Hey guys, I recently got back from a trip to Taiwan to visit family and I remembered that there were a few (3 to be exact, as I later found out) ITR owners in Taiwan. I posted a thread a month ago to try and contact them and it was successful

Enter Arvin:

When his R first pulled up, I was too stunned to take pics (not many were taken anyway due to it being 21:00 and a shitty iPhone camera). Visually, his 1998 CDN ITR is amazing from the CF hood to the OEM replica side skirt kit. Under the hood, even more is done. From what I can remember, he has an upgraded valvetrain, ARC intake (bling bling, he likes that ), and JDM 4-1 header. On the inside, he has red JDM Recaros, various system-monitoring gauges, and a floor bar. This was my first time experiencing JDM Recaros and unfortunately for my wallet, I LOVED the way they hugged me when Arvin took a corner at speed. Definitely more supportive than my USDM ones. I'll be sure to pick up a set when I have the money to do so

However, my favorite mod about his car ran under it: a genuine Spoon Sports N1 cat-back exhaust. The sound of this exhaust is just amazing: deep rumble at idle, and deeper still at WOT, not fart-ricey like so many things I hear here in NJ. Again, when I have the money, I'll be looking into one of these (if I can't find a Mugen Twin Loop for a good price. Oh, Arvin has one lying in his front yard, too. Rare parts ).

Now to the driver. Arvin is the most cheery person I've ever met. Great sense of humor and very enthusiastic about his R. When we hung out, he talked about the [illegal] street racing world in Taiwan and how it differs from the US in the sense that there aren't many places to drag so when they aren't doing that, they go to the mountains. I asked him if he ever participated in one of these illegal races and he said yes (but he assured me that he doesn't really hang out with the Honda crowd in Taiwan). He told me that he lined up against a boosted Civic hatch for a drag and won (take that! NA > FI). I don't doubt it was a good race, his R felt VERY capable with the mods he has done.

Anyway, we talked a little more about the Honda scene and he told me that the most common mod is an engine swap with a JDM motor. Makes sense seeing that Japan is just north. Then I asked about the other R's on the island. He told me that there are 3 recorded ones: 1 1997 and 2 1998's. He is friends with the other '98's previous owner but has no idea where the '97 has gone off to, but he did say that the last time he saw it, it was completely stock. However, he did note that it was owned by a guy who didn't really share the passion for the car as we do

There's more stuff that I have forgotten, but since here is a member here on Tech I'm sure he'll chime in to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for the meet Arvin, maybe next time you can come to the states and attend an EXPO, even if it is as a guest!

Pics (very bad ones):

 

Nice R, that is awesome that you were able to meet up! Good idea.

 

Can't wait to go back in dec

 

wish i can go to japan.

 

 

awesome story, would love to see more pics!

 

Thats pretty cool.

 

If you like a tight hold give Bride buckets a whirl too (or any single piece bucket). I personally like them over JDM Recaros in terms of hold but the JDMs are definitely more comfortable over a long distance.


...?

 

You'd have to ask Arvin to post some up; I only took those shots and my camera sucked. But his R was AMAZING!