Hartanto quickly located a 1999 Honda Civic Si and dropped it off at RedZone Performance in Fremont, Calif., for them to transform it into a race car. One of the first things they addressed was the suspension. Hartanto and RedZone chose to run Koni 30-series dampers in conjunction with sleeve-type coilovers and Eibach ERS 800 lb/in springs up front and 1200 lb/in springs in the rear. All the suspension mods in the world are useless without a proper alignment, so the car was checked and adjusted by Wicked Tuning in California. Hartanto says that from his own personal experience, the setup consistently outperforms any of the "JDM bling" coilover suspensions on the market. To further help get the balance of the car more to his liking, he chose to jettison the front anti-roll bar and bolted up a beefy 22mm Comptech rear bar. Like the Koni shocks and Eibach springs, he says this anti-roll bar is simply the best on the market.
Although purists may cringe at the thought of power steering on a race car, Hartanto went to considerable lengths to install it on his. He says it gives him more precise control of the wheel and prevents him from having to constantly fight the wheel, which in the end allows him to be more consistent. Hartanto further justified his decision by explaining to us the importance of consistency in a full-length race. He says the extra degree of consistency the steering provides is well worth the 3hp lost to the power steering pump. You don't need to justify it to us Andrie, we don't think you're any less of a man for running power steering.
One of the most heavily-taxed components on a road racing car is the brakes. With lots of hard braking and very little time between turns for them to cool down, they can quickly overheat and become useless. To prevent just that from happening, Hartanto wisely chose to upgrade the front calipers and rotors. But this is a working mans car, so don't expect to see a flashy big brake kit bolted to the front end. Like many budget-oriented racers, he chose to hit the OEM parts bin and grafted on NSX calipers and 282mm rotors. Hartanto says that this, combined with some DIY brake vents, provides ample stopping power.
With the stopping and turning aspects taken care of, they then took care of the poweplant (or powerplants in this case). For racing in the NASA Honda Challenge, the car is equipped with an internally-stock K20A motor. When racing in the SCCA Pro Speed World Challenge, the car sports a Comptech-built K20A2 engine. As part of the World Challenge engine build, Comptech installed 1mm overbore, 12.5:1 compression Supertech forged pistons, Eagle forged rods and a Prima Racing oil pan. They then prepped the head per World Challenge specs and bolted it to the built short-block. The exhaust stays true to the budget theme and starts with an R-Crew Racing header and custom 75mm RedZone exhaust.
The stock differential, axles and clutch were discarded in favor of more appropriate units, including a Kaaz clutch-type LSD, HASport axles and a Clutch Masters clutch. The car's interior, exterior and aerodynamic properties were also given their fair share of attention. Air is directed and downforce is provided by a Prima Racing front splitter and air dam, and a HPM rear wing. Inside the cockpit, Hartanto is nestled by a Sparco racing seat and protected by a rollcage, which is a necessity in the fender-to-fender racing the car sees.
To keep Hartanto in synch in the engine vitals, he can interface with his MyChron XG Log. The steering wheel-mounted unit displays RPM, MPH, oil temperature and pressure, water temperature and fuel level. Hartanto says the unit was supposed to be easy to configure for his setup, but he found that not to be the case, frustrating him on more than one occasion.
The Rota Torque wheels, on the other hand, provided no additional drama. Measuring 17x8 inches and wearing 235/40/17 Toyo RA1 rubber on all four corners, they give Hartanto the grip he needs to win races.
The old adage about not being able to have fast, cheap and reliable all at the same time may be true most of the time, but as Hartanto, RedZone and his crew of brave volunteers have proven, there can be exceptions.