Acura Integra GSR Customizing and Modifying

cjhannan

I agree and believe all of those variables you mentioned played some kind of role, small or large, in why I was faster on Sunday. The course was a ton of fun, and my car felt stronger than usual (probably due to the nice cold air). Whatever the reason(s), a win is a win in my book. The guy I beat, who is the STS champ from last year, was a real gentlemen about it, too. He came up to me after everything was over to say congrats and great driving. That's one of the great things about the Solo II crowd at the regional level, most folks really go out of their way to be helpful and courteous, and are pretty good sports, too.

only1harry

My car always feels more powerful & responsive in the winter. The CAI sucks in real COLD air in the winter, and not 80-90deg warm air like in the summer time. Definitely better than 150deg. air that factory or warm intakes take in.
A win is a win, even if the guy was driving with 1 good eye. That's right. Show them how it's done! (that's what the announcer said over the speakers when I got FTD at the end of the morning runs at Rye Playland, a NYR SSCA sanctioned auto-x, and it felt great). Let it feel good and be proud. Kick those non-Acura/Honda cars' butts! :-)

only1harry

I 'm not familiar with that intake you mentioned. The AEM is famous for the highest power & torque gains on Integras, especially VTEC ones.
Are you asking whether you should do the hood or the CAI first? Flip a coin.. I would 've done the exhaust last. The CAI would 've made your car noticeably more powerful. The exhaust gains you can only feel at high speeds and slightly at very high RPMs. The CAI is noticeable throughout the REV band.

only1harry

best brake link I 've ever seen!! You have to read this.

http://www.stoptech.com/whitepapers/warped_rotors_myth.htm

I 've read many but this one seems to be the best so far.

It talks about a lot of the myths associated with warped rotors, their association with pads, facts about street pads, high end street/race pads, race pads, bedding them in properly, etc. A lot of it we know already but I learned some new things too. This guy goes into detail about how the pad & rotor work together and different variations of symbiosis between the 2 and failure scenarios. The guy who wrote this apparently worked for Shelby and did a long term brake study. Good stuff. Got it off the H-T competition forum.

I 'm glad he confirmed (and that it 's not a myth) that high end street/race pads with high heat limits don't grip as well when they 're cold. Now I know for sure my Axxis pads are more for racing than street because they 're not as good when cold. He also seems to favor carbon metallic pads (more recent) over semi-metallic ones for various technical reasons he discusses plus less chances of warpage. I think my MMs are semi-metalic (not 100% sure though), not sure about the Porterfield R4S that I may switch to this season (just to see if they 're better). The R4 I believe is carbon-metallic but a bit too much for street and I hear they don't grip for anything when cold or in cold weather so they tend to be a little dangerous. Like the guy says, there 's no such thing as a good all around street/race pad. There are pads that are good for street and low speed stopping and those that work best when hot or stopping from higher speeds.

chem123

Get the AEM CAI since you have a GS-R--it is definitely the most cost-effective thing you can do powerwise on your car. CF hoods are controversial because some people say brand X fits better than Y and then someone else will say the complete opposite. Unless you get a really cheap quality one, you should not be worried about it breaking. The worst things to worry about are fitment and making sure it doesn't fly up on the freeway because it wasn't closed correctly (get hood pins). Go to groupbuycenter.com for good prices on both of these things (coximport.com Ianmichael for the intake). Still, I would drive my car stock longer if I were you.

carcrazy2

What about COMPTECH Ice Box with Short Ram Intake. See Team-Integra.com (when the site is restored) for HP gains versus AEM CAI.

chem123

Sure, I've heard it's great...but integraguy16 only asked us what order he should get the stuff in so I didn't put much thought into what intake he should get. From what I have heard, people go with Comptech so they don't hydrolock their engines (something that can't happen with the Ice Box, but has a possibility of happening with the AEM--if you are an idiot) but I'm not sure which one gives you more power. However, the Box is more expensive. Lots of satisfied customers with both products.

cjhannan

Harry, yes, that article was incredibly well done. I really like the way he dispelled a lot of the common mis-information about brakes, how they work, and brake failure. I'm going to file that baby away for future reference.

chem123

ditto on the great article...thanks Harry

garados

that was a great article. Answered a bunch of my questions. Thanks

only1harry

Hey Casey, and everyone else, if you see a good post on H-T again about camber & toe discussions by auto-x champs let us know. Dave Fauth did not answer my questions when I asked him what toe & camber he 's running up front. I 'm sure he 's gone over it before and just didn't want to bother. He used to say "it's a secret" but I think he 's revealed them to others.. I did a search but gave up too soon. Didn't have the patience It 'll be interesting to see what happens when Dave goes up against Daddio in DSP this year with his new (used) RWD BMW 325is, that is if Daddio will stay in DSP with his Neon.

garados

I'm going to get a custom exhaust made, and I was wondering if $80 was a good price for mandrel bent, aluminized steel piping and all associated welding. Also, 2.25 in is good enough for NA, right? and 2.5 in is good for top end, but the low end will suffer right? just making sure. Thanks.

zmp

Hi everyone, I wanted to get your help and advice on solving a major problem I'm experiencing with a 1999 Acura Integra GSR I just bought a month ago. This car is a Certified Acura car, which means that it had to meet some standards before certification. A 150-point inspection must be done to the car prior certification. I bought my car in Jackonsville, two hours from Orlando, where I live. While driving to Orlando, I noticed some odd noises and vibrations in my car. My brakes need to be replaced, and the master cylinder is leaking (according to an inspection made by Acura in Orlando) just to name a couple of problems with the car. I have called the manager of the dealership in Jacksonville to let them know of the situation, and to get the money to fix the brakes, I also sent him a fax because he never answered my phone calls. It has been almost two weeks and I have not heard from him yet. I called Acura Client Services, but they said that they cannot do anything to help me, and that I had to talk to the manager of the store which I tried already.

I don't know what else to do, and I'm getting very frustrated and upset. Please let me know if you know a way to get out of this situation. Thank you so much

only1harry

$80? sounds like a great deal!! Is that from the CAT back? or axle-back? What about a free flow muffler? You got the 2.25 & 2.5" right..

only1harry

I recommend you keep calling the dealer's General Manager or the dealership owner. If I were you I 'd drive down there and talk to them and ask them why they 're not returning the calls. It is illegal for them not to fix your car or pay to have it fixed. By law most dealers have to warranty the car for 90 days. Just tell them you 'll take them to small claims court if they give trouble. Don't let them BS you. Make sure they understand that the trouble started on the first day when you picked up the car. They might want you to bring the car to them so they don't have to pay the other dealer. If the Master Cylinder is going, then it can be very dangerous to drive the car because the brakes can malfunction. Ask them to pay for a tow truck if they want to work on the car (I doubt they 'll do that).
It's funny you mentioned M/C. I had a Master Cylinder go bad on me too on my '99 GSR but I didn't know it. I just knew the brakes were working horribly and had to keep my distance from other cars. I was probably braking with only 2 wheels. Anyway, just keep bugging them and you can call the district attorney's office too in Jacksonville and speak to an Asst. DA and tell them what happened. They are violating state & county laws by refusing to fix your car. Does this car have over 50k mi? If not, then it's under warranty by Acura or until 2003. The Master Cylinder should be covered anyway. Not the brake pads or rotors. Good luck!

garados

Yeah, it's a cat-back. Also got a straight through muffler by hayame. 2.5 inlet, 2.5 through, 4 inch tip. On this other guy's car, it sounded pretty good, and it's deep, not like a bumblebee fart.

chem123

Simply threaten to take them to a small claims court and that should do the trick. Good luck.

cjhannan

Really sorry to hear about the problems with your GSR. Please tell us again what year it is and how many miles are on it. As Harry mentioned, I would be relentless and persistent about calling the dealership and trying to contact the GM or the owner. Those folks hate to be harassed by unhappy customers and usually ask someone to take care of your situation so they don't have to hear about it any more. But it could be a long process, unfortunately. Did the dealership you bought from have anything like a 30-day warranty from the date of purchase on your car? Even if you're over 50k miles, they would be obligated then to cover any needed repairs then. I feel for you, man...

zmp

Wow! Thank you so much for your help and advice. Finally, last night I got a call from the Sales manager in Jacksonville, he said he was going to take care of the brakes, but that I had to drive again to J. to get them fixed, he said that Orlando was charging too much. I called Acura in Orlando, and I am going to tell you these guys have been great to me, they gave me a discount to save me the trip to Jacksonville, and they are also going to make an inspection to my car to make sure that everything else is all right. I'll let you know how it goes, and thanks again.

only1harry

Didn't I say the Jacks. dealer would want you drive the car to them? They don't want to pay "retail" to have your car fixed. Anyway make sure they agree to pay the discounted price Orlando is charging. Looks like everything is working out now. There are good dealers out there and there will always be crappy ones. I have the same thing up here. 15-20mi. away is Fedder's Acura. They stink, they treat you like you own a Chevy Cavalier and they have a totally different tone of voice and attidute towards you than does Curry Acura where I bought the car which unfortunately is 50mi. away. These people at Curry would do anything so you 're happy. They don't want to see you leave mad or disappointed. They even wash your car after every visit That's the difference between an Acura Precision Team dealer and a non-Precision dealer. BTW, if you look at acura.com, Florida has the most precision team dealerships than any other state! NY only has 1 compared to like 8-10 in FL!

cjhannan

Harry, on your Neuspeed rear lower tie bar, how does this mount to the car? Do you have to remove the two main sway bar brackets to install, or can you leave them alone? The reason I'm asking is because I'm thinking about getting a rear tie bar, but because of the way I mounted my sway bar, it would be a PITA to remove the brackets, so I'm wondering if I should even bother. Thanks.

only1harry

didn't have to touch the sway bar or anything, but then again I have a Neuspeed sway so it may be mounted differently.
The Neuspeed tie bar is lower than the sway bar and goes on the subframe where the LCAs mount. You install it between the 2 LCA mounting points of the subframe. It was pretty easy to install but you might need a 2nd person to push the LCA arms back towards the subframe to line them up while you 're putting the bolts through. The Neuspeed tie bar comes with longer bolts (screws) and larger heavy duty washers.

chem123

http://mouton.best.vwh.net/sccasolo/Lists/2002/stprepm.html#Honda

cjhannan

Thanks Harry. If you take a look at the Comptech lower rear tie bar on their website, it looks like their system is much more involved where the tie bar itself is overlayed on top of that part of the subframe so that the sway bar brackets get attached to part of the tie bar. Looks pretty good and solid, but it's not an option for me. Glad to hear other brands don't do it the same way. Does Neuspeed sell the lower tie bar in black? I really don't want a shiney a$$ bar hanging underneath my car!!!

integraguy16

worth it? I'm trying to justify $75 to my dad. My parents are letting me modify my car little by little (and I do mean little), as in, a small part every month, and a big part every 2 or three. I've already had my big part (exhaust), but my mom wants me to get my clear corner lights next. She wants to "see where her money's going."
My next "big" part is a CAI, probably next month, and after that my new hood or taillights. Oh, and would a CF hood with a vent/scoop + a short ram intake = a flat hood + a CAI? Thanks

garados

The shortshifter is, imo, not that great of an upgrade because the stock shifter is short enough. All you need to do is get a different knob, and you'll get the same effect because the stock knob is freakin long. As for the shortram adn the scoop, my friend just cut out part of his hood right above the intake filter and it worked great. you just need to make sure that there will be airflow over the filter. Have fun!

cjhannan

Check out the link below and let me know what y'all think. I happen to think the guy is full of it...

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=137629

only1harry

I got the black lower tie bar. $69.95 from shox.com. Silver is more.. That was the lowest price I could find. The black has "Neuspeed" written on it though with yellow letters. Anyone driving behind you can see it or read it if they 're close enough

only1harry

That's great! I was right then FSP is a good class for your Civic to be in. You 'll be going up against 8V Golfs mainly (new & old) and Escorts. Now the VWs have a huge aftermarket and the Escorts have plenty to choose from too. We have 1-2 FSP Escorts here that do well in that class. One of them is a station wagon! It's lowered at least 1.5" with springs, has adj. shocks, sway bar & R tires. They 're hard to beat if you 're on street tires. Once in a while we get an FSP Saturn (base model) and I was surprised when it took 1st place. Those early '90 Saturns are pretty light and with spring/shock/sway bar combo with R tires was very agile. I 'm surprised we don't see more of them.
Here we get mostly Golfs & Escorts in FSP, not too many Civics either. I think most Civic DX/LX owners just go overboard with mods and end up in SM or in a Prepared class. Sometimes an aero-kit or cross drilled rotors alone will bump you up to SM. You don't even have to have any real mods. One guy last year only had aftermarket calipers in his Audi A4 and raced in SM most of the season. What a shame. He was really stock and usually last in the class because he didn't stand a chance. Towards the end of the season I convinced him to get a chip and he finally did it. He dropped his times by about .75sec. Those chips really do give them a lot more torque & HP.. He was noticeably faster.

only1harry

Yeah that guy is full of it. I gave him a little piece of my mind. Although he does have a point about true coilover kits vs. coilover sleeves, I have no doubt that if they did get broken GC or Skunk2 kits it was because of many years of road racing and lack of inspection. Under street, auto-x, and occasional road racing you 'd never get those to crack unless they were really old. You 'd have to be really stupid to regularly road race with coilover sleeves and not inspect them or take them apart every once in a while. I would do that with true coilover kits where the threads are on the shock, let alone sleeves. Frequent road racing requires a lot more maintenance & part replacement.