LS-Swapped Subaru BRZ Takes on Modified Civic in Intriguing Drag Race: Track Time Tuesday
Even though it’s far lighter and has almost as much power, this Civic is no match for the mighty LS-swapped Subaru BRZ.
While many have come to love the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ and its rear-wheel drive, two-door, manual transmission-equipped goodness, there is one major thing these twins don’t have – a lot of power. In fact, the first-gen examples were grossly underpowered with a naturally-aspirated flat-four that generates either 200 or 205 horsepower and 151 or 156 pound-feet of torque, depending on whether you opt for the manual or automatic gearbox. And that’s precisely why the owner of this LS-swapped Subaru BRZ decided to make a big change that easily corrects that major oversight.
The LS-swapped Subaru BRZ featured in this episode of This vs That from Hoonigan is no longer short on power, but it has actually undergone multiple LS swaps in its lifetime. The latest is an LS7-based LSR build with a solid roller cam and some other goodies, which help it push a reported 650 horsepower to an 8.8-inch rear end via a six-speed manual transmission. However, there’s also a nitrous bottle inside just in case the owner needs a little extra juice.
In the other lane, we have something completely different – a Honda Civic hatch that’s powered by a heavily modified and turbocharged 2.1-liter B18 four-cylinder powerplant that cranks out around 600 horsepower, which flows to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. On paper, this looks like a pretty interesting matchup, especially since the Civic weighs a mere 2,000 pounds, versus the BRZ’s curb weight of 3,150 pounds. On the track, however, one of these cars proves to be far superior to the other.
In the first race, the BRZ driver prematurely rolls forward prior to the arm drop but both cars ultimately leave together. However, the Subaru jumps out to a huge lead rather quickly, muscling its way to victory and leaving the Civic in the dust. Thus, the two decide to line up again for a roll race where the Civic gets two car lengths to see if that evens the playing field. It ultimately doesn’t matter, however, as the BRZ flies past the Honda hatch in a blur and sweeps this particular event with a 2-0 finish.
Couple that with the fact that the LS-powered Subaru sounds worlds better than the lawnmower-like Honda, and one can confidently call this a landslide victory, in our humble opinion.
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