Speed Freak - 2001 Honda Civic

If an engine can't exhale properly, it certainly can't inhale properly either. So to guarantee that there was as little restriction in the exhaust as possible, Romero contracted Love Fabrication to build the free flowing exhaust manifold and downpipe. After being ignited in the combustion chamber, the spent gasses exit in the engine just as easily as they came in, thanks to the stainless-steel tubular manifold and the 3-to-4-inch diverging downpipe.

Along with horsepower, all that burned fuel creates a lot of heat, too. However, as some of you more astute readers might have already noticed, this high-speed sled doesn't have a radiator - well at least in the conventional sense. Instead of having a traditional radiator, this car forgoes the "radiation" of the heat created by the engine and simply stores it in a tank behind the driver. What does that mean? Well, basically the car can only be driven for a short period of time, then the car must be allowed to cool off. A water pump mounted behind the tank pumps water through the engine and back into the tank.

All that power doesn't matter without the proper gearing, and to address this issue, Romero had a box built by GearSpeed in Rancho Cucamonga, California. An LS tranny with the stock ratios was chosen and GearSpeed did their magic and adapted the shift linkage to work in the EM2 chassis. Romero interfaces with the gearbox via a DC Sports shifter, while an ACT Extreme 4-puck clutch makes sure the torque gets from the lightened stock flywheel to the Integra transaxle. An LSD currently finds refuge in the 5-speed transaxle's aluminum shell, but Romero plans on swapping it out for a locked differential spool after discovering just how unstable the LSD locking and unlocking at 200mph can be.

Speaking of instability, the suspension and brakes on Romero's Civic are nearly stock, with a pair of Progress coilovers up front with 6-inch 600lb/in springs. The rear suspension and all four brakes are as they came from the factory. But hey, when you've got a parachute bolted to the back of your Honda, you don't need no stinkin' brakes anyway, right? And who says you need a fancy suspension setup to go fast in a straight line?

While we're still on the topic of fast and truly frightening cars, you might be wondering just how much safety equipment the car is loaded with. To be honest, we were a little shocked how little. While it may have all the typical racing safety equipment like a rollcage and on-board fire suppression, there is little else to protect Romero (or any other driver) in case the unspeakable happens.

Driving this car at speed takes balls. Hell, even the 215/50R-17 Toyo Proxes tires are off the shelf donuts. Yup, that's right, Romero is driving at over 200mph on the same tires you can buy at your local tire shop. If that isn't testament to the size of Romero's testes, we don't know what is. Driving a nearly stock Civic across the desert at 200mph may sound like a foolhardy idea to a sane man, but to a speed junkie, it's the ultimate high.

By Ryan McKay

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