About ApexReady

Updated Feb 2026 · Eric

The $500 Teal Civic That Started Everything

I'm a Gen X kid who grew up in the Fast & Furious era and learned to wrench with my dad. My first car was a 1988 Honda Accord with a manual transmission. The clutch went out within a month.

That led me to finance a 1995 Honda Civic DX. Teal. And I immediately started bolting on every cosmetic mod I could find, because that's what you did in the early 2000s. Then I did the math on what I actually owed on it, looked at the parts receipts, and realized I was pouring money into a car I didn't even own yet. I sold it.

1995 Honda Civic DX — the financed teal Civic — The financed '95 Civic. Tap to enlarge.

I bought a 1992 Civic DX for $500. Also teal. Also not running. Rust in places rust has no business being. I didn't care — I didn't owe anyone anything on it.

I gutted it. Replaced the entire suspension. Swapped in a B18B1 with a GSR transmission. Installed race seats, a rollbar, and harnesses.

1992 Honda Civic DX — the $500 B18 build — The $500 '92 after the build. Tap to enlarge.

WMHM, Gingerman, and the GridLife Connection

My first track day was WMHM 3 at Gingerman Raceway. WMHM — West Michigan Honda Meet — is a grassroots event series that spawned GridLife, which has grown into one of the biggest motorsport lifestyle festivals in the country.

That first session at Gingerman changed things. Autocross in a parking lot teaches car control. A road course teaches you what your car — and you — are actually made of. I was hooked immediately, and I've been doing both ever since.

I came back for WMHM 5, this time in a 1995 Integra. By WMHM 8 I was instructing — and also running my 2008 Honda Fit, which remains one of the more entertaining cars I've ever taken on a road course.

On the autocross side, I've run dozens of events with the Furrin Group in West Michigan, and competed in WMR SCCA events at Western Michigan University, Lake Michigan College, and several random events at the Tire Rack.

The S2000

These days I run a Formula Red 2000 Honda S2000 AP1 — VIN #74 in the United States, one of the first production S2000s delivered to the American market. It's not the most modified car at any event I attend, and that's intentional. I've learned more about driving by working within a car's limits than by throwing parts at a problem.

It does autocross, HPDE track days, and car shows without apology.

Eric's Formula Red S2000 at autocross — Autocross in 2019. Tap to enlarge.

Eric's Formula Red S2000 at a track day — TRACKilicious HPDE event — Advance Group — Aug 2025. Tap to enlarge.

Why I Built ApexReady

At almost every autocross and HPDE event I've attended, I see the same patterns on both ends of the spectrum. Some people over-prepare — spending thousands on gear they won't need for years. But far more people under-prepare: showing up with M-rated helmets to road course events, running stock brake pads into corner three of a hot session, not knowing their tires were about to give up.

These aren't careless people. They just didn't know what they didn't know, and the information online is scattered, outdated, and usually written by someone trying to sell you the most expensive option available.

ApexReady exists to give you the straight answer: what you actually need for your run group and event type, what's genuinely worth spending money on, and what's just marketing. The recommendations here come from 20 years of running these events.