Recently acquired GSR (for track use)

Hello,

I recently bought a bone stock '97 GSR to potentially replace my current daily/track car. I've been contemplating on whether or not I should sell it and get a cheaper GSR, since it's highly likely that I will be heavily modifying the Integra for track use. It would be a shame to alter a stock DC2 that's in pretty good condition but then again, the motor is still strong and the chassis is straight.

If I do keep it, I would want to eventually get quality suspension, wheel, and tire components. I'm new to the Integra scene, so if anyone has advice on what brand/parts to get, feel free to chime in. I'm looking to keep it N/A, while adding an intake of some sort, header, and exhaust. Here are some potential plans:

-'98+ USDM front end or JDM front end
-Bayson ITR front lip, optional side skirts, and wing have been ordered
-AEM cold air intake?
-Header (haven't done research on a good combination I/H/E yet)
-Apex'i WS2 or similar exhaust
-Hardrace bushings to replace worn out bushings
-ASR subframe brace, F7 LCA's, additional chassis bracing and reinforcement
-Carbotech XP10 pads
-Motul RBF600 fluid
-SS Brake lines
-15x7.5 or 8 Kosei K1, RPF1, or TE37's?
-At least 205's (RE11, Dunlop Direzza Z2, RS3, RSR, etc.)
-Tein Monoflex, Fortune Auto, or anything comparable

Any alignment specifications, as well as wheel/tire sizing would much be appreciated as well.

And pics of course:



Considering parting out and selling my first car (had it for 10 years):

Keep the integra and mod it. And is that a camry? I'm judging by the tail lights.

Never thought I'd see a camry that looks that tough. :lol:

I say go for it, You can always store the stock parts and go back to stock if you ever decide to sell it.

I'd rather see a clean gsr on the track being used than risk it falling into someones hands who's just going to neglect it and ruin it.

Sell the gsr and pick up an RS shell, throw a gsr or type r swap in it and go from there. It will already have the sunroof deleted, no abs and a bunch of other stuff you don't want in a track car. If I could do it over again that is the route I would take.

15x8 wheels with 225/45 tires is ideal. I suggest RS3 until you're ready for rcomps.

Alignment will depend on your suspension and tire combo, but most likely -3 front camber, -2.5 rear camber and 0 toe all around. The high rear camber allows you to control oversteer with the throttle and lets the tires rollover and catch without being too loose.

nick and i have track build threads to look through.

I second the RS. I had an LS and did the RS conversion to fit my roll bar (i do not like autopower bars).
I run a 225/45/15 NT01 on a 15x8 wheel. I suggest an hancook RS3 or a BFG Rival in the same size. They are great street/track tires.

Also mono tube shocks have less shock travel than a twin tube design like a skunk2 pro c

Ganyon said:

Keep the integra and mod it. And is that a camry? I'm judging by the tail lights.

Click to expand...

Yup, it's a Camry.

R13 said:

Never thought I'd see a camry that looks that tough. :lol:

I say go for it, You can always store the stock parts and go back to stock if you ever decide to sell it.

I'd rather see a clean gsr on the track being used than risk it falling into someones hands who's just going to neglect it and ruin it.

Click to expand...

Haha thanks. I was thinking about keeping the stock parts, but then again, I'm limited on space since I've done the same with the Camry lol.

Nick_C78 said:

Sell the gsr and pick up an RS shell, throw a gsr or type r swap in it and go from there. It will already have the sunroof deleted, no abs and a bunch of other stuff you don't want in a track car. If I could do it over again that is the route I would take.

Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that as well, but I figured the swap (engine and trans) would be a considerable amount. I was considering perhaps mildly modding the Integra to serve as a daily/track car in the time being. If I did part ways with the Camry, then maybe go all out with an EK or EJ chassis since they're lighter and more rigid. I think a GSR swap into one of those would be pretty quick.

Nick_C78 said:

15x8 wheels with 225/45 tires is ideal. I suggest RS3 until you're ready for rcomps.

Alignment will depend on your suspension and tire combo, but most likely -3 front camber, -2.5 rear camber and 0 toe all around. The high rear camber allows you to control oversteer with the throttle and lets the tires rollover and catch without being too loose.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing an offset around +35 would suffice? I haven't done enough research on 15x8's to know if that would require flaring out the fenders. Also, I know a lot of people run reverse stagger, but I would plan on running a square setup and fine tuning the suspension to inhibit some lift off oversteer.

Samurai_Blue said:

nick and i have track build threads to look through.

I second the RS. I had an LS and did the RS conversion to fit my roll bar (i do not like autopower bars).
I run a 225/45/15 NT01 on a 15x8 wheel. I suggest an hancook RS3 or a BFG Rival in the same size. They are great street/track tires.

Also mono tube shocks have less shock travel than a twin tube design like a skunk2 pro c

Click to expand...

Monotube is what I had in mind. I"ll definitely look for your build threads in the meantime.

Yeah a +35 would work fine. I also use a square set up for that same reason.

You are right about the swap being a good chunk. An RS with a GSR/ITR swap will in the end cost more than your GSR, unless you do it all yourself. However, it has all that other work done which easily pays for the difference. It just won't have the mad tyte JDM label of being a "real" gsr, but for a track car who cares.

Also, once both chassis are gutted the weight difference isn't much. I see no reason to go civic unless you like the look better because like I said once they are both fully track prepped they are damn near identical in terms of speed.

Nick_C78 said:

Yeah a +35 would work fine. I also use a square set up for that same reason.

You are right about the swap being a good chunk. An RS with a GSR/ITR swap will in the end cost more than your GSR, unless you do it all yourself. However, it has all that other work done which easily pays for the difference. It just won't have the mad tyte JDM label of being a "real" gsr, but for a track car who cares.

Also, once both chassis are gutted the weight difference isn't much. I see no reason to go civic unless you like the look better because like I said once they are both fully track prepped they are damn near identical in terms of speed.

Click to expand...

Hey, it's been awhile since I last posted. I decided to replace the water pump, timing belt, gaskets, seals, etc. before modifying the car. Now that that's all done, I'll be getting some relatively cheap summer tires for the stock wheels, hopefully within the upcoming weeks.

I've taken the car up for a few shakedown runs in the canyons, and for some reason I'm rubbing the fender liners a lot, even with just me driving (I weigh about 140lbs). Throughout some turns, the chassis has bottomed out and my friend saw sparks as he was driving behind me. I've been told that the original suspension at 167k miles is either blown or just worn out, and coilovers would fix that issue.

Upon further research, I found out that I can get some really good hookups on Tein coilovers. What are people's feedback regarding the Tein Street Flex? I'm pretty set on those because they're the cheapest fully-threaded design that I could get from Tein. The downside is that they're twintube, but my pricing is $742 as opposed to $1350. The next step above that are the Monosport (revised Monoflex?), but my hookup isn't as great $1320 vs $1750. I don't really want to spend over a grand on coilovers at the moment, because I know the rest of the suspension components will add up quickly.

As for chassis bracing/suspension, any recommendations on a RSB to run? I'm leaning towards an adjustable one (Whiteline?), and would need to reinforce the subframe with an ASR brace, so that would be necessary. I heard that the weak points on cheap LCA's are in their bushings, and I don't really like the look of the F7's...so I was considering Buddyclub's or something, and replacing the bushings with Hardrace. I wouldn't be lowering the car more than 2", so I'm wondering if I would still need camber adjustments.

Those teins will suit you fine. Also replace all your bushings. Bad bushings cause all sorts of suspension geometry issues. I recommend doing that before coilovers and sway bars.

As for which sway to get, just get the asr subframe brace and swaybar combo. Good deal and works great.

You should get a camber kit for 1 simple reason. Alignment settings play a huuuge part in handling. It is more than just tire wear prevention.