How you guys doin? New here and got a couple of ?'s

I've seen a few RSX type S around my neck of the woods, and have become a bit fascinated with them. About the same hp as a stock DSM, lacking in torque, but I've come across a boosted RSX S that had a Greddy kit on it that absolutely flew. It was black with some red decals and what not, overall great car, awesome guy. Just curious how well these cars actually respond to boost. I'll be picking one of these up soon and just want to see from the experts how they feel about boosted RSX's or NA RSX's

Thoughts?

 

i respect a NA rsx more than a boosted one...it takes more work to get the power numbers. to me a 220-250 horsepower NA RSX is much more respectable than a boosted one

however. the K series responds to boost very well...im sure you will get some responses from some boosted boys

 

Yes, I agree but I unfortunately I had to ditch the NA due to finances. For what I am paying to get a 500+ reliable setup would have only given me 250 NA. So the IPS K2's had to go.

As far as the A2 and boost, they are incredible to say the least. I could right a book about this motor. But here is my run down.

The head flows unbelievably stock, in fact people are pushing over 600 hp with no headwork at all. In bench flow testing the stock A2 head outflows a port and polished B18 bay a margin. I can't emphasize enough how great this thing flows.

The bottom end is reasonably strong, for an open deck setup. Somebody on another forum has pushed 560 hp out of a COMPLETELY stock motor on pump gas. If your staying stock motor keep power around the low 300's for reliability issues.

The weak part that tends to go in the bottom end is the ring lands or rods. Again this is either due to a poor tune or excessive boost. A greddy kit on an A2, tuned, should run for years with no problems. As long as the oil lines are upgraded.

Another problem you will run into is getting enough fuel. The RSX is a returnless style fuel system. Meaning you will need to add a fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, fuel rail, and return line to exceed around 400 hp reliably. This doesn't sound like a big deal but it gets quite expensive fast. Plus the Walbro runs out of fuel around that point, so you would need something like a Bosch which runs about 300 bucks. With the Bosch you would also need a custom fuel pickup.

Lastly, the weakest part of the K series IMO, is the f'ing trans. I've seen second gears get sheared right off with slicks and 320 hp. This is not common but I would go as far as saying that the B series trans is stronger. To cure this problem you could send your gearsets out to be cryotreated as well as the syncros. But again this will run you a couple hundred. But for under 400 hp the trans. should hold up fine.

Any other questions just ask

 

have any thoughts on a3 being boosted? i had thought about getting the a2 head and putting that on but it was getting pricey and i was thinking about just saving the coin and boosting my a3....any opinions?

 

yeah man...your car is pretty sick for being boosted. i didnt know you did the NA thing first. Thats cool.

you are very correct about the Head flowing better than a Pand P b18 head. thats just incredible

 

Well, there are some differences in the bottom end of the A3. Lack of oil squirters for one But that does not mean crap, they use up vital oil pressure. Not to mention forged internals do not generate as much heat as stock cast pistons. The rods are thinner and less durable than the A2. The crank is not as balanced. Just to name a few of the major ones.

The one thing I can tell you is over on another forum for ep3's, I believe ephatch.com, someone went all out and built and sleeved an A3, with some quality forged internals. Well, the crank walked and demolished the entire bottom end. The A3 crank is not balanced as well as the A2, did this play a role in his problem, I'm not sure. But it is quite scary, because this was the one and only all out build on an A3 I have seen.

But I can say the A3 has proven reliable for under 300hp. If I were you I'd keep power right around 280 w/ a 5 spd, and 240-250 with an automatic. So keep your A3 for these power goals and upgrade to an A2 if you plan on building and turning up the boost in the long run.

Just my .02 cents

 

Yeah, I started on the NA route believe it or not. I owned like #30 of the K2's. I believe it was the second batch ever made. IPS was running a promo, IPS K2's, K-Pro, Eibach EVS and free installation for 2100. Couldn't pass it up. Ron was still working out some problems and I waited for quite a few months before I finally got them. In that time I discussed with him building my bottom end for NA, and determined that FI was the better route for me.

Sold the K2's when they arrived, kept K-pro and I have been gathering parts ever since. I still have a lot of respect and interest in NA but I guess I was not big enough of a baller to continue my goals. With the release of the SRT-4, EVO, and STI, the dark side kept calling my name.

 

I would say alot of it depends on the goals of the car. I love NA autocross/road race cars...

 

exactly...thats why all i want is 220, hopefull i will pull 170 torque with my plans......Auto-x

Yeah the a3 bottom end, like stated above, isnt quite as good for building power. I had not heard of that case of crankwalk...many of the old DSM's had that problem. However that scares me.

I woudl advise that if you are wanting large power then you shoudl build the internals first off. There is some talk of the H22 crank fitting inside our bottomend. if you got one of those and had it counterweighted and balanced and did some forged internals to boot....now that woudl be crazy as hell with boost.

some can check me if they care too about the 22 crank...i have only heard speculation.

anyway SCR listen to NJslvrtypes.... if you are wanting boost then he is the guy to talk to

 

Thank you, I'm not too sure about the H22 crank but the F22C crank will definately work. Slight modification has to be made to the snout and I would consult Castillo for the job. But the A2 crank is quite capable of 500+ hp if properly built.

Overall, I would say that the A2 is a incredible motor whether it is NA or FI. Can't go wrong.

 

i have a boosted rsx-s and so far its run flawlessly. Granted, its only been boosted for 10k miles and i have a total of 20k miles on the car. Ive done research and the type s is great for boosting. i wouldnt recommend anything else. It is alot of money and time spent maintaining it but its well worth wat u get. Easily keep up with sti and evo.

 

for the guy up top who gives more respect to n/a cars than boosted cars. reaching those type of numbers n/a is very easy and way cheaper than boosting. Boosting takes so much more time and money to make sure your car is running right and maintaining everything.