Budget Time Attack Civic

Posted by Hechtspeed on Feb 16, 2010 in Featured, Import Rides, Racing | 0 comments

So, its no secret that I dig Japanese cars.  I certainly have a special place in my automotive heart for the Honda Civic.  I’ve owned 2 and am looking for #3.  Why?  It’s a Civic?  They’re boring, cheap, small, chick cars with no power and are front wheel drive (FF = front engine, front wheel drive).  Well, lemme “splain”…Being a father of 4 with a mortgage, a retirement plan, food storage, swim lessons, youth baseball, basketball and soccer, 2.5 kids still in diapers…shall I go on?…then you now see the Civic’s big advantage.  Cheap, reliable transportation.  For a car guy, the Honda Civic also offers a lightweight chassis (1992-00 Civics weigh 2200-2500lbs), amazing mpg (I’ve average 39mpg), double wishbone suspension at all 4 corners, ease of transplanting other more powerful Honda/Acura engines and likely THE biggest aftermarket, making the Civic is a great choice.

For this post, I bring you one such Civic, a budget Time Attack machine owned by Tag Evanson of Arizona.  These pictures are from 2008 at GT Live at the Miller Motorsports Park. 

Tag Evanson is from Arizona and made the trip up to Utah for the GT Live Redline Time Attack with his young family. I snapped some pics right after arriving at the track. Then, after watching some West Track action, I headed back to the paddock/pits area. I cruised back around and saw Tag working on his Civic’s left front region.

Apparently he had a leaky axle seal at the transmission side. His wife and 2 daughters had gone into town to pick up a new seal at Willey Honda in Bountiful. Gotta thank those family members who support all you racers out there.  So, while he was working on it, I was just watching. We started to chat a little. Yes, I did offer to help, but the man seemed to have things under control. We chatted for about 30 minutes almost. From what I remember, he worked in Software and raced at the various road courses in the Redline Time Attack series, with minimal sponsorship at the time.  He trailered his hatchback on his own. 

Sorry for the butt shot man.  ha ha  Tag is a very down to earth and super nice dude. He seemed like a totally normal guy, which he is. It’s just that when a Time Attack newby/nut like me is talking to someone who has been on Speed TV, in the mags, and on the internet, its just weird. A little star struck I guess, I totally geek out way too much. 

Check out that ginourmous front splitter.  Dang!  That must generate tons of downforce compared to the light chassis.  Killer sparkly clear coat on the carbon hood too. 

Tag has been known for having a very quick Civic hatchback the last 3 years or so, which is attributed to the car setup (now running a K series engine (from an Acura RSX (2.0L) or even a TSX (2.4L) instead of the B series engine (1.6L Civic Si, 1.8L from an Integra GSR or Type R), which he said needed more upkeep and constant attention compared to the K) and obviously his driving. You can’t have a fast car and it only be because of power. You have to be able to drive the thing and Tag is the man behind the wheel.

 The Civic hatch’ interior is about as gutted as you can get.  Seat, check…roll cage, check…fire extinguisher, check, shifter, check…steering wheel, check.  This car probably weighs right at 2000 lbs is my guess with the interior stripped out.  Stock, depending on the model, they weigh around 2250lbs.  With the K series engine running somewhere around 250hp (stock is 210hp), that’s a killer power to weigh ratio eh? 8lbs per HP.  Compare that with the new Camaro SS (3900lbs / 425hp = 9.2lbs/hp) or a new Nissan GTR (3800lbs / 480hp = 7.9lbs/hp).  That’s gotta be a fun ride!

Tag is a do-it-yourselfer type and is on a budget. I know his car has the typical Sponsor decals, but if you saw pics of his car taken 1 or 2 years ago, it was plain Jane white. He has likely picked up those Sponsorships after he won his first event at Buttonwillow. His wife was way cool too. She thought I looked like someone they knew, but apparently he didn’t think so. :) Oh well, LOL. Good times and thanks Tag for talking to the “little guy”. Keep up the good work and remember, have fun. That’s what its all about.

 

Here’s a picture of what the car look like this last race season in 2009.  Looks like he’s got more sponsors now.  Nice work!  The aero work is much more serious now.  Check out that rear diffuser.  That means business.  The Hasport decal is much more pronounced and I see KSport is on board now, a quality suspension bits manufacturer.  The drive wheels are wider, you can see wider fenders have been installed.  Photo credit goes to OctaneReport.com for this picture of Tag racing at Buttonwillow in 2009.

Hechtspeed