Global Warrior: Version 2 of PZ Tuning's 9th-Gen. Honda Civic Si Record Holder

Back in 2015 at the Super Lap Battle Finals, William Au-Yeung piloted his boosted 9th gen. Honda Civic coupe to a 4th place finish in the Super Lap Battle Unlimited FWD class, which was commendable, but still quite a bit off pace from the winning Spoon Sports sedan. Call it a jumping off point of sorts, it marked the beginning of an unprecedented rise to the top as the privateer continued developing the car and in 2016, with a trail of impressive performances behind it, got its rematch at Buttonwillow and managed to bring the win home to Canada and that was just the beginning.

See All 24 Photos24

On the Record

For the next few years, William would pilot the 9th gen. Civic to new heights, capturing the overall course record that bested RWD and AWD competitors during 2018's Global Time Attack, along with record-setting performances at Road Atlanta, New Jersey Motorsports park, and Gingerman Raceway. In addition, the car would make its way to Australia for World Time Attack Challenge as well as Japan's famous Tsukuba, both of which resulted in the fastest North American piloted laps ever turned on both courses.

Pucker Up

As with any form of motorsport, inherent dangers are lurking around every corner. William adds, "After setting the fastest time at GridLife's Road Atlanta event in 2019, the car was about as good as it had ever been, so a couple weeks later, we headed to Road America to put down some fliers off the trailer, straight onto the track - just a warm-up lap right into a hot lap." Things were going well, and there were no issues to indicate any danger but those are sometimes the most impactful. "Heading top speed down the front straight into the first corner (170 mph +), the engine decided to throw a rod, dumping oil all over my right-side tires - right at the braking zone! I had no idea what I was in for. Touch the brakes, a little wiggle and next thing you know, it's spinning around heading right for the wall! No time to think, just brace for impact "

See All 24 Photos24

It's the moment no avid track regular wants to think about, but a reality that William and his team took into account during the car's initial build-up with safety protocols addressed throughout. "Bang, right front, bang again, right rear what felt like an eternity finally landed back on the track. No issues with me, check, can see some flames - pull the extinguisher, get out, check around the car (all while the safety Marshall was yelling at me not to move - he said that was possibly the most violent wreck he's ever seen at that spot!). Safe to say I'm thankful of all the safety gear. I can 100 percent say that all of them had to be working in harmony for me to walk away with only a few sore areas. Mega thanks to Sparco USA - the Circuit seat, 6 pt harness, Helmet, Hans, all did their part perfectly to contain me!"

Getting Back on the Horse

Hours later, with what was left of the Civic loaded on the trailer and the team heading home, William noticed his wife, who is also the team manager scouring the web in search of a replacement chassis. "We hadn't even reached the border and we had a few on the list already, haha! The following week we picked one up - the car that you see here." Originally the idea was to get the new chassis built and ironed out as soon as humanly possible and maybe even make a run at Super Lap Battle by the end of 2020 but taking inventory on the amount of time and energy being applied to the new build while still maintaining regular day-to-day operations taxed William and his crew.

Catching up with PZ TuningPZ Tuning Wants Your Record!

PZ Tuning's World Beater 2012 Honda Civic Coupe

A break was certainly in order and his friend Kosta of Tilton Evo fame offered to bring William out to Sydney's WTAC to blow off some steam. Without the stress of prepping and piloting a car, the visit was pure enjoyment and time spent around fellow competitors and taking in the atmosphere revitalized William. "Coming back home from that, I had this newfound motivation for the sport once again -to build this new V2 the fastest I possibly could."

See All 24 Photos24

Based on its resume, there's no doubt that version 1 of the Civic was stellar and much of its front end was carried over to this new build. On the flip side, the rear suspension was completely reworked with help from Fortune Auto, PERacing, and Aric Streeter and now relies on a cantilever-based layout. Components include Fortune's 3-way Dreadnought coilovers laced with Eibach ERS springs. 18x11 Volk ZE40 are fitted with massive 315/30 Hoosier A7/H7, while the updated rear sees 9.5in wide ZEs with 255/35 Hoosiers. Behind those front wheels you'll spot Stoptech's 355mm ST40 big brake kit.

Home-built

Along with its rear suspension update, the coupe was also dressed in all new aero, most of which was created in-house at PZ Tuning's quaint Waterloo, Ontario, shop. Flat, wide side diffusers stick out well beyond the side mirrors, while up front, a huge "T-shaped" splitter was formed in carbon fiber and slides completely under the car with the narrow portion, its wider section secured under the bumper with large winglets jutting out of each end. The 1-piece panel is easily removed and installed via quick-release hardware.

See All 24 Photos24

Most of the rear bumper's center section has been entirely removed and now serves as a corridor of sorts with a carbon-fiber diffuser outlining the removed portion hung well below the original factory bumper line, just a few inches off the pavement. Originally designed in good ol' cardboard before being produced in carbon, it, along with the twin-element APR rear wing that sports GT250 foils, serves as fodder to the social media crowd that is constant with their commentary which usually consists of, "Looks stupid, you'll never go fast enough to need any of that." Almost like import performance flat-earthers, this crowd fails to comprehend exactly what a car like this is capable of. Not entirely their fault, having been inundated with visions of 17-second base-model Civics sputtering down the expressway at full throttle, they simply haven't been formally introduced to the insanely fast lap times of modern-day time attack Hondas.

Head to the Hills

Although the intention with Project V.2 is once again the realm of Time Attack, that didn't stop PZ Tuning from making a trip to Pikes Peak recently to really get a feel for the new set up and garner some much needed seat time. As usual, William was on point from the driver's seat and the car lived up to its reputation, and then some. He adds, "the car was absolutely fantastic. We were aiming for the FWD record and had we been able to make a proper run to the summit, I truly believe we would've taken the honors." On pace to do just that, competition was cut short due to weather dangers, but the exercise proved to be an important one as it ushered in the new chassis under the gun and proved itself as being ready for battle. As you might expect, there's always more to do, and future modifications from the likes of Acuity Instruments as well as others will help keep the new build in a constant state of progression.

See All 24 Photos24

Poised for an Attack

If not for the global health issues currently putting a halt to some forms of travel, the newly completed PZ Tuning Civic would have been shipped to Australia. William notes, "If the borders would allow, we'd be packing it up for another shot at WTAC glory, but by the looks of things, we'll have to wait another year before that'll happen." William and PZ Tuning's gung-ho attitude isn't at all rash, and they realize there's plenty of work to do in order to get back to where they once were and eventually surpass their previous tear. "I think we still have a ways to go, and you can be sure we'll keep pushing to try and reset as many of those [records] as we can!"

See All 24 Photos24