Bought a 97 GSR First Mods? HELP!!

[bassguitar1121]

Hey guys, I just got a 1997 Integra GSR thats bone stock. I have about 1,400 dollars to put into it. Im thinking a v2 Aem intake to start off. I dont know alot about all of the available products, but whats my best bet for my money. If i do buy anything I want it to be top of the line for Horsepower gains, especially if that means spending extra such as 300$ on a v2 intake instead of basic cold air. Whats do you guys think I should start with. Im thinking V2 intake, greddy exhaust, headers.. what you think I should do???

[iVteC_PoWeR]

its possible to make a custom a turbo setup for $1400...you might just need a tad bit more though...but thats the best bang for your buck since you have that much

[WReX]

boost, thats all i have to say

[Schister66]

boost is my first mod.....the only good one you can really do!

$1400 is going to get you a cheap ass set up or SSAC......$2500-3500 for a good set up depending on your goals.....

BTW, the AEM V2 is NOT worth the money....it is just a pipe w/ a filter...woopie! Get a damn Ebay pipe, use the filter or get a good one......doesn't really make a difference. Dont waste your money on dumb name brand shit.

[pepsihatman]

I agree that the AEM V2 is not worth the extra money, but if you still want a good product, get a standard AEM cold air intake. I am super happy with mine. I had absolutely no fit problems, and everything I could ever need was included in the package.

I know Greddy makes an excellent exhaust and people have always liked their headers. Another thing to consider is: Are you going for just speed in a straight line? Or would you consider suspension modifications? Just a thought, but I can see that you are already thinking about engine modifications.

Is this your daily driver? Boosting will give you awesome hp gains, but it's not going to be nearly as reliable as I/H/E. Intake and exhaust are also a hell of a lot easier to do yourself unless you have experience with boosting.

*ADDENDUM* Boost will not be as reliable, unless you absolutely know exactly what you are doing. And let me know if I'm going astray here, but boost on a stock GSR, with average miles for a 1997 (about 100k right?) is probably not the best thing for the engine. Even low boost has got to put a hell of a lot more stress on the engine than what stock hp numbers would do (or even what hp I/H/E would add).

[Schister66]

wow most GSRs average 100k....mine just turned 56k.....boost does add stress, but remember that these engines are pretty stout to start w/. If you do compression and leakdown tests to determine the engine health, you will know its capabilities. All of this stuff really depends on your goals and your budget....boost is an expensive habit.....its cheap to start, but it only gets more and more expensive.

[bassguitar1121]

Well its a 1997 gsr with 49,000 miles on it. I'm thinking go with the i/h/e. What i/h/e should I get for under 1200 that will get me the best horesepower gains. Also if any money would be left over what should be my next things to think about getting? And yes its my daily driver..
Ps: 16 year old highschool junior just going car crazy :-D

[Schister66]

i'll tell you right now, you should save your money.....if you can get another $1700 in the next while, you can do a LOT more. I decided that i could wait until i had the money instead of blowing my money a little at a time....now i'm going to be boosted in the spring....if you wait, it pays off....

[pepsihatman]

Unless you have a lot of experience, I wouldn't even try for the turbo. Being 16, it sounds like this is your first car. I/H/E would be my advice. It will make the car a hell of a lot of fun to drive.

[bassguitar1121]

yes this is my first car. Im planning to race a 97 civic ex this summer. hes got a motor from japan thats supposilby the best 1.8L you can buy. Hes also got rota's and a fireball exhasut. I think he said with a good drop he can run a 14.5 maybe 14.7... Now ive heard that a professional driver ran a 14.8 in a stock gsr. With i/h/e im guessing id be lucking to crack under 15. I figure i/h/e will run me 650-900. Whats my next best bet after i/h/e as far as straight line speed. This is a must win by this summer
thnx guys
Ps: turbos outta the question, i dont have the knowledge to upkeep on one right now. good thought though..

[pepsihatman]

Now I'm assuming you are going to race this Civic on a drag strip. I'll just let that be. If he says that he has the best 1.8 honda engine... He's probably talking about a JDM B18c something engine (pretty much our engines GSR has a b18c1, and type R has a b18c5). One of the 1.8 liter vtec engines. He could have also bought it from a tuning company such as Spoon, which means major bucks, but with internal engine mods. A civic with a b18c engine (even stock) is pretty quick, seeing as they are lighter than an integra. My friend in his 240sx raced a civic with a stock b18a (USDM integra ls motor). His 240sx runs a 15.6 at the strip, and the civic ran a 15.7 next to him. The transmission was grinding baddly during that run, so I think the civic could have been a decent amount faster.

Also, stock GSRs only run 15.3 at best. I've never seen a stock GSR run any lower that that. I had an intake on mine, and I ran a 15.3.
Go to www.dragtimes.com. They have real drag times for many different cars. Usually the mods are listed at the bottom of the page, if any.

[Schister66]

i have something for you....i put on an HP Racing Intake mani...i can get you one for like $300 w/ the fittings to hook it all up....it'll save you some time! Then you just get a short pipe w/ a filter or just a filter on the end of the tb.....top end is sick!! That coupled w/ a nice 4-1 header and exhaust would rip!!

Here are some pics of the one i have on my 99 GSR





If you're interested just shoot me a PM....i'll hook you up w/ the mani, the parts to hook it up and the directions to remove the old one and install the new one......

[Schister66]

by the way...that's the shipped price



oooooooh pretty........

[CivicSpoon]

Originally Posted by pepsihatman

...He could have also bought it from a tuning company such as Spoon, which means major bucks, but with internal engine mods.

The Spoon engines don't have any internal mods, just balanced and blueprinted Honda parts, with a slightly thinner head gasket for a little higher compression.

[pepsihatman]

Originally Posted by CivicSpoon

The Spoon engines don't have any internal mods, just balanced and blueprinted Honda parts, with a slightly thinner head gasket for a little higher compression.

Thank you for clarifying that.

My point is that the gentleman with a civic could have bought a modified engine from Japan. Even a stock b18 makes a civic pretty quick.