GReddy Turbo Kit: Civic

There was a time when turbo boosting cars was a back alley contest, for the very rich or the very mechanically inclined. A sort of ongoing series of one-upmanship among a tight knit circle of street moders. Thanks to the popularity of movies like The Fast and the Furious, games like Need for Speed and TV shows like Pimp My Ride, Street Fury, and American Chopper moding vehicles has become a cultural phenomena. A fact that the GReddy Turbo Kit is using to its advantage.

GReddy was formed in Japan in 1977 as a car parts manufacturer focusing on cooling systems, engine modifications, brakes, and other similar car parts. In 1994, they opened an operation in Irvine, Calif., as a North American base for the production and distribution of GReddy Turbo Kits in the fledgling U.S. street modification marketplace. Unlike many of its competitors, GReddy takes great length to ensure that its car parts, like the mounting for the GReddy Civic Turbo SI, are street legal for the United States, including following strict California emissions laws.

As car modding has become more popular, things like the GReddy Turbo Kit have become more accessible to the public. A midrange consumer car by nature, the Honda Civic doesn't seem like the prime model for getting a mod overhaul from a GReddy Turbo Kit. But the truth is, the Civic GReddy Turbo SI is becoming one of the fastest growing street cars on the aftermarket today. In fact, bolt-on GReddy Turbo Kit packages for consumer cars like the Civic are booming.

As an example of what a GReddy Turbo Kit can do to a standard Civic to turn it into Civic GReddy Turbo SI, take a look under the hood of a moded Civic with T517Z GReddy Turbo Kit. One is looking at 260 horsepower, an increase of 60 from your standard street car, turbo charged, with a boost control system for controlling the added power. An ordinary Honda Civic goes from being a standard Sunday drive car to a respectable street machine with just a bolt-on booster and a few extra car parts that are included in a GReddy Turbo Kit.

Make no mistake about it though, the Civic GReddy Turbo Kits are no mere car parts. Even running at fairly conservative levels, drivers can expect a car running a GReddy Turbo Kit to push the engine for an extra 50 horsepower at 6.5 psi. On the wrong machine, that could completely wipe out the engine, but on a moded Civic GReddy Turbo SI, it is a dream. Depending on the power the GReddy Turbo Kit coaxes from the engine, the consumer GRreddy turbo kits retail anywhere from $500 to $2,500.

There's no slowdown in sight for the popularity of newer, flashier car parts and moding engines with things like the GReddy Turbo Kit. There's certainly something to be said for having the hottest, fastest car on the block. As technology and marketplace meet, the idea of upgrading a car's engine at home or even at an aftermarket dealer is become a more realistic dream for car enthusiasts across the country. There's no better demonstration of this than adding a GReddy Turbo Kit to a standard consumer car, and coming out with a Civic GReddy Turbo SI.


Sources:
GReddy. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.greddy.com/gpp/>.
Ling, Jack. “Get Greddy for SEMA.” Urban Racer. 25 Oct. 2005. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.urbanracer.com/articles/anmviewer.a sp?a=1672>.
Greddy Civic SI EP3 Turbo Kit 2002+. Titan Motorsports. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://www.titanmotorsports.com/grcisiep3tuk.h tml>.
"Boost Controller." Wikipedia. 13 Jan. 2007. 7 Mar. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boost_controller& gt;.