Skunk2 Civic

What can you do in the motorsports world with $12,000? Certainly that's not pocket change for most of us. But, when it comes to most forms of motorsport, 12 large isn't going to get you very far. Unless you're Roger Foo, that is.

Foo built his '95 Civic Speedvision World Challenge car for that relatively small amount of green. Give that figure a second to sink in. World Challenge isn't amateur or club racing; it's a real-world, wheel-to-wheel, professional competition for money. Not just a little bit of money, either. Speedvision Touring, the class in which the Skunk2/Group A Autosports Civic competes, paid its champion driver $20,000 for winning the series in 2000.

It's no secret that Honda products make good racecars, especially in a series like Speedvision World Challenge, which pits cars against each other that would never see the track at the same time in any other series. Honda products, namely the Acura Integra Type R have won the Touring class, or its equivalent, for the past three years. It's the Hondas' off-the-shelf tune-ability that makes them so competitive in this series. Of all the cars featured here, the Hondas are the closest to stock and traditionally the most competitive. In an effort to make the series more competitive, rulemakers have the final say when it comes to modifying each car, so some end up looking more like European touring cars than something found in SCCA competition. But guess what: they're still not as quick as the near-stock Hondas.

We found out why when we got behind the wheel. Foo's car, which is built completely from parts available to the public is so easy to drive, it even made us feel fast. As with any Honda racecar, it's the switch to VTEC that really makes things interesting. Even below the VTEC switch, Foo's car, which only weighs about 2,100 lbs, is impressive. However, with the close ratios of the Type R tranny, there's rarely any need to fall off the big cam lobes.

With the B16 on full song, there's real motivation to rush through the gears. The perception of speed is tremendously enhanced inside the cockpit, where the engine's resonance is deafening. Combine that with the rate at which the Civic builds speed and the things begin to happen in a hurry.

Luckily, the Civic's suspension is sorted well enough to handle the velocity its engine generates. The 11.6-inch AP Racing rotors with four-piston calipers help the cause as well. We were surprised to find the Civic no more tail happy than a stock Integra Type R-although its limits were considerably higher, thanks to race tires, aggressive alignment settings and significant suspension work.

We tend to think that most front-drive racecars are setup to be tossed into every corner sideways and then caught and steered with the throttle. However, Foo's car made being smooth easy and still offered the precision to place it as necessary on corner entry and exit. That docile nature didn't keep us out of the dirt however, as we managed to get a bit ambitious with entry speed and backed it off the track in one of the tighter sections. Still, development time and hours of track use are obvious in this, perhaps the simplest of the cars in our test. Simple it might be, but the Civic still managed to crank out the second quickest lap time of the six cars tested and pulled a staggering 1.11g around The Streets' (the Streets of Willow Springs) bumpy skidpad. Both results are a testament to Foo's years of prepping and driving racecars. Despite its quick lap time, Foo said the car's weakness is still horsepower.

Foo's car is built from all off-the-shelf Japanese domestic market and American market Honda parts, with a few aftermarket goodies to round out the package. Very few parts required custom fabrication. Let this car be a lesson if you ever plan on building a Honda road racing car. Honda builds the best parts for Hondas. Let's start under the hood where the Japanese domestic market parts are most prominent. Group A Autosports built the engine, which uses Civic Type R 12.0:1 compression pistons, with standard American market Civic Si crank and rods. For better breathing, Group A assembled the head with an Integra Type R exhaust cam and a Civic Type R intake cam. Valves and springs are also sourced from the Integra Type R's B18C5.

The Civic uses an intake manifold from the Integra Type R. Interestingly, Foo used a stock airbox, which he says flows as efficiently as anything else he's seen. A DC Sports ceramic header does away with spent exhaust gasses. The powerplant is managed by an Integra GS-R ECU modified by Skunk2 and a Field VTEC controller.

Power is wrangled through a stock Integra Type R gearbox, while an ACT clutch mates the tranny to the engine. Axles are sourced from a '00 model Civic Si, making the drivetrain a true smattering of Honda components. The suspension is equally piecemeal. GAB dampers and H&R springs work in a coil-over combination both front and rear. Integra anti-roll bars (GS-R in front, Type R in the rear) increase roll stiffness on both ends. Add the AP Racing brakes into the mix and that's it for the chassis prep. Incredibly simple, cost-effective and fast on the track.

Roger Foo's Civic is an excellent example of how to build a competition car of any type. His skills as a car builder and driver, as well as his ability to make the most of the resources available certainly inspire us. Plus, with a sixth place finish at the last race of the '00 season in San Diego, he has proven he can be competitive this year. Foo said he's got plans to race a newer bodystyle Civic Si this year-we'll plan on seeing him in the winner's circle.