When Honda reintroduced the Si to the Civic lineup in 99–00, the coupe form received mixed emotions from enthusiasts. Sure, the B-series 1.6L DOHC VTEC motor was appealing, but the fact that they left the 92–95 hatch style was somewhat disappointing. Nonetheless however, many people still loved the coupe and I was one of those. Having own and built a 99 Si myself, I have a fond appreciation for all the ones out there. Vince’s Electron Blue is one of the exceptional ones out there and here’s why: turbocharged for over two years on stock bottom end and spitting out 240whp, this 1.6 has nothing to complain about. Match that up with some subtle exterior modifications to show this car means business, and we’ve got a complete coupe.
Pop the VIS carbon fiber hood and stare at the entire GReddy TD05-18G turbo kit upgrade. The GReddy Type-31 front mount intercooler fills up the front bumper giving the Si a menacing stare in the rear view. A Turbo XS blow off valve merely hints what this car’s capable of through the rumble emitting out the APEXi N1 cat-back exhaust system. On the intake side is an APEXi 3″ Power Intake filter and a ported Type-R intake manifold sealed with a Hondata Teflon cooling intake manifold gasket. A Maxbore overbored and polished throttle body has been tossed in as well measuring at 64–66mm. To catch any excess blow by is a GReddy oil catch can. Any turbocharged car has to have a bulletproof cooling system, and this Si doesn’t skimp out in that field either. A Spoon Sports thermoswitch and thermostat was installed to help reinforce the C&R Racing dual core aluminum radiator. Backing up the new radiator is a SPAL slimline fan. NGK spark plug wires and DIY four-point grounding wire kit makes sure the car gets efficient spark while under heavy boost. Speaking of boost, a Joe P. manual boost controller helps crank the B16A2 up to 240whp.
Anyone that’s driven the 99 Si before knows the stock clutch can’t hold any power. An ACT Heavy Duty clutch kit with a Hybrid street disc was installed along with an ACT XACT flywheel to help spin the revolutions. Making sure no real power is lost through the drive train and power train, an NRG engine damper was bolted on as well. Decorating the entire engine setup is a bronze metallic B16 valve cover and carbon fiber spark plug cover.
The setup was there for the power, but how to manage all of it was an essential question. Vince went with none other than Hondata to fulfill his needs. An S100 unit with boost option was installed to a socketed OBD1 P72 ECU. To make this conversion happen without a hitch, Vince had to purchase a Boomslang OBD conversion harness as well. Time to flood the system with fuel the turbocharged motor said. RC 550cc injectors fill the rail along with a Walbro 255lph in-tank fuel pump to deliver all the guzzled goods. Everything was fine tuned on the dyno by Ed Senf @ Balanced Performance.
Now to make the car look good, Vince kept it simple. An Invidia carbon fiber Mugen-style lip was added to match the VIS carbon fiber hood. Spoon-style carbon fiber mirrors from JDMSh!T took the place of the original ones. The lighting has received some influence from Japan with a set of Honda OEM Civic Type-R sidemarkers and HOP OEM yellow foglights. The stock heads were pulled apart and a custom DIY gunmetal job was applied to the inside finish. Last but not least, the rear bumper has received an HOP OEM rear lip spoiler to make the car complete.
With all the 240whp that Vince has on tap, he wanted to make sure the car handled well. H&R sport springs are paired with KYB AGX adjustable struts to give the Si a new stiffened ride. Several suspension bars found their way home on the body as well, including a Comptech silver 22mm adjustable sway bar/tie bar combo, a Skunk2 front strut tower bar is seen in the engine bay and popping the trunk reveals a matching unit from Skunk2. Duck under the front of the car and you’ll notice the Cusco front lower tie bar. In conjunction with the Skunk2 front strut tower bar, Vince cleverly modified the OEM front strut brace to work with it as well. While being creative, he installed a DIY rear trunk brace and implemented his own rear camber kit.
The interior of the car kept the simple and clean theme as well. The front seats are now from an Integra Type-R sporting the Alcantara fabric. A Civic Type-R shift boot line up to an Integra Type-R shift knob. The stock gauge bezel was pulled apart to lay on an OEM Civic Type-R carbon fiber piece. Several gauges become essential in the project’s buildup. From APEXi is a turbo timer and air/fuel ratio gauge. A pair of GReddy gauges sit snug in an Autometer dual pod gauge cluster bezel: 52 mm electronic EGT and 52 mm electronic boost. Sitting in the place of a stock steering wheel is a MOMO Tuner red-stitched unit.
To be completely honest I hope one day I can have the thrill of driving a boosted Si around again. The coupe without a doubt is one of the most solid cars out there and Vince just made it 10× better.
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