Steve Wong started his automotive enthusiasm on the wrong side of the age-old import vs. domestic fight. Wong's forte lay in F-body GM cars until he decided to take a break from the car world and dive head first into the mountain bike scene. Once Steve got into bikes, his sole purpose for having a car was commuting. His first instinct was to buy a Japanese car for reliability and gas mileage reasons and over the span of a couple of years, Wong went through an '87 CRX Si, '91 Civic Si, and '93 Civic EX coupe, all of which remained completely stock.
When he eventually decided to buy new, he stuck with Honda. Lucky for him, it was 1999- the first year of the EM1 Civic Si. Packing a 160-hp DOHC VTEC B16 and getting almost 30 miles a gallon, the choice was clear. Steve picked up the car that would change his life in a few ways.
His friend also decided to buy an Si, but for reasons that were about 180 degrees opposite of Wong's intentions. His buddy's car was Electron blue pearl, a tad more flashy then Wong's Flamenco Black Pearl, got slammed and received wheels, body kit and crazy vinyl interior scheme. Back in '99, remember, those were the things to do. Wong finally got the itch and started with some 17x7-inch three-piece Racing Hart C2s and an Eibrach Pro Kit.
Three years ago he and his buddy entered a car show. Seeing his buddy's blue car attract all the attention turned Wong's itch into a passion.
"I wanted to get more looks at the shows, but keep the car clean and simple at the same time," he says.
He quickly threw an Injen one-piece "race" cold-air intake, DC Sports four-into-one header and an original RS*R cat-back into the mix. He ditched the Eibach springs and opted for a set of Neuspeed/Bilstein coil-overs to get the car as low as possible. The new engine mods and dumped stance got him a few more looks, but Wong had his eye on trophies. He knew he'd have to do something drastic.
So he started on what he considers the car's central feature: the I.C.E. install. Wong and Rob Rugani at RS Customs worked out the most kick-ass stereo system possible that would still allow daily driveability. The obvious place to start was by replacing the OEM offerings with purpose-built aftermarket replacements.
An Alpine CD tuner with 12-disc changer and Savv DVD player replaced the stock OE head unit offering, while Alumapro component speakers matched the subwoofers that the duo had in mind for the trunk.
Five (yep, five) seven-inch Myron and Davis monitors were installed in various places around the Si cockpit, including one in each sunvisor, one in the center console, one in a panel behind the rear seats, and one in the third brake light. Wong estimates he's sunk about $40,000 into the car, about half of that in I.C.E.
Damn. It shows. Pop open the Si's trunk and you're hit with a pair of Alumapro 12-inch subs mounted in a custom fiberglass enclosure that Rugani built. Centered between the two subs are a quartet of custom anodized and polished Zapco Reference amps, three of them pumping out 200 watts apiece, and the other pushing 350.
Other audio goodies include an Alumapro limited-edition 15 farad cap, an SVR Gel Cell battery, Zapco Symbolink cables, and EFX/Scosche wiring and distribution blocks.
With the I.C.E. done, there was no turning back. Wong bought a pair of Sparco Milano seats in blue Alcantara and decided to custom-stitch everything else that possibly could be stitched in matching Sparco material. Underhood he added a bit of bling in the form of GReddy stainless-steel hoses and oil catch can, Fluidyne radiator with a Flex-a-Lite fan, Benen heat shield and an STR dress-up kit.
Wong has since upgraded the suspension with Benen and Cusco braces, Korbach frame locks, Ingalls camber kits, SPC rear lower control arms, and a Neuspeed rear sway bar. The exterior hasn't change much over the years save for the Body Kits Northwest carbon-fiber front lip, Wings West lip spoiler, and shaved sprayer nozzles in the stock hood. He also ditched the Racing Harts for a set of Volk GT7s in 18x7.5-inch trim to stay up with the times.
Once the car was done, it was show time. To date, Wong's Si has racked up 26 trophies: one for fourth place, two for third place, two for second place, and all of the rest are either first in class, best of class, or best in show-three best of show honors, to be exact.
In 2003, the car represented in Zapco's booth at the SEMA show, where Car Audio & Electronics magazine's former editor Rodney Wills took an interest in it. Walking the floor with Rodney was CA&E's sales rep Jen Masuda. Not only did CA&E run a feature on the car (March 2003), but Steve and Jen hit if off and got married a little over two years later.
Who says you can't pick up chicks in a Honda?