The spark began with a challenge: converting our Civic FN2 race car into a rally machine. In just 30 intense days, we transformed the car and had it prepped for our first rally. October 2024 saw us taking on the Adgespeed Stages Rally at 3 Sisters circuit – a baptism of fire that ignited something special within the team. We earned a third place finish in our class for the efforts too.

If you’ve been following us over the years, you’ll know that things escalate quickly at Tegiwa, and we always throw ourselves in with both feet.

Luke, our driver and co-director of Tegiwa, was scrolling through the classifieds late one night and saw this Evo 9 RS. After not much convincing from the rest of the team, he made the long drive up to Scotland to collect it.

Performance-Bred History

This isn’t your average rally car. The Evo 9 RS prepared by Stuart Irvine at BHG Motorsport is not just a machine – it’s a meticulously crafted weapon designed for the Scottish Tarmac Rally Championship. With a best overall result of 6th in the championship and a valid MSUK Passport extending to 2029, this machine is ready to hit the stages with maximum potential.

The RS: Motorsport’s Purest Form

For the uninitiated, an RS model is essentially the automotive equivalent of a stripped-down fighter – the final boss of raw, unadulterated performance. This isn’t a luxury car; this is a machine purpose-built for one thing: going fast. We’re talking about a car so focused that comfort isn’t even a thought. No keyless entry, no CD player, no power mirrors, windows, or door locks. Hell, even the door handles are unpainted – every gram of excess weight has been ruthlessly eliminated.

Protection

The car’s foundation is an RS shell fortified with full underbody Kevlar protection. Custom Cages have designed a roll cage that provides both safety and structural rigidity. Additional protective elements include:

• Kevlar and aluminium sump guard
• Bumper protection
• Kevlar tank protection
• Diff guards

Engine

• Gas flowed manifold
• New turbo with 34mm restrictor
• GEMS ECU mapped for 100 octane pump fuel by Terry Stamper at ProMap
• New air intake and coolant sensors

Transmission

• Kapps 5-speed Dog Box rebuilt by Wayne Sissons at AMS
• Uprated VO shafts
• Plated RS rear diff
• ACD front diff
• Upgraded ACD pump by Harry Hockly Motorsport

Handling & Brakes

• Proflex Jumbo 3-way adjustable dampers
• Ralliart top mounts
• Completely rebuilt suspension arms and geometry
• Brembo VO Big Brake Kit with Hawk HP+ pads
• OZ Racing Superturismo Wheels

Interior

• Plumbed-in fire system
• Carbon footwells, door cards, and rear bulkhead
• Centre console with auxiliary switches and gauges
• Atech seats
• TRS harnesses
• Carbon roof vent

Versatility is Key

What makes this Evo 9 RS truly special is its adaptability. While currently set up for tarmac, it can be easily converted to forest specification – a testament to its versatile design.

Our First Outing: Tegiwa Donington Rally

Our first major event with the Evo 9 RS was the Tegiwa Donington Rally, and we’re proud to report a fantastic result – a third-place finish in our class. But we know this car has so much more potential. The performance was impressive, but we could feel there’s untapped speed and capability waiting to be unleashed.

As we look ahead to the 2025 season, we’re filled with excitement and anticipation. This Evo 9 RS is more than just a rally car – it’s the beginning of what promises to be an incredible motorsport journey for Tegiwa.

New Products

The Athena Motorsport Cut Ring Racing Head Gasket for Honda K20 and K24A is a revolutionary product that is the perfect solution for high power applications. These gaskets stand out also because they present separate stainless steel rings (AISI 304) that ensure maximum sealing around the cylinder bore, even on engines with NOS and/or turbo applications in which it can hold up to 2.4 bar (above atmosphere) and that the engine/head studs allow for the amount of pressure. This is an unrivalled figure compared to competitors as most gaskets tend to blow at around 1.4 bar.

We were delighted to welcome the Garmin range of dash cams onto our website this month. These are the perfect piece of equipment to record HD footage and offer peace of mind in the event of an incident. With prices starting from just £119.99, these neat dash cams represent excellent value for money!

We introduced some new WedsSport wheels to our website with the WedsSport Racing, SA-72R and the limited-edition SA-75R in Toyota GR Yaris fitment. You can check these wheels out on both Tegiwa Imports and Alloy Wheel Shop.

The latest product from PracWorks grabbed a lot of attention. Their plug and plug intake manifold for the K20C1 which is suitable for the FK2/FK8/FL5, claims to see gains of up to 30 horsepower in the midrange and up to 15 horsepower at peak power!

Apex Warehouse Clearance

Just a couple of days ago we dropped our warehouse clearance sale on Apex Wheels. We’re currently offering 10% off all in stock Apex wheels whilst stocks last. This is the perfect time to grab a bargain; check them out here.

New Website

The Tegiwa brand got even bigger in March as we added yet another website to our ever-growing list of assets. We launched hardraceshop.com, the one stop place for the catalogue of Hardrace products. Here you will find everything from control arms to anti-roll bars to bushes.

Latest Blog

Following on from our recent FN2 buying guide which we dropped in February, our new FN2 modification guide walks you through the ins and outs of modifying the 3^rd generation Civic Type R!

Honda Civic FN2 Modification Guide

YouTube Channel

It was another crazy month on our YouTube channel too as we surpassed 8,000 subscribers! Thanks to everyone that’s dropped us a sub, hopefully we’ll be hitting 10,000 soon. Our Civic FL5 got a new Milltek Sport exhaust. After the guys at Milltek Sport had been using our FL5 for development on their new exhaust system, we were excited to pick it up and hear the difference. The new system is non-resonated and features a 15% larger diameter valve and an equal sized tailpipe design.

There was then a couple of new videos we published on the GR Yaris. The first of which was the installation of a Coolerworx quick shifter. Although the Yaris shift is good from the factory, the Coolerworx shifter takes things up a level, reducing the throw between gears by 40%. We linked up with Tino from FaithlessEmoRacing for this one so make sure you check it out!

We have to give a huge shoutout to EBC for our next video. They kindly supplied us with a set of front 2-piece floating discs and RP-X track pads for Matt’s GR Yaris. We put together an installation video and talked about some of the many benefits that these brake components have to offer!

Tsuki is back on track!

Tsuki has been back out on track this month for some pre-season testing. We put her brand new Holinger sequential gearbox through its paces around Donington Park. We’re heading there again at the end of this week to test out her exciting new aero package development.

Cars & Coffee

Finally, we thought we’d drop a gentle reminder that we’re hosting our Cars & Coffee morning this coming Sunday, 2^nd April. It’s set to be a busy one so make sure you arrive early to secure a parking space. Gates will open at 9am and the event will last until 1pm. We hope to see you there!

Every year around the months of March and April we see race teams worldwide, from Formula 1 to British Touring Cars, unveiling their new liveries. It’s no exception here at Tegiwa either.

Although it might have been a relatively cold month, it’s not stopped the lads at CN signs doing a fantastic job of bringing our designs to life. Thanks again to Chris and his team for all their work!

Livery Reveal

Check out the images below of the M4 GT4 in its new guise and let us know what you think!

You might also have noticed we’ve showed our lorry some TLC too, with a lick of fresh paint and a brand-new design to accompany the M4 we’re looking forward to getting out on the road in it. We’ve stayed away from the red that was previously used and gone for a more neutral look with the black and day glow yellow accent. Check out the pictures below!

I’ve personally really enjoyed working on both of these projects and it’s been incredible watching the designs come to life from my computer screen onto the vehicles themselves.

We’d also like to individually thank each of our sponsors, Knights BMW, MegaLife Batteries, Motul, OMP and Yellow Speed Racing. Without these guys backing, we wouldn’t be able to put a car on the grid, so it goes without saying how grateful we are to have these incredible brands on board.

It wouldn’t of been right to not get the NSX out to have some pictures alongside it’s race partner and new look lorry. So out it rolled out of the workshop and into position, looking as good as it did the first day that had it’s livery applied! Not a bad looking line up, eh?!

Testing

Since the last update, the M4 has benefited from seeing some track time at Oulton Park were Luke got to see what it could really do for the first time. Although we were mainly greeted by a downpour of rain throughout the day, the car performed faultlessly and judging by the huge smile on Luke’s face when he came back into the garage after his first session the car is everything he could of wanted and more.

We’re confident that when Luke and Dave familiarise themselves with the car properly, we’ll be seeing some incredible lap times and a few more first place trophies to add to the collection!

The festive period means all hands on deck for everyone here at Tegiwa, our office is sorting orders and helping customers, the warehouse team is packing an insane amount of parcels and in our workshop the build continues. The M4 has been getting closer and closer to completion day by day, seeing the process has been a real spur to work – convenient especially with the Autosport International deadline looming close.

By now our Aero Tech Laboratories tank is in snug, and on the face of it the car is largely complete. What we’re missing now is primarily parts to button the car up, but prior to that there was a lot of wiring to figure out.

As I mentioned in the last blog, we had the motor out to get some crucial heat deflection material in the bay. Getting the engine itself out isn’t a particularly massive job when you have access to ramps etc, so with it out and the heat shields in we were ready to fit the engine and open the pandoras box of wiring that spans the length of the M4.

Wiring in any car is a hellish task, though these days there is a lot more of it. The task at hand is simple on paper, identify whats needed and whats not, then strip and fit. Simple right.

Some say its important to have a series of small jobs to stop you from burning out on one, regardless of the validity of that, there was still plenty to button up whilst the wiring was being done. To test fit still we had our new GRP doors, windows, as well as our spoiler and M4 style front splitter. With all of this in mind efficient use of time became a very, very big deal.

Wiring the engine back up was as simple as plugging it all back in, there was nothing to really strip front there. Then the cockpit, where it became substantially more complex, was tidied grouped and stripped where it could be. A few mistakes happened here and there, but with everything exposed it could be fixed after some testing. Seeing all of this come together was a real testament to the benefits of good research and organisation, and with wiring tucked away it made fitting fuel and brake lines a lot more manageable.

Speaking of, the brake system is now very much complete and the RPB lines we’re the cherry on top to adorn the Yellow Speed Racing big brake kit. Harnessing a factory hole in the bulkhead, a carbon panel was made to cover this, then the lines themselves went through. Little touches like that really smarten the engine bay as well as the interior, so taking that extra bit of time is always worth it – especially if the material cost is practically nothing.

You can see front the image above that our fuel feed and return lines run through the same hole, again utilising stock locations and minimising drilling/cutting into the car itself. The fuel lines themselves run along the transmission tunnel then back in to the ATL tank – making a simple and bulletproof system.

Returning briefly to wiring, one particular palaver was lighting, in the cars stripped state getting all lights functioning became a bigger hassle than it needed to be. This was swiftly dealt with, bringing a big sigh of relief when the LED’s came to life up front, and eventually the rear followed suit.

On the subject of the rear end, our spoiler mounts had been freshly fitted to the boot hinges. These require a bit more rigidity than your conventional boot mount spoiler, right now these are version 1’s. In time we’ll design a slightly more stylish counterpart but right now practicality is the most important part – form over function if you will.

The design of the wing lets us adjust using the pitch using the bolts on the mounts you can see above, allowing for more or less downforce on the rear. Tiny adjustments can make a huge difference to the handling of your car, as you are regulating how hard the oncoming air is pushing down on the rear wheels… to put it simply.

While we’re on aero, up front we have our new M4 GT4 style splitter (available in both Carbon and GRP/Carbon composite). Those of you with Instagram will have probably seen it fitted to the car already, it’s a great looking product and marries up to the car lovely.

One thing to consider however, we’re adding parts, therefore adding weight. This isn’t an ideal scenario and in some cases its unavoidable, that said there are some preventative measures that can shave a few precious pounds of the car.

One such measure is replacing the heavy metal doors with these new GRP alternatives, saving a massive 44KG. The awesome part of these is that they retain ALL of the OEM fixtures, mirrors and trim. These are available to our customers now, can be found HERE and have the option of fitted lexan windows. The car is now fully fitted with lexan windows, another huge weight saver, but this is the real finishing touch with the car. Obviously with wiring aside, the car on the face of it is complete, now its down to Chris and the team at CN Signs LTD to get it wrapped.

After that its all systems go for Autosport International, the transport truck has been outfitted once again in preparation for the upcoming Club Enduro and Type R Trophy seasons. But its first task this year will be to transport this and one of our rentals to Birmingham for Autosport International 2019. Next time we catch up it’ll be past that though, and we’ll be finishing off with a nice photoshoot.

Until then, I’ll leave you with this… which you can see a bit clearer on the Tegiwa Euro Instagram. Very dramatic yes, but we’re proud of the work thats gone into it – and the final product very much deserves its own plug.

As usual you can find the gallery to the full build down below via my own personal Flickr.

The build up to the debut of the 2015 Honda Civic Type R has been teasing to say the least. Honda got this one right from the start and as a result the automotive world has been given a kick. Honda claims the turbocharged, steroid abused Type R can tear up the Nordschleife in 7:50.63. Impressive to say the least. If you follow Tegiwa on Facebook, you will have seen that we in particular were über excited to take delivery of our Championship White example. With all the hype going on we hadn’t even laid eyes on the new Type R until picking the car up.

There are many photos of the new ‘R’ circling the internet but none of them are up close and personal, which is why we decided to take a bunch of snaps allowing everyone to see the car up close, perhaps features you may have missed if you were lucky enough to have already seen one in person. We wont’ go into the whole performance and handling write up as it will have been done to it’s death, let’s keep things simple.

Specs of the car are :
Honda Civic Type R GT
Championship White

By the time this has been published, we will be writing up another article with a whole host of photos taken in our workshop where we get up close with the ‘R’ off the ground. Until then enjoy the gallery!

So a bit about the Skunk2 CAI..
Skunk2’s Cold-Air Intake is manufactured from moulded polymer plastic for superior intake air insulation when compared to aluminium as well as for a smooth, continuous taper. When compared to aluminium, the thicker polymer material results in a superior thermal barrier and lower intake air temperatures. Each kit includes a 3.5-inch internal diameter lower tube and a tapered, 3.5-inch to 3.0-inch internal diameter upper tube that connects to the factory throttle body with a high-quality, silicone connector (larger diameter connectors for use with Skunk2 throttle bodies or similar sold separately). The two piece design and supplied MAF sensor adapter allows for compatibility with vehicles utilising the factory ECU. A silicone coupler featuring a smooth, tapered transition between the two tubes is also included for vehicles equipped with aftermarket engine management systems that don’t utilise MAF sensors.
In an effort to reduce the possibility of submerging the air filter during wet conditions, Skunk2’s design positions the air filter downward-facing for approximately two inches of additional ground clearance when compared to competitors’ designs that locate the air filter from the side. That, combined with a design that doesn’t require cutting or modifying the factory fender liners, greatly reduces the chances of water entering the intake during wet conditions.

Kit includes
SKUNK2 Cold-Air Intake Kit
SKUNK2 Coolant Hose
TEGIWA Battery relocation kit.
TEGIWA Fitting kit
Fitting Instructions.

A few things to note
Not a direct fit.
No engine check light.
No major flat spots.
Requires inner arch to be dremelled/cut.
Fitting time approx 2hrs.
Can be fitted with all inlet manifolds.

To order this kit, please click here

If you have any further questions regarding fitting this kit please call +44 (0) 1782 33 44 00 or email info@tegiwaimports.com

 Takeda Momentum Air Intake Kit to fit Honda CRZ ZF1 10-13 now in Stock at Tegiwa.

The Takeda Momentum Sealed Intake System for the CRZ produces up to 7HP and 8 ft/lbs of torque over theoriginal setup, while outflowing the factory intake by 57%. Unlike other Takeda intakes, this system uses a PRO 5R five layer progressive mesh oiled filter for maximum airflow. Also included is a rotomolded intake tube designed to increase airflow for maximum torque. Takeda intakes come complete with all necessary hardware. This system fits both 6 speed and CVT transmission vehicles.

Purchase this here for only £300.00.