Acura Integra GSR Customizing and Modifying

integraguy16

I got the GSR. It's a '94 Coupe. 134K miles. Might need to have the hood replaced, but it was only $5991, so I'm not complaining. My parents suggested that I do the customizing stuff before the performance stuff. Reason one; it's cheaper. Reason two; well, there is no reason two really. Oh well. I'm getting new taillights first, and will probably get clear corners. Since the hood might need to be replaced, what do ya'll think about carbon fiber. I'm thinking about doing a red/carbon fiber theme. Like carbon fiber badges and things of that sort. And one last thing: what do ya'll think of BFG Scorcher TAs? Thanks.

garados

If you're not going to be going over 100-120 mph, these tires will be fine. They're H rated right? Anyway, I like them. The red/carbon fiber theme sounds good. Good luck with the car.

cjhannan

Congrats on the new car. Sounds like you're pretty jazzed about it. Hope it proves to be a fun and reliable car for you. I don't know squat about carbon fiber hoods, emblems, or Scorcher T/As. So maybe someone else around here can help you. Have fun and good luck. And please don't be another statistic -- drive safely!

garados

For anybody that knows, will a Prelude, H22, engine fit in a 1995 integra gsr sedan engine bay without much hassle? Thanks.

only1harry

engines can fit in g5 & g6 Civics so I would imagine they 'd fit in a GSR because GSR motors fit in Civics as well. Not entirely sure now. You most likely will have to sacrifice A/C, because I know it won't fit in a Civic engine bay with the H22 motor. How about a Type-R motor? Probably too pricey. It 'll drop right in though..

only1harry

Good luck with your "new" GSR. I forgto you were looking into buying a GSR because a friend of mine just sold his '94 GSR on EBAY this Mon. or Tue. for $4100. It had 150k mi. on it though. The stereo & speakers in it alone are over $1K..
Anyway, if you live in the south or where you don't get snow, you should get some good ZR rubber. If you get a normal winter with snow and stuff then All Season tires are a must. I keep 2 sets of wheels and tires. One for summer and one for winter. If you can afford it, buy some average winter tires for now (Dunlop/Bridgestone), and then in the Spring get some good ZR tires like the new inexpensive Falken Azenis ($68 for 205-50-15"), Kumho Ecsta (also cheap), etc. These tires make a huge difference in handling. Make sure for your spring/summer tires you get wider 205-50 tires not the stock 195-55 size.

garados

The type-r engine is a b18c5 right? What makes it different from the gsr engine beside a higher redline?

Brakes are one of the things I want to upgrade. I've seen slotted rotors and cross drilled rotors blah blah blah. Which kind will stop my car the fastest? Of those kind(s), who make a direct replacement for a 95 gsr sedan? Of those, which have the ability of using the stock calipers? Okay last question for the post, which rotors should I upgrade first, front, back, or both. I lied, this is the last question. The AEM Big Brake Kit, does it work well?

Thanks.

bemathew

I have 99 GSR sedan. I posted here some time back.
My car was stolen couple of months back and the whole interior was gone(leather seats, door panels etc). After buying it back from insurance company since they decided to total the car I bought the seats, panels etc from ebay and the car is back on road. You guys will not beleive the price of the new seats if you are buying new from the dealership. It is around $11000....yes Eleven thousand for the front and back seats together. That is why my insurance decided to total the car.

Now its time to change the tires. I will most probably go with RE730's. Any other suggestions?
Since I live in Phoenix, snow/wet tracton is not very important.Thinking about ITR sway bar/BSQ kit also.

Later guys

cjhannan

Yes, the Type R motor is the B18C5, and it's got a number of subtle and not so subtle difference. I'm very familiar with the bottom end of the engine, but it's got different pistons for sure. The head work is what really what distinguishes the ITR engine from the GSR. The head itself is hand polished, it has different cams, and the intake manifold and throttle body are different too. All that and other things result in a higher compression motor with about 20-25 additional hp and 10-15 ft/lbs more torque. They really are amazing cars. If I ever have to replace the engine on my GSR I might do and ITR swap!

As for rotors, save your $$ and buy just your basic solid slotted rotor OEM replacement kind, like Brembo rotors. Slotted and/or drilled rotors do not give you any better braking performance on a GSR, they cost a good bit more, and they're more prone to warping than the solid rotors. Colletti Motorsports has the best prices; you can find them by doing a search on the Net. Don't know much about the big brake kit from AEM. Maybe someone else does... But if it were me, I wouldn't bother. That's an expensive upgrade and then your stuck having to buy their pads for the rest of the time...

cjhannan

Welcome back. Yeah, I remember your pridicament. Glad to hear you're getting your car put back together OK. $11k for front and rear seats? That's insane! As for RE730s, you can't go wrong. That's what I've got on my car right now and they are a VERY nice tire. I recently let a friend co-drive my car at an autocross event in early Dec. -- he drives a '95 GSR hb was the DSP champ in the Atlanta region last year, and he runs on Kumho R-rated (DOT approved) tires. He commented that he was really impressed with the "stick" my tire had, saying that they were about 7/10ths the grip of what his Kumho's are. I'll be interested to hear from Harry if he would agree about that... Also, the ITR swaybar w/ the reinforcement kit is another great suspension mod -- one of the best out there for a GSR. That's what I've got on my car and I highly recommend it. Good luck.

only1harry

1. Brakes - go with solid Brembo OEM diameter rotors (also called Brembo blanks). No need for slotted or cross-drilled unless you were doing track events where a LOT of heat builds up. Slotted/Crossdrilled don't last as long like Casey said. Brembo solids/blanks are hard to warp, even after road racing/lapping. I would do all 4 since the rotors are inexpensive or if the rear rotors are more than 3-4yrs old. Forget about big brake kit. Will add weight to each corner and they 're way over $1,000 for a set. You 'll be stuck with proprietary pads. If you get a turbo or S/C kit, then do it. My friend said it noticeably reduced his GSR's acceleration. He had Type-R rotors & calipers (before the car got stolen). Much heavier than GSR's. Same as getting heavier wheels, big NO NO.
2. Pads - get Porterfield, Hawk or AXXIS (MM) pads. I listed them in order of $$ with Porterfields being the most expensive. I found that the AXXIS Metal Master pads are really good for the money (about 1/2 the price of the others) and was pleasantly surprised. These all dust. These all come in 3 types: street, street-racing+auto-x, and all out racing. Don't get the 3nd kind. If you want good stopping power, you have to deal with brake dust on your wheels. AEM pads dust a little bit less but I 've heard the "bite" is not all there and are not very noticeably better than OEM pads. With the other 3, the improvement is unquestionable and VERY noticeable.
3. RE730 tires - excellent choice
4. 22mm rear sway bar, any kind - excellent choice.
5. ITR motor vs. GSR - There are many more differences than what Casey listed. I 'll try and list the URL of a web site that lists most differences. I should 've bookmarked it. It was very informative and left me very surprised. Without going into details, most of the ITR parts in the motor are LIGHTER, hand picked and of stronger material than GSR's. The whole ITR motor is hand built. ITRs also have an oil cooler. The header is also better, exhaust is bigger (USDM exhaust is 2" where GSR is 1.8"), etc. etc.
6. Bemathew - Welcome back! Glad to hear you got the car on the road. So how much did you end up spending on the seats?
7. Kumho V700 R tire vs. Bridgestone RE730
Yes, I 'd say the RE730 has at least 70% the grip of the Kumho. Probably a lot more like 80-90%. I 'm saying this because my times didn't improve by 20 or even 10% after the switch. When I went from RE730 to the Kumho R tires, my times dropped by about 1sec. on a 35sec. course and at least 1.5sec on a 45-50sec course. So that's not even a 4% improvement. So it's hard to really judge, percentage wise.. The Kumhos could indeed be 30% better and it's my suspension that's not up to speed to take advantage of that 30%. Not sure, it's hard to tell.

chem123

this thread is getting more active with the new guys!

Tegguy, I would seriously save my cash and really think about the mods that you have planned. I have found that anything I bought impulsively turned out to be either overpriced or something I wished I never spent my money on. Good luck with whatever you choose.

As for me, I haven't had time yet for putting in the rear sway but finally got all the parts (including some high-temp grease and loctite). Will put it in soon but am debating about my braking and suspension situations.

For braking, I am considering to either go with GS-R discs all around or Si discs in the back and Fastbrakes (Wilwood) brakes in the front. From what I understand, having rear discs lessens the fade and makes it easier to modulate at the limit of adhesion between stopping fast and simply skidding out of control. Would like to know what you think about what I should do.

For suspension, I am wondering if I should just wear out the Tokicos struts and springs and then go with Konis and GCs (revalved) or to go ahead and pick up some GCs and then wear out the struts I already have. I will probably just wear out what I have now and then get the good stuff.

Oh yeah, here is one pic of my hatch and a link to more under it:

chem123

http://community.webshots.com/album/28436683GKcJNtxVkL

sorry the pics are kinda bad but they are scanned paper photos

integraguy16

The first "mods" I'll be doing aren't involving performance (cheaper), which are Altezza taillights (because I like them, not because everyone has them), and clear corners (the same). I was also considering an underbody-neon kit. No, I'm not trying to make this a F&F car... I know better. I'm just tailoring it to my taste, and trying to make it stand out. There aren't many "imports" out here.

cjhannan

nice pics -- the car looks great with those wheels. Kosei K1s, right? I must have missed it when you mentioned you put the Sparco seats in -- very nice indeed!

only1harry

That looks like my car!! Nice!
I see you have a front underspoiler too, right? What kind is that? How much were the Sparco seats? Car looks nice and clean.
Why wear out the Tokikos? Are they the blue or Illuminas? Illuminas are decent. If you have the Tokiko Blue, I 'd say sell them/get rid of them and get some Konis or Illuminas. Why the sudden change in suspension? You just got the springs/shocks a couple of months ago, right? Put the sway bar on and then see.. the car will handle much better.

deryckfm

Guys, a year ago I picked up a 2000 GSR and since it was brand new, am having the dealer do the oil changes for now (believe me, once warranty expires, I'm taking over). Right from the start (supposedly still had the factory oil in it) I noticed that the oil level on the dipstick was about 1/4 of an inch over the topmost hole (high level mark). Have asked the dealer mechanics and have been telling me that it's fine - though I had them take some out once since it bothered me and still does. Just had another oil change done and sure enough, the level is over the high mark again - though still similar to the "factory level". Is this the norm for GSR's or are the dealer mechanics being lazy? Also, upon hitting the 1,500 mark, I wanted to do an oil change and they told me that the "factory oil" had some special stuff in it and that changing the oil before 3,000 miles (or 3 mos.) was not adviseable. Talked them into doing it anyway, since the 3 mos. part was close by. Thanks for the input.

Was thinking about swapping my driver's seat for some heated Recaro's ('bout $1200) but after hearing how they cost 11 grand, am thinking twice now.....

only1harry

It could be your dipstick has the "full line" too low. Our cars take 4.2-4.3 Qts of oil as the manual says. Since you 've been getting all your oil changes at the dealer, it's possible the guy that does all the oil changes (usually 1 person or junior tech does them all) put in 4.5qts in all the Tegs. Some like to put a little extra because some tegs tend to burn a little oil when they 're run at high RPMs (5K+) for long periods of time .

deryckfm

Thanks for the response - am a bit feeling "safer" now knowing that nothing will get ruined because of "too much" oil. Aside from being better for the Teg when running it at high rpm's, is it also better to have a bit more in there when it's below freezing out (am in chicago), though mine is in an insulated garage and hardly comes out at this time of the year (have a Toyota 4x4 pick-up for nasty weather), only when there is no salt on the roads or predictions of snow. Do give it like 2 minutes to warm up regardless of the weather.

Had a '93 RX7 before this Teg and it's made me forget about my RX7 already.

only1harry

Don't you miss the RX7? I don't think a Teg would make me forget about a true sports car like a '93 RX7 (isn't that the latest gen with 250hp?). Why did you get rid of the RX7?
I too don't drive the GSR much in the winter time. Can't risk sucking in snow or water with the Cold Air Intake. Plus I have summer ZR tires on and they 're not all season. They 're great in the rain but it has to be 40+ deg. out.

deryckfm

Track-wise, I do miss the RX, however, for a daily driver, I don't. It attracted too much attention parked or moving. The parked part to me is what makes me more uneasy since I am not around to "protect" it. It's not even safe in a church parking lot since I caught some kids spitting at it while I was right behind them. They then started to run, but what amazed me was when I told them to come back and wipe it off, they did!

Yep, that was the 3rd gen RX with 255hp (with the help of Twin Turbos of course). Had the R1 version on top of that. Aside from too much "babysitting" mentioned earlier, I also didn't think that rotaries would stay with me forever, much more with track time mixed in with the daily commute. Also, I have switched to spending my free time from a auto-x track to a superbike track (got a gixer 750 for that).

Don't they have a "safety bypass valve" for CAI's to prevent H20 from coming in now? Yep, know how you feel 'bout GSR's (and my GSXR bike) having to hibernate now. If things go as planned, may try to grab a vacation home by Key Largo/Miami area and have the Teg stay there too. Roads are not that exciting down there though.

chem123

for the compliments regarding my car. It is a long-term project that I work hard on and hopely it will all pay off on the track. As for the questions:

1) OE Honda front spoiler (right from the dealership) less than $100
2) The seats are Sparco Speeds and cost $500 shipped with sliders plus $120 for seat base mounts shipped (which the vendor ended up paying b/c I argued with him about not telling me that they were necessary in order to put the seats in). They are a nice, snug fit on my 6'2" 175 lb frame.
3) Yep, those are 16x7.5 Kosei K1s.
4) Yep, I have the Tokico Illumina Suspension Kit which comes with the 5 way adjustable Illuminas and Tokico springs with Prokit spring rates.

Next on the list is to go with probably an Si front sway and rear camber fix (washer method) after the ITR rear sway is in. After that, it will be 11" discs all around compliments of Fastbrakes (this will include a GS-R rear disc conversion first). Then, I will need to find a front camber kit to put in. This summer, an full engine swap is in the works (if I find a good job soon). Did I mention some weight reduction (i.e. sound deadening tar and rear seats out? Let me know what you guys think and I will keep you posted.

only1harry

11" rotors? Engine swap? Darn! Yeah you better get a bigger engine because those heavy brakes will slow your little 106hp car down a lot
What kind of motor are planning to put in it? I like the idea of the '99-00 Si front sway. A lot of people do that with g6 Civics. What 's the diameter on that? 20 or 22mm?
Your car is pretty light to begin with. My '97 DX HB was exactly 2300lbs with A/C (2258 without, or so did my registration say..). It's nice to reduce the weight, but if you get a DOHC B16 or B18 motor reducing the weight should not be a major concern. If you stay with SOHC motor you have now, then yes by all means take some weight off. The best thing you can do when auto-xing is to get there with a 1/4 tank. That saves you 40-50lbs of weight. If you go roadracing, you pretty much need a full tank because you 'll go through it quickly.
It seems like you 're preparing the car to be an all out track car with the seats out and stuff. Might as well install a roll cage. The only other thing you might want to consider is to get some coilovers but I wouldn't get rid of the Illuminas right away, unless you can find someone to buy the whole kit, with the springs. Illuminas are not bad though. You 'll find that your car will handle much better with the Tokiko kit you have now, once you put the ITR 22mm rear sway on.

garados

I asked earlier about a b18c1 to h22a engine swap and wondering if the HASport conversion would be the way to go. I ask because a ITR engine is too expensive and the ones I can find now are really expensive or not as expensive because they don't have heads, pistons, connecting rods, etc. Also, will an H22a mate with the 95 gsr tranny or do i have to do some wierd prelude tranny conversion?

What's the engine code of the RSX and will that engine fit in a 95 integra gsr?

cjhannan

oops, I guess we never did answer your question. At least I know why I didn't answer it -- it's because I have no earthly idea if an H22a motor will fit in a GSR (DC2 chassis). Don't know the answer to your RSX question either. If Harry doesn't know, I'd head over to honda-tech.com 'cause I'm guessing folks over there would have an answer.

Well, now that I look back at some earlier posts, Harry said "maybe" but you might have to lose the A/C. You and Chem seem to have the "motor swap" urge! I can understand Chem's desire to get something with a few more ponies, but I can't understand yours. The GSR motor is a great one -- good power from 1.8 liters, reliable, and it'll rev forever. And more than enough power to get in trouble with. Yet, I understand everyone wants his car to be "just so" - so to each his own. Going to an H22 seems like a big headache to me. If I ever have to replace to engine on my car, I MIGHT swap to a B18C5. But since I've only got 57k miles on my car (it's a '97) I don't see that happening for a very, very long time

garados

This motor swap isn't going to be a right away thing. My motor is great and has 91k miles on it and I wanted to do the swap at 200k or when I do something stupid and it breaks. Thanks for the website I'll go check it out.

only1harry

That's probably the last time we 'll see him
h-t.com has so much info that you need to spend a few good months to absorb a lot of it, plus you get hooked to the idea of doing all those mods everyone is talking about.
In case you 're still here garados the best thing for a GSR is to mod it. An H22 motor is pretty heavy and comes with tons of headackes as far as custom fitment, motor mounts, etc. If you do some headwork in the GSR, ie: cams (ITR, Toda), cam gears (Skunk2, Jun), valve springs/retainers, port & polish the head, Cold Air Intake, Header & exhaust, your GSR will be faster than having an H22 motor. Properly tuned with a VAFC it 'll be putting down around 175hp at the wheels. That's over 10whp more than a stock Type-R. Another inexpensive way to get 40-50whp is to go with a 6-8psi supercharger for about $2400.

chem123

Actually, my car will be daily driven for probably the next 8-10 years. As far as weight reduction, I won't be doing anything crazy that affects safety or structural rigidity. Mainly, it will be taking out the A/C, rear seats, and tar and getting a CF hood. Taking out the rear seats isn't really a big deal because it is so hard to get into the back seat anyway even with the seats slid all the way forward (non-reclinable). I need to look more into the Si front sway and what I need to get to put it in. As far as the swap idea, I think it will all depend on where I go to college, if I take a car, etc. Basically, I think it defeats the purpose to swap in a sweet engine and then rack up major highway mileage on it. The brakes, on the other hand, will always be useful so I will probably finish of the suspension and then do the brakes and then save up for the swap.

garados

So I take it that you think I should rebuild my engine instead of replacing it? Is there an online store that I could get the cams and cam gears, valves and retainers from? Should I get a profession port and polish job, or can I do it with the good old dremmel tool?
Also, I would never leave you guys. All of you have given me such inspiration and happiness. You all were the first to help me with my questions. honda-tech.com scares me. So much stuff.

garados

When it's time to replace my transmission, should I go with a Civic SI tranny or, if i'm particularly rich at the time, an ITR tranny with LSD. Also, which one is tougher? i.e. won't fall apart if I miss shift alot, or try to shift without using the clutch.

cjhannan

Looks like, then, you're just simply planning for the future re: potential engine swap. Can't say that I blame you -- once this Honda-Acura stuff gets under your skin, it can really be all consuming -- only limited by imagination and budget :-D If I understood Harry correctly, he is suggesting hanging on to the GSR motor and doing a rebuild given that there is a ton of aftermarket support for the B18C engines. You can build that baby up almost any way you like -- from mild to radical. Personally, I wouldn't try a P&P job by myself -- I'm thinking there are too many ways to mess that up. There are a couple of shops in the U.S. that are known for being "the" place to P&P honda heads -- one's in Calif. and the other is towards the east coast I believe. Don't know much about the Si tranny, but the ITR tranny and LSD are very strong -- can't go wrong there. I'd love to do that swap too, but those kinds of mods would bump me from where I compete in SCCA Solo II events and put me into a class where I would have no chance of being competitive =:-o) So for now, I'm letting the SCCA rulebook for the STS class dictate what I do and don't do to my car. And that works out rather well 'cause it helps keep me on a budget

only1harry

I was actually talking more about head mods but you could say they 're engine mods. As much as it scares you, you really need to go up on Honda-tech.com and talk to the people that have done these mods. They 'll help you find the right vendors and give you a pretty good idea of what parts you need to get and what to do. Casey is right. If you can do without the car for a couple of weeks, there 's a very reputable shop in CA (can't remember the name now) where most people send the head to get it P&Ped. If you live near a major metropolitan area you should be looking for a good Honda/Acura race shop, unless you plan on doing most of this yourself. A Honda/Acura specialist race shop has a lot of experience with all kinds of mods and can also recommend or advise you on what parts to get according to how much HP you want to achieve and how much $$ you 're looking to spend. Of course you should do your homework first and don't go by what the race shop says alone. Some race shops are great when it comes to turbos & S/Cs. Some are great when it comes to building up the motor, etc. Most don't know squat about suspensions, etc. It's very hard to find a shop that knows everything well but most are good at doing certain jobs well. I live 1hr from NYC and work in Jersey. There are several Honda/Acrua race shops in the city as well as NJ with a decent reputation alhtough they 've all been known to screw up now & then.
The shop I stopped going to because they broke my Master Cylinder, is really good at modding Honda engines and installing Turbos. While I was there (shouldn't 've been there for a brake job, that was my fault) getting my aftermarket rotors/pads & SS lines installed, they were working on this guy's GSR (I think it's God or Evil on h-t.com) motor that now puts down 180 to 190hp at the wheels (that's about 220-230hp at the flywheel)and runs low 13's in the 1/4! That's pretty amazing for not having forced induction but there are many nauturally aspirated GSRs out there pulling 13's and even high 12's!
I remember they were installing forged pistons I think in it when I was there, plus a box full of new parts that the guy had bought himself and brought in to have the shop install them. They were also cleaning the valves and polishing the head unitl it was shinning like a knight's armor from the round table! I was drewling all over it btw Heavy duty head gasket, valve cover gasket, cams, cam gears, ignition stuff.. fuel pump, throttle body, VAFC, etc. They laid everything out on the floor. It was like 30 parts worth $3-4K.
So put your fears away and go register at H-T.com. Do your homework, take your time and save up money in the meantime
As far as tranny goes.. your clutch will probably go first. It's hard to kill a GSR or ITR tranny. Get an ITR, ACT or other heavy duty clutch with ITR or other aftermarket light flywheel, and you 'll notice a difference when it's time for a new one. The tranny should not brake or be replaced for a VERY long time, unless you 're really hard on it and mis-shift all the time or "force" the gears in a lot. Drag racing at the light a lot will result in premature tranny/clutch failure but a GSR tranny can take a lot of abuse. ITR tranny even more.

only1harry

I 'm looking at buying one against my wife's advice and against a little voice in my head telling me not to do it.
It will probably never happen because I 'm not having good luck selling the GSR. I 've had it up for sale on H-T.com & H-A.net for 6 days now and I have only gotten 2 inquiries which were not that serious. I 'm asking $15.9K. '99 with 27k mi. Kelley blue book private sale is $16.6k and dealer trade-in is $14.7K (retail is like $18K!) A neighbor offered me $15K for it and I said no. I then called him back yesterday because this Type-R is slipping from my hands and he said they had put a deposit down on a new '02 Civic EX for the same price. This is for his son. The kid saw my '01 Civic in my driveway and told his dad he liked that car too if the GSR deal fell through so the dad decided to buy him a new slower car thinking his son would be safer in the Civic or would drive slower. The truth is, the GSR is probably about 3 times safer as far as braking in general, emergency braking/control, handling, lane changes, etc. BUT the GSR is not a winter car they way it is now so they probably made the right choice.
The ITR belongs to a friend of mine that I auto-x with. I have never been able to beat this ITR's times and its owner is one of the best auto-x drivers in the state. He was rated the #2 driver in NY SCCA in '00.
It has 14k mi. and he was willing to give it to me for $19.5K (he was asking $21K). He just picked up a new M3 and needs to get rid of this ITR quickly. I don't think I have time to sell my GSR especially with this economy. It 'll take a while. It's discouraging seeing people buying new Civics for $15.9K instead of a beautiful 185hp GSR in excellent condition with $1600 of mods.
Anyway, I can't wait to see him auto-x the new M3. I think it's in SuperStock because of its new 330hp motor. We 've had a couple of guys with new M3s this year, but they were novices or not good drivers and were like in the bottom 20-30%. I want to see the M3 in the hands of an experienced driver. I was never serious about buying an ITR but when I realized he was willing to sell it to me at a lot less than he advertised it, I became serious about it. 19.5 sounds a whole lot better than $21K and I think that 's a really fair price. Then the way I looked at it, is that I only have to pay an extra $4-5K for it if I can get at least $15K for my GSR. That's not bad considering it's a newer car than mine with less mileage and it's a Type-R no less. It's probably all for the best that I don't buy this car. My car will be paid off in another year and there 's much fun into modding it.

cjhannan

Harry, I hope you can make that happen. I would love to own an R but it would be too impractical given my family situation. Wished they imported the 4-door ITR to the U.S.-- I'd be all over that like white on rice!

$19.5k is a decent price for an ITR, especially if it's been well care for. What you're asking for your GSR is reasonable, too. Yep, your buddy with the new M3 will be in SS this year, especially if it's got that damn big motor. Most other M3s are in AS, which is one of the classes I like to watch the most. ITRs got moved from GS to DS this year, and I can't really think of the other cars which do well in DS at the moment. So, I don't know what kind of competition there is there. In SP class, the ITR will still be in CSP, so it'll have to compete with a bunch of mad-fast cars there (Datsun 2000 roadsters and the like). Most modded ITRs I know in Atlanta compete in SM, and that's one hellacious collection of semi-modified cars. A modded M3 won nationals last year in SM! Well anyways, if you get it, I know you'll have a rip-roaring good time driving it at Solo II events this year. Good luck.

garados

Would you be all over that like white on rice, or like white on rice in a paper cup on a paper plate in the middle of a snow storm? -Major Payne

chem123

If you do get an H22, give me your engine. On a more serious note, do not swap out your engine! You have one of the most-supported, fun-to-drive, bulletproof engine around! Save your money, take it somewhere to get a nice port and polish, cams, pistons, valvetrain (mmm...higher redline), decent boltons, Quaife LSD, JDM or ATS final drive, decent grabbing clutch, lightweight flywheel, VAFC, cam gears, and a little dyno tuning and you will have a seriously sweet engine. Personally, I would start out with stuff that is useful now and will be good later and will not have to be replaced (i.e. clutch/flywheel/final drive/LSD when clutch wears out to save on install, bolt-ons, etc.) In fact, the clutch/fy/fd/lsd is very feasible and would increase the driveability of your car and only get better when you mod down the road. Good luck and read up on H-T for some really good advice.

I'm putting in the rear sway and rear camber kit tomorrow and I think I will probably try to fix the play in my clutch and gas pedals (is this fixable?) and take off the power steering belt to see how it feels. Looking forward to the first time I forget to keep the gas on in a fast corner and slide the rear out...it's gonna be crazy

garados

Yeah, hearing all of the horror stories about the h22 transplant, I don't want to do it anymore. So, sorry chem, you can't have my engine.
As for the rear sway bar, have fun and get a friend or two to help. If the sway bar doesn't fit just right, it's not fun to put on.
The power steering belt thing is not a good idea, well atleast in my opinion. My friend took his off just to see and he noticed about half a horsepower that was freed up. That's just my experience with the power steering.
When the back end breaks loose, don't forget to steer into the drift and keep on the gas. I speak from experience. To make a short story long, I was going on a makeshift freeway entrance at about 40 mph and the recommended speed is 15mph. Anyway, everything was going well until I spazzed out and let off the gas suddenly and the back slipped out. It was bad. Fortunately, my mad gran turismo 3 drifting skillz came into play and I saved the car from plummetting over the edge. It was kinda fun, but my parents and sister were kinda freaked out. I was proud, i did my first drift. |:P

only1harry

CJ: The ITR's main competition will be the Neon ACR in DS this year. What gets me is, that modified ACRs are in my class DSP, and not in CSP like the ITR. That might change too for the Neons though (I hope!). There are 2 ACRs in 2 of the clubs I auto-x at in DS, that I always beat their times by .5-1sec. Then there 's 1 other ACR in DS driven by an ex-divisional champ and an Evolution School Instructor-to-be (he was like a trainee for that last year) that usually matches my times or beats me by 1/2sec sometimes. This guys 's been auto-xing for 8-9yrs though. So I don't think the ITRs have anything to worry about. I don't know if you knew, but ACRs came with Koni shocks from the factory (plus bigger rear sway bar, etc.)! They were built for auto-x. They all 3 wheel in stock form and do really well. They have good torque but can't match the over ITR's power although they come very close to its agility. The Neon ACR has a lot of potential though and when they 're modified they kick butt in DSP (I got mine kicked once but it happened to be the #1 rated SoloII driver in the country, so I have an excuse, hehe - not that the #10 rated driver can't kick my butt either..)
Oh btw, I 'm attending an Awards Dinner tomorrow that's sponsored by the NY SCCA & my club which is an SCCA chapter. I don't know how I scored but supposedly someone told me that usually only 1st place people of each class are invited but sometimes 2nd place too, so we 'll see..

only1harry

Easier said than done
Those parts you mentioned are probably $6-7K or more with labor & tuning. A Quaife LSD is $740-800 plus minimum of $450 labor. I called around and most shops want $500+. A P&P job is not cheap either. You also forgot a good intake manifold (Skunk2 & Stage2 I believe are the most popular for our cars).
Like Casey said, thank god for SCCA auto-x rules, otherwise I 'd be putting a big hole in my bank account I 'm glad that the class I want to be in, limits me to LSD, bolt-ons & suspension (I believe ignition too, but an MSD box won't benefit me unless I had a lot more mods).

chem123

you're right Harry! Especially since most of those parts are hard to install/need tuning. However, I still think that clutch/fy/fd/lsd would be sweet (still expensive) but would provide immediate gains and would help even more down the line with more mods.

Got the rear sway in...WOW! Totally changed the handling characteristics of my car. Didn't exactly go in in <1 hr., though. Had to fabricate front mount plates, find some M10 1.25 nuts for the Si endlinks, cut and rethread some screws, etc. Easy, but annoying. The camber kit also helped the rear wheels sit more flush...need to get an alignment to fix my toe.

Also rode in this guys 99 GS-R which was by far the sweetest car I have ever ridden in. Really sweet, custom-vavlved Bilsteins, Ground Controls, ITR rear sway, bushings, Toyo T1S tires, etc. The guy has owned an S4 and Boxster S (put $4K into suspension) and still thinks the GS-R kicks all of their asses. He was talking me into going to this track event in a couple of weeks (he is a "red" level driver, almost "white" which is instructor level). The whole weekend costs $300 which includes garage, instructor for however long you want, etc. Unfortunately, this would be taking money out of my "rear disc conversion fund" and as I am not "Powered by Parents," I don't think I will be able to make it. He didn't seem to like autox as much because of the short track time equaling less learning. I don't know.

Quick question about going into a turn correctly: When you are braking hard going into the turn, when do you downshift? At the beginning of the braking, middle, or end? I am just worried about unsettling the car when in the turn if I downshift too late and throwing too much weight to the front or downshifting too early. Do I need to rev-match when performing the downshift? I'm doing good with the turn itself (one degree in, smooth turn-turn in, ride friction circle past apex while turning back out and easing on throttle) but need to work on my approach into a turn. Thanks for the help guys!

only1harry

What were the spring rates on that guy's GCs?
I downshift (if I have to) right before I turn the wheels, because I want to have both hands on the wheel throughout the turn.
Got a nice jacket today at the trophy ceremony(dinner) with my name and it says "'01 class champion DSP". Bruce Bellom, Ken Fry & Pat Salerno (all national or ex-national champs) were giving out the trophies.

chem123

Sorry, not sure what rates he is running but I think they were in the 500-600 ft/lb area. Congrats on the sweet jacket! I bet it was cool being at the trophy ceremony with all the other bad-[non-permissible content removed] drivers.

cjhannan

for being DSP Champ in your region. That's a terrific accomplishment. Sounds like you were in very, very good Solo II company with the awards presenters you mentioned. Also, thanks for clarifying what cars compete in DS. Now that I think about it, DS is a small class in the Atlanta region for some reason. And furthermore, I don't think I've ever seen a Neon (ACR or not) compete in any of the races here... really bizarre if you think about it 'cause the Neon has been so popular and successful over the years. It seems like cars with the big block engines and the imports are by far the most popular in our region. So, we see big #s entered in FS, SS, BSP for the V8 crowd, and then STS, CSP, ES and GS is where you find the imports, and a lot of Honda/Acura cars. DSP usually only has 3-5 cars per race. So, keep up the great driving. Are you gonna try a divisional event this year?

cjhannan

What Harry mentioned about breaking and downshifting is right. You want to get most if not all of your braking accomplished before you enter the turn and get back on the throttle, and what want both of your hands on the steering wheel when your start (and finish) the turn. If you do need to downshift, you'll need to slow the car down a good bit before you do because trying to downshift (whether you're trying to heel/toe, rev match, or what not) at too high a speed for the next/lower gear will make for a difficult downshift for one thing, and will increase the chances that you disrupt the balance of the car because it will cause the car to jerk (forwards then backwards) if done at too high a speed. Of course, all this is easier said than done, and takes A LOT of practice. Some days it seems like you've got it all figured out, and other days it seems impossible.

only1harry

Up here we get a fair amount of Neons! Usually 4-5 per event. Some in DS (I believe the Neon R/T is also in this class besides the ACR) and some base models in ES. GS is usually the biggest class with all kinds of cars (BMWs, Probe GT, Preludes, Integras, WRX, Audi A4, Eclipse/Talon, etc.) followed by STS, CS (many MR2s & older Miatas), CSP & SM with mostly Imports. We hardly get any V8s (and I frequent 5 clubs!).
So it must be a geographic/demographic thing..
We do use all the classes though. There's usually 1 Viper (SS), 1 Z06, 1-2 C5s, 2-3 Camaro Z28s (FS), 1-2 FS Firebird/Transams, and 1-2 Porsche 911 or Turbo but that's about it. We 're talking about 10 cars per event at the most. We do have a good amount of AS cars though with several M3's, RX7's & 1-2 Boxters. They 're a blast to watch. Those older 240hp M3s are just awesome. RX7s disappointed me a little this year, because once I got my R tires I was able to match them (we usually have at least 2-3 of them) or beat some of them. Of course they 're pretty stock but last year when I was on street tires and a little less experienced, I was like WOW they look great out there, I wish I can get those times. Still one of my favorite sports cars though.. But no, not too many V8s. Now when I go the NASA or M-Club events there 's a lot more Porsches & M3s, Vettes and generally many Bimmers, even an M5! This is because their courses are faster where power counts a lot, so they attract faster cars. Every time I go there I almost always hit the REV limiter in 2nd gear. So in this area here (NY/NJ/CT), imports dominate the auto-x scene by about 90-95%.

only1harry

So Chem, what are your impressions of the ITR 22mm sway? It feels like you 're driving a different car, doesn't it? What do you think of the handling? It should have definitely improved.
It'll take you a few days to get used to driving it again. You might have to bring down the dampness in your Illuminas if the tail comes around easily or if you 're not comfortable with the way it feels now. So you should experiment with the shocks. They may need to be adjusted to accomodate the rear sway.

slemke7

I know this might be better suited to the maintenance forum, but you guys seem to know what you are talking about. My coworker has a 1990 Integra GS that won't start. The #3 spark plug hole is filled with oil past the top of the spark plug. Does that mean some huge catastrophic thing has happened?

only1harry

it could be just the 0 rings need replacement. Has it been a long time since he did a valve adjustement? They usually replace the 0 rings (seals) with the valve cover gasket. Is the mileage high on this car?

chem123

The car drives completely differently! Right now, I have my Illuminas at 2 in the front and 5 in the back (higher=stiffer). At slower speed turns, the car just slightly oversteers but stays well planted unless I completely let off throttle . Body roll is way down. The steering response is much better and the rear feels really solid and well-planted. In higher speed turns, the car rotates a lot better and feels very sure-footed. Nothing twitchy or unpredictable. Definitely a worth-while mod. At the same time, I put in some washers under the upper control arm to correct some of the negative camber in the rear wheels and put the tire to 32 psi all around (normally 30F/29R). Not a huge difference but the tires were feeling a little soft. My friend will be doing an alignment for me tomorrow to correct the rear toe that is now out of wack b/c of the camber kit.

As far as the next suspension mods, I am debating getting those Z10 radius arms, suspension bushings, Si front sway or ST front sway, and the Skunk2 front camber kit. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on these to put me in the right direction. Thanks guys!

chem123

Here's a pic of the Boxster S being driven by the GS-R/track guy: