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I know some of you are going to just look at these pictures. I’m ok with that. What I’m not ok with is the odd chance that you’ll mis-label this base model RSX as a Type-S or a Type-R clone. It’s neither of those. It’s better than those.
We’ve been following this car for a few years now. We used to see it at Supremacy Racing a lot, but we never really followed the build in detail. We would just ask “How is Ryan’s DC5 coming?” and Frank or Kel would say “It’s going good” and that was that. As you can see here, it has become very good.
Now, back to dispelling those Type-R/S myths: outside it’s sporting some, SOME, JDM ITR pieces such as the front bumper, red H badges and the Integra badge on the back. The fenders are just plain old JDM pieces, along with the sidemarkers. It’s sporting a full VIS Type R lip kit (front and rear lips and the side skirts), which accentuate the fine lines this RSX already has, and a TopOne splitter sits below said lip to help this thing move alone smoothly. A Buddy Club hood with Aero Catch hood pins round out the exterior modifications and keep the beating heart of this thing out of site, but not out of mind.
Much like the Telltale Heart, the motor lies out of sight. Tormenting those that attempt to cross it. That heart is a K24A2 with an RBC intake manifold and a SSR Race header, which dumps into a three inch K Teller exhaust. It might not seem like much, but like the red Civic from our Odd Couple article there’s not much to this car. That 2.4 liter mill resides in a wire-tucked engine bay (courtesy of Alex Prasop) and is held in place by a set of Innovative motor mounts. A RyWire millspec wiring harness connect, among other things, the Hondata ECU to the necessary bits of the engine. Necessary bits like the fuel injectors, which are attached and fed via a Golden Eagle Pro Series fuel rail. That jet black fuel rail sits in front of the trademark Wrinkle Red ITR valve cover, which sports a matching ITR spark plug cover.
Hanging off the engine is a six speed transmission from an RSX Type-S, which has been stuffed with oh so many goodies. An ITR limited slip diff has been added, along with the 5.0 final drive from a Honda CRV. The synchros have been upgraded to carbon pieces and the stock clutch has been tossed in favor of an Exedy piece.
The car rests upon a set of Enkei RPF1’s. The rears are 17×9 +22 with 235/45 Falken tires, while the fronts are almost the same, except they’re +35 and wrapped in fatter 255/45 Falkens. Behind those front split six spoke wheels is a Stoptech big brake kit and ITR control arms with PCI bushings. Behind the rear split six spoke wheels are Powerslot rotors and Hawk brake pads, Skunk2 control arms, a Beaks tie bar, an ASR subframe brace and a SPC camber kit. Tein Type Flex coilovers provide the stance, Stoptech steel braided brake lines provide the hydraulic pressure to reel this coupe in, and an Autopower 6 point roll cage keeps the occupants safe in case things go horribly wrong.
Speaking of the occupants, they sit in F1 Spec Type 3 seats and are held in place by Sparco harnesses. Course adjustments are made with the MOMO steering wheel, which is attached to an NRG adapter hub and quick release. Pertinent information is gathered from the Autometer Oil Presure and Water temperature gauges, the AEM UEGO wideband, and the Type-S gauge cluster. You perform your fancy footwork on a set of Mugen pedals.
This car started life as a ho-hum base model RSX, but after an infusion from it’s Type-R and Type-S brothers (and TSX and CRV cousins) this DC5 is better than the both of them.
Words and photos by Michael Chandler
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