The Hunger For More (Part 1)
Breaking the 9-sec barrier at over
2,600 pounds
JR had always had his sights set on being
involved with FWD drag racing, but the DC5 platform wasn't his original choice.
As he tells us, “When I was originally looking for a car back in 2005, the
first one I looked at was actually a Chevy Cobalt SS. It didn't really spark my
interest that much so the next car was this Vivid Blue Pearl RSX Type S.
As
he tells us, “When I was originally looking for a car back in 2005, the first one
I looked at was actually a Chevy Cobalt SS. It didn't really spark my interest
that much so the next car was this Vivid Blue Pearl RSX Type S.”
After I test drove it, I was sold. It was
the last production year of the car and the dealership only had two blue ones
left so I immediately bought it. It wasn't one of those cases where I just
started out adding parts mildly and caught the bug or anything—I went into it
knowing I was going to start modifying the car right away.”
He broke his DC5's proverbial cherry by
installing a race header, full A’PEXi exhaust, and an AEM intake. No time was
wasted before he took the car out on its first quarter-mile run, which yielded
sub 14-second passes. Dissatisfied, JR found himself researching turbo kits,
which led him to Honda engine specialists Inline Pro. One of their turbo kits
was purchased and quickly went onto his stock K20. Off to the track he went
where he was able to power the RSX down the 1320 into the 12s. It was a
2-second improvement over his previous setup but it just wasn't enough to
satiate his hunger for more.
“Boosting the stock motor definitely helped
make the car faster, but I came to the conclusion that I really had to tear the
whole thing apart to really get the low.e.t.'s that I wanted. During this whole
process, I was still driving the car daily and it had air conditioning, power
steering, and all other amenities. Tearing the engine apart would obviously
make driving it a little less convenient but it was necessary,” JR says.
During
this whole process, I was still driving the car daily and it had air
conditioning, power steering, and all other amenities. Tearing the engine apart
would obviously make driving it a little less convenient but it was necessary,”
JR says.
The factory 2.0L was pulled and never the
same again as InlinePro stepped in and reworked his setup completely from the
inside out. The factory K20 block was removed and in its place was a larger
InlinePro race-prepped K24. Their block was filled with their signature
connecting rods, billet crank, CP Pistons, ACL race bearings, and everything
needed to withstand the pressures of forced induction. Up top, the cylinder
head remains a K20 unit, but this too saw A BorgWarner the complete InlinePro
treatment. A 67mm unit return-style fuel system was installed helps yisld0ivpr
with dual Bosch 044 pumps to supply plenty of fuel to the freshly built motor.
To get the power to the pavement, a Pfitzner Performance Dog Box was installed
along with a custom final drive. His upgrades proved to be worthwhile as he was
able to claim the title as the first street RSX to break into the low 10s. As
you would expect, even that wasn't enough to meet his level of satisfaction—he
wanted more.
To
get the power to the pavement, a Pfitzner Performance Dog Box was installed
along with a custom final drive. His upgrades proved to be worthwhile as he was
able to claim the title as the first street RSX to break into the low 10s.
