008) give you a bad image of teens or NY'ers. I'm also 17...but he is just an idiot.
Not only would we rather give you advice on badass Supras and 240s...we'd rather be driving them on a daily basis, too! But, sadly for us, fuel economy is a major concern, at least during the daily commute. There is only so much you can do to improve power without increasing demand for fuel. Bumping up compression via a head shave or high compression pistons will help, just like lightening up rotational mass (lightweight wheels, flywheel, pulleys), and freeing up aspiration (intake, header, exhaust). But, if big power is what you're after, you're best bet is through nitrous. Power when you need it, fuel economy when you don't...all at a relatively low cost. Check out NOS or Nitrous Express for guidance, and keep reading 2NR for the upcoming close of our Ultimate Efficiency tech series-our DC2 is making over 40 real-world mpg these days, and lookin' for 50.
Drag KingWhatever happened to the good old days when import drag racing was huge? I remember going to test and tune nights at the local track back in the day with, like, 300 other imports and tons of chicks! We'd get a couple runs in, then hit up the local spots for hours on end, staying out all night. Cops were cool-there was no such thing as tickets for loud exhausts, or for being too low. If you got caught street racing, you'd probably be let off with a ticket. Now the strips are closed, imports are profiled and their owners harassed...cars even crushed on occasion! WTF?! What are we supposed to do? Is it like this everywhere?
--Damon Mason, Chino, Calif.
Yes, Damon, it does seem to be like this everywhere. Things are getting tough for tuners...but not impossible. When you look a little closer at the grassroots of our scene, you'll actually find that it's starting to come back-strong. Battle of the Imports is hosting drag events at raceways all along the East and West coasts, Drift Day hosts drift exhibition and instruction demos every weekend at points in SoCal and the Southwest, and NASA and the SCCA sanction weekly autocross and road race events all across the country. Look to driver training programs like HPDE to get started, and learn the limits of your car in a safe environment, and then go racing. Learning how to properly mod and drive your car will help our scene shake its negative stigma, and help us all enjoy it more freely.