Matthew Oglesby | 18 | New Orleans, LA
@k24i.lx
Mom's Keys, My Car
I didn't go out looking for a first car the way most people do. When I told my parents I wanted something with a manual transmission and some potential, my mom looked at me and said, "Here you go" — and handed me the keys to her car. That car was a 2013 Acura ILX. And what could've felt like a hand-me-down turned out to be something far more special than I initially realized. The 2013-2015 2.4L ILX trims were a unicorn, so to speak, as they were the only ones offered in a six-speed manual transmission. It also came with a K24 engine, a bigger displacement than the standard and A-Spec variants. Acura quietly built something with serious bones and then never fully committed to it.
Personally, I think they missed the opportunity to slap the Type S badge on it. It's basically a 9th gen Civic Si. Had they marketed it that way, this car would've made a real name for itself in the community. Instead, it flew under the radar. That's a big part of what makes it worth building.
There's something different about building a car you grew up riding in. I didn't just inherit this ILX — I have memories in it. My mom behind the wheel, pushing it the way only someone who actually enjoys driving does. When the keys became mine, those memories didn't go anywhere. They gave me a baseline. I already knew what this car felt like, and I knew what I wanted it to become.
One of One
Walk into any local car meet and you're going to see plenty of modified Civics, the occasional Type R, maybe a handful of Integras. What you're almost certainly not going to see is a modified ILX...and that's exactly the point. There aren't many like it, which makes it unique in itself. But I want it to be different from the ones you do see. Since there's so little community influence for this platform, I've had to figure out my own direction — and honestly, that's pushed me to make choices that feel more like me.The style I'm going for is a daily driver with a touch of go-fast. Not a show queen, not a track weapon — just a sharp, purposeful street build that earns its looks every day it leaves the driveway.
Modifications
Swift Springs Spec-R Lowering Springs
Enkei PF01 18x8 +40 (Silver)
DC Sports Short Ram Intake
Invidia N1 Stainless Steel Exhaust System
KTuner V2 w/ Custom E-Tune
The ILX rides on Swift Springs paired with Enkei PF01 wheels — and the wheels were absolutely the right place to start. They set the whole tone. Under the hood, I'm running a DC Sports Short Ram Intake and an Invidia N1 exhaust system that gives the K24 a voice worth hearing. Tuning is handled by a KTuner that I won at this year's KTuner Presents: CivicX+ Wake the Dragon 2026 event at Deals Gap. If I had to pick a favorite mod? Honestly, it's a tie. The wheels give the car personality when it's parked. The exhaust gives it personality when it's moving. I can't choose.
My advice? Wheels first. They set the style you're going for — everything else builds around them. And don't cheap out on the stuff that matters. Buy the expensive parts first and work your way to the rest. The build will come together the right way.
Community, Connections, and a Dragon
Some of the best parts of this build aren't parts at all — they're people.
I won my KTuner V2 unit through KTuner's giveaway at KTuner Presents: CivicX+ Wake the Dragon 2026. A friend I made at last year's event, Scott Poeschl, donated his TSP points, which I put toward my intake. Sammy Moquette traded me a Wunderladen Motor Mount certificate for my Swift Springs Spec-R Lowering Springs - and it worked out perfectly as we both got what we wanted. And through all of it, my dad, his friend Brett, and my parents have been right there wrenching alongside me. Every mod on this car has some form of a story behind it, and a lot of those stories involve people showing up when they didn't have to.
Attending KTuner Presents: CivicX+ Wake the Dragon this past April is my favorite memory with this car — it's not even close. Being out there, running those 318 curves, actually seeing what the ILX is capable of in the right environment — that was something else. I came away from that weekend with a completely different understanding of what I'm building and where it can go.
Patience, Then Boost
Car parts are expensive, man. I'm in high school — I can only work so many hours a week. Insurance and gas come first. The mods come with whatever's left after that. My one regret is not starting sooner. I took too long to see this car's potential, and I wish I'd gotten after it earlier. Once the budget allows, the vision gets bigger. Coilovers to drop it a little more, wheel spacers for a more aggressive stance, and a repaint when the time is right. And eventually — the part I'm most excited about — a full turbo setup. I want to be lower and have a big ol' turbo. That's the end goal. The K24 deserves it.
It's my first car and the car I learned to drive on. Not many people my age can say they drive a manual every single day. I grew up in this car — my mom drove it fast when I was little, and somewhere in those backseats I fell in love with it before I even knew what that meant.
Now it's mine, and I'm just getting started.
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