Methods Of Madness - 2006 Honda Civic Si

The larger 27mm anti-roll bar on the Temple of VTEC car made it easier to rotate through the cones than the Hasport car, which in the end netted the TOV car a 73.1mph average speed-a testament to the Avon Tech R's, considering that the Hasport car ran on Toyo RA-1's.

We suspect that with more time spent tuning, both cars would have danced through the cones a bit more gracefully, but being an entirely new chassis meant that some guesswork was involved in the setup. Perhaps with around 10psi more air pressure in the rear tires, an extra edge of performance could have been actualized during the measured handling tests.

Without question, both cars came to life on the autocross course, an environment in which small, modified cars should excel. Once a couple of laps were burned into the virgin race rubber, the taut suspension setups began to make perfect sense, working brilliantly with sticky tires.

Both cars responded satisfyingly well to trail-braking, particularly on our long, constant radius skidpad corner, where the technique allowed the temporary elimination of understeer. The TOV car was able to take the weight shift and run with it, maintaining a considerable slip angle most of the way through the long corner, the stiff anti-roll bar lifting the inside rear wheel, a la old-school GTi.

And we thought that was great, until we figured out that the Hasport car could be broken into an even more ludicrous yaw angle, and then be bailed out at the last minute with instant-on supercharged torque. Stab the brakes, whip the tail around and fling through the ensuing hard left. Now we're cooking with gas.

A portion of the autocross incorporated a chunk of the same slalom used to test the cars earlier in the day. This time, with tires up to temperature, both cars were able to hammer through the cones at full throttle before diving down on the brakes for the tightest corner of our course. The next section incorporated a set of tight chicanes that put the Progress suspension to the test, which was handled with aplomb.

In the end, both cars are a tremendously fun time, but they do both compromise the everyday civility of the Civic. The TOV car will leave your ears ringing like a bomb blast, but offers a fully functional dashboard and navigation system, as well as an analog tachometer. Oh, and a speedometer. Those are great to have in the real world.

The Hasport car is nice and quiet aside from the electric whine from the supercharger, but unfortunately sacrifices the use of the stock analog tachometer, speedometer and even the navigation system. Hasport reports that issues of compatibility will soon be remedied, so drivers will be able to tell how fast they're going.

The two Civic Si's started with identical formulas, and couldn't have ended up with more different outcomes. Each is a predator around the autocross cones. The whine from under the hood of the Hasport car will make the most seasoned car nerd explode into schoolgirl giggles, and the roar from the TOV car exhaust is reminiscent of an uncorked streetbike on full boil.