It's always nice to follow a project car from beginning to end, quite emotional really. Almost like when Nads cried for a week after the final episode of his favorite Persian soap opera aired. Actually, it's more like the story Jonny tells us about how he spent so much time raising his sea monkeys to maturity only to have them eaten by his little cousin. Wait, no, I take those back. Neither example comes close to describing what's going on with the Skunk2 Project Civic RR. This is a highly advanced and precision-tuned machine. The Skunk2 guys are on a constant quest for more power, superior handling, and enhanced looks. This month, things were pretty busy for the Civic RR with a head swap, five-lug suspension, coilovers, and another set of new wheels thrown into the mix.
Acura RSX Type S Head Swap And Exhaust ComponentsSeeing that almost every Honda/Acura motor out there is equipped with VTEC or i-VTEC now, it hardly seems like there's a need for Frankenstein conversions anymore. Hell, all the K-series motors and everything in the L4 family are pretty much the same, right? Wrong! You'd be surprised to see how much of a difference there is between the Civic Si, RSX, and RSX Type S heads. We'd even show you the potential of a Japanese Integra Type R head if we could get our grubby little paws on one. Well, we can't, but what we can do is have the Skunk2 staff walk us through an RSX Type S head swap onto the Civic RR. This actually proves to be a big tease because Skunk2 doesn't do engine work for the public. So don't call them up and say we told you to. All the work done for this project car is for their R&D purposes and to provide you with some valuable information.
Ray's United Arrows S-05 Eurostar WheelsAfter changing to the RSX suspension, a new set of wheels was needed in order to accommodate the five-lug. Mackin Industries always has something new for the masses. This time the original 17-inch Ray's Gram Lights wheels were replaced with a new set of 18-inch Ray's United Arrows S-05 Eurostars. Due to the difference in wheel sizing, the tires also had to be changed for a larger set. Skunk2 will retain the Toyo Proxes RA-1 rubbers, only this time they're in 225/40/ZR18 form. With all that additional power being made, the larger wheel-and-tire combo should prove to be very beneficial in the traction department.
To successfully upgrade to the RSX suspension you will need the following: axles, brake calipers and rotors (F&R), strut assemblies (F&R), knuckle assemblies (F&R), lower arms (F&R), upper arm (R), ABS sensor (F), and tie-rod ends (F).
Don't think these guys are even close to being finished with this project. They have more time on their hands than we do-only they use it productively rather than just sitting around the office trying to figure out the best way to make gum stick to the bottom of a soda can. There's still a lot more to be done to this car, so prepare yourself for something big. If you're not ready for it, just cover your eyes.