By Nebert Marin
Photography by Duane Boodasingh & Nebert Marin
Owner: Yuri C. Mulchansingh

It's strange how some of the things people say stick with you for the rest of your life. A school teacher said to me, "In life, if you are comfortable with where you are, then that is where you will remain. But if you are not, you will keep reaching higher." So now you know why I'll never be satisfied.

If you remember the Climate Controlled Civic that we featured several months ago, you can see this Mantra being applied. Our prize for most improved Feature Car goes to this project car. Furthermore, if Auto Sport Promotions had a Prize for the Fastest Front Wheel Drive, then this car would also be the winner.

We have closely followed the progress of this car through its metamorphosis from Street Car to, "Trailer Queen", and that term is used affectionately. We lived through the challenges, disappointments and victories. We've been to many of the private testing sessions and listened to the team formulating strategies and discussing theories to solve the mysteries and improve on almost every.phpect of this car.

After many many hours of R&D, Testing and Tuning, the car made an appearance at Official Drags but the team faced disappointment as the engine received a death sentence due to the accidental arming and engaging of the Nitrous System during pre-race tyre burn out. This caused more torture than any engine could handle. But that reminds me of another lesson I've learned over the years, "Never Give Up!" Tough times call for tough measures, a sober resolve and the tenacity to soldier on. This team used the opportunity of building another engine to incorporate proprietary parts and cutting edge tuning techniques that the first engine did not allow them to incorporate. The Talented engine builders, "Tola's Engineering," decided on a different approach to building horsepower, an approach that has proven to be successful.

Whether you intend to build a reliable 14 second street car or an all out race car, the key to success is planning every step of the way, setting a realistic budget and selecting the most appropriate parts to bring the project to life. That is what Tola would tell anyone that calls on him to construct a project car or performance engine. From our observations and conversations with him, he is extremely knowledgeable, surprisingly straightforward and easy to talk to. Though he will probably not give away his trade secrets to anyone that asks, he won't hesitate to incorporate his talent and skill into each and every engine he works on.

Everything that was done to this car can be done to your car while still keeping it street legal except for one thing and that is the use of fibreglass front doors. The first time we featured this car, it street driven and the only reason that it is not street driven today is because the front doors were swapped out to help lighten up the car. The installation of the roll-cage meant the addition of 110 lbs. The original doors weighed 80 lbs. With the use of fibreglass doors that weigh just 10 lbs, the addition of the roll cage only cost the team 40 lbs.

Speaking about costs, it is rumored that Yuri has spent close to or in excess of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) on this car. That figure is absolutely ridiculous, its more like $350,000.00, no, more like $500,000.00 or was it $750,000.00. Lets face it, building horsepower costs money. How much money was spent on this car we will never know but it is no where near as high as $200,000.00 so lets stop trying to count the people's money.

The Climate Controlled Civic now runs a B18C 1794cc Engine with Crower 4340 Rods, JE Low Compression Pistons, Nu Formz Block Guard and original GSR Camshafts. Forced Induction is derived from a Turbonetics T3/T4 Turbocharger mated to an F-Max Exhaust Manifold. Boost is controlled by an Apexi AVC-R Boost Controller and HKS Wastegate. The blow off valve on this ride is guaranteed to be the biggest you've ever seen, its a Turbonetics Godzilla Blow Off Valve.

Cooling duty is carried out by a Spearco Air to Air Intercooler and a Cool-It, Fuel Cool Tank. The fuel system was not taken for granted as a Holley in tank Fuel Pump was incorporated together with a Holley External Booster Pump, STR Fuel Rail and 850cc RC Engineering Injectors.

Yuh know some people still checking money. Well at least the Original GSR Intake Manifold was retained however an Aquamist Water Injection System was fitted to it which disperses an atomized mist of water to assist in keeping the combustion chamber cool and maintain the optimum combustion temperature value. Checkout Tola for that figure.

Ignition is managed by an MSD Programmable DIS-2 Ignition System, which fire NGK V-Racing Spark plugs via Magnecor 10mm Ignition Wires that are connected at the other end to Accel Twin Coil packs.

A HALTEC E6K Engine Management System that was locally installed and tuned handles the correct sequencing and management of all of these components. A side discharge 3" Exhaust dumps spent fumes.

It's said that Nitrous is the cheapest and most effective way to drop a full second off your ET but this car has shown that is not always the case. In fact, the use of Nitrous has actually made this car slower by a whole second. How is that possible you're wondering, well horsepower is nothing if you can't put it to the ground. Suspension modifications have not changed since our last feature except to for the addition of a Traction Control front bar. When Nitrous was used, the 60ft time increased significantly as the car struggled to gain traction and in the process losing precious time.

Tola has already formulated a strategy to correct the traction situation and use the Nitrous. The Fastest ET derived so far is 12.41 seconds at 118 MPH making this project the fastest FWD in these parts, thus far. This time was without Nitrous and should be further reduced the next time the project hits the tracks.

Further weight reduction is being worked on since the reduction in weight derived from the installation of fiberglass bonnet and doors have been offset by the installation of the eight point roll cage. Changes are being made to the gearbox to correct the major drop in revs being encountered from the stock GSR gearbox. The Clutchmasters Race Spec Clutch System seems to be holding out however if anyone from Clutchmasters is reading, there are some of us that suspect that what you're shipping to Trinidad is not that same unit that you're shipping to US racers. Care to comment… info@trinituner.com

Wheels are a combination of Volk Racing 15x6 on the rear with Lenso 13x7 Race Rims with M&H Race Slicks (13x8x25) out front.

Two TriniTuner.Com stickers each rated at 400HP are being fitted to the car in time for the next Drag event. If your business is interested in a sponsorship package for this car or interested in advertising on this Website, then send e-mail to info@trinituner.com .

If you are interested in building a superior race car, well Tola is the key individual from responsible for building and tuning of this project, he researches, and use his almost thirty (30) years of experience to extract the power that has been turned up thus far.

Jason is responsible for all mechanical installation for the project. Suspension tuning also falls within his responsibility, again with the advice of Tola.

Ashton is the key installer of all the electronics and the engine management system, he is also responsible for programming the Haltech with the assistance of Richard whose profession is in the Field of Information Technology. Again even though two guys are the tuners / programmers they are constantly reporting back to Tola who makes the final decisions.

Tremendous assistance is also available from David, Garvin, Rickson & Vishnu. When it comes to professionalism and a great enjoyment in competition, this team surpasses all requirements, late hours have become the norm since the team members have their professional commitments.

The Climate Controlled Civic and team have stamped their names into the history books of this country's racing journals as being the first front wheel drive to produce 12 second Ets. By the end of this year, this car should be consistently producing 11.5 second passes or lower. TriniTuner.Com will keep you tuned in and turned on.