Patience.

The most important virtue that an automotive enthusiast can possess is patience, followed by respect. Patience will play a pivotal role in the overall outcome of your build; it’s not hard to tell who built their car in 6 months, or in 6 years.

It’s patience that forces you to develop an attention to detail and challenges you to push the boundaries of your creativity.

Throughout the duration of your build, your patience will continually be tested; the toughest test of patience revolves around the selection of parts and the accompanying wait.

In today’s market place, there’s a plethora of parts available to an enthusiast; the challenge is simply whether you’ll allow yourself to succumb to instant gratification, or hold out for something unique?

Approaching your build with a mind frame that’s built around patience, will always yield the best results.

All Clean.

Today it dawned on me that I needed to attend to some smaller matters on the STi…

I cleaned up the car and made some small changes; the changes are quite subtle, in the midst of things, but I believe they’re a welcome addition!

Enjoy:

Progress.

Progress is something that every enthusiast pursues in their repsective builds; however the cost, at times, is staggering.

The photos below represent nearly a year’s worth of work; waiting for parts to arrive, coordinating installations and sourcing competent shops, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

It is a nice feeling when the work pays off, you be there’s more on the way.

This is a transition from the stock STi wing / trunk to a Voltex Type 5V Wing , a whole new trunk lid and a Tomei Titanium exhaust.

Before:

During:

Progress:

Daily Driver 2.0.

This is my present daily, a ’11 Honda Civic Si Sedan. I love this car and it’s 99.8% stock!

Does a drop in filter really count towards a modification? I’m not sure, but it’s as wild as I’ve managed to get, so far, with the Si. I do have some Spoon magnetic plugs and Torco fluids running through it, but it’s a start.

The truth is the car is quite fun to drive just as is; I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to mod it to hell, but for now, I’m quite content with it.

Anyways, a couple shots:

5 Years.

Time is something we value, we complain about wasting and something we always seem to be looking for. Photographs and memories serve as the only means of recounting the time we’ve invested in to pursuing different avenues in our lives. Every morning, on my way to work, I walk by a car that I’ve watched evolve over the last five years; the STi project has been a source of great joy, frustration and sacrifice.

Here’s a shot or two of the car, as close to stock as possible, that I was able to dig up:

Daily Driver.

It’s funny how those two words can change everything in your build. There comes a point in every build where you begin to walk a fine line between a daily driver, or a show car. I quickly learned this lesson, but I was already too late to benefit.

With the election to run higher boost and a larger blower came a whole new set of rules, higher octane was now a must – not an option. Coupling the higher boost requirements with the car’s overall stance and wheel selection,  only proved I blew the fine line away altogether.

It was at this point that I had an epiphany, why not buy a daily? So I did. With the sale of the Si long behind me, I had been missing VTEC. I ultimately ended up purchasing an ’06 Acura RSX-S, I loved it.

Sadly, in under 1 year of ownership, a completed transmission failure ended my i-VTEC love affair. The “ring-gear” failed and caused the transmission to literally grenade, internally. After doing some research I was relieved to know it was a known issue; however the $5,500 bill that Honda picked up left me with a dimished sense of faith in the car.

I ultimately parted this car out, with plenty of mods not seen in the photos here, and traded it in for my ’07 Subaru STi.  Here’s the only real shots of the car I’ve got left.

Project 1.

 

It was through the attendance of the ’05 Los Angeles Auto Convention that I came across my next, future, project car. A handful of friends and I went to take a look at the newest cars coming out; I couldn’t think of a better idea, with the sale of the Si now behind me.

As we made our way through the various makes of cars, nothing had stood out to me just yet; I was looking for the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Little did I know that wolf wasn’t far from where I was standing; taking a short walk I came across BMW’s display, it was a while before I left. Off to the side stood the E46 330Ci Performance Package (ZHP), sitting quietly next to an E46 M3.

The ZHP was simply stunning, of course I loved the M3 as well, but I just couldn’t get myself out of the ZHP. I can vividly recall sitting in the car for what seemed like an eternity; leaving the show it was the only car that remained on my mind, the ZHP was it.  I was suprised that I had never seen a ZHP before, especially relative to how many E46 M3s I saw – all the time.

The next day I set to work calling every local dealership, trying to get  any information on when I would be able to get my hands on one; I had no idea what kind of challenge I was in for. Six plus dealerships later, hours of phone calls, a seemingly endless wait and finally I was rewarded with obtaining my ZHP.

The end results speak for themselves:

-Chris

 

 

Subtlety.

My first car was this ’00 Honda Civic Si, I’ll never forget it!

This project enabled me  to further develop my understanding of the mechanics involved with modifying a car, as well as my tuning style.

My goal was to provide a solid example of how to blend a sutble, elegant, look with the fire in your pants kind of performance we all love.

The “stance” was far from aggressive, the wheels 100% factory and the only indication of any real bark was from the HKS Hi-Power exhaust.

The heart of the car was the Intergra Type R bottom end; I couldn’t explain how much of a difference those two tenths of a liter in displacement made in the car’s personality. The solid motor mounts and the Toda clutch kit always made driving the car feel special.

Here’s a couple shots of the car:

The Point.

Hello Everyone,

This blog will serve as a means to work on the continuous documentation of my on going STi build and allow me to share my resume of past project cars.

I’m eager to provide you with a history of my past projects; to share with you  the struggles from on going projects and the end results, which make it all worth it.

It’s my goal to aid the few enthusiasts working to perserve a way of automotive tuning that has grown relatively rare, tuning with direction and purpose.

Your comments are valued and respected; I encourage you to comment as you see fit!

Thank you,

-Chris Walker