Savannah Valkyrie | 26 | Clinton, MS
@tsp_savannah

 

Leaps of Faith

Before I picked up this 2020 Honda Civic LX Coupe, I had a "normal" daily driver: a 2016 Kia Rio LX. I was about midway through college at the time and wanted something that was mine. Not something I had permission to drive, but something I actually owned and could do whatever I wanted with. The drive to modify a vehicle had been there for a while, but to me, a Kia Rio wasn't the car to modify. I'd been noticing the facelifted Civics around town and really appreciated how they looked, as well as their practicality. They just made sense. Fast forward a few months and I went and bought my FC4 (2020 Honda Civic LX Coupe, 2.0LNA, CVT). That leap of faith ended up being one of many that led me to where I am today. Who knew such a vehicle would land me in this unique position?

To back up a little, though: that drive to modify cars didn't just come out of nowhere. Honestly, I've loved cars since I was a little girl. I always wanted to know more about how everything worked, but growing up I was told "cars aren't for girls" and didn't get much of an education on them. So, I enjoyed it from the sidelines at race events, or playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Forza Motorsport/Horizon until my thumbs hurt. When I finally got the Civic, all that pent-up curiosity was just sitting there waiting, and I was quite honestly still afraid to modify it at first. I'd done ample research, but I didn't want to make a mistake on this brand-new car I'd just bought. I wanted to go to local meets too, but I was worried about being accepted. I figured no one wanted a Civic showing up to their event, much less a stock one. After about a year of sitting with that anxiety, I finally pushed through, got out of my comfort zone, and installed my first ever aftermarket air intake. Small in the grand scheme of things, but I'd call that leap of faith #2.

 

 

Modifications

 

 

Building the Foundation

Once I got past that first install, the rest of the build started to take shape and the car itself ended up being the perfect place to learn. The best and worst thing about it was the motor. It wasn't fast in a straight line by any means (and the CVT really didn't help its case), but I genuinely enjoyed how easy it was to work on compared to the turbocharged models. No boost to worry about, no extra plumbing, just a straightforward NA setup. It ended up being a great platform to build the foundation of my knowledge on these cars, and I'm thankful for that now even when I wasn't always thankful for it then.

That said, the motor wasn't really the star of the show. Overall, the suspension and brakes upgrades is what really made this car shine. I didn't get to fully appreciate it until I took it to my first CivicX+ Wake the Dragon event. Those curves helped me understand how the vehicle responded and really improved my driving confidence. You learn a lot about a car when you're actually asking something of it. If I had to pick one mod though, it's a tie between the KTuner and the downpipe. The RV6 Catted Downpipe paired with a custom e-tune made this car so much more responsive. I never got the chance to experiment with E85, but knowing what I know now, I would've saved that adventure for a 6MT.

 

 

 

Wrenches, Curves, and Coffee

Outside of picking the mods themselves, the actual wrenching is where a lot of the real growth happened. I installed most of the modifications myself, which I'm pretty proud of looking back, especially since this was all before I started at TSP. No lifts, no shop tools, no coworkers to bounce ideas off of. Just me, my garage floor, jack stands, and whatever I could figure out on my own. The exception was the coilovers as I'd never done it before and was struggling to get the lower control arm low enough to pull the strut out of the knuckle. With some friends (who were stronger than me), I finally got them out and back in. The dial-in process was tedious, but I thoroughly enjoyed the look and feel in the end, and it was worth every bit of the headache. At the time I was super frustrated with some of the hiccups, but looking back now (especially with the shop access I have today) I can see how much I've improved. I'm proud of how far I've come, especially being mostly self-taught and learning the hard way. That thought comes back to me often when I'm frustrated with other projects (I'm looking at you, EJ6). I have to remind myself where I used to be versus where I am now, and that growth takes time. It always does.

Speaking of growth, a lot of mine came from the community side too, not just turning wrenches in the garage. My favorite memory with this car has to be that 2023 trip to CivicX+ Wake the Dragon. That was my first real exposure to the community under the TSP brand, and everyone was so welcoming. I thought for sure I'd get scoffed at for having a K20C2 (granted, it wasn't very stock at that point), but it was the complete opposite. The other highlight from that trip was making Wes sweat a little. Sure, he had the power in his Accord, but he couldn't shake me off his rear bumper in the curves. He blames his all season tires. Did I mention I had all seasons on the Civic too? Jokes aside, it was a fantastic time, and I was so glad to be invited.

Wake the Dragon wasn't the only place I took the car, though. Beyond that, I hit Cars & Coffee Central Mississippi, Cars & Coffee South Mississippi, Cars & Coffee Pensacola, and a bunch of smaller local events along the way. I won a few trophies here and there, but I don't really go for the trophies. They're nice to have, but that's not really what the show is about to me. It's the people more than anything.

 

 

Honest Takes

Of course, it wasn't all good times and good memories. I've had some less-than-favorable experiences too, and the biggest takeaway from all of that was pretty simple: do your research, be extra careful, and do not let anyone you don't trust work on your car (maintenance, repairs, mods, or otherwise). Lesson learned the hard way, but learned nonetheless.

On top of the bad experiences, there were some platform-specific headaches too. The lack of aftermarket support at the time was frustrating and a partial setback for me. My first intake was a K&N/AEM and it wasn't my favorite by any stretch. I was thankful to have something available, but I was even happier to see brands like PRL and 27WON come around for the 2.0L NA crowd later on; it was nice to feel "heard" in a sense, like we weren't just an afterthought. KTuner was one of the only tuning options available for these cars at the time, and that was a key piece in unlocking the rest of the potential. PRL had just dropped the High Volume Intake for the 2.0L NA and I was beyond excited to get it on the car, especially from the first batch. Same with 27WON with their fender and radiator shroud set. It was just awesome to see more support and love for these cars after feeling overlooked for so long.

Even with that aftermarket support coming around, though, there's only so far you can take a K20C2. As for adding more power, it was frustrating being limited by both the CVT and the ECU. Like every other K20C2 owner out there, a turbo kit or engine swap crossed my mind a few times, but the investment never made enough sense for me to commit to it. What did make sense was trading the FC4 in for my 2023 Honda Civic Si…but that's a whole different animal and a different story for another time. If budget weren't an issue and I still had this car, I would've loved to do a K20C1 and/or a manual swap on it. Maybe in another life.

While we're on the topic of these cars getting overlooked: something that's misunderstood about this platform is that they're "slow." And yeah, they are slower than the others, I won't argue that. But just because you have a slow car doesn't mean you can't have a good time. Drive a slow car fast, not a fast car slow…right?

Slow or not, the car wore a lot of hats during my time with it. It changed directions a lot during my ownership. First it was a daily, then it turned into a show car, then it ended up being a hybrid of both. I wanted to track it at one point, but it just wasn't very practical at that point in my life. Maybe someday with another car.

 

 

 

The Other Side of the Screen

As the build evolved, so did my perspective on the scene as a whole. The car community influenced my build mostly by showing me what I didn't want it to be, which is kind of funny to say but it's the truth. Some people have good taste, others don't. Same goes for clout. A lot of people put themselves in bad positions just to look good on social media, but that's really only part of the story. You don't know what's on the other side of their screen. You don't know if the person with the custom 3-piece wheels is financially crippled to have them, if the bagged car is leaking air from the struts every day because corners got cut, or if the car is actually as fast as they say it is. I'm not knocking any of those builds when they're done right and done honestly. I'm knocking the front people put on for the internet. I think a lot of people forget to stay humble and show real, relatable growth, and that's where the disconnect is for me.

Which kind of brings me to my advice, if anyone's actually reading this far. Modify the car how you want it. Do it right the first time and don't cut corners on the work itself. I don't mean you have to buy the most expensive parts on the market, I mean don't get lazy with the install or skip steps because you're in a hurry. You'll regret it later, I promise. Do what makes you happy, not what the internet tells you to do. The internet will build your car for you and before you know it, you'll be unhappy with what you have. The internet loves to make you spend money you don't have, feel ashamed for not having some unrealistic-for-99%-of-people kind of build, or act a fool to chase clout. And maybe you won't be unhappy with the build itself…maybe you'll just realize you could've spent those efforts somewhere more meaningful instead. At the end of the day, the car scene is supposed to be about being genuinely helpful and enthusiastic. Giving respect even if you don't personally like something. A lot of people in the scene right now have lost sight of how important that is, and I think we'd all be better off remembering it.

So, when it's all said and done, this car is sentimental to me because it was my first step forward with so many things: getting over my fears, building skill, growth, all of it. Without those little moments at the beginning and along the way, I wouldn't be where I am today. Without that starting point, I wouldn't be at TSP, I wouldn't have had the journey with the Si, FL1, or EJ, and I wouldn't have any of the opportunities, connections, and friendships I do now. For that, I'm immensely grateful…and I'll always have a soft spot for this little Civic that started it all.

 

 

 

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