By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com
SHAUN HAMADA ESTIMATES he has spent about $30,000 to customize his 1994 Honda Accord since he got the car as an early high school graduation gift nearly seven years ago.He said the car went through several phases of customization prior to its current version, which won the custom show category in last weekend's Hawaii Street Car Show Off at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.
Hamada, 23, said the car is primarily a show car which he occasionally drives on the street. "Once in a while, to cruise," he said.
Every time he does he risks being ticketed for not having a reconstruction vehicle permit for the modifications done to his car.
Hamada said he is like "a lot of people (who) don't bother to get recon (permits) because the rules are too stringent."
He knows most of the modifications done to his car exceed limits allowed under the city's Reconstruction Vehicle Permit program.
"The majority of the boxes (for the after-market parts) say 'For Race Use Only' or 'For Off-Road Purposes,' " Hamada said.
Hamada gets his parts at Atomic Performance at 935 Dillingham Boulevard in Iwilei. Manager Mike Laws said employees let customers know whether or not the parts meet reconstruction vehicle permit requirements.
"They usually ask and we let them know," Laws said.
Still, customers buy the racing and off-road parts and install them in their street cars, he said.
Many race their cars legally on a track, then drive them home on the highways.
POLICE SAID Kristoffer Iberra, 22, of Pearl City, died Aug. 17 when he was ejected from his car after losing control of it on the H-1 Freeway on- ramp in Kapolei. They said he had been racing his Honda Civic at the Hawaii Raceway Park just before the crash.
Modifications to make a car a street racer can cost thousands of dollars. Here are some popular modifications: What it costs
IGNITION SYSTEM Upgraded distributor, wires and plugs
improve engine efficiency. Cost: $350-$400
ENGINE Replacing stock engine with one from a Honda Prelude
increased power from 140 horsepower to 195 horsepower.
Cost: $4,800-$5,200
TURBOCHARGER Increases engine output by
60-80 horsepower. Cost: $3,800
SHOCKS AND SPRINGS Replacing stock equipment
with shorter springs and adjustable shocks lowers the car for better
cornering but is done primarily for cosmetics. Cost: $1,000
ROLL BAR Increases survivability in case of rollover.
Cost: $450
BRAKES Swapping stock 10-inch discs with 13-inch discs
can reduce stopping distances from 60 miles per hour by 15-20 feet.
Cost: $1,800 per pair
The 1999 Honda Prelude involved in last Sunday's fatal collision on the H-1 Freeway had after-market high-performance intake and exhaust manifolds, wheels and tires but did not have a reconstruction vehicle permit, police said.
They estimated the car was traveling about 100 mph before the crash and said driver Nicholas Tudisco, 18, was racing with another car.
Tudisco's car slammed into the concrete median of the freeway then crashed into the rear of a van, killing front-seat passenger Elizabeth Kekoa, 58, police said.
Ken Sum said there is a dip in the surface of the far left lane of the freeway near the spot where Tudisco's car slammed into the concrete median. He said if you drive over the dip fast enough your car will bounce, causing you to lose control of the car.
"I know, it happened to me," he said.
Sum, 20, recently sold his custom 1994 Acura Integra after owning it for just one year because of the number of tickets he received for failing to have a reconstruction vehicle permit.
He said he and a lot of people he knows whose cars have performance and cosmetic modifications do not apply for permits.
"Cannot pass recon, that's why most people don't do it," he said.
Police said the custom cars are easy to spot.
"We all know all the types of cars they're using," said Maj. Robert Prasser of the Honolulu Police Traffic Division.
AFTER-MARKET parts suppliers say the most popular car makes for customization are Honda and Honda's up-market brand, Acura.
"One reason is they have the most after-market parts available for horsepower and suspension upgrades," said David Reid, manager of Eurosport Inc.
He said another factor is that the cars are fairly inexpensive. Reid said a new Honda Civic can cost as little as $15,000.
The city issued 1,753 reconstruction vehicle permits from July 1, 2000 to June 30 of this year. Honolulu is the only county that has such a program because state law requires it of counties with populations of 500,000 or more. In that same period Honolulu police issued 2,750 tickets for failure to have a permit.
Prasser said there is no plan to go after modified vehicles to get drivers without permits.
"I'm a little leery to just go out looking for them. Sometimes they're (modifications) done for cosmetics and don't affect performance," Prasser said.
Instead, police are using decoy cars this holiday weekend to catch street racers.