Frans’ DC2 | You Can’t Have Your Cake And Eat It

“Must be nice”, is how I greeted Frans when Peter and I got to Go Garage to shoot DC2. It’s a standout build, the years of work by a mechanic who treated it as much as a learning experience as his passion project. “I tried everything on this car, made the smallest adjustments in variables just so I can see what makes a difference, and how it does so.” Frans admitted when we began to ogle over the details.

The first time I saw this car was the night before HIN 2019, definitely a head turner on the M5 that day!

However, as we got deeper into the intricacies of his build journey, from sourcing a high-comp K20, the bucket seats and Ohlins DFVs, it becomes increasingly apparent: opportunity cost is a very real thing when it comes to building the ultimate registered track-ready Honda.

Modern performance vehicles have done an incredible job at packaging a comprehensive offering to customers without seeming to have any deficiencies…

You can have your power delivery, with your fuel economy.

Soft, pot-hole friendly damping is just a couple clicks away from the Race setting.

Your bucket seats, can also heat your cold ass on a winter morning.

Before the shoot Frans asked which set up we’d like to see. There were four options… the audacity of this guy…

Vehicles are more complete than ever, but for purists like Frans it is a nightmare. To people like us, sports cars are supposed to be deeply visceral, creating a sense of occasion that can only be adequately explained if a person experiences it first hand.

Building the perfect emotional driving experience doesn’t come without sacrifices though, as Frans told me:

I built this car with a purpose of a street registered track car. What I mean by that term is ; I can still enjoy it on the streets or daily basis & also enjoy it on the track. Given that its a Honda and it’s built with quality parts, my intention was to build a reliable and durable “sports car”.

At its current state though… It’s deadly to drive on the streets.

The more money Frans poured into his machine, the less he actually drove it as it “leaned towards a track car… much more than what I originally intended”. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place, you invest into quality parts and performance upgrades to decrease lap times on track and up the “on-track feel, response” etc., but these occasions have come become few and far between.

During our talk it turned out that he had booked a track day, to which I asked if it was a good opportunity to wring it out to 9800 RPM through multiple gears. Frans looked at me bluntly and said that he wasn’t even taking the DC2, opting for his newly finished EG.

“I just got hooked with baller parts and now I’m scared to drive it.” he laughed as he tried to explain taking the daily to Eastern Creek over his purpose-built track car. It’s such an odd situation, he could take it off the road and make it a dedicated track machine, but there’s too much invested into the car that going ten-tenths and having an off isn’t worth it, plus the resources needed to maintain and move around a track-only car. A problem that so many of us face as entry-level track enthusiasts, we struggle to keep a lid on our decisions because the high of on-track fun is just too good. In the blink of an eye, that OEM+ build has ballooned out into a super sprint ready monster.

What would it take to make the car more road-friendly, so Frans can make the most of what he’s invested into the car over eight years? He keeps the answer quick and simple, “de-mod the entire car, soften the suspension, remove the bucket seats, the roll bar, get a quieter exhaust and re-tune the car for better fuel economy”.

Not usually a fan of blue wheels, but these line up well with Frans’ custom paint!

But as you’ve already guessed, Frans would probably end up unhappy again, because he’s experienced the pinnacle for each component that has been downgraded. He has his B-series EG in the “fun daily” role, which is a different type of performance altogether.

Where this leaves Frans is a vehicle that isn’t particularly fit for any particular purpose. It’s perfect for the track, but the risk is relatively too high. Driving around town is fine, but the car was built for a different type of performance. This is where the simplistic definition of opportunity cost stops making sense.

Frans has incredible perspective in relation to his experience with his pride and joy, “I don’t have any regrets. Maybe I spent a bit too much money, but the knowledge that I’ve gained and the appreciation I have for what it takes to build a complete car from scratch, I wouldn’t trade it at all”. He built so much of this car in his garage, applying skills from his trade as a mechanic while learning new approaches and figuring out every little detail that marks him out as a craftsman in his profession today.

Not the fastest, not the “coolest”, not the most expensive but a build of passion. No regrets!

When talking over this feature, I made the analogy that he turned a car that was B+ on track and street, to an A+ on track and a solid F on street, and he definitely agreed. He’s felt the highest of highs that you can experience a street-driven lapping machine, put components on his vehicle – performance and aesthetic – that are certified crème de la crème, and made so many minute yet expensive adjustments to make sure that he understands how the outcome was obtained.

The end result doesn’t fit into his life that well anymore, but that’s okay.

It’s cliché to say, but success is the journey, not the destination.

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