Archive for Honda

The boys at Cybernation Motorsports (an American company) have developed a forced induction kit for the 2006 Honda Civic Si. The 2006 Honda Civic Si is basically a USDM version Honda Civic with a K20Z3 engine instead of the K20A3 and R18A1 we get here in Malaysia. The K20Z3 is a high-compression, high-revving version of the K20 engine family equipped with the a performance i-VTEC system, unlike the K20A3’s i-VTEC cam setup which is tuned more towards economy. Some enthusiasts have argued that the economy-oriented i-VTEC cam setup should be called i-VTEC-E instead.

In stock form the 2006 Honda Civic Si’s K20Z3 engine makes 197hp at 7,800rpm and 189Nm of torque at 6,200rpm. It had a redline of 8,300rpm. Cybernation Motorsports have added a plug and play forced induction kit using a Turbonetics turbocharger and an intercooler to the setup. Of course, there are other components in the kit necessary to turbocharge an engine designer for normally aspirated like a standalone injection controller. Boost is set at 0.75 bar or 11psi. Currently there’s no dyno figures yet, but the car sure looks and sounds good. Videos and more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Si Turbo Kit

[ UPDATE: The new 2007 Honda Stream has been launched in Malaysia. Click here for prices and details. ]

Honda has released photos of the new 2007 Honda Stream in Japan. There are very obvious styling elements from the new 2006 Honda Civic in the 2007 Honda Stream, but the grille has been updated to look similiar to the latest Honda Odyssey. This kind of establishes Honda’s MPV family look.

The first generation Honda Stream which has already undergone a mid-life facelift in 2004 was based on the Honda Civic chassis so it’s safe to assume this new Honda Stream is also based on the new 2006 Honda Civic’s excellent chassis. This should make it a good drive. This new Honda Stream will be offered internationally in two specification levels. The lower-end spec will feature the R18A 1.8 liter SOHC i-VTEC engine and a 5-speed automatic gearbox also found in our local Honda Civic 1.8S. The higher-end spec called the Stream RS-Z will feature the R20A 2.0 liter SOHC i-VTEC engine equipped with a CVT transmission instead of a K20A DOHC i-VTEC.

Since UMW Toyota recently launched the Toyota Wish CBU in Malaysia, we can expect Honda to update the Stream here on our local shores with this 2007 model too. For photos of the 2007 Honda Stream’s interior, click here. As for the rest of the exterior photos, you wil find them after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Honda Stream Photos

I had the opportunity to test drive the 2006 Honda Civic 1.8S and the 2006 Honda Civic 2.0S on a nice Saturday morning thanks to Jeremy and Shannon from the New Straits Times lifestyle section. This is part two of a three part series. Click here to read part 1.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Test Drive - Part 2

I had the opportunity to test drive the 2006 Honda Civic 1.8S and the 2006 Honda Civic 2.0S on a nice Saturday morning thanks to Jeremy and Shannon from the New Straits Times lifestyle section. I will attempt to chronicle my test drive experiences here, which involved a long highway drive to a “top secret” test drive location somewhere near Genting Highlands, traffic jams, town driving, twisty bends and curves, overtaking, as well as bumpy road conditions. That should pretty much cover everything you could possibly want to do with this car, save for taking it to a track day. This is part one of a three part series.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Test Drive - Part 1

auto.sohu carries scans from a Japanese magazine with concept art on how the next Honda Fit (Honda Jazz on our local shores) will look like. The Honda Fit has already been facelifted once since it’s introduction The new Fit seems to have taken on a more muscular stance, like a smaller Honda Edix. It also shares the Edix’s upward sloping side mirror profile. The magazine says the new Honda Fit will debut in mid-2007.

This is Honda’s commercial for the Honda Element. Kind of weird and random, it features the Honda Element talking to a crab with an obsessive hobby.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Element Crab Commercial

Industry insiders have confirmed that Honda will be producing a hybrid version of the Honda Fit subcompact car, known as the Honda Jazz on our Malaysian shores. Rumours of a hybrid engined version of the Honda Fit was first reported by the Nihon Keizai, a big financial daily in Japan.

Nihon Keizai mentioned in it’s previous report that Honda is developing a new 1.0 liter hybrid engine for the Honda Fit hybrid, but an anonymous source said the Honda Fit hybrid will likely use the Honda Insight’s engine, a 1.0 liter 12 valve 3-cylinder Honda Integrated Motor Assist hybrid engine. The Fit would also likely replace the Honda Insight in it’s market segment, though production of the Insight would likely continue for bragging rights as one of the most fuel-efficient vehicle manufactured on US roads, though in reality it lost the title to the Messerschmitt KR200. It was also the first hybrid car to be on sale for the mass market in the US.

The Honda Insight engine is a SOHC inline-3 1.0 liter engine making 67 horsepower at 5700rpm in gasoline mode and 73 horsepower at 5700rpm with Integrated Motor Assist. It comes with both manual and CVT gearbox options. The Honda Insight was featured in the movie Be Cool, where it was called the Cadillac of hybrids. The 1.0 liter IMA engine won the International Engine of the Year award 2000, and held the Sub-1 liter category from 2001 to 2005.

Best Motoring pitches the 2 liter VTEC superstar Honda S2000 against two other Hondas with similiar displacements. Going up against it is a Honda Accord Euro R with a 2.2 liter H22A engine, and a Honda Civic EK9 powered by a hybrid engine which combines a B20 2.0 liter block from a Honda Stepwagon with a B16 VTEC head from a Civic Type R to create a 2.0 liter VTEC hybrid. So now we have three powerful Honda engines (the S2000’s F20C, the EK9’s B20 hybrid and the Accord’s H22A) in 3 different Honda cars. The exciting race is after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of Best Motoring - 2 liter VTEC Challenge

Fifth Gear, a British automotive show reviews the 2006 Honda Civic hatchback. The European Honda Civic only comes in hatchback form, and also has a 2.2 liter i-CTDi turbodiesel version in the model range. So far most reviews have said the 2.2 i-CTDi manual Honda Civic is the best choice from the line-up. Looks like the European market really really likes diesel, and Honda’s new powerplant is a winner. Video is after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Euro Hatchback Fifth Gear Review

This is the Honda ZEST K-car, which went on sale in Japan from March 1st 2006 onwards. K-cars are popular in Japan as they provide superior fuel economy and are easy to park too. Engines are limited to 660cc capacity, and manufacturers usually use forced induction to give it a little more oomph, as 660cc in normally aspirated form can only go so far.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda ZEST K-Car