Postby carfreak » August 25th, 2010, 3:40 pm
FROM MODIFIED MAG: Cut and paste about the Civic only.
And if you think getting burned by a stock-looking S2000 is bad, imagine how it must feel to get ripped in half by a 400+ whp Civic. A Civic, powered by the wrong wheels (or right wheels, depending how you look at it) nonetheless! "The RWD Civic project came to me from a friend of mine, Donald Douglas. Donald can't fit in a Honda S2000 because of his height and the small pedal area of the car, and because of his love for the clean look of the '99-00 Civic body, he wanted the best of both worlds," Stephan says. "With some parts that we had around the shop and a spare motor and transmission, we embarked on the long journey."
As we all know, the Honda Civic is a FF layout. Because of this design, the task of converting to FR is a long, grueling custom job; there are no "bolt-on" kits to make yourself a F-powered Civic. Stephan is again quiet about the details of this car, and for good reason. When your business is making street sleepers, you don't want to run around telling everyone your secrets. What we do know is that he used the factory transmission and a custom driveshaft, and the underside of the Civic has been completely custom engineered to not only effectively and safely house the transmission and driveline but actually increase the structural rigidity of the chassis.
"The biggest challenge was the re-engineering of the front steering and suspension due to the Civic's stock steering rack location against the firewall," Stephan says. "The new rack we made sits way up in front of the engine, and after two months of hard work we had our rolling chassis. The diamond finally began to shine."
Donald was adamant that his Civic retain all the comforts of a true street car, such as air conditioning and power steering, so Stephan reconfigured and custom fabricated the entire A/C system to work with the F20. As if RWD wasn't enough, within about two weeks of getting the Civic running, Donald and Stephan made the dive into boost and never looked back. The Civic puts down a sweet 493 hp to the rear wheels at 17 psi.
All said and done, it's hard to argue with Stephan Bonny when it comes to the Honda F series motor. Keep your eyes peeled for the deadly duo of (however unlikely) black RWD Honda's in South Florida.
Specs & Details
'00 Honda Civic EX
Engine Honda AP1 S2000 F20C inline-4
Engine Modifications 3mm head gasket, StopTech valves, springs & retainers; Stock internals & block, Precision GT40R BB anti-surge turbo, Spoon throttle body, custom exhaust manifold, Burns stainless steel tubing w/ merge collector, Spoon 3 core radiator, custom fans, plumbing; Spoon thermostat
Engine Management AEM EMS
Drivetrain Custom driveshaft & transmission tunnel, Exedy clutch, AP1 differential & axles
Suspension TEIN Flex Civic front struts (f), rears are TEIN Flex S2000 shocks & springs (r)
Wheels, Tires & Brakes Stock AP1 S2000 wheels, stock S2000 front & rear brakes, Hawk pads, slotted rotors, Goodridge Stainless steel lines
Interior A'PEXi gauges, AP2 center console & A/C controls
Exterior Spoon Mooncraft hardtop, rear fender flares; S2000 CR front spoiler, custom modified Viper hood scoop
Numbers 493 whp at 17psi
Thanks To Family & Friends, & to Adrian & Lance for the tunes
WorthKnowing Although it may look mostly stock, a typical '99-00 Honda Civic Coupe is a far cry from what Stephan and Donald have created. Horsepower is up by more than 300 percent and the stock FWD, 127hp, SOHC, D16Y8 motor is long gone.
