My New "Exploration/Touring" Vehicle!

[vengeful]

Nope.

It's not a Pathfinder.
It's not a Subaru.
It's not an SX4.
It's not a Porsche.

I present to you, the yet unnamed...Acura Integra GS-R!!

I'm primarily going to be using it for every-day driving, and Autocross racing. But I'll also be participating in some SCCA Road Rallies, and will definitely be doing some road touring with it.

The Details, I know you're all dying for them!

It's a 2000, 85,000 miles, 5-speed, of course, Red on black leather, every single available factory option, including the upgraded Acura alarm system with shock sensors.

Plans? I'm going to run it in GStock for a season to get a good grasp on the car, then I plan on moving up to STS (Street Touring), with some suspension work. I would like to try to squeeze a set of 225/45R15 Toyo T1Rs on some 15x6JJ +37et Volk Racing TE37s (but pricey!), but I think I'll end up with some 205s on the stock wheels for now.

Some more pictures here

 

[Storz]

Great car! I have autocrossed extensivly since 2001, and even done a few TSD rallies back when I lived in MI. You'll love the Integra

 

[1speed]

Nice car! My wife had a 98 Type R for a while, every time after I drove it I would tell her to take the keys away from me so I wouldn’t lose my license. Now she has an 05 Crossfire SRT6. Déjà vu all over again!:bike_rider:

 

[Taz]

When my wife and I first got married she had a Type R, what a fun car. They are just a blast to drive. Great choice in a vehicle!

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Another Reason why I'm just fine in my F-250 Crew Cab! These small cars are just too much fun to drive!

:Wow1:

 

[vengeful]

Build Updates: 1/13/2009

You got that right Pat...This thing is a BLAST! I've done quite a bit of shopping and I've got a big old spreadsheet working for the build. SCCA Stock class allows for several "safety modifications/upgrades" to be performed on the car for optimal performance from the factory equipment.

My plans for this season include:

205/50R15 Kumho Escta XS Tires for Autocross - on a second set of wheels
195/55R15 BFGoodrich Traction T/A All-Season tires for everyday driving...what came with the car.
Hawk HP Plus Brake Pads all around
Brembo Smooth Brake Rotors all around
Motul Brake Fluid
Full Synthetic Fluids
Koni Sport Dampers
The biggest front sway bar I can find.
-0.65 deg front camber
-0.45 deg rear camber
- Slightly more aggressive than the Type-R camber settings...very achievable with stock adjustments.

I'm going to add a trailer hitch and build a small autocross trailer with 12V power (solar), OBA, tool storage and tire storage, along with a powered cooler for drinks and food, and maybe even room for a 10x10 EZ Up - see, still utilizing all of the expedition stuff here

Hopefully I'll be able to work up to being competitive against the Mini Cooper S...who knows, those things rule GS.

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I also bought a season pass for the Washington DC Region Autocross for 2009. Reserved myself my autocross number, and ordered up some magnetic number placards.

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I decided to install the head unit and amp from my Pathfinder into my Acura. I ordered new speakers for it and everything. Well, I decided that since it was going to be gross on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday, and I wanted to have the stereo installed by the weekend, I was going to start working on getting the amp installed, and wires run for everything while I was waiting for UPS to deliver the rest of my goodies (speakers, wiring adapters, dash kit, etc...)

Well, I reviewed the service manual for the replacement of speakers and what not, and it seemed very easy, just pop off the speaker guards and unscrew the speakers, installation is reverse of removal. Easy enough. But wait. These stock speakers are 5 1/4" and the replacements I ordered are 6.5" and the stock ones don't fit through the opening that removing the speaker guard created. Off comes the door panels.

Still no UPS.

Oh well, I'll run the wires for the amps and get all of that situated and done so once I get the other stuff it'll be quick.

The only pass through the firewall is directly behind the battery...no problem, out comes the battery. Ok, now I can't get my finger through there. Out comes the battery mount tray. Now I can get the wire through. Push it through about 3 feet. Go inside...where the heck is it? See some red poking into a heater vent. WTH? Pull the wire out and push downwards while pushing through the grommet. Ahh, aces, got it! Got all of the wires run for the amplifier and the amp mounted. Now to check on the rear speakers.

Pull off the speaker grilles and can't even see the screws for the speakers...great. Out come the rear seats, out come the side panels. Now the car is completely disassembled, oh, did I mention I was doing this in my front yard because I don't have a garage? Yeah....

So it's not about 4:00 and no UPS. Go inside to check tracking. Out for Delivery. Nice, should be here any minute! UPS typically comes before 3PM weekdays here...hmm...

With the car completely disassembled and the battery sitting in the driveway, I can't drive anywhere, and I'm at a point where I've basically done everything I can do without the stuff UPS is bringing me...and it's starting to get dark and cold....so I head inside to warm up and eat something and wait for UPS.

5:35 the UPS finally arrives. I guarantee that if I waited for UPS to get there to start he would have been there at 2! Oh well, I say, I need the car tomorrow, so I go grab the work lights and get back to work.

Well, none of the speaker mounts lined up with the holes supplied by Honda, so I had to make holes. Speakers mounted, Tweeters mounted, everything wired...go to test it...Key on...nothing....

BATTERY!

Go to reinstall the battery tray and drop the bolts. Now it's about 10:00PM and I'm lugging my floor jack up from the basement to jack up the car to find these bolts...I'm sure the neighbors aren't too happy with the 2 1000W work lights set up in my driveway creating artificial daylight for me. Luckily they were in a very convenient location....on top of the steering rack...

FINALLY got the car reassembled, go to test the radio and adjust the settings...no sound. Why no sound?

Did I hook up the RCA cables to the head unit? Dashboard comes apart...again. Yep. Fuse? Check. RCAs connected to the amp? Check. Remote lead? Check. Speaker wire connected to the amp? DARN! Out comes the passengers seat...for the fourth time.

I became very efficient at taking apart the interior of the car. I've got tunes, and I also managed to solve that annoying clicking sound while going over bumps! :victory:

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Oh yeah...I bought it 12/29....and I've put almost 1000 miles on it already. I just can't stop driving it! LOL. I do miss my Pathfinder though, but it's going to a great cause. We've been donating to Purple Heart for years and years, and they helped my Grandfather a lot in his waning years...

 

[BKCowGod]

Very nice... I'm sure you can guess which vehicle in my sig gets the most track time.

 

[vengeful]

The Jeep of course! LOL.

 

[vengeful]

I drove to Syracuse, NY on January 23 to visit with some friends and participate in the Finger Lakes Region SCCA's Winter Road Rally Series event #2, WWR2009. I navigated for Garrison, and we ended up coming first in class. We got these nifty engraved beer glasses confirming our class dominance! You can find the complete event results Here.

On the trip to Syracuse, the Integra averaged 35.4mpg. On the return trip, progress was slightly slowed due to non-compliant weather, and the fuel-economy suffered slightly, averaging only 31.6mpg. Still quite good (hah!) compared to what I am used to with the Pathfinder.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the memory card for my camera, so I don't have any pictures from this trip. The next one I will, I promise!

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Also, I've bumped myself up to the Street Touring class instead of Stock. The car came with a cold air intake, and I rather like it, so I'm going to keep it, and work on the suspension a bit and run in ST. For now the plans include a set of lightweight 16x7" wheels, perhaps Gram Lights, Advan or Enkei, not decided yet, and a set of 215/45R16 Kumho Ecsta XS tires.

 

[vengeful]

Well, naturally, sometimes plans change.

Two weeks ago I came across a set of 15x7 Kosei K1 TS lightweight racing wheels for sale with a set of half-worn Falken RT-615s in a 205/50R15 for $300. Being too good of a deal to pass up, I immediately jumped on them.

Well, starting on April 4th, Bridgestone is coming out with a $100 MIR on a set of 4 tires, so I'm going to order a set of 205/50R15 RE-11s for the wheels.

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Anyways, the first autocross of the season was this past Sunday, and as expected, I did absolutely terribly. I learned a great deal about the cars handling characteristics, and figured out what I should be running for tire pressures, to get the best rotation and most predictable handling.

As it sits right now, it's got a very high propensity towards vast amounts of understeer, which is expected. I need quite a bit more negative front camber to provide more grip up front. I also noticed a substantial amount of body roll, much moreso than I had encountered on my few "spirited" mountain drives. So much so, in fact, that I was consistently dragging my factory mud flaps on the pavement. To remedy this, I've ordered a Beaks Quick Swap Integra Type-R sway bar kit.

I did manage to shave nearly 7 full seconds off my first run during the day, on a 70 second course, so that's not too bad.

I'm still researching camber kits, but I've decided that I want one. So far I've looked at the Skunk2 and Blox kits, but I'm not really comfortable with either company, so I'm going to keep looking for something better...or make my own.

Ground Control sells a kit that comes with a set of Koni Sport shocks, top hats, ground control coilovers with custom spring rates. Once I can muster the money for it, that's going on, as well.

With the coilovers, camber kit, sway bar, and new tires, I think I'll be pretty happy with the car.

 

[BKCowGod]

Sounds good... As soon as I get the Porsche running properly, I'm gonna have to renew my NASA membership and get out there.

 

[vengeful]

So, it's like Christmas in April! UPS stopped by 3 times in the last two days dropping off goodies.

A new OEM 22mm Integra Type-R rear sway bar
A Beaks subframe reinforcement kit.
And a shiney new set of 205/50R15 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s.



I spent this afternoon installing the SRK and the Sway bar. Compared to the factory 14mm sway bar, this thing is HUGE. Initial impressions are, WOW! There is virtually no body roll on the street, even under moderately hard cornering. Once I get the new tires mounted, I'll put her through the ringer and give a real report on it. Hopefully I'll be able to get them done sometime this week, as I've got an Autocross this Sunday.

I'll post some install pictures once I dig my camera out of the trunk of the car...