The Honda Civic Si is a sportier version of the regular Civic. It’s meant to drive more enthusiast-style, and in this episode Joey’s 2026 Si is the car he’s building up with upgrades right away.
Boost is extra pressure from a turbo that forces more air into the engine. “30 pounds of boost” means the turbo is running very hard, which can make more power but also puts more stress on the engine and needs the right setup.
Cars and Coffee 805 is a local car meet where people gather to show their cars and hang out. In this episode, they talk about meeting in different nearby cities and sometimes doing pop-up events.
A “pop up setup” here means a temporary, flexible meet location rather than a fixed monthly venue. That matters because it changes how attendees plan to show up and how organizers coordinate with different local car communities.
A “bolt-on” upgrade is a modification you can install with normal tools, without major cutting or rebuilding. It’s usually meant to be straightforward compared to deeper engine work.
Live tuning is when someone changes the car’s computer settings while the car is running. They use a laptop to help set things like boost so the car makes power the way it should.
Torque and horsepower are ways to measure how strong the engine is. Torque is the “twisting pull” that helps you accelerate, and horsepower is another number people use to compare power between cars.
Boost is how much extra pressure the turbo adds to push more air into the engine. Higher boost usually means more power, but it also needs the car to be tuned correctly to stay safe.
Boost tables are the computer’s instructions for how much boost to run. They help the tuner make sure the engine gets the right amount of boost for each driving situation.
A tuner is the specialist who adjusts the car’s computer settings. On turbo cars, that’s especially important so the engine gets the right boost and fuel safely.
Head studs are stronger bolts that hold the engine’s top (the cylinder head) tighter to the engine. When you run more boost, they help keep everything sealed so the head gasket is less likely to fail.
The head gasket is a seal that keeps hot combustion gases and fluids separated inside the engine. With higher boost, it can become the weak point if the engine isn’t reinforced.
An ethanol kit lets you mix ethanol with regular gas. Ethanol can help the engine tolerate more boost and make more power, but it needs the right setup and tuning.
The BMW 3 Series is a compact luxury car that’s made to drive well and feel sporty. People often modify it to make more power, like upgrading the engine parts and adding a bigger turbo. The podcast is talking about doing those upgrades properly so the car can handle the extra stress.
An intercooler cools the hot, compressed air from the turbo. Cooler air helps the engine run more safely and efficiently when you’re making boost.
Concept
off the lot
“Off the lot” here means the car is already modified before the buyer even takes delivery—often by the dealer. That’s different from a typical owner build where modifications happen after purchase.
A “sleeper” is a car that doesn’t look that fast, but actually performs really well. People often underestimate it until they see it in action.
LIVE
Hey, what's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here.
I am Chris and this is cool cars with Chris and I'll taste fantastic episode.
Let me tell you, we are heading back over to Willow Springs to have a conversation with
Joey Moreno and this episode is done in video format. So if you want to see everything that's
happening right now, you can get hit over to our YouTube channel. It'll be on YouTube
and Spotify to video places. There you go. But if you're listening to this in an audio
podcast, don't you worry, you keep on keeping on because I love audio podcast and it's what
I do best. But just for this episode right here, it'll be in the video format. So you
want to check that out. There is that.
But talking to Joey Moreno about his new idea about doing the whole cars and coffee up
in the Ventura area, the 805, you know, he's from that area and he's big into cars and
coffee and making little cool little pop up meetups. Where do we talk about that on this
episode? Plus he bought himself a brand new 2026 Honda Civic SI. Now those SI's are pretty
cool right out of the box, you know, and they're pretty cool cars, I would say, but Joey didn't
sit with that. He actually started modifying the car like right away, like right after
he got the thing, which is kind of unheard of really. We'll be talking about that. And
including that modifications, he's actually pushing the car up to 30 pounds of boost. Yeah,
you heard that right. So we'll be talking about that. And this fantastic episode has
brought you by my company, Podtastic Audio. Hey, look, I make this look easy. It's probably
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with that, let's roll.
Cool. We are with Joey at Willow Springs. Joey, what brings you out here, man?
Hey, man, some friends, definitely the cars came out here with disassociated motor sports.
They're a small team growing up out of 805. They've been in the scene for a long time.
So the passion of the car is 805, 805 Santa Maria, essentially down to, I'd say, right
right there at the 405 almost just just outside of by Woodland Hills.
OK, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Camarillo, Santa.
That's like North County. It's like North Cal, isn't it? No, no, Southern. Yeah.
Yeah. Right. Just right here past 1000 Oaks. OK, going up the one.
You love clumping, clumping all at it.
Everything above L.A. to me is North Cal because I'm from New York, California.
I'm always like, Chris, no, like I'm saying, I used to think anything above the eight freeway was North.
I hear you. I did.
I stayed below at least Southern County for most of my life.
And then, you know, at least meeting people with cars got me up to Santa Barbara,
you know, the cars and coffee up there. So pretty, pretty cool.
Yeah, man. So so you have the cars and coffee.
Where do you guys usually meet at and who comes out to your cars and right now?
Cars and Coffee 805. We're going, I guess,
overall, to support in the community.
So there's specific cars and coffees, Ventura, Moorpark, Camarillo, Montecito.
And they all have their own little spot or not little spot,
but area, you know, where they meet once a month.
So right now we're we're doing more of the pop up setup.
So as much as we can to go out there and support the individual cars and coffees
and show up and bring more of a following to enhance the experience of everyone.
That's kind of the goal right now.
So just pop up at least at the moment.
And then hopefully a couple of months out, we'll look to plan an event
somewhere in downtown Ventura.
Hopefully is what we're looking to do.
But you want to plan an event like that.
Do you have to go through like permits or like ask the property or how's it all
work for that? Yeah, from what I've been hearing,
I have a few a few contacts within the city of Ventura that are super,
you know, super promote promoting of the community in that way.
But downtown Ventura is closed to the traffic.
So right now, Main Street in downtown Ventura is completely closed.
It's pedestrian traffic only.
So cars are are not allowed in.
So there's a potential that we can open up some of the streets
and have a cars park on Main Street.
Since it's already set up that way, it's pretty easy to get that going with with the city.
But yeah, just at least the permits, if you wanted to have alcohol, which I've heard,
I'm not really about that. I promote the same kind of experience.
They'll go together, you know, I was thinking about maybe like a
you know, your your designated driver program, kind of promote them to drive.
You know, if someone wants to have a drink,
we'll let them drive your car out to the show and let them experience it.
But I never know. No drinking and driving. Absolutely not. Yeah.
Right. So the car you have, you said you wrote down a Honda SI.
Yeah. Yeah. I started building a 2026 SI.
I had a brand new brand new right off the right off.
You get the wrapper off the put the wrapper right off the thing showroom floor.
I think within about a week, I had everything on it that I wanted,
at least for the most part, because I had some bad luck with the previous model.
Same model SI with a 2022 head gasket blown.
I had a couple of car accidents.
You know, it was just a vehicle. I got this one.
It's been great. Yeah.
But I did a full bolt on with PRL.
So that's a real company that I really do enjoy to at least partner with
as far as modifications on that. And team team Han data,
they support the module so I can do any type of live tuning.
And I use a fear of all down down in, I think, I think throughout LA,
I got a double check, but online, they do the live tuning to get you where you need to be.
And how much power? Yeah, I got up to 270 conservatively at the will.
Yeah. Well, at the will, I'd say around a lower, lower to 6250s.
But with my computer laptop, I'm running right around 270 torque and horsepower.
So off the off the floor showroom floor, it's about a two to 20 conservative.
OK. Yes, I know those will come with turbos.
Do you want to get the size?
Yes. OK. Yeah. One point five liter.
It does have the smaller motor has the turbo on there.
And initially it'll boost around 18.
I've been able to with fear of all and on data to get it to 29
thirty pounds of boost. And that's the internals.
I thought I was I know we had this conversation because on the end,
I think at like 2425
OK. But yeah, that's that's a lot of boost.
But you have it to just right, you know, and the tuner takes their time
to make sure they expect the power in the right way and the boost tables are appropriate.
You can really get a good 20 more percent than you'd expect without having
to really open up the motor and start digging in there.
So it's interesting that would be down the road.
So what would be peak for, you know, a little too much with boost wise on the boost
on a Honda stock, unless if you're if you're stock internals, yeah,
if you're doing stock internals, I'd say right around where I'm at.
Maybe another 2030 horsepower, 300
At that point, at least the head studs start working on the head gasket,
because that's the first thing to go on these guys.
So we'll be able to at least push when I finish the build.
I'm hoping for 400
That would be 400
It'll be it'll be 400 horsepower internals.
Hopefully, you know, an E 30, potentially 55 ethanol kit.
But you got to do the internals right bigger turbo.
It's set up that way.
I built it from the ground up.
So intercooler to exhaust.
I'm good. Now I just got to start building from the motor inside.
Yeah. And it's a 2026
It's brand new.
Yeah, I barely hit 10,000 miles just barely.
Wow. That's that you hear about these bills.
You have modifications on cars that are like ten years old, five years old,
you know, twenty years old, but a car that's like yesterday.
I don't know. I mean, it's it's it's a it didn't stay stock for more than a
little while. I took it back to sign some paperwork in the the whole team
at Honda Ocean Honda and Ventura came out and took pictures and said,
like, now we're going to have you come over here and put some design on our cars
because some of the dealers start to put their own mods on the side.
Yeah, I've heard. And they do the RL off the lot.
They charge a lot more. Oh, yeah.
But they already have it on.
They put all the financing to wrap it up.
It's like a 10 bucks more of your payment or whatever it is, you know.
Exactly. Well, it's a bit of a sleeper.
Like, you know, people people don't probably don't expect that, you know.
Yeah, very true.
Your car, too, is with the with the it's got a little bit of the showiness
a little bit like it's it's loud out like just stock.
It's loud.
These are making it for themselves.
But I've seen a little bit at least on the Instagram and the socials.
You know, you know, the on it.
But honestly, I get excited for all of these
the civic size of type R type S.
Like, don't you ever wish that like you could like register your car
in a different state and like do crazy mods?
Yeah, yeah, you know, possible, you know, legal way of doing it, of course,
there's a residence somewhere.
But yeah, the crack California is really cracking down
and charging you with, you know, insurance, you know, tax fraud and things like that.
Well, that's just that.
So yeah, all right.
Looks like we're getting called off.
I'll move the white car out.
No worries. Thank you guys.
No, good chatting for sure.
About this episode
Joey Moreno’s 2026 Honda Civic Si build takes center stage, from buying the car new to immediately modifying it and chasing boost targets—first around 18 psi and ultimately near 30 psi. The discussion connects those numbers to live ECU tuning, PRL bolt-on parts, and what supporting hardware needs to handle higher stress. Between build talk, they also cover Cars and Coffee 805 at Willow Springs and planning a downtown Ventura event, including street-closure logistics and permits.
Back at Willow Springs Raceway, I sit down with Joey Moreno to talk about the growing Cars & Coffee 805 movement, Ventura car culture, and his aggressively modified 2026 Honda Civic Si.
Joey shares how the 805 car community is building momentum through pop-up meets and local Cars & Coffee events across Ventura, Camarillo, Moorpark, Montecito, and Santa Barbara. We also talk about what it takes to organize automotive events in California, working with city permits, and why building a safe and positive car culture matters.
We also break down Joey’s brand-new Civic Si build — a car that barely stayed stock for a week before getting full bolt-on modifications, PRL performance parts, Hondata tuning, and nearly 30 pounds of boost on stock internals. Joey explains the tuning process, horsepower gains, future plans for a 400HP setup, and what it’s like modifying a brand-new platform right out of the showroom.
If you’re into Honda tuning, grassroots car culture, track days, turbo builds, or the SoCal automotive scene, this episode is packed with enthusiast insight and real garage talk straight from Willow Springs.
Cars & Coffee 805 and Ventura car culture
Organizing automotive meetups in California
Building a community-focused car scene
2026 Honda Civic Si modifications
PRL Motorsports performance upgrades
Hondata live tuning
Running 30 PSI boost on stock internals
Future 400HP Civic Si goals
California car laws and tuning culture
Willow Springs Raceway atmosphere
🎙 Follow the podcast for more car builds, track days, interviews, and automotive culture stories.
This episode is brought to you by Podtastic Audio — helping creators launch and grow professional podcasts from recording to production and marketing.
00:00 – Intro & Video Podcast Announcement 00:39 – Meet Joey Moreno at Willow Springs 01:12 – Cars & Coffee 805 & Ventura Car Culture 02:11 – Supporting Local Car Meets Across the 805 03:05 – Planning Future Ventura Car Events 03:52 – City Permits & Organizing Car Shows 04:29 – Safe Driving & Car Community Responsibility 04:49 – Joey’s Brand-New 2026 Honda Civic Si 05:20 – Full Bolt-On Mods & PRL Performance Parts 05:44 – Hondata Tuning & Power Gains 06:06 – Turbo Setup & 30 PSI Boost 06:44 – Limits of Stock Honda Internals 07:02 – Future 400HP Civic Si Plans 07:32 – Modifying a Brand-New Car 08:07 – Dealer Reactions & Sleeper Civic Talk 08:39 – California Car Laws & Outro
On this episode of Cool Cars with Chris, Chris heads out to Willow Springs Raceway to talk with Joey Moreno about the growing Cars & Coffee 805 community, Ventura car culture, and his heavily modified 2026 Honda Civic Si. Joey breaks down his full bolt-on Civic Si build featuring PRL performance parts, Hondata tuning, upgraded turbo performance, and nearly 30 pounds of boost on stock internals. The conversation covers Honda tuning, turbo Civic builds, SoCal car meets, Ventura County automotive events, and the future of grassroots car culture in Southern California. Joey also shares his plans for a future 400 horsepower Civic Si setup while discussing the realities of California car laws, aftermarket modifications, and performance tuning. If you’re into Honda Civic Si mods, JDM culture, track days, Willow Springs Raceway, Cars & Coffee events, turbocharged Hondas, or automotive podcasts, this episode is packed with enthusiast insight and real-world tuning talk.
