4. EVO VIII Exhaust Manifold
The EVO VIII already has an incredibly good turbo. The twin-scroll reverse-rotation Mitsubishi turbo is more responsive than a tiny T25, but moves enough air to make more than 325 hp at the wheels. If you want more power than that, though, things get difficult. Since the Mitsubishi turbo spins the opposite direction from most turbos, all the flanges are in the wrong place for a conventional-rotation turbo. Several companies make beautiful, tubular stainless-steel manifolds to address this problem. Sexy though they are, most tubular turbo manifolds will eventually crack. That's why we were happy to see this beefy, cast NiResist EVO exhaust manifold from SPO Motorsports. NiResist is the high-nickel steel alloy used in most turbine housings, so it probably won't ever crack. The manifold is designed to accommodate a conventional-rotation Garrett turbo.
SPO Motorsports
(503) 244-2800
www.spomotorsports.com
5. Really Smart Harness Bar
News flash: If you want a four-point harness to be safer than a normal three-point belt, you actually have to mount it properly. Most importantly, that means mounting the shoulder belts at shoulder height. If you bolt them to the rear seat belt anchors, or worse, to the floor behind the seat, the belts can pull down on your shoulders so hard, they'll compress your spine in an impact and kill you dead.
That would suck. Lokar Motorsports has a very smart solution. Its harness bar bolts to the stock shoulder belt anchors, giving you something shoulder height to loop the harnesses over. Additional braces then go down to the lap belt anchor point, steadying the bar. The shoulder belts can either be secured to the bar, or looped over the bar and bolted to the seat mounts or front or rear lap belt mounts without anyspine-compressing consequences. The bar is designed to fit Civic sand Integras for now.
Lokar Motorsports
(865) 966-2269
www.lokarmotorsports.com
6. Mag Clip Magnetic Socket Rail
Yeah, yeah, big deal. You would think these would be all over the place already, but I've been searching for years for a magnetic socket rail to keep my sockets organized as they go from tool box to rally support van to the back seat of a project car and back again. Until now, they never seemed to exist. Just think, you don't have to line up the flimsy, little sheet-metal slidey deals, and you don't have to worry about how the socket is oriented when you stick it on. Just throw your sockets at the organizer and they practically set themselves up. Ah, the simple pleasures.
Mag Clip
(239) 571-0683
7. Wheels That Fit
Velox wheels has figured out the three most important things about wheels: being light, being affordable, and actually fitting on the car. Its new Competition Zeta line is cast, to keep cost down, but weighs only a pound per inch of diameter (17 pounds for a 17-inch wheel, for example) and costs about $260 each. The really smart part is how it made sure the wheel fit. Velox worked with Brembo, StopTech and Endless to ensure its spoke profile didn't interfere with the calipers on any of these big brake kits.
The Competition Zeta line comes in four styles, an eight-spoke, five-spoke (pictured), and split seven-spoke, in addition to a stronger, heavier five-spoke designed specifically for drifting.
Velox Wheels
(909) 598-8989
www.veloxperformance.com
8. A Stiff Hatch
A hatchback is the ultimate compromise. You get utility, but you lose rigidity. If you're willing to shift that compromise back and give up transporting mountain bikes, surfboards or even rear seat passengers, Lokar Motorsports can give back much of the rigidity the hatch took away by tying together the rear shoulder belt mounts with a straight cross bar and then connecting braces from the front shoulder belt anchors and the rear of the trunk floor. The trunk floor may seem like an odd place to brace, but remember, the Type R had a brace connecting the left and right sides of the trunk floor, so obviously it's an important point for chassis rigidity.
Lokar Motorsports
(865) 966-2269
www.lokarmotorsports.com
9. Hasport K-series EK
It is universally agreed that Honda's new K-series engine that powers the Civic Si and Acura RSX is better than the B series that powered their predecessors, but the previous EK chassis was better than the new one. Leave it to the swapmeisters at Hasport to bring the two together. The junkyard shopping on this one will be tough, but building the ultimate Civic now means a nice, new K20 or K24, a Japanese Type-R transmission, the double-wishbone loveliness of the EK Civic, and a set of Hasport mounts. Now go forth and swap.
Hasport
(602) 470-0065
www.hasport.com
10. Dream Seats
Solidly built, comfortable and supportive, the Cobra Misano L was the sweetheart of our December '03 seat buyers guide. All our seat testers wanted one, but at $1,249, none of us could even afford to think about it. Luckily, Cobra just introduced the $849 Misano T, which is the same seat without the L's leather or carbon-fiber backrest structure. Replacing the carbon fiber is an aluminized polyester weave that looks like aluminum carbon fiber, if you can imagine such a thing. Cobra claims this is just as strong, but not as light. The Misano T weighs 22 pounds vs. the L's 20 pounds. The rest of the $400 savings comes from replacing leather with cloth. Cloth is grippier in hard cornering anyway, so you won't hear any complaints here.
The Misano R ($1,049) is actually the one in the picture. The extra cost is for the alcantara inserts under your ass and back, and the scuff patches on the tips of the bolsters.
Cobra Seats
(714) 847-1501
www.subesports.com
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