1999 Honda Civic Si - Coupe Du Jojour - Featured Cars

The tuner crowd is, at times, a funny bunch. We purchase a new vehicle for simple daily transportation and try our best to fool ourselves into believing that a new car will maintain its factory appearance and performance levels. This is especially true with our family of dedicated Honda enthusiasts. We'll actually keep a straight face as we explain our plans to "just keep it stock." Try as we will, our long-winded explanations fail to mask that twinkle in our eye as we scan our pride and joy from top to bottom, secretly visualizing every possible modification known to man.

When Darryl Lamano, of Irvine, Calif., purchased a brand new '99 Civic Si in 2000 his aspirations to maintain a factory tuned coupe lasted for about 15 minutes. "My first Civic was stolen and I needed something to drive daily," Darryl says. "I decided to lower it, add some wheels and maybe an exhaust." With the urge to tune tugging at his shirttails, he immediately began sourcing parts to separate his deep blue two-door from a sea of clones fighting for freeway space on his way to work. His initial upgrades consisted of a Ground Control/Tokico suspension, a new set of wheels and a slight improvement in exhaust flow. In search of nothing less than perfection, each of these components has been changed at least three times since their initial installation. In fact, it wasn't until 2003 when Darryl hunted down a brand-new set of bronze Mugen MF8 wheels and his dream of owning a completely Mugen-adorned Civic began to materialize.

Starting with the Civic's outward appearance, a set of JDM thin side moldings and keyless door handles were paint-matched by Custom Collisions and snapped into place. An attitude adjustment was obtained with a Mugen front lip, rear trunk spoiler and Vision Type-MC side mirrors (also color-matched). Up front, lighting was vastly improved with a pair of OEM CTR headlights and yellow JDM foglights. To drop a few pounds and incorporate some contrast, a rock solid Fiber Images built carbon-fiber bonnet was bolted on with a set of polished hood shocks. These simple changes, along with the improved rolling stock, managed to separate this sheep from the herd while still maintaining Honda's smooth factory bodylines.

After swapping out suspension components multiple times, Darryl eventually settled on a set of Tein RE coilovers backed by a Skunk2 camber kit and ITR 22mm rear sway bar. Mugen front and rear strut bars stiffen the front and rear upper chassis, while a Skunk2 tie bar cinches the lower rear. The aforementioned bronze Mugen MF8 wheels (16x7, +50) are currently wrapped in Hankook Ventus RS2 rubber of the 205/45-16 variety. Like many of the parts on this Civic, the brake system has been altered a few times as well. An ITR five-lug conversion with 11-inch front and10-inch rear rotors and Hawk HPS brake pads were eventually settled upon. A 1-inch ITR master cylinder, Earl's stainless lines and Motul fluid offer further support to the upgraded brake setup.