Howdy all, I'm the proud owner of a JDM 1993 Honda Integra Si (aka GSR in the U.S) and have been wondering if it’s actually worth spending any mula on upgrades, when I could just save and buy a fundamentally better car?

First of all, if I were to spend the difference between the value of my car and a Type-R (in New Zealand this is about 50%) upgrading the suspension and doing a bit of minor work on the engine (decent aftermarket headers/exhaust ect), would it actually end up with much better handling or at least be faster (straight line speed) than a stock Type-R?

Secondly, if I were to go all the way and turbo/supercharge my car, as well as upgrading pretty much everything else (as I’m seriously thinking of doing), do you believe it would end up better than your average Skyline/WRX, in terms of handling and performance?

I realise this may sound like I’m just trying to start an argument, but I would seriously like to hear the (hopefully unbiased) opinion of someone who has driven a few different types of cars and can speak from experience.

Please keep in mind that I’m only asking this question from a purely performance perspective, not cosmetic, maintenance, practicality or any other reason.

Cheers dudes, I know I should really just answer this question for myself by test driving a few different cars, but hey, that would be a mission.

 

WARNING: This may be a long post...

If you have an endless supply of money or love being the underdog (FWD) in a race, then it may be worth spending money on the car. Otherwise, it will always be very hard for you to compete with the "average slightly modded" LS1 Camaros out there.

For you to hang with a slightly modded WRX or Skyline, you will need to be turbo unless you have some gutted ITB street monster on your hand ($$$$). I've never driven a Skyline, but I owned briefly a stock WRX and my stock GS-R (at the time) was much more FUN of a car. After off the line speed, the WRX had NOTHING on my GS-R (in my mind). I'll give you a list of some of the things you will need to hang with a slightly modded WRX or Skyline because you will never be able to hang with a highly modded WRX or Skyline. The Honda engine was made for economy while the WRX's 2.0 or 2.5L and the RB26DETT were both made for some spirited driving and this makes up for the fact that WRXs and Skylines are 3000+ lb cars.

You will need to upgrade or add a ..
Big Turbo, front mount intercooler, wastegate, header, BOV, injectors, fuel rail, piping, and at least 3" exhaust, fuel pump, electronic management system, radiator, oil pan, intake manifold, throttle body, axles, traction bars, clutch, LSD, ignition system, sticky tires (that won't last very long $$$), suspension, and get into the block for sleeving, pistons, rods, valvetrain. Also you may want to look into weight reduction since Integras are 2600 lb cars.
Then, your only problem will be getting traction which means the same cars you can humble on the freeway will beat you on the street because it is nearly impossible to get decent traction from a stop. Trust me, I know.

 

Do what you want because there is always going to be someone faster than you.

 

I reckon I could make my GSR better than a Type-R for less $ than if I sold my car and spent the difference on a Type-R (about 7 grand) if you know what im sayin. That’s kind how I compare the worth of cars, I must be a cheap *** S.OB

Or I could just forget about speed, get any decent RWD car and have some fun, there are some seriously gnarly roads where I live.

Man New Zealand imports the most old jap cars in the world, check these links out to get an idea:

Integra’s: http://www.trademe.co.nz/brows..._desc

Skylines: http://www.trademe.co.nz/brows..._desc

RX7’s: http://www.trademe.co.nz/brows..._desc

Even rare as hell cars like an AE86, Nissan Pulsar GTI-R or supercharged MR2.

Heres a currently stoned way to check the price difference between our countries in case anyone gives a ****: a pack of B&H costs me $10, my integra: $5000, average wage: $40,000. A 2.5L litre coke costs $2 but for some strange reason a 600 mil is $2.90, wtf?

 

You can definatly make your Integra fast. You will never have the fastest car no matter what you do as stated above,but if you do decide to sell your integra please let me know.I would love to have it.

 

AWD > FWD but also it is based on the driver. What do you want to do with this car? Drag, track, daily driver? Your car comes with an OK motor but to hang with most of todays modified Honda's your going to need put some serious cash into your car and bump up its performance. Now if you wanna mess with cars like WRX, EVO's, Skylines then FI is the way to go, especially if those cars are modified as well. Hope you enjoy your car and just like most people have stated, there will always be someone with a better perfoming car than yours.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DC2Slow &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">AWD &gt; FWD but also it is based on the driver. What do you want to do with this car? Drag, track, daily driver? Your car comes with an OK motor but to hang with most of todays modified Honda's your going to need put some serious cash into your car and bump up its performance. Now if you wanna mess with cars like WRX, EVO's, Skylines then FI is the way to go, especially if those cars are modified as well. Hope you enjoy your car and just like most people have stated, there will always be someone with a better perfoming car than yours. </TD></TR></TABLE>'

yeah what he said. It depends on what your gaol with the car is. illegal freeway battles are definately out of the question for you. But on a technical track with a lot for curves will even up the odds. better suspension and a little tuning to the motor and you could out corner these behemoth monster cars putting out 400 whp.

I prefer out cornering as it seems to take more skill than just lots of hp. Which do you think is better drag or F1 racing? haha extremes I know but think about it.

 

man I wish we that kinda selection of cars here in the us

 

it would be nice to have Skylines here, but most of the reason that people in the US are "skyline humpers" is because they are nice cars for 1, but also becuse we dont have them. In a country like New Zealand, there are probably large followings of cars like the Corvette and Dodge Viper....

to answer the orignal question, yes you should put money into your car if you like it. There is always going to be someone faster than you so just make your car the way you want it and be happy. If you think it is fun and fast, that's all that matter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by teknoracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do what you want because there is always going to be someone faster than you. </TD></TR></TABLE>