During the first week of March, Weekender called out to NIU students and area locals with altered cars. The ad challenged car enthusiasts to put their cars where their mouths are and allow the section to showcase all those neon lights, buzzers and whizzy things scattered among the automobiles. Dozens of applications came in – some more valid than others. After a month of rescheduling photo shoots (some people don’t drive in the rain), waiting for spring (some people dissassemble the vehicles during the winter months) and thumbing through numerous car magazines and pricing guides (holy crap, this stuff costs a lot), here are the area’s most “pimped” rides.

Ricky Cervantes, ’95 Honda Civic

Modifications:

Exterior:

Steel-gray paint job

Carbon-fiber hood

Spoon Sports Duckbill wing

Spoon Sports mirrors

Integra Type R suspension with Mugen adjustable dampers

Integra SGSR 4 Wheel disc brakes with Brembo rotors

EBC race pads

Stainless-steel brakelines

Interior:

Del Sol seats with matching grey stripe

Defi gauges

Integra Type R shift boot

Mugen shift knob

Engine:

Integra LS motor swap

Stainless-steel fuel and oil feed and return lines

Skunk2 intake manifold

Integra Type R throttle body

Fuel rail with Integra Type R fuel pressure regulator

Whip Factory built turbo kit tuned with Hondata

Why: To improve the car’s appearance and performance handling on the road.

How much spent:

Including the cost of the car – $10,000

Jen Kopchik, ’02 Acura RSX

Modifications:

Exterior:

Cold air intake

Racing header

Fuel management system

Body kit

Rims

Racing tires

Suspension for auto crossing

Interior:

After-market headunit

Subs and amps

Why: To improve her car’s

handling while

racing and appearance for competitions.

How much spent: About $5,000

Dan Charmelo, ’92 Honda Civic CX

Modifications:

Exterior:

STR fuel rail

APEXi VAF C II

FAL electric slim fan

Custom-chipped P28 ECU

K&N valve-cover breather

ACT XACT ProLite flywheel

Walbro 190 LPH fuel pump

ACT Xtreme pressure plate

Fluidyne aluminum radiator

ACT hybrid street clutch disc

2000 JDM Honda Accord SiR H23A

KTeller stainless-steel test pipe

KTeller stainless-steel exhaust

Custom HCP H-series motor mounts

Greddy 4-2-1 stainless-steel header

1996 JDM Honda Prelude VTEC M2A4

Inline Four N1 Enduro H22A crank pulley

JIC Bullet universal stainless-steel canister

Quaife Automatic Torque

Biasing differential

2001 Acura Integra Type R AEM short ram intake

KONI standard shocks

Ingalls Xtreme rear camber kit

1997 Acura Integra GSR complete rear brakes

1997 Acura Integra GSR

complete front brakes

2001 Acura Integra Type R Tein H-Tech springs

StopTech front and rear stainless-steel brake lines

1997 Acura Integra GSR complete rear suspension

1997 Acura Integra GSR complete front suspension

Interior:

2001 JDM Acura Integra Type R shift boot

2001 JDM Acura Integra Type R shift knob

Auto Meter carbon fiber shift-light monster tachometer

Why: All of his modifications were for performance.

How much spent:

About $15,000