trim levels

hey guys

i'm starting to get pretty tired of my current car...its a '91 corolla my neighbors gave to me about a year ago. its reliable and good on gas, but thats about it. i'm tired of driving such a basic car. my friend had a '96 gsr until he f'ed it up and so i'm kinda interested in 3generation integras. theres all these different trim levels...ls, rs, gs, gsr, type r. as far as i can tell the only ones with vtec are the gsr and type r. my friends was a gsr and he paid like $12k for it about 3 years ago. from what i've seen online, the ones without vtec have about 140 hp and the gsr has about 170 hp. so, my question is, how much of a difference is really felt between the two? if i got an ls or rs (which i could get sooner because its cheaper), would i really regret not saving for longer and getting a gsr?

thanks for your help
scott

Well, lets examine the facts here. 140 hp vs 170? That's quite a big difference. The non VTEC redlines at like 7000 rpm, and the GSR at 8000. (I have a '97 GSR).

I have driven both a non-GSR and a GSR and I will tell you now, the GSR is MUCH faster than the non-GSR.

Type R is 190 HP and as I've heard much faster than a GSR. If you can get a Type R, get one! They are quite rare.



If you get an LS or a GS, you WILL strongly regret not saving and getting a GS-R.

Originally posted by QuakeWork120
I have driven both a non-GSR and a GSR and I will tell you now, the GSR is MUCH faster than the non-GSR.


eh, i disagree. i drive a 97 RS and my gf has a 01 GSR. i drive hers all the time. There is a noticable difference in power, but it is not MUCH faster than mine when mine was bone stock. It is faster, dont get me wrong, but the difference in power wont make you lose sleep at night wishing you bought a gsr instead.

another factor you have to account for is your age. if you are young, your insurance for a gsr or type r will be higher than insuring a nonvtec teg.

Hehehe... well I don't have to worry about insurance. I only pay $600 a year on it. I'm on my parents credit through their insurance company.
My parents credit is perfect and the company they go through is like the cheapest ever (Jackson National/Bear River) It's a Utah thing, I don't think they are anywhere outside of Utah.

I have driven a 97 LS and a 97 GSR. There is differences but the nature of the two cars are the same. GSRs/TypeRs are talked about more, and they have better track times. In a nutshell they are the ones that represent integra's performance etc. I have an RS and it does me ok. It's quick compared to other vehicles on the road, I have no troubles in traffic. The only thing I can't do is beat the big names in performance motors such as the GSR/TypeR in the 1/4 mile or the roads. If you want to be king then get a GSR/TypeR, if you don't care get an RS/LS/GS/. They look the same anyway and with bolt ons an LS can sound good and have ok performance.

Regards,
Spotovi

(Sure, I'm biased by my GS-R, but...) I'd definitely recommend going for the GS-R. They've got VTEC engagement and the dual-runner intake manifold, which provides 3 distinctly different (and useful) powerbands. Below 4400rpm gets you around in traffic great, 4400-5800 lets you pass people with ease, and 5800-8200 is so much fun for all the wrong reasons :)

(talking from the gearhead perspective) There are a ton of little engineering differences between the B18A/B (non-VTEC) engines and the B18C series (VTEC). Intake manifold, exhaust, injectors, pistons, redline, crankshaft balancers, transmission are all slightly different.. It's attention to detail that makes the VTEC engineering so respected.

(from the daily driver perspective) There's not much difference in the interior (cloth or leather) between LS/GS and GS-R. Everything's basically standard and it's hard to find things to complain about. They're all great.

If you've got a gearhead attitude toward cars, you'll slap yourself later if you don't get a GS-R or Type-R... I'd recommend the GS-R just because of availability and comfort. Cost on used ITR's is normally very close to the GS-R. They're all excellent cars that can last 300,000+ miles if treated well. I've seen plenty of 1G 'tegs still running great at 250,000 :)

well this is the specs a good driver in a LS,RS,GS can probably do low 16's in the quarter, the GsR can pull about a low to mid 15's and the TypeR can do about a mid 14, sometimes even low with like advanced timing and good driver. I would recommend the Gs-R if you like confort and drivability, if your an all out racer, (like me:) ) Get the Type-R but they are a little more expensive and harder to find...