The street races, a place where you can win cash and build a rep or lose it all including your car and driver's license. Max Ha of Southern California risked it all for import racing. Residing in the birthplace of imports, it's hard not to get wrapped up in the racing lifestyle. Max became a regular at the local and not-so local moonlit tracks with his 1992 Honda Civic in 2001. With so many victories, Max quickly made a name for himself in the street racing community. The Civic that brought Max much praise was a simple yet effective street bruiser.

Commuting To the Races

Originally obtained as daily transportation, Max swapped in an Integra Type-R engine into the EG hatch. The car was a blast to drive, keeping the hatch streetable and fun, Max kept upgrading his Civic. The more Max invested into the car, the more knowledge he gained from wrenching on the Honda. With every upgrade, Max and his crew made a voyage to the street races and started to take everyone's money. In late 2001, having a Civic putting down 204 whp and 138 Lb/ft of torque accompanied with a 10,000 rpm redline meant handing out "ass-whoopings" were a regular routine for Max. Running the Civic at the street races was fun, but Max and his friends wanted to get the real numbers behind the untouchable hatch. They decided to race the car at Battle of the Imports in Bakersfield, California. Even after encountering clutch problems, Max was able to click off a 12.58-second elapsed time, hitting the traps at 109 mph. These numbers got the group excited about the potential of the car.

Yet another year went by with the same setup in the Civic. Gathering more wins, Max and his hatch started to gain a reputation as one of the fastest all-motor street cars in the street racing community. But it was time to step up the game as people were catching up.

Max and his friends were ready to swap in a "big motor". Wearing out his fun with the B-series engines, Max opted for an H-series engine. The H22 engine was installed with a couple bolt-ons. The car had a new feel to it; Max noticed a lot more power and a violent amount of torque. The first time the H22 hatch hit the track it laid down a 12.4-second elapsed time with a 106 mph trap speed. Max knew he was onto something big. He wanted to dabble into legal drag competitions. Traveling 420 miles away, Max took the car to Sacramento for a CMI race to run with some fast competitors. On the first run, the car spun the slicks so hard that the engine blew past it's redline. On the second run, the engine let go and self-destructed. With the help of some local Nor-Cal racers, Max made it back home with shattered dreams.

A New Heart

Saddened by the events that took place, Max did the unthinkable. He took the engine and transmission out of his other car, which was supposed to be debuted the following season.

The engine was a stock 220 hp, Euro Accord Type-R engine. The H22a engine and transmission was a factory bred race engine by Honda. Upgrading the driveline with a clutch and a few more bolt-ons, Max once again made it to the track. This time, the crew was at Carlsbad Raceway in California, the first pass felt really strong to Max. Eager to get the time-slip, Max couldn't believe his eyes, 12.08 at 111.9 mhp! Now it was time to earn his money back at the street races. After adding some high-lift camshafts, TWM individual throttle bodies and sprockets, Max raced for an average of $1,000 a run. Before he knew it, he won all the money he spent on the car. Max started to notice more and more sanctioning bodies were offering a street class. This automatically sparked an interest and Max was positive that he wanted to be the top racer in those classes.

Change of Direction

A life of gambling and running from the cops was exciting and fun but Max wanted to open his own speed shop and knew it was not in his best interest to continue that lifestyle any longer. With one more race on the line, Max accepted a race with some local V8 hustlers. With their 500 whp supercharged Mustang, Max was set out a couple cars. Everyone who Max knew was at the street races that night to show support. Before long, Max was $1,800 richer as he retired from street racing with a bang. After a few years of racing at the local racetracks, Max wanted to get serious about drag racing. Competing in Battle of the Imports in 2003, Max was officially the first street class all-motor car to break into the 11-second barrier. The record was broken with an 11.97, backed up with an 11.98 and then an 11.96 at 112 mph. Max continued his R&D work in his shop, Max Ha Racing in Garden Grove, California. All his hard work paid off as he kept breaking his own record.

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