Highslide JS

Highslide JS

Highslide JS
CONFESSIONS WITH "MISS R"

Let’s start from the beginning, how did you become such an enthusiast?

Well with my first car came independence and with the second came the desire to have a good looking ride on the road. Since then I’ve been bitten by the performance bug and the rest is history!
I do have 2 younger brothers, but they aren’t that interested in cars, no matter how many times I try to sell it in to them! Despite no-one else in my family being into cars I am a HUGE car enthusiast and spend the majority of my time doing car related things. It’s more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle choice.

So we won’t find “Miss R” out shopping on the weekend?

[Laughs]… Shopping for car parts maybe!

What do you love most about the car scene?

I love everything about the car scene. I love the car shows, cruises, going to events, meets and hanging out at workshops. The people are great and I’ve developed a lot of valuable friendships. If I had to, I couldn’t just pick ONE aspect. Although I do love heading out to WSID!

Aha! A drag racer at heart?

I LOVE drag racing. I have literally done hundreds of quarter mile passes over the years. I like going to Full-throttle Fridays and Wednesday night street meets whenever I can. I would attend every week if it wasn’t for work!

Let’s get down to business, why the Type R?

I bought the car new in 2003. I decided that I wanted to get out of modifying cars and I wanted to buy a new car. At that stage there wasn’t much in the market that I liked and that was in my price range. I wanted good performance and good handling, a sporty street car that had style. I also wanted a car that wasn’t too common on the streets!

Even as stock the DC5R is a great looking performance car! I love the dash that lights up red, the suede Recaro seats, the wing, titanium gear knob and aluminium racing pedals, i-vtec, close-ratio 6-speed manual gearbox, momo leather steering wheel, 300mm front disc brakes and 4-cylinder engine. It was a hard car to leave in the showroom!

Obviously you’ve added your own personal touch to the car. Tell us about some of the mods.

Yeah, I have. The most obvious is the gold paint, tail lights, the bodykit (which I had modified with my own special touches) and I also love carbon and have fitted a carbon bonnet, mirrors and rear wing.

Some not so obvious mods are the badges that have been removed from the car with the rear Type R badge being airbrushed back onto the hatch, which keeps the black and gold theme which is also carried through to the wheels and brakes. The suspension has also had a whole heap of parts thrown at it, a fixed back racing seat has been fitted and the rear interior stripped out and painted matt black to match the overall JDM theme.

Under the hood, the standard 2.0L engine has been replaced with a fully built, high compression 2.4L engine using 4 x 1000cc injectors and running on E85. A custom IPS manifold and Hypertune throttle body have been squeezed into the engine bay. The car still retains all its mod cons (ie. Air con and power steering etc).

Obviously there is more but there is just too much to list!

Does “Miss R” have any trophies to her name?

Over the years I have won several JDM awards. In 2007 & 2008 I won 5 trophies at Autosalons for 4 cylinder NA highest power with one of those setting a new benchmark by breaking the Autosalon record (4 cylinder NA highest power ever). This record was finally overtaken but since then I have done a considerable amount of engine mods.

The car was off the road for 10 months of 2009. At the end of 2009 I was awarded “Top Performing Female” at Supernats, “Best Engine Mod JDM” and “Honda Award” at Car Wars 2009 and achieved 3rd prize overall at FHM’s Show n Shine at the Blacktown Drive-ins. My first show and trophy for 2010 was at Showcar Sunday, awarded for 4 cylinder NA FWD.

Some very impressive achievements. So what’s next on the agenda for “Miss R”?

The next big event I will be attending in Sydney will be Powercruise. Look out for Miss R at other events such as Autosalon, Jamboree, Supernats, Drift Australia, Showcar Sunday and other events around Sydney. I have also competed in events in QLD and Victoria and hope to do a lot more out of state shows in 2010.

Lastly, any shout outs or special thanks?

There are a large number of people that have supported me throughout the years - way too many to list! I value all the friendships I have made and thank everyone for being so supportive.

A very special thank you to Dale Coghlan for all your love and support over the last 4 years. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Photos courtesy of HP Heaven www.hpheaven.com.au and JNG Images www.jngimages.com

Castrol Lubricants, a division of BP Australia PTY, LTD © 2010