A strict rule around our office states: if a car's been shot for any competing mag-even if it's a magazine under the Primedia umbrella-it'll never make it onto our pages. We do, however, make some exceptions, but if and only if the car has been completely transformed into something totally different than its original form. A lot of people try to pawn off a new set of wheels as a drastic change, but the way we see it, you better be investing just as much money (or more) during the makeover process. In its former state, Fred Chang's RSX was what you could call a "magazine whore." Slanged out to just about every damn tuner book on the face of the earth, the gold brilliance of his RSX was unrivaled-even track tested by Road and Track-proving that a show car with a near complete catalog of high quality HKS parts could perform up to its name.
From the day he purchased it, Fred knew he wanted it to be in a magazine. He says, "I had always seen other guys build their cars and get them into mags and I'd always say to myself, 'Man, if I had that car I'd do it this way and for sure it'd look hot.' Sure enough, I got my RSX." After trying his luck racing at a few track events, he realized that his once-daily driver (hard to believe it was used to drive nearly 100 miles a day!) had to become more than just an internet super star. And seeing that a Honda Fit had recently become a part of his daily routine, the RSX could finally be used as a full-time racecar. Fred decided to redo his car, not just so he could become a better driver, but also to improve his chances of making it into another magazine. Right away, everything had to be upgraded: from the body kit to the interior and ultimately the color.
The chassis had already been sprayed once inside and out in Top Secret Gold by MOBworks, so he took it back to Miguel Ortiz to have him eliminate any remnants of its golden past by repainting it Absolutely Red, a color normally reserved for a few of Toyota's lineup. The original Mugen front bumper had been damaged heavily after running over debris on the freeway, so this allowed him to upgrade to Mugen's N1 body kit. But in order for the kit to fit properly, Fred had to upgrade the chassis to '06 spec, which involved the entire front end and taillights as well as incorporating the HID headlights from the JDM DC5 Integra Type R.