On the intake side of the engine, it all looks stock, but upon closer inspection the factory airbox has been fitted with a Spoon filter for better flow and a nice increase in sucking noises. The Spoon Venturi big throttle body allows more air to enter the engine thanks to its increased diameter, and we all know more air equals more power! A lot of work went into fine-tuning the fuelling and ignition maps to allow the engine to feel more responsive and pull harder at any rpm. On top of this the rev limiter was lifted to 8800 rpm while the VTEC point moved to 5400 rpm. Of course, while they were at it they removed the rather comical 180 km/h speed limit every car in Japan comes with from factory! Power is just more than a claimed 250 bhp, which from a 2.0-liter, naturally-aspirated engine is nothing to scoff at. To handle this, the clutch was upgraded with a Spoon item while a Spoon LSD was fitted to help the front wheels unleash all that power and also deal with steering.
Ichishima-san is a handling guru, so it's no surprise that he spent a considerable amount of time fine-tuning the way this new FD2 Civic Type-R soaks up road imperfections. The result is the Spoon damper and spring kit, which not only offers height adjustment but also allows the damping to be varied. Joining these are some full pillow-ball arms, which help increase steering feel and overall feedback from the chassis. With upped performance comes the need to increase braking performance and this is achieved through the new Spoon 355 front brake kit, which uses Brembo brake calipers mated to special floating slotted rotors. High-friction Spoon brake pads make sure fade never enters the equation, on both the road as well as the track.
The JDM Civic Type-R is already pretty lightweight from the factory, weighing in at 2,800 lbs, but this wasn't going to be enough for Ichishima. He put the Civic on a diet thanks to an addition of a carbon hood, which is half the weight of the stock 22-lb item, and a carbon trunklid which shaves a few more pounds off. On top of this the roof was cut out and replaced with a carbon one, which was bonded into place. The benefits here are pretty important, as the carbon item is only 8.8 lbs, compared to the 40-lb steel roof. Shaving 30 lbs off from such a high area of the car allows for the whole center of gravity to be lowered, allowing for slightly sharper handling. It's all about fine-tuning at Spoon and this, although an expensive modification ($2,760!), really helps perfect the FD2.
The body was completed with a Super Taikyu style front bumper with a far more aggressive design. The 18-inch metallic silver Prodrive GC-101G wheels were then fitted at each corner, wrapped around in the new super-sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 street tires, which allow the Civic to be pushed to the limit in any condition. Not a lot goes on in the interior except the addition of a few choice goods. First up, a pair of Spoon carbon-Kevlar bucket seats have replaced the stock items, again helping shave off more weight. The Takata racing belts help keep the occupants nice and tight, but forget about using the rear seats because the mounting of the belts makes it difficult for anyone to fit in the rear. On top of this the actual bench has been removed, leaving only the fabric cover to give the impression of a rear seat! A Spoon leather steering wheel and titanium shift knob complete the otherwise stock-looking interior.
Spoon will be continuing the development of the FD2, and has already started work on a track-only version, which is set to put out 300 bhp from the K20A! We will, no doubt, be taking a closer look at the finished product.