Misconceptions and Rumors, especially in the Internet age, tend to bring about spreading far too much incorrect information. With regards to cars, often an owner and build are presented from the wrong light because people are quick to help make assumptions based solely on what they see. So, let us immediately dispel all speculations about the vehicle you see here; this J’s Racing-equipped Honda is not an FA5 Civic converted to JDM FD2 specifications, before we officially begin our tale today. It’s actually not a Civic at all–form of. Just in accordance with the nomenclature alone, it’s not even a Honda. For individuals who aren’t within the know, the Civic that you’re staring at is actually an Acura CSX, though from the same family, yes. Much like the Acura EL, it will be the slightly more sophisticated, more luxurious Canadian cousin of the Honda Civic. The EL was initially introduced to our Canadian neighbors because the Integra sedan was never made available in their mind. Instead, they received the EL, that has been essentially a Civic with better features. The CSX was a alternative to the EL, both of which shared their availability in the Canadian markets.
Pradana Wilianto, better known as Ping or Ping Ping to his friends, acquired his CSX, a Type S model, during his stay in Vancouver back in 2007. He was an international student from Indonesia who was studying abroad. I’ve always been an enormous fan of Japanese sports cars, especially anything Type R from Honda, Ping explains. The minute the FD2 Civic Type R became available, I couldn’t stop thinking about it–I wanted one so bad. In ’07, there was no Si sedan in Canada, so I was left with either the FG2 Civic Si coupe or the CSX Type S. I picked the CSX because it already had the FD-chassis headlights and taillights. All I needed to do to convert it to FD2 specs was to get thebumpers and sides, and rear spoiler. Performance-wise, it absolutely was as close to some Type R as I could getdecided to continue his studies in California and brought his CSX with him during 2009. He made the 16-hour drive solo and convinced the state of California to allow his CSX to stay because it was transportation to get a student planning to achieve an MBA. Like other Americans, they probably didn’t know what a CSX Type S was anyway, hence they had no trouble with the car. Whoever signed off the paperwork for it could imagine otherwise if they saw the auto now. Ping adds, Because of the front and back of the CSX, people in California suspected that my car was a JDM-converted Civic Si. It wasn’t until they looked inside the interior and saw the badging they realized that it absolutely was an Acura. Back when I first moved here, I used to be one of the first, Ping says, though the actual FD2 ‘look’ and conversion is pretty popular now.
I still wanted so that it is very capable on the track, though I wanted to build an auto that was comfortable for everyday driving, being that it was my daily at the time. One day, I met the guys from Evasive Motorsports, and so i started ordering my parts through them. They had the fastest FA5 Civic Si in the united states then, and so i trusted them with their advice and help. My goal was to build my CSX as next to the Evasive Civic as I could. With the particular success that they had with their car, I knew I couldn’t go wrong. Accomplishing this would also help me to find out how good of a driver I was in comparison to them because our builds were very similar. I constantly had a benchmark of where I wanted to be around the track since they were running such phenomenal times because of their Civic.
The only real major differences between the two at that time, besides their namesake, were that this Evasive Si, with the help of Honda Tuning Magazine, had upgraded the cams and other bolt-on components and relied on different aero modifications. Wilianto opted not to touch the guts of his K20Z3 since there is still plausible that he may get rid of the car after he finishes school. Aesthetically, the Evasive Civic wore aero from Max Racing, and Ping went another route with restyling via J’s Racing. He’d noticed that FD2 conversions were getting more and more popular every year, so he bought a J’s Racing kit setting himself apart. After all, he didn’t want to haveWilianto’s K20Z3 is actually a capable animal with valvetrain upgrades from Supertech and SVM 212 camshafts, though engine internals remain mostly untouched. A T1R carbon intake pulls cold air into the motor through a K&N filter while exhaust gases run by way of a Buddy Club header and out via a 63RS exhaust, also from T1R. Gearing has been refined with a 5.06 final drive from your Japanese FD2 Type R, and an Exedy Hyper Single clutch/flywheel combo provides durability on the track. TEIN Monoflex dampers maintain the Canadian Type S planted firmly to the floor as sticky Advan Neova AD08 rubber drives Ping toward the coveted 2-minute mark at Buttonwillow.
Ping’s CSX-S appears incredibly simple on the outside, and therefore was certainly his intent. It began as a daily driven vehicle that took him from Canada down to California. He needed a reliable car to get him to school that he may also beat the hell out from at weekend track events. Nowadays, he’s given the multifaceted CSX somewhat of a break, driving it only every few weeks. He is on the verge of reaching his goal of breaking the 2-minute time barrier at Buttonwillow, and in 2012, he topped the Street FWD Class within the Super Lap Battle series. If it is a Civic or anything else becomes irrelevant; all you should know is the fact it’s a Honda that’s piloted from a skilled driver who has yet to reach his maximum potential, though misconceptions of this car will always be there.
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