Volume 6, Issue #4
June 29, 2005

"I Love Racing It: An Interview with Brendon Chu"

Michael Kwan [MK]: Tell me a little about yourself and how you got into the "tuner" scene.

Brendon Chu [BC]: My name is Brendon, I’m 23 years old and I’m one of the administrators of Club-Integra.net. I currently work full-time for a financial institution in the project management department. I’ve always had an aspiration for cars and racing, but it didn’t get serious until High school when I got my first car and a steady job. From there, things took off.
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MK: Speaking of taking off, how did Club Integra come about?

BC: I’m not going to beat around the bush. C-I came about simply because there was no local Integra club. There was a local club for all the enthusiasts out there, except nothing for Integra owners. I’ve always wanted a chance to meet fellow Integra owners and attend Integra meets, but without a local club, it’s pretty hard. So I got together with a couple of friends and started one up.

MK: Tell me about your car, what's been done to it, and approximately how much, dollar-wise, have you spent in modifications?

BC: My car is a 1992 Integra that’s built for racing and I love racing it. The primary reason for the build is for road racing (aka. Circuit), but it’s also my daily driver that takes me to and from work, so it was tricky to balance both a track and street legal car. Many sacrifices had to be made to balance the two.

Under the hood is a CRV block with a VTEC head, which is more commonly known in the Honda world as a ‘CRVtec’. This allows me to start with a 2L displacement and a better flowing VTEC head. The ability to run two cam profiles (VTEC) also helps me balance a daily driver with a track car. Both the block and head have been fully built and the motor was dyno’d at 246hp and 176 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, on pump gas (or 282hp and 202 lb-ft of torque to the flywheel, assuming a 15% drivetrain loss). Suspension has been re-worked with an Integra Type-R suspension swap to run H&R Road race series coilovers, front and rear sway bars, some monkey bars (front, rear, c-pillar), motor mount inserts, and Urethane bushings. Slowing the car down are Wilwood 12.2” cross-drilled and slotted rotors, Wilwood 4-piston calipers, Wilwood Stainless steel brake lines and Hawk HP+ brake pads. To keep the car rolling and stuck to the ground at the track are Toyo Proxes RA-1s and for the street are a set of Kumho MX. Tires are wrapped around a set of custom Work Meister wheels. The interior has a series of DEFI gauges so I can keep an eye on things and holding me in place is a Bride Zeta II bucket seat with a SRR 4-point harness. To keep me entertained during those long drives to work is a basic sound system with a head unit, speakers, CD changer, sub and amp.

Invested in the car is over $25,000 – not including purchasing the car and any labour.

MK: Trends have shifted from the outrageous and aggressive looking kits of Wings West to more subtle or "clean" looks. What do you see as the next trend?

BC: I think the clean look is here to stay for a little while longer. But I am seeing more and more conversions as people continue to try things to be different. I think the next phase will be the “VIP Style”, which consists of luxury cars made to look like race cars, while maintaining the luxury car status.

MK: One of the hottest current trends is JDM or Japanese Domestic Market. People spent thousands of dollars to buy parts straight from Japan that are not normally available here including everything from headlight conversions to carbon fibre ashtrays. What do you see as the appeal of JDM?

BC: I think it’s a combination of people wanting something they can’t have and people wanting to keep their cars “clean”. People in Japan do US conversions to their cars, while here, we do Japanese conversions. JDM is something that only appeals to a certain crowd. To some people, a JDM car will look completely stock, while to the JDM enthusiasts will be able to point out all the differences. It’s just taking the “clean” look a step further by using imported and rare parts. For me, I will spend the money on JDM items if they are either reasonably priced or functional. By that, I mean I’ll spend the money for JDM headlights (something functional), but you won’t see me dropping $200 on a JDM coin tray. Don’t get me wrong, though - that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a fully JDM’d car, but I just prefer to get whatever works. Some of the JDM items in my car are side markers, bumper lenses, shift boot, headlights, transmission, and gauge cluster. I wouldn’t mind picking up a JDM armest, though, but it’s hard to find at a reasonable price.

MK: How did the recent Driven to Perform event compare to Sport Compact Nights last month?

BC: The way I see it is SCN is more “show car oriented”, where as DTP is more “performance” oriented. To give you an example, DTP is probably the only show where I have a chance to win anything because my car doesn’t have any TVs, no flashy body kit, no flashing lights and no crazy sound system. The fact that my motor is naturally aspirated makes it even harder for me to get noticed because unfortunately, naturally aspirated motors just don’t get the respect they deserve. A 200hp Honda with a bolt-on turbo kit on a stock motor will often get more points than me in the performance category, even though I make more power and my motor is fully built. Whenever I look at a Honda motor, I have more respect for a 200whp, naturally aspirated motor than a 300whp turbo motor because I know how much harder it is to extract power than to add power.

MK: Anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up?

BC: Shout outs to the guys at Garage Five for all your help! The Club-Integra crew for all your support! Tommy for helping me out with all my last-minute bodywork needs.

MK: Thanks again for your time.

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I attended Driven To Perform 2005 on behalf of The Commentary and have written an article reviewing the event. Portions of this interview are included in that review, as well as a partial winner's list, a handful of quotes from other participants and import enthusiasts, and even a quote from Richmond RCMP Constable Rob Quilley. This review should be posted up on The Commentary very shortly.