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Acura Integra GSR Customizing and Modifying

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Comments

  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    Alright, I found some 14" hx wheels that will clear the gsr caliper and they come with some pretty crazy tires (195/70/14), so I'm thinking of going with these wheels and a set of azenis (195/60/14) for track use. Would that be a good move? I'll still have my set of 16's for street use.

    So, the outcome of the track outing with my friend ended up with me being about 30 seconds behind after about 2 laps. It's incredible what a good driver can do. I have kumho 712's, gc's, illuminas, and swaybars in my generation 3 gsr while he only had illuminas, 14" azenis, and a rollcage in his generation 1 integra rs =O Good lord, he took turns so fast it wasn't even funny. Afterwards, he said that I was pretty good for my second time at the track, but I still felt pretty bad, but then I realized that he had been racing for 7-8 years in this car and he knew exactly what it could do, while I have had my car for about a year now and I still don't know the limits of it yet. Well, I have much to learn about track racing and driving in general.

    Oh, on a good note, the local scca club has rescheduled the track days and the next race is in mid may, so I'm pretty happy ^_^ I can't wait.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    you have to realize that Azenis are just much grippier tires than your Kumho 712s and the roll cage makes his chassis much stiffer with less flexing which is good for road racing and handling in general.
    Another thing is car setup. Do you have the standard GC coilover kit, or custom spring rates? How much is your car lowered? Is it corner weighed, ie: balanced? Did you dial up the Illuminas for the track? Did you experiment with different Illumina settings? STIFF is the name of the game in road racing, but of course experience and seat time is #1.
      
    1st gen. Integra is also very light and can corner faster & better than a comparably setup g3 Integra. He probably doesn't have a back seat due to the roll cage either I bet, or he 's done more weight reduction. Do you have a VTEC B18C motor or B18B 140hp? Makes a difference if you want to keep up with a seasoned road racer. Main thing in road racing is TIRES & wheels too.
    Those Civic HX 14" wheels you found are probably 5" or 5.5" wide at best. You should get 15x7" wheels or at least 15x6.5". That way you can use 205-50 tires. You need as much contact patch as possible. A 14x5 or 14x5.5" wheel won't help you much because you can't really put anything bigger than a 195 size tire on it, and even that 's a little too wide but it 'll fit. If you found 14x6" wheels then I 'd say go for it with 195-60 Azenis. I had the Borbet Type-T 14x6 and they worked great with 195-60 tires. The problem with narrow 5/5.5" wheels, is you 'll have much rubber sticking out of the wheels.. in other words, not much wheel on the outside to support the side wall under hard cornering.
    When I had my '97 Civic, I put 195-60 Dunlop D60-A2 tires on the stock 14x5" steel rims. A couple of months later I purchased Borbet Type-T 14x6" wheels and mounted the same tires on them. What a difference that extra 1" made!
    You should be able to find a used set of Kosei K1 15x7" somewhere. I used to see them for sale on H-T all the time. Have you looked at Ebay? Stay away from narrow wheels. Lately it seems 50% of the Honda/Acuras where I auto-x (7-8 clubs) are on K1s, including Miatas! I know for a fact that several Honda/Acura auto-xers purchased the wheels because I had them on my car. Anyway, maybe there in high demand now which could make them hard to find, or expensive to purchase used.. So how fast did you get up to at the track? :=)
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    check out this pic of me racing with the North New Jersey SCCA Region (NNJR). They posted 10 pics of me on their web site.. pay close attention to the rear wheel :-)

    image
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I have a 95 c1, and no, I didn't have much time to experiment with the shocks because I was having way too much fun out there ^_^ I have the car lowered about 1.75-2 inches in front and 1.5-1.75 in back.

    The ground controls are their standard rate and no, I haven't cornerweighted the car yet due to lack of money and not that much of a need yet. I'm still looking for that infamous set of wheels and tires that I'll use for racing and I don't know what size I'll go for. I may want to go with a tire that'll require me to raise the car, so I don't want to mess with cornerwieghts yet.

    Hehe, he was reaching speeds of 60 mph and I was close to 75-80 in the straights. In the corners, he could keep a conservative average of 40-50 mph and I was having my hands full at 35-45 mph.

    That is such a cool picture ^_^ Do you have the type-r rear sway bar? or would that kick you out of your class? Sheesh, that's incredible and you look so calm...

    I keep finding wheels all over the place. There is a set of 15x7's that have nitto 450's on them and they're pretty light. They look sort of like the 97 gsr wheels, but the rays tuck in at the lip instead of being flush. well, I'll keep looking for wheels.
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    Nice pic, Harry!
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Harry, smaller file size for your photos please. The size screws up the page view. Thank you.

    Shifty the Host
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    sorry, I was waiting for that. You 're right, I forgot it messes up reading the posts a bit, because the pic uses the whole screen..

    The program I normally use to resize pics doesn't load anymore. I 'm looking for a new one (shareware) now. Won't do it again :) Besides, I haven't posted a pic in probably over a year, so I just made up for last year :-)
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Look so calm? What should I be doing? Raising my hands up and holding my helmet screaming? heheh
    How can you tell I 'm calm :-) Actually in 3 or 4 of the other pics they posted, it definitely looks like I have a grin on my face :-) I honestly don't know what my facial expressions are like. I 'm too busy paying attention to the course and driving like a maniac. But it 's funny you mention that. My first year or first few events I was nervous, but after a while you learn to calm down and concentrate on the course and the line you 're taking.
    I still get a little nervous once in a while when someone is beating me or behind by a couple of tenths of secs. and I 'm trying hard to figure out how I can drop my times and where at the course I can go faster, but that just messes up your concentration and driving I think..
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    hehe, if I were you, I would have been screaming, but still had my hands on the wheel, you know? I can tell you're calm be the way your mouth is. It's almost straight across. If you were scowling, you would have been nervous for going into that turn too fast. If you were smirking, it's probably because you were having a good time. It's all body language, of sorts.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    I forgot to answer your question.
    No I don't have a Type-R rear sway. I have the Comptech sway bar/tie bar combo which is excellent and probably better than just an ITR sway. The tie bar not only serves as a cross bar between the 2 control arms, but also as the mounting hardware for the sway bar on the sub-frame. It is also very light and extremely strong. The sway bar also comes with polyurethane bushings unlike the ITR. This is not saying that the ITR bar on a GSR is not an excellent upgrade. It is very very close to the Comptech. The sway bars themselves are actually identical, but the Comptech mounting hardware, ie: big strong tie bar, bushings, & fasteners, make the rear a little more rigid. The tie bar is all 1 piece but the ends are much wider that serve as large mounting plates. The tie bar mounts on the subframe (first - then control arms on top), not only where the control arms mount, but at other key points on the submframe. The Sway bar is then fastened to the tie bar on different holes than the control arms. So the tie bar is one big mounting plate and reinforcement of the subframe.
    Very different configuration than my 19mm Neuspeed sway bar I used to have before I got the Comptech.
    The 19mm bar would mount to the middle of the subframe with 2 little mounting plates and that was it. The Neuspeed tie bar (which you had to purchase seperately) would just have 1 hole on each end, and went in where the control arms mount, totally seperate from the sway bar, and had nothing to do with it. That's how all tie bars were back then. You can see where the Comptech design is much better & stronger.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Anyone know what happened to Casey? I went to the SCCA Atlanta Region web site and he hasn't been in a single event (I only checked STS class). I know he was looking forward to auto-xing again this season. I hope he 's ok.. Garados have you come accross Casey at H-T? His nickname is Neo.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I just checked on casey, and he posted last on the 30th of april. He hasn't been very active, though. I don't know how he's doing, actually.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    You guys know anyone that has these 'race' shocks?
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • shinbone001shinbone001 Member Posts: 12
    I am thinking about trading in my 99 GSR with 51K for a 04 BMW 325Ci. I still love my GSR but it's interior noise and lack of good sound system is causing me to consider this option. Does anyone have any experience or know-how to decrease the interior noise level? Any suggestions? (i.e. changing to different tires, adding some sort of sound proof pads, etc?) i would welcome any input. Thanks
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    shinbone -- I added some Dynamat to my '98 GS-R in the doors and around the hatch/trunk area, and it helped quite a bit. (I would've liked to have put some behind the headliner, but wasn't feeling that adventurous.)

    http://www.dynamat.com

    Once you put in the Dynamat, the stock sound system starts sounding alot better, but I still added a 10" powered sub to fill-in the bottom.

    The quietest tires I ran on the car (over the course of 212K miles) were Dunlop SP Sport 5000, in size 205/50-15. They're an excellent A/S tire, with tremendous grip in the dry and wet, and they wear quite reasonably, too (I was able to get 50K per set). I liked 'em enough to buy 3 sets for the GS-R, and another for my Impreza.

    Hope this helps!
  • shinbone001shinbone001 Member Posts: 12
    thanks for the input and suggestion. i will look into it. i am very tempted to do this dynamat thing, althought it seems like it might cost me upto couple thousand dollars to do it right according to the website. oh well... i will have to make the decision.
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    My kits cost me ~$430. You don't really need all the extra stuff, just the adhesive-backed sheets.
  • screeliscreeli Member Posts: 12
    im looking for a good alternative to an eclipse i just sold and thought the integra sedan would be a nice pick...
    im looking for more space and most importantly,more reliability

    i have found a couple around town but wanted to ask a few questions first

    the gsr is a one owner at 65k miles...loaded and asking $6500(dealer)

    the ls has a second engine with 50k and is idling inconsistently(he says it needs cam gears), car with 120k also loaded with body kit and rims...asking $7000(private, im sure i can talk him down)

    ive heard about the sedan having 5th gear problems...is this common? any other common problems to be aware of?

    are these good prices?

    thanks
    screeli
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    Get the gsr sedan. Be one of the few, the proud, db8 owners ;) I would go with the gsr because it sounds like it's been treated better than the ls. The inconsistent idle could be caused by things that would cost much more than the price of new cam gears.

    There really are no problems with the sedan. There are problems (routine maintainence) that people incounter frequently. Those being the timing belt and/or water pump failing. They fail because most people don't know they even exist and they don't replace them when the time comes.

    If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
  • screeliscreeli Member Posts: 12
    i have yet to actually see/drive the gsr sedan, because its an hour away and service has had it for a week because of replacing an alternator

    the other car i am no longer considering...definitely a lemon

    i have realized how difficult it is to find these cars and in great condition at that

    i did test drive an immaculate 94 accord coupe ex, one owned and taken care of better than any car i have seen...70k miles, hasnt been driven regularly for 2 years, asking $5k

    not a great deal, but i talked to the man selling and he is a very trusting person...most reliable sale ive seen

    im off today to look at a 97 integra gsr coupe, 95k miles and something around $6500...probably asking more though

    do you think having the other two opportunities, a 96 gsr sedan with 65k and a 94 accord coupe ex with 70k miles, both one owned, should steer me away from the 97 gsr coupe with 95k miles...
    or does the mileage make that big of a difference at that range?

    i definitely know about the timing belt and water pump troubles and would have them immediately replaced on both integras if that hadnt already been done
    the accord has only been serviced once, 2 years ago and the timing belt and many other things were replaced/serviced...$1600 maintenance ticket!

    thanks again for the help and always looking for more opinions

    screeli
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    your preference. I would get one of the gsr's, but if they're in worse condition than the accord, I'd get the accord. But, let's say that you didn't find that accord, I would get the gsr that has been taken care of the most. Run the vin numbers and see if they've been in accidents, have had five motors in the last month, etc. etc. Again, it's your choice. Don't let anybody else sway you away from something that you want.

    I'm a little suspicious of that 97 with that many miles. If they're mostly highway miles, then it's probably nothing to worry about. If they're city miles, I would look somewhere else.

    Also, try to find out who had the car before you. If a kid drove it, it's probably falling apart and not worth buying, since you'll spend a lot of money getting it put back together. If an adult drove it, I would ask about their driving habits, and see if they did anything crazy with it.

    Last thing. Look at the numbers on the tranny and motor. Make sure the numbers correspond to the year the car was produced. I didn't do this, and later found out that my 95 gsr sedan had a 97 tranny in it. I don't know why it did, but that it did, and now I feel kinda stupid getting something that was probably abused. Now, it's letting out white smoke and I've on had the car for a year and a half.

    So, just do research on the car that you want to get and make sure it's in good shape and hasn't been abused too badly.

    Good luck ^_^
  • mepgmepg Member Posts: 7
    I need some suggestion on tire for 95 GSR. I'm looking for less noisy tire for my stock 95GSR (its for daily driving) Thanks for any input
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    Dunlop SP Sport 5000 All-season in size 205/50-15.

    Grips great, wears slow, and is quiet and comfy. I ran 3 sets on my '98 GS-R, and wish they offered it in a size that would work for my Prelude.

    Link to tire info from Tire Rack:
    http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireM- odel=SP+Sport+5000+Asymmetrical&vehicleSearch=true&partnu- m=055WR65000&fromCompare1=yes
  • integraguy16integraguy16 Member Posts: 28
    it's a 94 Milano Red hatch, with 162K highway miles. Motor runs very strong. This car stock did a 14.97 @ 93.82mph best 1/4 mile run. New items withing last 12 months include:
    Clutch
    Timing Belt
    Radiator
    Water Pump
    Axles
    Fan
    Pioneer head unit
    falken tires on front-70%
    no-name tires on back-90%
    Pics will be available shortly
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Why are you selling the GSR? Getting tired of it?
    I just recently did the clutch on mine too since we had the tranny taken down for a Quaife LSD and ACT Prolite flywheel. Man that ACT street clutch is hard to get used to. The clutch pedal got almost twice as firm and it really grabs. I think I 'll need motor mounts soon because of it. My stock clutch was fine when we took it off. Wish I never bought the ACT and had gone with Type-R clutch disc and pressure plate as some advised me to do. Oh well, live and learn. Other than that, the LSD is great and the lighter flywheel helps the motor rev faster.
    I won the last 2 racing events on bald/old V700s, busted Konis (they 're totally shot, can't even adjust them), and messed up alignment a shop gave me with way too much toe in. Couldn't have done it without the LSD and the flywheel.
    Good luck with the sale! That's one fast Integra with only a few mods. Hurray to OBDI :-)
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    why are you selling the teg? Sounds like a really strong gsr. Well, good luck selling it.

    Harry, you don't like the new clutch? I love mine. Did you get a heavy duty or extreme pressure plate? Sounds like the lsd was a really good mod.

    Well, I have a quick question. I have 16" wheels that have 215/40/16 ecsta 712's on them now. I want to get some yokohama avs es100's, but they aren't made in a 215, only 205 and 225. now, the only thing close to stock is the 205/45/16.

    so, here's my question. Would it be bad if I put the 205 tire on my rim? it'll be kinda wierd looking, because the tread will be smaller than the width of the wheel, making it look quasi-low-rider style, you know / \ like that.

    Will it be detrimental to do this? I don't want to get new 712's because they don't grip at all at the track or on the street, but I've experienced the avs es100's on my dad's car and I like them a lot. With these tires on his stock svt contour with blown shocks, he can almost keep up with me in the twisties, and I have gc's, st swaybars, illuminas, and 712's.
  • dwaynemgdwaynemg Member Posts: 2
    The Integra GS-R Sedan Standard Features listings on Edmunds says that 94, 95 and 01 GS-R Sedans don't have a "Sport Suspension" but 96-00 GS-R Sedans do (you have to look at each individually). The coupes are different, the GS-R coupes have a "Sport Suspension" for every year except 01. Is this right? Is there really a difference in suspensions packages for the GS-R sedans?
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    All GS-R models employed higher spring rates than lesser models and multivalved, pressurized gas shock absorbers.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    You have to go with the 205-450-16s. 225s will most likely rub as most do in Integras with many different offset rims. If you have 7" rims, the 205's will look perfect on it. I have 15x7" and use 205-50s. The 205s even extend slightly beyond the lip of 7" rims and look great.
    If you have 7.5" or 8" wide rims then the tire will just be even with the lip and will still look fine, but maybe not as good if you have 7" rims, but there won't be much of a difference in looks. Just get the 205-45-16s. You 'll have a little better & more comfortable ride (vs. the 40's) and they won't track to road irregularities as much.
     
    Now the big question and I 've been asking you this for over a year now. Why don't you BUY some FALKEN AZENIS tires and stop looking at all these other secondary tires? The Azenis is the best street and auto-x tire there is, period. It's a fact. If you go to the H-T auto-x forum and ask which is the best auto-x & street tire you 'll get the same answer: Falkens! (actually you 'll get scolded for not searching). It's the best street/summer tire out there and all the STS drivers at the Nationals use them. They 're very close to R compound tires. Sure they last around 15k mi. (w/auto-x events) but hey you gotta comprimise something for performance. I just got mine in to use on my street wheels and to drive to the events. They look great and the Falken 205s are wider than any other 205 size tire. I can't wait to put them on. They were $71/each but I know people have paid $68 or less for them.
    I told you not to get the Kumhos 712s a while back. I do 30 auto-x events a year. I meet TONS of racers and have heard a thousand stories about their experiences with tires. Noone has any complaints about the Falkens (except they don't last as long as other street tires). It's by far the best gripping street tire in the world.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Himiler is right. GSRs have always had a little better suspension than RS/LS/GS and I won't go into details because you 're not looking at buying other models except for GSR.
    Don't listen to what Edmunds says.. they make typos and are incorrect with some specs from time to time. ALL the '94-01 GSRs, whether coupes or sedans, had the same exact suspension. There 's absolutely nothing different in the suspension between a GSR sedan and a coupe of the same year.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Did you see what I asked you on this H-T topic? :-)

    http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=548135
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • himilerhimiler Member Posts: 1,209
    So are you digging the Quaife, or what?
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I know it went against your advice, but I got the 712's anyway. I was desperate, and wasn't thinking... at all. The reason I want to go with the secondary tires is because I want to make a compromise between handling and wear. Also, the azenis for the 16" wheel are $110 a piece, shipped. I would love to get them in a 15", but I just can't find somebody to sell me their 15" stockers. They either love them, or they sold them already. I like other 15" wheels, but I don't have the money for them. I should just suck it up and get some kosei's or rotas and just get the azenis. Maybe next year.
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    Woo hoo ^_^ I just got back from an autox, and it was the most fun I've ever had. Six flags had nothing on that ^_^ Well, it was four runs, with each run being anywhere from 70 seconds to 120 seconds. The formula fords were ripping it up with low 70 second runs, SS cars were latter 70s and low 80s, other really fast cars, then the newbies, like me. Well, my times were 96.5xx, 96.3xx, 93.6xx, then 91.0xx. That last run was really good for me, because just before that, I got a ride in an NSX ^_^ That was the coolest thing ever. He pulled a clean 82 second run. No words can explain how impressive it was. The car pulled SO hard at every rpm and it stuck like glue. Even with the four-point harness's, it was hard to keep myself planted in my seat. The NSX is a great car, it had an AWESOME driver, and overall, that ride is one that I'll never forget. Afterwards, he rode with me and gave me pointers and that's how I got my times down ^_^ So, I got 4th in the novice class, beaten by a 2003 civic si, a 2001 prelude, and a 1998 nsx. My friend, also a novice, but put into sm, got 2nd place, but since there was only one other person in that class, I guess it was kinda given to him, but he had lots of fun as well.

    I had fun and I can't wait for the high performance car control clinic. It'll be $150 for hours of lap time with instruction, so it should be a great buy.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    I like it.. when it comes on. It's harder for it to engage on the street because my car is lowered and I have an upgraded suspension so my car doesn't have a lot of body roll. The car handled well to begin with before the LSD.
    It usually kicks in when auto-xing (like today) and unless you have really good or new tires, it can still push with the outside wheel spinning (not the one off the air or with less load because that doesn't spin any more like it did with the open diff.). I sometimes feel it when turning in first gear from a stop (like a light) but I have to really floor it to get some power transfer going.. Unfortunately for my car, it didn't make a huge difference like it would for a stock car with very little or no mods, but it did help drop my times down by about 1/3 sec. on a 40 sec. and 1/2 sec. on a 50-60 sec. course which is actually pretty good and what I was looking for. I 'm sure the lighter flywheel helped a little too because the motor revs a little faster now.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I did one today (North Jersey SCCA). We had 7 runs. I was on Hoosiers for the first time! I figure it was time to go up to something stickier than Kumho R compounds, as my skills have improved a lot in the last 4yrs auto-xing. They take some getting used to.. It was a fast course <40 sec. with the average being ~35+ which is unusual for that club that normally that normally produces 45-55 sec. courses. I 've never been to an auto-x that lasted more than ~65 secs though. It seems like your event had an average of 80-90s. You must have a huge lot and they made it very tight, slow and technical.
    I could 've done better today but I can't complain. I won the class and came in within 1/2sec. of a few National caliber drivers and divisional champs. Not counting the 4-5 open wheel carts (F through A Mod), I was just a little over 1sec. slower than the faster car there (127 drivers). I figure in the top 20 (raw) or top 15%. And I still haven't gotten my custom race shocks (Advanced Designs by GC) in yet with my new 650/750 springs.
     
    If you had Falkens you would 've been in the low to mid-80's for sure :-) And I also advised you a year ago or more to buy 15" wheels, not 16's. The main reason I said that, was because 16" tires cost a lot more, besides the fact that 15's are better for auto-x. Maybe by 2008 you 'll take some of my good advice :-)
    Hey when I was your age, I didn't listen to anyone so don't feel bad, I was busting.. I thought I knew everything and what I was doing. Now a "few" yrs later I look back and say was I really that stupid, or I can't believe I did that, or dang, my dad was right.. I don't know why but it does take at least 25yrs for our brains to realize that 'older' people's advice is very valueable. It also takes just as long to start having regrets about important decisions we made in the past. Hence the saying "live and learn"..
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    the course we were at was actually a road race track, but with lots of cones and lots of turns. Let's see if I can remember the course.

    started out with 3 offset gates, into a 5 cone decreasing-slalom, into a chicago box, then into a sweeping left turn where I topped out 2nd gear. Then, there's another chicago box, then into a banked left-hand sweeper that was on a hill, then immediately into a right-hand sweeper. I topped out 2nd here as well. Next was another chicago box, then into a really tight 180* hairpin with a rumble strip on the inside of the turn. Coming out of that was an uphill left turn through gates, then downhill into a set of 5 offset gates. Then, a sweeping left turn on the north side of the oval, into three offset gates that were really tight, finally ending with another 5 cone decreasing slalom into a set of 3 offset gates.

    So, it was a fast course (90% in 2nd gear), but there was a lot of stuff to do. My favorite was the last set of offset gates. On my last run, I saw that I could wiggle through them, unlike my previous runs, where I thought they required large movements.

    Harry, when do expect to get the shocks and springs in? It sounds like it'll be a killer setup ;) Well, it's time for bed, so good night ^_^
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    that's some course!! It actually resembles National Tour and National championship courses. They 're fast and tight at the same time and very technical. I 'm surprised you hit the rev limiter a couple of times. You don't expect that out of a 75-95 sec. course.
    I should have the shocks & springs in by Mon-Tue. and they 'll probably be installed on Sat. I was still almost 3/4 sec. slower than Matt Watkins' GSR who has 650/800 springs and the AD's. But his car was a lot faster than mine and lowered to just under 4" off the ground with 13x8.5" Panasports! He puts down 170whp because he has a $3K ECU and independent throttle bodies (pullies, etc.). Of course he has an LSD, flywheel, etc. plus 235-45-13 Hoosiers! So I figure I didn't do too bad on my busted Konis with 475/400 springs and 205-50-15 Hoosiers. I bet those 13x8.5" 10lb Panasports and 235-45 Hoosiers is what makes the biggest difference. Of course speed is important too because I could tell he took off faster than me and his car accelerated faster throughout the course. He has 128 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels vs. my 116.5. Oh well, I 'm glad he 's in the PRO class :-)
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    HAHAAAA!! Well, if you haven't been able to tell, I'm excited ^_^ I found some new 15" wheels with azenis on them.

    http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=561383

    I'm really considering getting these, if he'll sell them. Right now, he's just "testing the waters" but I've talked to him and shown my strong interest in them, so hopefully he'll sell them to me ^_^ Well, I just need to come up with about 600 bucks, and I'll have a new set of wheels for auto cross ^_^ OOOOOO, I can't wait!

    Harry, how do you fit 13's on a gsr? are they just barely fitting outside the caliper? It sounds like you'll be a strong challenger for the fastest integra in your region.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Those wheels look great! I asked him what the offset is since noone else did. The Azenis are pretty beat up and have probably less than 30% life left. He said shipping should be $100-125. I think that's bull. Shipping should not be more than $80 for all 4.
    Well so far only the Panasports are custom made to fit over the GSR calipers.. and they 're expensive!!
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I saw your post. What did you mean when the tires are pretty beat up? Looking at them, they look fine, but it's the color of the dust on the tread that kinda confused me on the health of the tires.

    Those Panasports do sound expensive. Man, I am so short on money... I don't know if I can get 600 bucks by the time he's selling them. And my parents are breathing down my neck about money and how I don't save any, lol.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Well, I have a brand new set of Falken Azenis 205-50-15 in my garage and they have a good amount of tread. So having seen them this morning when I left my house, and looking at those pictures of the used ones shortly after, those tires look pretty worn but not completely. He said there 's 40% tread left. I say around 30%.

    Hey is that a ghost on my windshield? Maybe that's why I only came in 27th out of 125 cars last Sat. Supernatural forces were against me!

    image
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    LOL, I don't think it looks like a ghost. It looks more like a possessed horse to me. Regardless, it does seem like supernatural forces were against you.

    I love looking at the pictures of you driving. They always give me inspiration to do better at the races here ^_^
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    (There are cliffs notes at the end)I had discussed the purchase of new wheels and tires with my parents a few weeks ago, while waiting for a deal like I found on h-t. Well, now that I found that deal, my parents said, "no, you can't get new wheels and tires, you just spent a lot of money on the ones you have." What they don't and can't comprehend is that by getting this new set, I'll be saving my daily drivers, hence saving money in a way.

    Now, when I said that, my mom freaked out and said, "why do you need to save the tires you have now?" to which i replied that using the daily drivers at the track was causing them to wear faster than I anticipated. Her response was "I don't want you to go racing anymore, if you're going to throw money away on tires." I chuckled at that, reminding her that we had this exact discussion before I got the current tires I have now. Also because it's kinda obvious that the tires will wear a lot faster if I push the car to the limit.

    My dad, on the other hand, was quite understanding, except not. He said that with some driving instruction, I'll be faster than with new tires. I got pissed off at this for this reason: if there is zero traction, I can't go faster, even if I were a better driver. Oh, this is kinda funny. He said that if an experienced driver drove my car, they would be in the low 80's on that last auto-x track.

    Cliff's notes: Told parents about new wheels and tires, mom got mad saying she doesn't want me to race if it'll destroy my tires, dad said that I'll be faster if I learn to drive, dad implies that I can't drive, both agreed that I can't get new wheels and tires.
  • dwaynemgdwaynemg Member Posts: 2
    Thanks himiler & only1harry, I thought the 94-01 they should be the same, but it helps to have some confirmation. Now I can keep my options open in my search for a gs-r sedan.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    You may not want to hear this but your dad is right. You can shave a couple of more secs off your runs (on a 40-60sec course) the more seat time you get. Even if you have crappy tires. It's all about skill, expertise, proper line, proper braking, etc. ie: seat time!
      
    You will never be competitive with those tires though as far as winning trophies goes.. You can get better with them though by learning your car more and how it behaves. There's always room for improvement even with the crappiest tires. I still make mistakes or don't look far enough sometimes. That's something you have to train yourself to do and it takes a few years to master.

    2yrs ago (I had been racing for 2yrs already), my local club had all the class winners drive an older 5-sp. Ford Escort with a lot of miles and the worst cheapest All Season street tires you can find. They were almost totally worn out on top of that. The course was pretty small and very tight, most of it 1st gear! 25-30 sec course. Well I drove this car and thought, holy crap, I can't get any traction in this thing! We each got 2 runs in it and I was defeaned by the squealing of the tires. The guy that won was almost 1 sec. faster than me! I thought it was going to be very close since we were all driving the same car.. Was I wrong. I watched some of these better drivers drive it and my jaw dropped.

    So it's all about seat time and experience, ie: skill. Your dad is right. You can improve your skills. It's your first season and you 're a novice. If you let someone more experienced or an instructor drive your car (if you have fun runs at the end) you 'll see how much faster they are. That's probably the only way for you to believe what we 're saying.

    The other day at the NNJR auto-x, an Evolution School instructor drove an H Stock Mini twice through the course for fun, and was only .8 sec. slower than me! That was a completely stock base Mini with Kumho V700 R compound tires.
    In order for me (in DSP) to PAX the same as an HS car (in this particular course), I have to be 2+ secs. faster. And here's this instructor coming in around 3/4 sec. behind me. Had those runs counted, he would 've killed me in PAX. As it turned out, I PAXed 25th (out of 125 cars) and there were no H Stock cars ahead of me.

    Hey I PAXed 11th 2 weeks ago with the NY Region. That was out of 110 drivers so I PAXed in the top 10% for the first time. The LSD helped that day.. ADs & new springs are coming today, I can't wait to put them on the car :-) I almost feel like a kid again :)

    Anyway sorry that you can't get new tires . Let someone else that's good, drive your car, and then set a goal to try and be as good as that person. What you want to do is watch 3-4 people and see how far behind them you are. Then in the next several events, try and close the gap by becoming a better driver.
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I was a little upset and wasn't thinking about what I was posting. Beisdes, I am going to a driving school on the 27th, and I wanted to have a set of tires that I could really beat up. I think I'll have to get a new set of tires after the school. Oh well, I cut a deal with discount tire and got a price quote for 215.45.16 azenis and they said that I could always bring that paper in and they'd give me the same price when I do decide to get them.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    What kind of driving school? Performance driving school or Evolution auto-x school? Evolution is the best kind for auto-x. You 'll be a much better driver after you attend any kind of school.
      
    Hey I finally got my first FTD! It was at the BMW CCA club, NJ chapter. This is the day after I installed 650F/750R springs and Advance Design double adjustable shocks from Ground Control!

    The competition wasn't the same as an SCCA club because there weren't any National or divisional champs there, but nevertheless there were a lot of M3s and a couple of CSP CRXs and SuperStock RX7s. About 65 drivers. I hadn't been there in a year or more and I took most of them by surprise. Oh and I think I was one of only 2-3 people on Hoosiers! heheh. I got them a couple of weeks ago. They 're great but they handle weird too. They first slide a little when you turn and then they grip. They slide without any warning whatsoever though! I can't save the car anymore like when I used when I felt the back slide with the Kumhos. The Hoosiers break loose extremely fast and there's nothing you can do about it. You don't know what hit you. All you know you 're sideway or facing the wrong way (180). As you can tell I wiped out a couple of times :=) I was trying different compression and rebound settings to see what feels good and kind of overdriving the car to find its limits. I just went there for test and tune and ended up getting Fastest Time of Day and #1 PAX! I 'm glad the $1850 I spent on the new suspension paid off :) Oh and the AD shocks are true coilovers. The shock body is threaded. Not like the regular GC kit I had before, where you have threaded sleeves that go over the shocks (and move around).
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • garadosgarados Member Posts: 321
    I don't know what kind of driving school it is. They only say "high performance car control clinic".

    The new suspension setup sounds killer ^_^ I take it that your car isn't going to be a daily driver much longer? Or is the ride on the street bearable?

    It sure is nice to surprise people, isn't it ;-) Do the hoosiers stick better than the kumhos? Actually, why did you change tires?

    Hehe, that's funny that you were basically messing around and got the fastest time ^_^ Do the new ad shocks have individual bound and rebound adjustments? or are they like the illuminas and yellows?

    Well, sounds like you're having lots of fun with your new mods =D This racing business takes a lot of money... money I don't have =( but oh well, it's still fun ^_^
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    Nope, car is pretty much UNbearable on the street. On a perfectly smooth highway, the car rides ok, BUT you can feel when driving over a dime or the slightest crack and road imperfection. Shocks are very noisy too. The problem with going with such high rate springs and stiff shocks, is that the body absorbs most of the forces when going over small bumps and cracks.
    The GSR was never really a daily driver. Only the first year I owned it. I use my '01 Civic every day for work. I mostly drive the GSR to the racing events and race it. Sometimes I take it for a Sunday (or Sat.) drive when it's nice out or I 'll drive 35min. to my parents house when I visit them but I rarely take it to the movies or mall, shopping centers, etc. Too many thieves lurking around.. Now I 'll be driving it even less unfortunately because it's really bad with this new true race suspension. Actually I 'm not supposed to drive on these shocks.. They 're for track/racing only.

    Yeah you 're not kidding. It's become extremely expensive! I 've spend about $4,500 this season alone with the mods and 2 sets of race tires!! The mods inluded LSD, 8.8lb flywheel, ACT organic street clutch w/HD pressure plateI can't believe it.. Last year I went through 2 sets of Kumho R compound tires and I thought that was a lot. Plus I got a new Ground Control coilover kit w/springs. Now only after 10mos, I replaced them already! It's getting out of hand. I have to stop :)

    You asked why did I change tires? First of all, yes the Hoosiers stick better but also as you become faster & faster, your tires take a lot more abuse and you start wearing them out sooner. I remember 3 years ago, 1 set of Kumhos would last me the whole season, about 16-20 events. Last year I got about 14-15 out of them. Now they 're gone after only 12 because I drive a lot more aggressively and have been Paxing (and raw) in the top 10-12%. Don't worry, you 'll find out in a year or two.
    I 'm just really glad I got one FTD. Some people race their whole lives and never achieve that. It's really an incredible almost overwhelming feeling at first to know that you were the fastest out of all those drivers. But not only did I get the fastest Raw time, but I paxed first as well which is pretty hard to do in DSP. Usually H Stock or GS or STS pax first or an open wheel MOD car which we didn't have at this BMW club (of America - 50,000 members!) so I did get lucky in that respect. Surprisingly there were no National champs there either. We usually get a couple, so that helped too :-)
    I think I do need to get a Skunk2 intake manifold and crank pulley and then I 'll be done :-) Maybe later this year or the next. Not much else I can do in SP except get multiple independent throttle bodies and ECU. Oh I actually don't even had a header or exhaust in my car. I hate the loud noise of aftermarket exhausts. I might get a cheap DC sports header just for the 3whp. I don't even have a race seat or harness! Most guys that came over to look at my car after I got FTD, were really surprised about that. They kept asking me how I stay in my seat. I told them if I were strapped in well, with a harness, or had a decent race seat installed, it would be too easy for me to win, so I keep postponing it because I like close competition :=)
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
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