Hey there! This is my first post here, though not my first time visiting this website. I would like some tips on my newly-acquired silver 1999 Acura Integra LS MT.

I have big plans for this car. I want to give it a full JDM ITR conversion, complete with engine and gearbox swap. What would be a good list of stuff I should get for a street car (track/meets once or twice a month)? I prioritize handling, but a bit of power is useful on those straights too. I want it to be NA, though.
Also, assume I can get quite a bit done myself (brakes, intake/exhaust, throttle and exhaust bodies, maybe the LSD too), but would need a mechanic to put in the engine and stuff. Total budget (performance parts, conversion and all) is $20k.

Please, give some constructive advice, preferably a parts list or something. Also, can anyone suggest some weight saving ideas that won't mess up the Integra-ity (hah) of the car?
Thanks in advance!
CR-Z_TypeR

 

LOL at obd2 plug in chip.

 

What about it?

 

You're a bit late for April 1st.

This reminds me of when I wanted to put an Ebay turbo kit on my moms Civic when I was in high school.

 

Okay, then. What about the rest of the stuff?
Edited the OP, please give some constructive feedback.

 

You've got a lot going on in one post, and your budget of $5k won't be near enough to do everything you've mentioned and do it right. You might be better off if you break this down a bit and focus on one part of the build at a time.

1.) 250whp on a B18C5 N/A. That is not an easy goal in itself. The swap alone goes for roughly $4k. I'm no expert on N/A, but you're probably looking at increasing compression, and fully building the head with some big cams and revving pretty high to get there. The specifics on this need a thread of their own, but you're already over budget.

2.) Suspension and chassis work. Coilovers, bushings, sway bars, brakes... What about regular maintenance first? Before you go throwing aftermarket parts at it, you need to make sure your ball joints, tie rods, steering rack, arms, etc. are in good condition and if not replace them. You could probably throw your entire budget at it again just doing the upgrades you've listed if you go for quality parts.

3.) I hope you plan on doing all the work yourself. You putting the LSD and clutch in, and doing the swap yourself? Piecing the car together and making everything work is not as easy as typing out a vague parts list.

Good luck!

 

I know you said you found everything for under $5k but i can't see doing this under $5k at all unless you're cutting corners like crazy.

ITR engine and trans is $3-4500 alone
JDM front is $500-1000 before paint
A good clutch setup will be $300-600 easily
Good coilovers ($600-2000)
Good bucket seats & Harnesses ($500-1500)
Authentic Type R rims ($500-700) + 5 Lug conversion ($600-1200) or 4x114 ITR rims ($250-350) + 4x114 conversion ($400-600)

You will want a larger rear sway bar + subframe reinforcement brace ($200-500) to decrease understeer

You won't want to choose cheap parts for things like clutch setup, coilovers or seats. Good luck. If you limit yourself to $5k-6K, then you will likely be disappointed and end up spending more money later to fix the short cuts you took in the beginning.

 

Okay. I'll admit that I've made a bit of a confusing tall order there. Allow me to restate.
What would be a good list of stuff I should get for a street Integra (track/meets once or twice a month)? I prioritize handling, but a bit of power is good too. It has to be NA, though. Also, assume I can get quite a bit done myself (brakes, intake/exhaust, throttle and exhaust bodies, maybe the LSD too), but would need a mechanic to put in the engine and stuff. Total budget (performance parts, conversion and all) is $20k.
Let me put that in the OP to minimize confusion and attract more ideas. Thanks for the advice!

I still disagree about your pricing. I found some Yonaka coilovers for 450 or so, my seats for 500, my clutch and chromoly flywheel for 300, and so on. My ITR engine and gearbox is 4200 or so, though.
I don't know, do low prices necessarily mean trashy build quality? The reviews all seem to be positive. Because if it does, can you suggest some good brands/models and places to buy?
And I have one final question. Sorry for all the diversions. Can I use the LSD that comes with the engine/trans, or should I buy a new OBX for 500?

 

Now you've quadrupled your budget? Okay.


You get what you pay for. Progress is a good company for suspension products, and their CS2 coilovers are the absolute least expensive on the market where you can still get a decent quality product. I'd start there.

Coming on here and arguing about low priced products being good enough quality, while claiming to have $20K to spend, doesn't make any sense and won't get you very far. You clearly have your mind set on using sub-par quality and cheap products for your build. Feel free to live and learn like most of us already have and are trying to advise against.

 

No, I said $5k more. $15-20k total.
And okay, fine. Overcharging means you're gonna get good stuff. Got it.
I asked for advice, not ripping up my opinions and throwing them on the floor.

 

I stand by my pricing. I know exactly what kind of build this will be if you think Yonaka coilovers and an OBX lsd are good. You are welcome to build your car the way you want--it's your money after all, but as 2x0 stated, many of us know what it takes to put a quality build together.

Here are some suggestions if you want to truly build a quality car:

Suspension:
Ohlins, Eibach, high end Tein, or at the very least Fortune 500 or GC/Koni Combo. You will spend at least $800 and up to $3000 for a good suspension setup.

LSD:
OS Giken, KAAZ, Quaife, OEM is decent. The OS Super Lock LSD is $1500 for example.

Seats:
Recaro, Sparco, Bride ...any company that has FIA approved seats is legit. You can find a SINGLE used Recaro SPG for around $400-700 in good condition (it is $1000 brand new).

You will eat through your $20K budget easily. Again, no one is telling you that you HAVE TO buy expensive parts, it's just a suggestion for a better quality and more reliable build. There's a reason why Ohlins cost 2x or 3x what Yonaka cost. The ride quality and performance from the Ohlins will be far superior. There's also a reason why Recaros cost 2x or 3x more than knock-off seats--because they're tested and built to hold up to a certain safety standard so you don't die in an accident.

It may not be what you want to hear if you had your build all planned out with cheap parts, but it's the reality. Bottom line is you probably need to do more research on each individual part you wanted to purchase and see if you can afford to get the better version.

 

Geez, okay. Didn't know that your style was to destroy people who aren't sure of what they're doing.

Back to my question. Can you use the LSD that comes with the crate engine, or would it be better to buy new? I know that they're usually bulletproof even when used, but would you recommend this?

 

The OEM Type R LSD is fine if you aren't pushing crazy power, and you won't be if you stay NA, if that's what you're talking about.

As others have said, start off with maintenance. Get your suspension in order, you'll probably need new bushings all around, possibly new ball joints, new tie rods, etc. Dumping $1500 on coilovers while keeping the stock disintegrating 20 year old rubber bushings will get you nowhere.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd take that $20k budget and buy a real Integra Type R. You can get a pretty nice one for that money, and it will be a much cooler car than anything you'll build that Integra into and it will hold it's value at the very least and possibly go up in value. I spent 10-15k on my Integra and hundreds of hours of my time, it was worth maybe $3k when I was done.

 

Much better conversation. I see what you mean.
I factored the servicing in, but still. I don't really like the yellow and "bug eye" design of practically every stock ITR I see up for sale, and all the nice stock ones are at least $25k. My idea was to make my own, JDM style, and throw my own mods at it without risk of damaging an expensive clean collectors' car. But silver front clips are hard to come by, and repairs, since this is a part-track car that will probably get front-ended? Yeah.
So I take it you recommend that I buy a cheap, legitimate Type R and spend some time fixing and getting to know it instead of "making my own"?

 

After you get the horsepower that you want and have spent as much money as you needed, you're going to want more.

Here's a good video and you can watch others, in this guy's series.

Why pay a mechanic to build you a car, when you can buy a new CTR, in Miami, for $37,000?

 

Don't get your panties in a wad, everyone here has been surprisingly helpful and relatively nice. We are just used to seeing new people ask for our opinions, and after giving them solid advice it gets tossed out the window while the OP goes shopping on ebay and destroys a perfectly good car.

Not saying you're that type, but if you plan on sticking around the forum through this build it would do you well to grow thicker skin. I don't think anyone "ripped apart" your ideas or "destroyed" you for looking for opinions, we were simply giving our own

Either way good luck with the build.