Search - Best Motoring - Roaring VTEC: The Battles at 10,000 RPM on DVD

REAL Hondas done by REAL professionals

Pneumatic Valvetrain | New Jersey | 08/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After several years of seeing the import scene build as it has, I had made a horrible generalization about Honda cars in general: They suck. NOT a good thing to say, especially since I saw this DVD. You see, the average "Honda Tuner" here in Southern New Jersey has a tendency to place an inordinate emphasis on the "bling" aspect of tuning, meaning ridiculously large spoilers and mufflers, and graphics that contrast sickeningly with the factory paint (correction, for I have seen a Honda Civic hatchback painted day-glo orange. Yuck!!!). In this DVD (Roaring VTEC: The Battles at 10,000 RPM) the tuners here are true enthusiasts wringing every hidden drop of horsepower from their diminuitive engines. A large majority of these (naturally aspirated) engines exceed a specific output of over 120 bhp/liter of engine displacement. All of the cars are tuned with performance in mind, and the folks that tune them are genuinely humble and inquisitive. They take criticism (from Drift King Tsuchiya and race driver Orido) in stride, for these gentlemen are clearly superior drivers and are keenly aware of what works and what does not. You also get a good helping of Japanese humor, which is an acquired taste (for better or worse). They also show you what was done to these cars to make them the formidable machines that they are. My only gripe, and I am reaching for one here, is the rough translation from the original Japanese to English. Sometimes the producers overdub the voices, or they just use subtitles with some misspelled words. Other than that, this video is a must for the guy or girl who wishes to tune their VTEC powered Honda. Do it the right way!!!"