Because the car will be shown and raced, it needed some dress up and power mods-which Mackin handled with style. For more than a decade now, the B-series engines have been the choice of Civic owners looking for a bump in power. The small-block Chevrolet engine of the tuner world, the B-series has had virtually all its secrets revealed. Not to say that 500-whp from a B18 on pump gas is weak... there's just bigger and arguably better options out there now-namely the K-series engines.
To give the Civic's K20 engine a little more oomph, Mackin handed it over to Skunk2 Racing for them to extract a little more N/A power. Skunk is legendary in the Honda world and has extensive experience tuning and building the K-series engines, making them the ideal people to get the job done.
The K20 responds wonderfully to freeing up its intake and exhaust tracts, so that's exactly what Skunk did for Mackin's Civic. The K's bottom-end was left untouched, while the cylinder head received Skunk's full attention. After tearing down the head, they performed a port and polish, then bolted on a set of Skunk2 Pro Series Stage 1 camshafts and Pro Series cam gears. A set of stock valves ride under Skunk2 valvesprings and retainers.
With the massaged cylinder head installed, the engine dress-up began. An ARC titanium intake manifold and spark plug covers were bolted on, and the whole thing was topped off with an ARC billet aluminum oil cap.
The exhaust side of the K20 was freed up with a DC Sports header and a 60mm stainless-steel Espelir JGT500R exhaust, while the intake side breathes a little easier thanks to an ARC Super Induction Box and a port-match at the intake manifold to cylinder head junction. The fuel and ignition system remain OE, other than an ECU re-flash and installation of Denso Iridium sparkplugs. Like we said, the new K20 responds well to simple breathing mods, and the K in Mackin's '06 Si is no exception. With just the above mods and a Hondata re-flash, the car put down an impressive 209-wheel hp and 131-wheel torque. Given that, it's easy to see the potential of the K20.
One of the biggest beefs we had with the last Si was the less-than-spectacular suspension. Honda did an awesome job of fixing that problem and gave Mackin an excellent platform to improve upon. Mackin went straight to work and bolted up J's Racing coilovers on the front and an Espelir rear ASD spring/shock combo out back. While the suspension mods are limited, it's really all the car needs at this point.
Big brake kits are a favorite of both the show and road race scenes, so it's no surprise that a Project Mu big brake kit sits up front. The Mu kit uses 355mm rotors, 4-pistion calipers, Project Mu B-Force pads and stainless-steel braided lines.
Being it's a showcar; Mackin Industries spent just as much time on the exterior of the car as the engine. Sporting a set of 19x8 Volk Racing TE37 wheels wrapped in 223/35/19 Yokohama Parada Spec 2 rubber, the Si has looks to match its grip.
The body mods are an aftermarket/manufacturer collaboration; with J's Racing supplying the carbon front splitter and Honda Factory Performance bringing the side skirts and rear lip. A J's Racing GT wing and sticker scheme by Euphoric Designs rounds out the body mods.
Stepping inside the Si, the driver and a passenger are held into Sparco Milano 2 seats by Sparco 3-inch competition harnesses, while they keep an eye on the engine via the Autometer Nexus instrumentation. A Project Mu shift knob and pedals top off the interior mods nicely.
Honda may have made a few missteps with the previous generation Civic, but as this Si shows us, they've fixed those problems. As you can see from Mackin Industries' Civic, with very few changes, you can have an Si that is worlds above what you can reasonably expect from a "commuter" car.