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January 7th, 2002, 05:26 PM
#1
Inactive Member
i love finding old things! the Sport Compact was from August of '95 and was only 98 pages! i found an article about a 4G civic. it's funny to read what they were doing back then. since my scanner isn't working i typed it up for you guys to read.
ENJOY! 
ami
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While muscle car drag racing is soildly established in the minds of those who love to drive fast and hard, import car racing is a recent sensation. And although, the Top Fuel and Funny Car crowd may think the idea of running a compact-sized four banger (or six) down the 1/4-mile is a ludicrous, events like the Battle of the Imports and Sacramento Import Super Drags have attracted record crowds - not to mention some very, very quick cars.
Hondas (and Acuras) are by far the most popular cars at these events, and if you believe the pitside braggadocio, everyone has the fastest import. So the question is clear, who owns the bragging rights?
Someone who has a lot to say is Junior Asprer, who pilots a turbocharged '88 Honda Civic Si. The Civic's fastest "official time" at Battle of the Imports was a 12.31 second 1/4-mile pass, according to information provided by the AIRA. Adjusted for altitude (Palmdale is at 4,000feet) that figures out to be about 11.91 at sea level. This incredible time was achieved without a squeeze of nitrous.
Do you know how fast 12.31 seconds really is? Fast street cars like the Toyota Supra Twin Turbo or Corvette LT-1 turn in very good 1/4-mile times of about 13.5 to 14.0 seconds right out of the box. Super exotics like the Ferrari 512R and Lamborghini Diablo dial-in even faster at around 13 seconds flat. Up against Junior's ride they would all lose. So what's his secret? For the story we traveled to the garages of RPS Engineering in Chatsworth, CA.
Junior's car has a long history. He bought it new in 1988, and has been steadily building it into the silver-blue bullet on these pages. Originally, the Honda had a carburetor setup (twin Mikunis) which was complimented by a performance cam. Although performance was decent, Junior and friends saw plenty of room for improvement.
After the initial experiment with carbs, Junior decided to revert to fuel injection. However, since the stock injection system didn't suit him, he had a higher-flow fuel injection setup installed with twin TWM throttle bodies. This resulted in much better low-end torque, but approximately the same high-end power.
After the enhanced fuel injection lost its thrill, Junior decided to move onto turbochargers. This is where things began to get serious. The stock manifold with the single throttle body was reinstalled to simplify plumbing the turbocharger. RPS installed a Garrett T2.5 out of a Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo. A huge intercooler was mounted behind the front bumper as well.
Although turbocharging an engine usually means reinforced internal components, Junior decided to stay with the stock connecting rods. He had already prepped and shotpeened the stock rods in the Civic motor when he had installed the carbs. Although Rob Smith, the owner of RPS warned Junior that those rods would probably bend under the strain of the turbo, the decision was made to leave the stock rods and pistons in. However, the stock pistons were replaced with forged aluminum units with an 8:1 compression ratio.
When they ran the T2.5 turbo, throttle response was phenomenal, according to Smith. Boost came about 2000 rpm, with a maximum of 14 pounds available. Because of the small-size of the turbo, boost pressure fell as the rpm went up. Shortly after the turbo setup was up and running, another problem arose, he said. The engine began to burn oil. When it was tore down, they discovered one of the stock rods had bent (into an "S" shape), despite the preparation. The bend forced the pin into the side of the cylinder wall, gouging it. Luckily, the gouge was not major and the block was still usable. With an "I told you so" from Smith, new rods from Carrillo were machined and installed, improving the durability of the engine. And this time, a larger Garrett T3 turbo from Turbonetics of Moorpark, CA (currently used in the car) was installed.
With the T3 turbo, exhaust housing could be turned for even better throttle response. And response is what they got, according to Smith. They won their first Battle of the Imports with a 13.20 second pass. Three months later they won the event again with a quicker 12.85 second run. This time, the changes made to the car were not to the engine, but to the suspension. Making sure the drive wheels stay planted in one of the most important aspects of drag racing, and this one changed netted Junior almost a 1/2-second.
However, the real speed was yet to come. Although the T3 was getting about 18 pounds of boost in the city, it was developing only 14 pounds in the thin desert air of Palmdale, CA (where Battle is held). The loss of boost was costing them speed and so RPS decided some changes were in order.
We know that at higher elevations there is a loss of air and therefore not enough exhaust power to adequately spin some turbos. When it happens, an engine behaves as though it is smaller displacement that it actually is. With this in mind, RPS decided to use an even smaller exhaust housing on the turbo. That worked. And although Junior, RPS and Turbonetics aren't telling us how much more boost was gained, it's safe to say that it must be a lot more than the 14 pounds they had started with.
Could this be the quickest 1/4-mile Honda in the U.S. of A.? Officially, it was the quickest "non nitrous" turbo Honda at the Battle this past March. But who knows what waits around the corner.
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www.members.tripod.com/4thgencivic
"Hi, my name is Ami and I'm a Honda-coholic"
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January 7th, 2002, 05:32 PM
#2
Inactive Member
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January 8th, 2002, 03:18 AM
#3
Inactive Member
I have that issue of SCC! I also have an issue of Turbo magazine from Sep 94' with that same car.
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January 8th, 2002, 05:10 AM
#4
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January 8th, 2002, 04:21 PM
#5
Inactive Member
hehe I just rembered that name, Junior Asprer. I have a Honda Tuning from like 2 years ago, first mag I ever bought. I had his civic and a brief description of it. Best part was the civic looked like nothing fancy that was the best part 
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Suspenion Mods- More than you can shake a stick at...
Brake mods- I could slow down a buick if needed
Engine mods- Shit I knew I forgot something
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Cool articel though.
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