Owning a Honda Civic in Australia is a bit like turning up to a Star Trek convention dressed as Chewbacca. You’ve got the genre right, but no matter how you comb your hair you never seem to fit in. Skylines, WRXs and other high power turbos dominate the import scene down under and you certainly don’t win any popularity contests by owning a modified front wheel drive hatchback. Duy Dang, the owner of this tidy 1997 EK Civic, has never paid much attention to the cynics and has been a fan of the smaller Honda models for years. He bought his first one 5 years ago, and at the time was just looking for something reliable. That’s when he came across the four magic words: “power-to-weight ratio”. Honda delivered: with a number of lightweight chassis and powerful naturally aspirated engines to choose from he knew he was on to something. Needless to say, his search for reliability quickly transformed into a pursuit for performance.
Duy’s first Honda was an EM1 Civic coupe. He built and modified the car himself deciding to use a low pressure turbo to the tune of 170whp. It was everything he intended it to be, a lightweight chassis with a strong engine. Unfortunately the experience of owning a turbo charged EM1 was short lived. In what was the worst car related experience of his life he rolled the car and wrote it off. Although all of the hard work and time Duy had put into the car was lost, he says, “It was a great learning experience and has shaped the way I am about cars now”. He is no longer fixated on peak power and straight line speed, but instead takes a more rounded approach to modifying and tuning cars. He said, “Honda isn’t stupid, un-opened motors with quality bolt-on bits would be the way to go when you’re on a budget. Add that to a light chassis and your laughing”.
Duy’s EK Civic is the perfect example of a well rounded performance package. He bought the car three years ago and has since gone about perfecting the cars set-up. Through research, trial and error and track testing, he has finally arrived at the end product you see here. With some impressive mechanical knowledge and some helpful friends he’s been able to do all of the work on the car himself as well. I’m not talking about installing the Civic Type R (EK9) front lip or grill either, everything from the suspension setup to the engine swap he’s done himself. All the hard work has certainly paid off; when it comes to street friendly, performance focused Civics, they don’t come much better than this.
In the engine department, Duy was previously running a B18CR with individual throttle bodies but, not content, he has now moved into the the K-series family of engines. Currently the car has a K20a2 from a DC5R Integra Type R and it’s proving to be everything Duy had hoped it would be. With a cold air intake, Rcrew exhaust manifold and Rcrew 3 inch cat-back exhaust, he has made sure the engine can breathe as freely as it likes. The K-series has responded to the mods like an asthma sufferer does to Ventolin. With just the Rcrew bolt-ons and an untuned Hondata K-pro ecu it’s already making 190whp. Duy also assures me that he is far from finished and that the engine will soon be undergoing a thorough build. Even as it stands, the standard fuel delivery system wasn’t adequate for the new engine so it’s been swapped out for a Walbro fuel pump and Rcrew fuel rail. Toda Fightex FS Coilovers also play their part in getting the increased power to the ground through the twisty stuff. Needless to say, the car is already well prepped for some extra power.
Although the car is heavily focused on performance, it also makes a statement in style. The moon rock grey paint and yellow wheels make sure you won’t mistake this Civic for any other. Duy says he has, “kept it subtle with a touch of my own thing” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. The Buddy Club carbon bonnet and Spoon carbon rear wing don’t punch you in the eyes, but instead, accent the colour of the car and add a hint of aggression. The Enkei NT03s on the other hand, they get you right in the pupils. Love them or loathe them, they go to show that Duy has a bit of character and a mind of his own; he isn’t all too concerned with what others consider trendy. He said “I’ve always had a thing for yellow, I was actually going to respray my car yellow until I decided on the moon rock grey”. If you’re wondering what colour yellow the wheels are and live in Australia, Duy suggests you go take a look at an express post, post-box. Express post yellow? I have to say, I had a bit of a laugh at that. Who would have thought that a mail service could be inspirational?
The interior has also been given some upgrades and personal touches of its own. A pair of Bride Stradia Low Max seats are the main feature up front and, trust me, they are as comfortable and supportive as they look. Some more subtle additions to the interior include Bride floor mats, a skunk two gear knob and a whole range of OEM EK9 parts including EK9 pedals. You might also notice a few things missing in the rear if you’re able to pull your attention away from all of the goodies up front. The rear seats and body panels have all been removed to save weight; despite the colour of the wheels, Duy has no intention of using the car as a Taxi.
Although there is a lack of respect for modified Civics in Australia, Duy isn’t alone in his approach to tuning Honda’s. A few years ago he got together with some like minded people, forming a group called Team POV. It’s a tongue-in-cheek title and the POV acronym doesn’t stand for any one thing in particular. “The power of VTEC or just being poor from spending too much money on our cars” is how Duy explains it to most people. Regardless of the meaning, all of the POV cars have been modified with the same philosophy: no rice, no bullshit, just individual character and real-world performance. The group’s active participation in the Brisbane car scene has also changed a lot of people’s perceptions of Honda Civics. Slowly, the word is getting around that the lightweight Hondas can mix it with the more popular imports from a performance standpoint. So get out your Chewbacca costumes, because with enthusiasts like Duy Dang leading the way, it won’t be long before the humble Honda Civic finally gets the respect it deserves in Australia.
Duy would like to thank, “TeamPOV, JDMYard, Tran Brothers, Johnny and Jason, Lan, Uncle Dung, Paul and all of the other bums that have helped on my car”.
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