Christopher’s Honda Civic Type R

Goals come about when you really want something. Perhaps you see someone have it, or maybe you perceive that thing as being the best possible choice within that situation. For some though, it’s by having a small sampling of something that gives them the motivation to work towards it.

Then, there’s working to achieve that goal. For intangible items like knowledge and emotion, you’ll need the most valuable resource – time. But, for tangible, material items, the journey to achieving that goal oftentimes involves money.

In an ideal world, we’d be able to unite our hobbies and passions with our career, letting us achieve tangible goals while enjoying every minute of the process. That’s easier said than done, and while it’s what many aspire to do, it’s what few actually manage to.
 

In this edition of Owners' Rides, we feature Christopher and his (now) perfect sport sedan, fitted with street legal POTENZA RE-71RS circuit driving tyres. As a business owner that runs an outfit retailing automotive performance products, he’s managed to amalgamate work and passion. The result of all that is his Honda Civic Type R you see here, his part-daily driver and part-development platform.
 

It all started when Christopher still owned a regular Civic 2.0, equipped with an automatic transmission. Not quite seeing what the fuss was all about, he took a ride in a friend’s Civic Type R and promptly fell in love with it. The rest, as they say, is history, and Christopher has spent nearly a decade with his Civic Type R.

As it sits now, the Civic is perfect in Christopher’s eyes, having invested plenty of time and money in realizing his vision. However, one of the first major modifications he did that made a marked difference were wheels and tyres. 

Going through countless iterations of the setup, he finally settled on this staggered-width setup with a set of lightweight forged Advan Racing RS-DF wheels in the 18-inch size. Measuring 9.5 inches across in the front and 8.5 inches across in the rear, it provides a balanced handling setup for front-engine, front-wheel drive cars such as the Civic.

Christopher is no stranger to our POTENZA range of performance tyres, with a long list of tyres that have been fitted to his car. While shopping for tyres, he tends to favour models that provide predictable, engaging handling, with noise and comfort secondary factors.

It’s thus not surprising that he made a beeline for the POTENZA RE-71RS the moment it was launched. A set in staggered widths was fitted at Bridgestone B-Select concept store CLH Tyres Trading, in the 265/35R18 (front) and 235/40R18 (rear) sizes.

Through his company, VOLT’D Performance, Christopher has managed to realise his vision that things can always be improved. It’s a sentiment that most car enthusiasts share, given the popularity of car modification in Singapore. When asked for one thing he could change on his car, he very matter-of-factly quipped “if there was, I would’ve done it already!”

Pop the bonnet open and you’ll realise that’s anything but boastful. The intake manifold, injectors, fuel rail, ECU tuning… whatever that could have been done, Christopher has already done.

The aggressive wide body kit too, was styled and fine-tuned by Christopher to accommodate the wider track width that came about with the 9.5-inch wide wheels. Aerodynamics and aesthetics have all been taken care of, to ensure that form follows function and not vice versa.
 

Taking ownership of this Civic almost a decade ago has given Christopher many memorable experiences over the years. Being part of CTR.SG, the local Civic Type R owners’ group, has allowed him to meet like-minded people that share the love for Hondas.

For Christopher, the Civic represents work for him, but also represents joys in his life – his passion and hobby. As one of the lucky few that’s managed to unite passion and work, this Civic is in some way, his labour of love.

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