Have you ever flipped through magazines and read the details of their reader’s builds? Ever notice that some people devote 10 years to the build of their car, pour all their heart and soul into their magazine showcase? There’s no doubt that the dedication and time invested had certainly paid off. These long builds often have the car in various forms and the route to completion is rarely ever a straight line. Often times it takes trial and error, finding what combinations provide the best synergy and ultimately, last but not least, keeping up with the times; changing as the industry changes.
For Ottawa native, Eric Daoust, it has taken nearly 9 years – not to build a car… no, that would be too easy. Instead, it was a tuning dream. Having grown up in farm country, the very thought of how Honda’s had become his brand of choice has always eluded him. Surrounded by tractors and fields, you’d think that he’d be tearing up the country roads in a 5-0 or big block rwd; how cliché. Although not a demeaning alternate reality (who can’t be a fan of LS blocks and V8’s?), that’s not what happened. It was, believe it or not, an 88-91 Prelude that was the spark to his everlasting love for Honda. From there, it snowballed into something pretty intense. 7 Preludes later (hence his alias Preludeking), he had already formed handfuls of clubs, founded the Ottawa Prelude message board in ’98-99, and was immersed in the scene.
As fate would have it, Carlton University’s Poly Science route was not the ultimate direction of choice. Eric sought refuge at Georgian College where they offered a business administration course that was geared towards the automotive sector. Although the focus was on dealerships, one key component that piqued his interest was in the entrepreneurial aspect. It was there that Eric and two other classmates began Teknotik. By graduation, the business had been in full swing and transitioning to full time operation was just the natural evolution of things.
Teknotik, currently based in Toronto, started off as a way to bring JDM to the masses. At a time in the tuning industry when Japanese engines were highly sought after, but difficult to attain, Eric decided to simplify that process and bridge the gap. The problem was the lack of truthful information. It had been a long time myth that Japanese engines needed to be removed when the vehicle accumulated 30k, 40k, or 60k kms. Think about it, it would be easy for anyone to market that their JDM engine on some random skid actually had 30k kms. How would you prove it? Eric even found a B18C5 with 300k kms. So much for 60k JDM regulations. Eric decided the only way to succeed was to bring in high quality motors and offered it with warranty. A warranty that to this day never needed to be used.
As engines were sourced, checked and sold online, Teknotik reaped all the benefits of being able to cater to our neighbours south of the border due to our dollar at the time. With the ongoing success, Teknotik opened a local warehouse and eventually broadened their offerings to include new parts. The latest change was to begin offering specialty service. Teknotik’s service isn’t quite like your average garage; immaculate working space with only room to comfortably work on one to two cars at a time. The premise behind this is to give their clients the full benefit of complete attention. In many cases, tuners go through a hoarding phase, grabbing all the goodies they could find over a period of time. Then what they do is they try to get it all installed at once so they can enjoy their car as a whole. The problem is that many garages need to take in every day service jobs to keep their shops afloat. Then these longer projects get pushed aside and deadlines are rarely met. Not so with Teknotik as each customer gets 110% in order to get their prized vehicle transformed within a reasonable amount of time. Think about this as the ultimate culmination of product offerings Teknotik has had to offer. Specialty service was the only component missing and has shown positive results over the last few years.
Needless to say (but we will anyway) a shop of this talent has to have their entourage of representatives. Look no further than various issues of famed Honda Tuning for full features and covers of Teknotik vehicles. Although Eric’s love for the Prelude will never die, he had his list of past builds: civics with C5 swaps and turbos and three Type R’s. In the end, it was his last Type R to garner the most attention. With parts accumulated over time, it became the Type R he envisioned to be as close to perfect as possible. Making just under 250whp with a K20R swap, it wasn’t a slouch either. The perfect shop showpiece doesn’t last forever though. With only a couple tanks of gas ever driven through the car, the Type R was sold. When you dream big like Eric, you need to make certain sacrifices. Being a business owner entitles you to working 24/7 and the countless hours and commitments to undertake can be intensively overwhelming. With his core value of business before pleasure, the Type R was sold so that funds could be used for expansion.
Amidst all the fame and the shows, the last thing anyone should ever doubt is Teknotik’s ability to go fast. With James Houghton at the wheel, he became the guy to beat in Street FF time attacks. Just keep a look out for a variety of EG’s, EK’s and DC’s during this year’s race season and we can guarantee you will stumble across Teknotik race cars.
So remember when I mentioned how some take an entire decade to build up their ride? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but there are others, like Eric, who are on a serious mission. Eric did everything I mentioned above in under 9 years. And as the Honda market has changed, so did Teknotik, with the vision to offer parts, service, and experience based knowledge to those looking for answers. Oh, and don’t forget the fact that he started jdmrides.ca and has hosted Honda Tech meets . And with one completed stage there begins another. Look out because there’s an NA1 build on its way. Stay tuned!
What’s the asking price on the s2000?