Road racing and aggressive street driving are alike in many ways. Of most importance to the owner/driver is how extensively harsh driving affects an engine's maintenance system. Excessive heat raises engine temperatures, thins oil and generally writes a recipe for disaster. If the car is to run at the threshold of detonation, where the most power is to be made, more attention must be paid to avoid it. On this note, Phong replaced his OEM radiator with a more capable ARC Prestige R unit and added a GReddy oil cooler kit. To ensure traction control is maintained in all accelerating circumstances, race-bred 14kg/mm and 10kg/mm Tein RA coilovers were added front and rear, respectively. To further reduce body roll and give the car a more "tail happy" characteristic, Phong installed a Comptech rear sway bar/tie bar combo and Skunk2 rear strut tower bar, while a Carbing tri-point strut tower bar reduces flex up front. Lightweight 15x7 Volk Racing RE30s reduce rotational mass and further reduce body roll, while surrounding 205/50/15 Toyo RA1 stickies keep everything planted to the tarmac of choice.
As trends in sport compact tuning continue to evolve, its common to see more and more once "race-only" mods adapted for street use. From roll cages and racing harnesses to huge horsepower builds and the development of "street legal" racing slicks, chances are if it offers benefits on the track, it's been put to use on the street. Nevertheless, one area most of us are reluctant to modify for street use is gearing. Except in the cases of the most die-hard street racers, and occasional top-speed junkies, most streetcar owners leave well enough alone when it comes to this area. But for the road racer who spends more time accelerating out of turns than he does cruising at freeway speed, a closer gearset is a must to keep an accelerating engine in the sweet spot of its rpm range. To give himself the on-track advantage, Phong lowered the final drive of the S4C transmission in his SI from an already close 4.4:1 to 4.929:1 by way of an ATS final drive kit.
Just as the tires are the only parts of a car that make contact with the road, the interior of a car houses the only points of contact between the car and driver. In the name of control and comfort, Phong replaced his stock front seats with a pair of Bride Brix Ergo 2s, and added Takata harness for safety's sake. A Mugen steering wheel and race pedals offer more of a racecar feel, while a host of GReddy gauges communicate engine vitals back to the driver.
Phong says the car is pretty much where it's going to stay-on the roads and road courses alike. With his build stable after so much time improving it, Phong's plans are now to improve himself-practice makes perfect in racing cars as well as building them. Although Phong entered the project of building and racing his car with next to nothing, he's finally acquired the knowledge of how to build and offers this car as proof. Now he faces the challenge of knowing how to race and is determined to prove himself with the same steadfast dedication that has gotten him this far. Years older and far wiser than when he first started, we're betting this next challenge won't be such an uphill battle.
After all the time and effort, Phong stuck with his passion of building imports to realize his dream of owning what he set out to do. After seven years, and thousands of dollars invested, he has finally improved the performance of his car in every way. He has created something he can both flog around a track to victory and drive to work everyday, but with something not often found in similar combinations-reliability. More importantly, he learned valuable lessons along the way. And these lessons that Phong learned from trial and error aren't things he'd rather keep secret. Have a question? Just ask him. The words and actions of people who have accomplished great things are the most influential in how we live our lives. After much struggle and learning, Phong knows it's time to start teaching.