u know, i have driven my lancer(121.3whp), a buddies evo(420whp), my new car a 2000 civic si(152whp), and a 515whp itr.

out of all of them cars my favorite would definatly be the itr, and a close second the evo.

i have to say i love my lancer cause it was cheap and so are junkyard replacement parts, it also has a very smooth feeling compared to the honda's, and not to mention actually has sound deadening, unlike my si. the downside is a major lack of power turbo or not, and horrible reliability.

my new car the si is a BLAST TO DRIVE, if u never drove a vtec car u wont understand, it is awesome to mess with punk kids that think they're mommys car is quick, then when i downshift into vtec and go right to the factory revlimit of 8,250rpm they are stunned to say the least, mainly cause they prolly think its a 90hp civic dx, no other car gets twice as loud at 5500 rpm and actually has a KICK in power, its just a fun car that has amazing retail, great predictable handling, vtec, 8250 revlimit, good looks, AMAZING reliability, and is very easily upgradable.

now to the evo, i drove my buddy mensingers evo8 mr, he has a number of mods to it and it handles awesome and has amazing power, BUT i honestly wouldnt want it as a daily driver, his has had a lot of trouble adapting to uprades and he has spent about 12000 on parts/labor that a honda/acura would've been under 4500, that is, if the parts would even break on the honda, i did like the quietness of the interior, the torque, and the fact its a 4g64t, cause my alltime favorite dream car would be a heavily modified '99 gsx 4g63t sleeper mmmmmm.

now to the itr, i know this kid that owns it for prolly 8 years, he's obsessed even more than me in my eyes. he got it imported from japan in 2002 for 13000 bucks with 34000miles, and from before it was even in the country he was buying aftermarket parts for it, as it sits today(winterized in nepa) it has 490whp at 20psi on 94 octane, 515 on 103, this vehicle by far is not only my favorite but also every car enthusiest in my entire area, even the old camaro/corvette/chevelle guys. it has all the good of the other cars i listed plus more power, less cost, equal handling if not better, better looks imho, and more reliability. so far he prolly put about 8g's in it and hes just about done. no other car i was ever in tacked out the speedo in 20 seconds, its almost scary. so for 21000 he has a car that OWNS most others and has more respect than anyone i know because of his accomplishments.

a stock itr is just that, to ANY honda/acura guy it is the ULTIMATE tuner. plus even to the non-honda loving crowd it is a RARE car. each yr there were only what, 1800 made, and that number im sure is very low now considering all the wrecked/stolen/riced out ones as of 2005.

the only thing i have to say is wait for 2007-8 when the new si coupe has an engine option called the k24, rumor is it will redline at 9 grand, which is high for a 2.4l motor, and it is rumored to have over 300 hp naturally aspirated, this will be a redesigned rsx k24 motor that supposedly will have higher compression, and a new intake/exhaust design for the head inspired from they're f1 cars. needless to say this will be honda's next milestone honda lover's treasure. the other news not related to this is acura is done with performance and will be transferring to pure style/comfort, and honda will be taking over the power aspect of the company, this happened since honda got all new chairman and they want to change things to be back on top once again. the next few coming years are going to be very good for honda. just wait and see.

 

wait i dont know if i read it right, but ur trying to say (without clearly stating) that its CHEAPER to make a Honda fast(er) than an Evo? I think you're friend got ripped off because 12k=450whp on an evo isnt impressive in my eyes for that money. Give me 12k i'll be faster than the evo and ITR.

 

also,is it a typo that ur friends evo has a 4g64? or did he swap part of the motor. I don't see myself getting excited over the power of a vtech compared to the power of a turbo. IMO: vtech is useless lag. Sorry but lag on an NA?? Why lag and wait for an extra 20-30hp when i can lag and wait for 100+ - 700whp depending on the car

 

I think you guys are all missing what makes the ITR so awesome, 5 lug nuts, honda guys have never seen a car with 5 lugs before.

 

I used to own a Honda, have driven a few ITRs and my friend had a Japanese turbocharged RHD Integra Type R imported from Japan.

As far as it being special, if you like Hondas, it is pretty much the top of the line for the front wheel drive Hondas. No, it doesn't have a lot of power. It was decent. It handled pretty good for its time. It was never made to compete against cars like the Evo and STI. It was in the same market with the Nissan Silvias and other FWD cars like the Mitsubishi FTO and very competitive against these cars.

It was good for its price ($25K in US, about $20K in Japan) and was a very balanced platform. Because of its limited make and the large # of Honda fans in the US, it has been elevated to almost collector level pricing and enthusiasm here. In Japan, it is not nearly as popular as it is here because of the availability of similar cars in its range. On a race course, a well set up ITR is a very formidable car but it was never designed to be a fast drag car as many US Honda guys like to do.

Yes, its a nice car. No it is not God.

 

^^good point. It is true that Honda guys take that well balanced platform and try to make it into a drag racer. Same with pretty much any sportcars in america. and HAHA! to the comment about the 5lug hub..hahaa

 

no no no, the 12 grand he spent wasnt all on aftermarket, most was on maintinence from him breaking it. i can launch my si at 7 grand all day and redline all day and night for 200k miles, my lancer cant even go to 7 let alone 8k rpm, and if i launch it a few times at anywhere above 4 it would break, i know this cause it is broken right now, lol, broken AGAIN.

dont get me wrong, im a mitsubishi guy, that and chevy for the chevelle ss and the vette, but all im saying is the type r is like a god for honda guys cause it has every good thing all the other hondas have and its rare, and is way better from the factory than any other honda street car. im just a little pi$$ed at mitsu cause my lancer sucks, i spent almost 6 grand on aftermarket parts and almost 3000 DOLLARS on replacement parts, and it is a 2003 with only 40k mi. for god sake.

now for comparison my si has 60k miles, is 3 years older, has 40 more hp stock, and from the day it was new the only maitinence so far was oil changes, tire changes/rotations, 3 alignments, 1 gear oil change, and soon to be a timing belt change. and it is taken to 8250rpm multiple times daily, all my arguement is i KNOW no mitsubishi could do that.

and to the vtec-lag comment, i will tell u right now, IMHO, there is nothing quite like turbo-vtec, or vtec for that matter.

and the 4g64, lol, that was just me @ midnight, lol, oops, im retarded at night, i was just typing 4g94 and i must have that condition where u see stuff backwards/upsidedown, idk, i meant 4g63.

 

I have no idea where you're getting that info from. The newest Si officially premiered TODAY, so a complete redesign is almost gauranteed NOT to happen until at least 2010 for the 2011 model year. 07-08 might see a minor model change, such as a facelift or a boost in HP, but never something that drastic.

Second of all, there is no such engine in the RSX. I'm going to assume you meant the TSX since the two letters are so close together. The K24A2 with the 5 speed auto puts down about 175 to the wheels, which is a 15% loss from the rated 205. For the K24 to make 300 hp, which runs to about 264 with a 12% or so drivetrain loss taking into account a manual tranny, it'd have to have some major internal work done. Headers, intake and exhaust would only put the current K24 to about 200 whp, so another 70 on top of that would require at the very least cams, Hondata, fuel management, throttle body, reinforced rods and pistons, valves, springs, and a host of other things I can't think of right now. A displacement increase would be a better idea, seeing as how the 3.0 V6 in the USDM Accord is already rated at 244.

There are some pretty wellfounded rumours of a K24 turbo to be put into the new Acura RDX, so that could be your new engine you speak of, but that's not NA.

 

the itr is just an aggrandized beauty for the those fans who swear allegiance only to honda. for the price, it is the cheapest/most affordable car one can get for the amount of performance given in japan and was the attainable dream car of many prepubescent teenagers who could not afford cars such as the s2k or nsx as some can here. they were even more idolized back when they were professionally ran on circuits and competed very well for an ff platform against other, more expensive/higher performing cars. think of all the rsx owners who drool over the itr, and to an extent it is similar to evo owners who drool over the fq400.. something that porsche or mercedes owners may never understand.

 

well, atleast around here.............what made the ITR popular was the fact prior to there US release in 1997 then hugely in 2000-2001, Honda chassis, especially the EF/EG/EK and even DA/DC2 were doing engine swaps. When JDM engines started to apear in the US and started to be more affordable, people were swapping engines left and right. Then of course the ITR and even 99-00 civic SI came out w/ those B-Series engines. People thought, hey why bother swapping w/ all the work/headaches and just buy a car w/ one.

Now the big thing in HONDA chassis land is the K-series swaps. Shoot im even doing one for my little brothers 1999 EK chassis. Hopefully i can do a k20 daily driver w/ 30+mpg and still run 12's in the 1/4 w/ bolt on's and my old MT 22" slicks.

The ITR honetsly was a great car for the price, reliability, longevity and performance.

oh yea, probably the number one reason it was REALLY POPULAR was because it had red stitching. (had to throw that in)

 

have integra guys swapped a k20?

 

I think there is a K20 swapped DC2 Integra. You'll mostly find it in the EG and EK hatchbacks due to the lighter weight of the hatchbacks.

2hot, are you using a K20A or a newer K20Z?

 

k20a.....w/ about 10k on it. i just ordered the hasport mounts for it. i'll try to post pics on hondatech once i get started.

 

Sounds like a beast of a sleeper if he keeps the exterior stock. Definetely looking forward to those pics!

 

For everyone bashing the ITRs... have you ever drove one? My friend use to own one (until it got stolen) and I used to own a 99 GSR. Now I drive 04 WRX (which I'm trying to sell to get EVO IX MR) but I still miss my GSR from time to time. I love the awd turbo feeling but the VTEC motor revving to 8k rpm can be addicting.
I agree that they are not fast. Most fwd hondas won't beat EVOs or STis BUT they have a special enjoyment that awd turbo cars don't offer.
I personally love the rarity of the ITR. I always wanted since high school but my MR will come first.