All-motor Civic Si Throws Down at the Track

Eighth-gen Honda Civic Si was the only naturally-aspirated four-cylinder in ‘Super Lap Battle’ event’s Street FWD class.

There is a lot of love for the eighth-gen Civic Si here in the Honda-tech office. The FG2 Si coupe and FA5 Si sedan were the last of the high-revving, naturally-aspirated Hondas, before the brand made the switch to the torquier and eventually turbocharged powertrains that we see today. The K20Z3 engine is a real screamer, too, with an 8,300 RPM redline, in stock form. I have a silver FA5, so I know exactly how fun they can be.

So, you can imagine how much I like this FA5 that I found on the Maruipro YouTube channel. Piloted by driver Thomas Lee, the car looks like an absolute riot to drive, and it’s clearly quite quick, too, as we can see from the above video shot at the 2018 Super Lap Battle event that was held in November. Held annually at California’s Buttonwillow Raceway Park, the Global Time Attack event draws in some of the fastest cars from around the world.

Lee’s car features a built-up K20 engine, with cams, a full exhaust setup and a Hondata ECU tune, good for a claimed 220 WHP. Paired to that K20 is the standard 6-speed manual transmission, though Lee’s car has an aftermarket Kaaz limited-slip differential and the gearset from the FD2 Civic Type R. Additionally, the car has OEM Brembo brakes, cribbed from an Acura TL Type S, Godspeed Monomax coil-overs and a reverse-staggered 17-inch wheel setup, with Bridgestone RE71R tires, to give the front wheels as much grip as possible.

The effect is, well, effective. Despite weighing in at close to 2,900 lbs, the big grip from the Bridgestone rubber and quick gearing in the transmission means that Lee is always on it, and well into the VTEC zone. Having run Buttonwillow quite a lot in my own cars, it’s interesting to see that Lee is most always a gear higher in any given corner than I am used to. There’s no doubt that grip, gearing and driver skill are all big factors here.

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Jacob Stumph

Jake Stumph is a lifelong car enthusiast and racer, who has operated as the content editor for Internet Brands Automotive since 2015. He runs Corvette Forum, 6SpeedOnline, Honda-tech, and LS1tech, among other Internet Brands Automotive websites. His work has been featured by several other prominent automotive outlets, including Jalopnik and Autobytel.

He obtained a bachelor's degree in Political Science at the Ohio State University in 2013, then pivoted from covering politics and policy to writing about his automotive adventures, something that, he says, is a lot more fun. Since that time, he has established connections with most of the world's major automakers, as well as other key brands in the automotive industry.

He enjoys track days, drifting, and autocross, at least, when his cars are running right, which is uncommon. You can check out what he's up to on his YouTube channel, as well as his Jake Stumph Racing Instagram account. He can be reached via email at stumph.jake@gmail.com