Written by Eric Backstrom/Jeremiah Heller
Photography by Jeremiah Heller
Edited by Michael Hendershot/Joe

Name:Aaron Ricks       
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Age: 30
Car: 98 Honda Civic DX

Back in 2001, there was a little red hatchback sitting in the very back of a dealership somewhere in California. No, this isn't a fairy tale. In fact, it's not a tale at all! This little red Honda hatchback happened to be the future joy of a man named Aaron Ricks. Now, we all get into the scene one way or another, and for Aaron it happened to be via the web; Civic.com (now JTuned.com). His buddy from California was into tuning before him, so naturally hanging around him and his '92 Integra along with a stack of tuner magazines on every coffee table gradually rubbed off.

It's hard to pick out the perfect car especially when you don't know what you're looking for. Sometimes you may have to just take a step back and let it find you. Walking into a Las Vegas car dealership is no exception for swarming salesmen who only see dollar signs and think they know what you're looking for. They have no idea. Something drew Aaron to the back corner of the lot like a 6th sense. Being a long time favorite of the hatch back style cars, Aaron saw this '98 EK as so clean that someone had to tear it apart and change almost everything.

So with car in hand (or butt in car), he started bolting on under the hood just about every AEM part in the catalog, trying to squeeze juice from the D15 power plant. Okay, so that didn't last long. His vision had not come to fruition just yet. A progressive build (6-7 years) makes it difficult to decide the order of your mods. Reading forums and taking peoples advice, Aaron went after the suspension first. Good choice, I mean it’s good to know that your car will handle the power you are fixin’ to add. Tokico Illuminas and Ground Controls keep the car flexing like it should, while Suspension tech 22mm front, and 19mm rear swaybars help keep balance.

The chassis gets it's rigidity from a Neuspeed front strut bar, while the rear (being a geometrical oddity) is made up of a full and complete set of EM racing bars. The frail subframe is chunked up with an ASR re-enforcement plate connected to lighter, stronger Omni LCA's. Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings are in place ensuring many miles of drivability. I know I may have made a job like this sound like it was just installed in a day, but that's obviously never quite the case when you're wrenching in your driveway. With help from message boards and friends, this EK was done right, and done once with long-term reliability and drivability in mind.

With first things first out of the way, the build was stable, fast and scary with drum brakes! This now dangerously modded car lead to the addition of 12.5" Wilwood rotors, 4 piston calipers, and a GSR rear disc conversion. Assisting this larger system is a carefully chosen 99-00 Civic master cylinder and prop valve kit used along with braided stainless steel lines full circle. With most major safety concerns taken care of and an enjoyable cornering machine built, it was time to make a machine into a menace.

With the lumbars breaking in and the headrest untouched, something had to be done. Once you take a look under the hood you notice the JDM B16; naturally aspirated, naturally humble. Setting off the metallic grey valve covers are the matching plug wire cover, Kevlar carbon intake, and the plug wires with the fluid sox. This is most certainly one of a kind. The sweet B16 has been opened up by an ITR exhaust manifold and Blitz catback system. The B revs out with the help of CTR cams, gets gassed with a larger lpm Sifuel pump and gets lit by NGK.

All those extra freed up ponies are unleashed on the asphalt with the aid of an Exedy clutch mated with an 8lb flywheel. Holdin' everything down in the fresh pressed engine bay are none other than Hasport motor mounts. To help keep things on time, a CTR ECU was added, helping all components play nice together at 9,000 rpm.

Now that we're talking about a mutant, driveway built, Dx that has an appealing thrill factor and a not-so-stock feel to it... It's a pretty sweet deal of a sleeper! All of the above is a sort of reflection of the mind. Just think… motorheads, tuners, whatever you want to call them, (us)... all want the limits to be sky high, and the possibilities near endless. I'm trying to say that we all want a car that will perform like a Formula 1. This may be why our minds go into our cars first then our bodies, our style next, the less prominent desire, the want after the need. It takes patience to be able to say "okay, I have the machine I want now... time to make it shine." Aaron filled the interior with some legit parts, aiming at function and fun. Delsol seats wrapped in Crow 4 pt. harness were installed with a lower position in mind behind the JDM Sir gauge Cluster.

Between them lay an array or Momo leather and hardware. The small 320mm steering wheel hubs a Signal auto quick release while the other hand is free for a Momo shift knob skirted by a CTR boot with JDM stitching; all this linked to a Si shift system for smooth operation. All of this portrays the sense of factory more than custom; this is what most JDM guys are shooting for!

Now that he has almost every aspect of a sleeper, it's time to appeal to the rubber-neckers, not just the unsuspecting N/A Honda lurking, the oh-so popular midnight strip. Time to add his own style and make it all come together for it all to make sense. First, bringing back the old California faded paint with some buffing and maybe some clay bar. Next, with the rest. The JDM Sir headlights housing 8000k HIDs, front and rear lip kits, Vis carbon hood, Spoon mirrors, CTR grill, Bomex spoiler and subtle JDM flatmoldings make this EK, Gambit’s Pride. Knowing that what you have is worth every drop of sweat seeped into the concrete, every dollar spent, and every mile enjoyed is all that ever matters. There is no comparing, no judging, and no bragging that can make anybody's car better. A build like this may, however, make you wish you'd done it first.

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Exterior: Factory Roma Red Paint, JDM Sir Headlights, Vis Carbon Fiber Hood, JDM Sir Front Lip, Spoon Mirrors, Bomex Spoiler, CTR Rear Lip, JDM Flatmoldings, Ctr Grill, 8000k HIDs

Interior: Delsol Seats, Crow Driver Side 4 Pnt Harness, Momo Monte Carlo Steering Wheel (320 Mm), Momo Hub, Signal Auto Quick Release, JDM Sir Cluster, 99-00 Si Armrest, Optional Lighter/Ashtray, Sparco Grip Pedal, Dc Short Shifter with Energy Suspension Bushings, Momo Shift Knob, CTR Shift Boot, Poineer Front And Rear Speakers With A Poineer Headunit

Engine: JDM B16, Password Carbon Kevlar Intake, 99-00 Si Fuel Pump, JDM ITR Header with Heatshield, Hasport Motor Mounts, 99-00 Si Shift Link, Blitz Ctr Catback Exhaust, 8pound Flywheels, Exedy Clutch, NGK Plugs and Wires, CTR Ecu, CTR Cams, Carbon Kevlar Spark Plug Cover

Suspension: Tokico Illumina's, Ground Controls With Integra Spring Rates, Suspension Tech. Front And Rear Sway Bars. (22 Mm Front, 19 Mm Rear), Energy Suspension Poli Bushing, Neuspeed Front Upper Strut Bar, Asr Rear Subframe Re-Enforcement Plate, Onmi Lca's, Emracing C Pillar, Emracing Rear Upper, Emracing Trunk Bar, And The 2 Emracing Triangle Bars, Emracing Rear Lowerstrut Bar

Wheels/tires/brakes: 16x7 Volk LE37't +42 Offset, Enkie Lugs, Dunlop Tires 205/45/16, 12.2 Inch Wilwood Rotors, Wilwood 4 Piston Calipers, Gsr Rear Disk Conversion, 99-00 Brake Mc And Prop Valve, Braided Lines Front And Rear.

Numbers:  N/A