Melvin Villa's car is fast. The 1995 Acura Integra, with its engine modifications, stiff suspension and plush seats, is like a go-cart à la luxury. For the clean cut, happy-go-lucky, 26-year-old Villa, it is a toy.
In the '70s and '80s all the cool guys had big cars with big engines-having a rumbling V8 was in. Today it's imports. Specifically four-bangers, all beefed up and ready to rev, that are hot. Street racing has never gone out of style-but in these times where, better mileage and reliability are necessities, it's the Hondas and Toyotas that rule.
"I like speed," Villa says. "When you come up to the staging strip, it's the adrenaline rush." Years ago, when he owned a Hyundai and found himself eating the dust of a Mazda RX7, he said never again.
He spent $21,600 for his fresh white Acura and doled out another $5000 for modifications. And it's still street legal-but not for long. "I'm going all out this year," he says "I'm getting a nitrous oxide system." His car pulls a time of 15.2 seconds in the quarter mile, which is fast compared to the average car, but doesn't cut it for someone whose family is into the street race.
Just down the street in this South San Francisco neighborhood is Villa's 23 year old brother-in-law, Kenneth Denuna. "I just smoked a (Acura Integra) GSR," Denuna says with a big grin on his face, "I left him at 7000 r.p.m." Denuna is thrilled just like a kid who just stole a bunch of candy.
Denuna turned his garage into a shop where he works on his hot rods. A Supra with a blown engine sits inside, tools lie about, and a disassembled turbocharger is in the back.
His life, much like anyone who owns a race car, revolves around the race. The street race is addictive-it is his drug of choice. For this sport, alcohol and drugs are not allowed, but courage, race smarts and a fast car are required.
"Your heart starts pumping real fast. The best part is the street races when the cops come," Denuna says. "They will try to block the race. We'll keep going, head to head with the cop at the other end and see whose chicken. Then you have to get away from them." He's outrun them many times but not every time.
"The cop says 'you're car's fast but not faster than my radio,'" Denuna says. He's only gotten three tickets, which is pretty good for someone who races almost every day and makes a regular habit of attending the weekend "get-togethers" with other racers.
Aside from the costs of the car, street racing has it's risks. Twenty one year old Robert Cheung was racing his 190 h.p. Acura against a Prelude two months ago along Lake Merced when the Prelude, losing traction on the damp pavement bumped into him. "I was going 70 miles per hour. I was in a panic," he says. After doing a 360, he hit a light pole, totaling his car. He suffered bruises but was relatively unhurt for the severity of the crash.
Despite nearly getting killed, Cheung has plans for his newly acquired Honda CRX that sits in front of his house. In six months he plans on making it his new race car. "The car is what you have to show people. People will respect you for it," he says. As it is with with Villa and Denuna, the car is a reflection of themselves and their style. Villa says with a chuckle, "It's like my baby, it's like all my savings."
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