NA is Best
Which is best? We don't even know anymore. We'd rather let these guys go at each other with words just like "Yo Mamma," only without Fez. Leonard, do you have any final thoughts on the battle between NA and turbo?
"Being on both sides [my first Civic had a turbo'd B16], I love NA better even though a blow-off valve does sound nice," said Leonard. "On my boosted B16 EK, the engine eventually blew as the rings went out. That sucked because I was a poor college student at the time. Trying to rebuild and reboost was out of the question, so it went back to stock. On the B18 EK [SS September '05 cover car], having a stock, decently-powered B18 was sufficient enough for daily driving and occasional HPDEs. But I've always hated Subarus and Evos, with their stock turbo engines (especially their blow-off valves) so I built an EK with a NA K24 setup to show them."
Fast Facts
'99 Honda Civic Hatchback
Owner Leonard YeeHome Town Daly City, CA Daily Grind Retail, Baby! Power 270whp
Under The Hood '04 TSX K24 block with ERL Performance Superdeck sleeve system; Hasport EKK2 motor mounts; engine assembly by Ron Acevedo at Intrinsic Performance Solutions (IPS); IPS custom JE Pistons (12.0:1 compression ratio) and Cunningham Rods; K20A2 RSX Type-S head and intake cam gear, oil pump and squirters, and oil pan; IPS K2 cams; Eibach valve springs and titanium retainers; polished valve cover; Mugen oil cap; Vision spark plug cover; Denso Iridium spark plugs; Hayward Performance 52mm ITB intake system; Marren 440cc injectors; AEM FPR; Walbro in-tank fuel pump; Koyo RSX radiator and cap; L.P. slim radiator fans and dry cell battery; Signal Auto cooling plate; Endless reservoir covers; relocated fuse box, and headlight wiring harness; R Crew polished stainless steel header; Burns Stainless exhaust
Drivetrain '03 Civic Si 5-speed transmission; JDM ITR LSD; Exedy Stage 1 clutch with lightweight flywheel; Driveshaft Shop Level 1 axles; Omnipower Quicklutch MC; JDM DC5 shifter; Karcepts shifter mount
Brains Hondata K-Prostiff Stuff Zeal function B6 coilovers; JDM ITR front stabilizer bar; EG sub frame and manual steering rack; '99 GSR front sway bar; Cusco 40mm front strut bar; Comptech rear lower tie bar and rear sway bar; Next Miracle X bar, pillar bar, strut bar, and butterfly bar; SRR lower control arms
Rollers Custom polished Sprint Hart Dunlop CP-R 16x7 20mm front (10mm spacer) and 30mm rear offset; Zenki silver open end lug nuts; 205/45R18 Advan Neova AD-07
Stoppers front: Endless 4 piston calipers, slotted rotors, and stainless lines; rear: '99 Integra brakes with Fastbrakes brake upgrade and stainless lines; Endless NA-M pads
Outside House of Kolor Kandy Pink paint with shaved molding holes, antenna, emblems, and rear washer hose hole by H&H Auto body; Rando Sports front and rear bumpers and side skirts; Max Racing 20 mm wide front fender; OEM Honda Civic 4-door door handles; JDM EK9 CTR headlights (with HID plus HID retrofit), wing, rear hatch w/ factory tinted window, factory tinted quarter glass, JDM window visors; VIS carbon fiber hood; Signal Auto carbon fiber mirrors
Inside Mugen 6-point cage, steering wheel, and shift knob (with NRG quick release); Recaro Kevlar Profi seat (x2); Takata harnesses (x2); JDM EK9 door panel inserts, gauge cluster, air vent pocket tray, airbag tray, armrest eliminator, shift boot, and cup holder; sound-deafening removed from floor pan
ICE Pioneer P7300 head unit
Props my parents; brother Chris for letting me have garage space; GF Brandy; ENDLESS Projects family Chris Yap, Danny, Danillo, d2, John, Marc Chow Chow, Dr. Phil; the Tjin brothers and the Shim Quee; all my buddies; Dan and the crew at R Crew Racing; Ron at IPS; Kent at Endless USA; Rishie at AutoRnD; H&H Autobody in Oakland, CA; Geoff at JDM Theory; Casey at Burns Stainless; Dave at Memory Fab; N1 Concepts; Ken at Universal Polishing; Frank Lim; Super Street for giving me all these opportunities to grace their magazine; all the people I might have forgot and those who show me love; and The Bay Area movement.