A road racer at heart, Jeff "Kiwi" Owen started racing Camaros and Trans-Am Mustangs back in the old country, New Zealand. When he decided to purchase this 1997 Japanese-market Integra Type-R, Owen was sold on the R badge's ability. But after immigrating to the United States, Kiwi was sitting on a right-hand drive Integra that was unregistered for street use. The only possible solution for Owen? Rip the car apart and take it racing. If you can't drive it on the road, you might as well drive it on the track.
First came all of the standard West Coast amateur racing venues: Touring Car Racing Association, U.S. Touring Car Championship and Honda Challenge. When Kiwi began building and racing Integras powered by K-series engines, his life took a turn. Because Honda Challenge wants to keep costs down with readily available parts, the rules stipulate that engine internals must remain Honda factory, no aftermarket rods, cranks or anything. Kiwi thought the K-series connecting rods were too soft to stand up to the abuse of road racing even with heat-treating, and he saw K-series engines blow left and right. Unhappy with Honda Challenge's rules, the Honda Cup and this Integra were born.
Built as a showcase for the Honda Cup, this Type-R is an example of what a front-running Cup cars look like. Ironically, after all the discussion about K-series engine rods, the engine is now a 2.0-liter B20 block fitted with a B16A head. Built by JG Engine Dynamics of Alhambra, Calif., the inline-four makes lots and lots of tiny explosions using a Type-R crank fitted with 12.5:1 CP competition pistons and JE rings. The connecting rods are heat-treated, micro-peened and balanced Type-R rods held together with ARP hardware-a mix of factory and aftermarket. The B16 head was fitted with stock-sized JG Engine Dynamics valves and double valve springs. Valve retainers and keepers are both titanium, although any further head work remains a secret, just to keep other racers on their toes.
The camshafts and cam gears are also by JG Engine Dynamics and are specified and swapped by JG to suit each track, like more mid-range or more top-end-whatever the Integra needs to get that extra advantage. Larger RC Engineering injectors fitted into a JG Engine Dynamics intake manifold handle fueling, while the exhaust system is completely fabricated by Vibrant Performance. Tuned by the Honda ECU freaks, Hondata, this combo puts out about 285 hp to the crank. Held with a Clutchmasters Stage 4 twin-disc clutch, the Integra makes use of one of two different transmissions. One is fitted with a 4.9:1 final drive ratio, the other with a 4.75:1, both with Quaife differentials and ProDrive axles. Depending on track configuration, Kiwi will fit the car with either his shorter or longer gearbox.
How fast is your average 2,350-pound Integra Type-R on track? Fast, but not as fast as this Type-R. Working with an excellent factory suspension design, Owen fitted his car with Progress Auto coil-over dampers and Eibach springs, 900 pounds per inch in the front and 1,100 pounds per inch in the rear. Skunk2 upper control arms allow greater range in camber adjustment. Kiwi's lower control arms were fitted with Progress Auto spherical bearings throughout. The rear anti-sway bar was changed out for a 23mm Progress unit, and that's really about it.