What's your goal with your RSX?

45

Asked by Mark Mar 16, 2009 at 03:09 AM about the Acura RSX

Question type: Car Customization

For those who modified or plan to modify your RSX, do you have a plan or vision of what you want the car to be?
Track car? Show car?
Personally I'm going for a car that feels good to drive but isn't necessarily fast. I'm gonna be leaving the engine alone for the most part and focus on suspension, chassis, and reducing weight.
how about you guys?

30 Answers

285

Mine is my daily driver. Got the best deal for the best car in best condition. XD basically, modify the airbox, exhaust and header from a Type R and a Hondata reflash. I suggest to everyone get a reflash or kpro.

4 people found this helpful.
35

Daily driver with flair. A drop of about 1.5, pedals, CAI, shorty header exhaust, polyurethane motor mounts/bushings and a reflash. Add a stock trunk lid spoiler (not the Type R the factory RSX spoiler) Maybe a rear sway/strut and some JDM visors (are they visors?) on the doors.

125

Currently have cai, skunk2 exhaust... Im aiming for a stupidly fast sleeper rsx-s. Putting in kpro, bcrh, sways, and dropping it this summer so got some time before i start a peakboost build. But lookin for 400-500hp range eh who knows. It'll be my DD till i pick up a cheap bike somewhere.

3 people found this helpful.
285

400-500?? What, you planning to toss out the KA20 and put in a Skyline engine or something>?>? XD

125

lol no need for an rb26... Ill go either peakboost build with gt30 or gt35 turbo.. or possibly stg2 full race kit eh not sure as of now. but yeah those arent extreme numbers..

80

that depends on what engine he has. if he has an 02-03 then he has the k20a2 and no those arent extreme at all actually very easily accomplished with a slight amount of money and a little time. if he has an 04-06 then he has the k20a3 and for that engine it would be more difficult but still not that hard to accomplish just have to do a more exstensive build.

3 people found this helpful.
285

Umm mate - the RSX Type S has the K20A2 engine, the Base RSX has the K20A3. I think you refer to the K20Z1 on the Type S from 2005 onwards. And honestly, its very difficult to F.I. any Honda to those sort of numbers without spending like a mother. He would need a larger displacement - H22 or my personal fav. the K24A2.

1 people found this helpful.
125

An yeah im tlkn bout the k20a2.. and no not really. Your basic kit will spit numbers around 280-290? so no need for a swap.

1 people found this helpful.
285

Lololz, 280-290?? Even for bhp thats a faint strech... most likley dream numbers. The Type S and R, yes thats a strong possibility, but not on the base. And swaps are not just about getting the big numbers... since we can never utilise high levels of boost without strengthen the tranny or replacing nearly all the internals, a larger engine would be a better choice for high power upgrades as far as getting things to work efficently. But I don't recommend it if you just want to boost, it will do the job in the end. The best reason to do a swap would be to avoid the induction route.

125

Didn't say the base could? I said basic kit as it your starter turbo kits. And the capabilities range 300-450+whp without a swap but yes many other parts other then the larger turbos for those numbers. And why would you want to avoid it? I personally preferred s/c but the power differences are incredible. Also those aren't dream numbers, talk to many of the turbo thread members. Their dyno sheets will prove otherwise. A swap may make for more n/a bhp but FI & s/c actually increase engine efficiency by roughly 13%+

285

Well, im more of a practical guy... dont force induct a car which isn't meant to be forced. Honda's arent. XD Dyno sheets are unreliable, they just good to show what kinda increase, gimmie 4 near consistent graphs then you have a good result. And it never really translate to on road performance. I didn't think forced induction with make the engine 13% more efficent. But for hell sure it would make the engine heaps more unreliable and kill its longetivity. XD

125

With a good tune and the right maintenance, as well the correct mods to make the engine well equipped to handle the boost, it shouldn't destroy the life of the car. And for not being meant to turbo some ep3's sure put up some good #'s.

1 people found this helpful.
16,855

With enough boost and high enough octane fuel, you can make some good numbers with a lawnmower motor. Doesn't make it reliable or practical in any stretch of the imagination. And correct mods would be valve train upgrades and bottom end... in which case it really ain't the motor Honda built. The motor is designed for 14.7 psi atmosphere... It don't take a whole lot of boost pressure to go way beyond what the motor was intended for. Too each his own but that'll take a good deal of time and money... I mean look at the basic numbers ------------ it's 11:1 stock on ~100 (R+M/2) the highest sustainable I've seen without pitting occurring on an engine is 14.2:1... At 5 psi boost you're damaging the engine... well assuming you get the charge cool, so we'll say 7 psi in more real-life example. And trust me at this point engine life is cut back severely... so if you maintain efficiency (Good luck boosting and keep a N/A's efficiency numbers) you can peak the motor at 295 horsepower (based on a 201 hp stock (which I believe is flywheel correct?). But then again you'd be driving on 100 octane with 4,000 in the motor and you'd be lucky to get 75,000 out of it before a rebuild... And if your BOV sticks and you get a decent surge your engine could grenade... ---------- So it's possible, not necessarily practical but possible... But then the cross over point for most these kits isn't till 5,500 RPM or higher (even on the charts the manufacturers give out)... So if you want to keep your car strung upto 6000 RPM then it may be a good idea for you... I'm laughing my ass of looking at some of these dyno charts kit manufacturers are showing... When you see these numbers mate, look at who is giving them to you. IMO K20A2 Great engine Turbo Great power adder K20A2+Turbo An exercise in wasting money. Unless the car is meant for a 1/4 mile life... Personally, I look at this as a track car/Sporty daily driver and should have better torque at the lower side of the mid range. But that's my bias.

2 people found this helpful.
25

k pro ...... thank u for bringing that up talk about changing your car completely

1 people found this helpful.
25

k20 NOT ka20...someone doesnt know their motors

1 people found this helpful.
55

welll ive got a 2004 rsx coupe 5spd. I got a lot of plans for her within the next 5 years. I currently have the stock k20a3 motor in it with vtec and a nice intake on it. its all emptied out under the hood. But...my plans are to fully gut the interior for a nice black with red insert leather throughout. the carpet and ceiling would be covered in black. and id change out my short shifter for a stage 2 or stage 3 6spd clutch, which means id need a new tranny as well so as well as changing out the tranny for a 6spd...ill be taking out the whole motor, cleaning it, and selling it, so i can get an rsx type s motor and ill get rid of the intake and change it with a nice turbo.As well as changing up all my wiring and my sound system, with a custom built casing for the subs and amps in my trunk. (done by me) oooh and my exhaust needs to be changed, its just alil too loud for me, something quiet but ballsy is what im looking for, probably a magnaflow. Gotta fix my suspension to a more sport orientated one, as well as minor details for weight and the chassis. Minor details will be fixed throughout the whole project of this car. Im just really going over the basics and looking at prices for now. My goal is to have a beautiful car that will push 450 to 500 horse power. with everything from under the hood to the interior and exterior of the car being touched by my hands, no bs mechanics to do all the work for me. This is a plan for the next 5 years. So when I am done paying it off itll be nice as fuck. :) If you have any suggestions please let me know, Im still working on the details of the motor, whether or not i really wanna switch it.

1 people found this helpful.
25

400-500 arent extreme boost numbers. there was one in superstreet on a peakboost kit boosting 16 psi making 646whp. thats on stock internals. its definitely do-able but as far as reliability you'll be lucky if the motor lasts two years after that if you stay with stock internals

55

yeah i know 400 to 500 isnt much when throwing on a turbo...quite low if u think of it. but the fear i have IS blowing my engine. thats why i dont wanna add too much boost and i just wreck 3500 bucks. i am only playing around with the idea so far, but id def change everything within the engine so it can hold the turbo. I DO NOT know everything about cars, but i know enough ... especially for a chick lol.

1 people found this helpful.
25

keepin my 06 type s a k20z1 sleeper, just going to push it as far as i can all motor hoping to break into high 12's by the time im done/completely satisified. want to keep the outside mostly stock besides a mugen lip kit. I just want people to think it's stock with just an exhaust so they're sure they're shit on me but there in for a suprise. so far ive got Megan Racing headers with cat delete, Injen MR SRI, HKS HI-Power exhaust and a CT-Engineering (Comptech) Short Shift Kit with Strut King metal bushings. Planning on Skunk2 Cams, Skunk2 Valve Springs, JE Pistons, Brian Crower I Beam connecting rods

1 people found this helpful.
15

daily driver but drag racing purposes too. i want to do a engine swap with a k24a2 engine and then put on headers, full exhaust system, short ram intake, ECU, camshafts, crankshafts, strut bars, cylinder block, cams, conecting rods, head gaskets, intake manifold, valves, valve springs, pistons, oil cooler, oil pump, ect.

35

Im 17, so far in my owning of the car I have done AEM V2 intake, DC Sports race header, Tanabe hyper medallion exhaust and I have the Hondata Kpro ECU. In terms of suspension I have Tein Flex coilovers with EDFC, neuspeed front and rear strut and sway bars, c pillar, and a b pillar Im rollin on some no name 17" mesh wheels wrapped in Falken tires. I have a type-r front lip and wing... Im hoping by the end of 2010 to have gone turboed on the peakboost kit or full race kit.

35

Goof luck with a sleeper RSX-S with a Buddy club Race header... Loudest header I have ever heard... And if I were you, I wouldnt reallly about a header for the time being since your plan is to go turbo.... You will spend 800 on the BCRH and then once you go turbo you wont be able to use it...

35

with an rsx you can run 350 whp safely on a stock block, ive heard 400 bu that sounds like too much... once you get to about 350+ you should start to consider building your engine I.E. rods, pistons, valve springs, retainers, injectors... There are guys on club RSX with the pakeboost g35r running at 18psi and getting like 540WHP and if im not mistaken theres a few people with the g37r getting like 650WHP.

75

Just looking to see if I can improve the overall capabilities of the car. I've only swapped out the factory battery with a braille b2015 (15 lbs and 425 cca's) and I've done the Hondata airbox mod. With some cash I'd hope to mod further with things like a Greddy Spectrum Elite, maybe a password JDM intake with matching battery relocator. A quiafe LSD and hopefully a reflash or K-Pro to round out the powertrain. I'm looking to lose weight off the front end and thus the lightweight yet more powerful battery and hopefully a carbon fiber hood. I'm looking at possibly swapping out the rear camber links with adjustable units to help mess with my suspension setup. If necessary I'd go into more fine tuning with coilovers or just lowering springs if i'm lazy, and then some sway bars to hopefully get the car handling exactly how I want. Also, i might have to keep her daily driven so a set of winter tires will be thrown into the mix. I'm still a student, so these are all just plans at this point.

75

WOULD THE REFLASH REALLY DO THAT MUCH! I have an 2004 rsx base auto with the AEM V2 intake. megan header and downpipe, and 5zigen cat back exhaust. I know that a retune would do a vehicle with little modifications done to it better but when I get the reflash in PHX, is it going to optimize all that I have done to my vehicle, as in just what it states that it's tuned to that I read with the hondata website?

85

I have a 2002 daily driver. Exterior, chassis, suspension and brakes would be stock type-r, with a z1 under the hood.

65

My goal is simple, the car running 100% problem free. currently at 85%. then start to make it look good ascetically so some decent wheels. maybe a type r wing along with the lips and at that point id be happy

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