The Evolution of GSRstilez's Integra GS-R

S

stilez

New member
Hi everyone,



I had a bit of extra time on the computer today to go through some pics. I figured I'd post up a complete evolution of my 1996 Acura Integra GS-R.





I bought my GS-R back in March of '02 from an Insurance Salesman. The car was bone stock except for some faded tint. The car was oxidized and dull, but mechanically perfect. He saved every single maintenace record down to the oil changes. I was very confident and happy with the purchase. Here is a stock photo.



tegevo1.jpg






I wanted to mod quick because there was soo much to do with the car. First thing I researched were rims and lights. I picked up some Motegi MR-7 rims in Gunmetal wrapped with Toyo FZ-4 Z-Rated tires. These rims were the first of their kind (color-wise). I was the ONLY one in the area with them and they were one of the only gunmetal rims available at the time. I complimented them with clear corners and a front plate delete.



tegevo2.jpg






Next was to get a bit more serious. I picked up a set of H&R Race Springs and Progress Camber Kit to lower and stiffen it up. I also purchased a black Grillcraft grille, tinted the corners (35%), windows (20%), and windshield (35%).



tegevo3.jpg






I got tired off rolling on such heavy rims that were slowing me down. I looked for something lighter and decided on the Rota Subzero's in gunmetallic. They were almost 10lbs lighter on each corner and very strong. Along with this, I bought real blacked out corners and blacked out my headlights.



tegevo4.jpg


My gf Liz :)
 
I began to notice that the lack of care of the paintjob from the previous owner was not doing well. Some spots were getting very thing (clearcoat almost gone) and the color was not completely uniform. I saved up all summer to get the job done and purchased various parts.



I decided to go with the Wings West Racing Series 2 Body Kit and Black Widow Series 1 Spoiler. I also had all of my emblems, rear lock, antenna, front plate holes, and "INTEGRA" engravings on the bumpers shaved. The car was repainted "Cinnabar Red" (PPG Paint), which was slightly lighter than Milano. At the time I had all my dings and such repaired as well.



tegevo5.jpg


In the body shop



I was extremely pleased with the agressive, yet subtle look of my car



tegevo6.jpg






Then I decided to get a little showy. I was tired of my rims and really wanted a polished lip. Searching around, I found a deal on Exel Rims from www.wheelmax.com . I rode on stock for a month and sold my Rota's for the Exel's. The Exel's really complemented the look of the car even more.



tegevo7.jpg




tegevo15.jpg
 
For the winter, I wasn't going to risk my kit. I took of the entire kit and went back to my old original bumpers, skirts, rims, and deleted the spoiler. Oh yeah, painted the stock GSR wheels flat black.



tegevo8.jpg






Along rolled summer and I contemplated the idea of painting my rims to match the rest of my car. After my girlfriend re-assuring me, I sent em over to my body shop and had them painted Cinnabar Red. I was exstatic at the look of them. I left the spoiler off for a little to see how I liked it and put some smoked tails on (courtesy of DVPTeg26)



tegevo9.jpg






Then the unexpected happened. Coming home from a car show, I hit a road mill (2-3 inch cut in the pavement) and bent all 4 rims, broke the drivers side and center axles. I sent the rims out to get fixed and had the car repaired. I had to roll on stock for a little bit but didn't mind it too much.



tegevo10.jpg








Over the few years I've had it, I have also done a bunch of engine mods including:



-AEM Short Ram Intake

-MSD Wires

-Type One Racing 4-2-1 Header

-Carsound Cat

-Spoon N1 Exhaust

-Exedy Organic Racing Clutch

-8.5lb Flywheel

-F+R Upper Strut Bars, Rear Lower Tie Bar

-Fluidyne Radiator

-Engine Grounding Kit



tegevo11.jpg
 
Now at the end of the season this year I wanted a couple more subtle mods. I had the front bumper repainted because I scuffed it up from riding on stock rims. It also got hit while getting repaired. While being painted, I had the license plate hardware deleted and moved my plate to mount on the front radiator support. I painted my calipers silver to match the lip of the rims and polished all of my lighting. The side mirrors were also re-sprayed.





tegevo13.jpg




tegevo12.jpg




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Thanks for reading, enjoy, and post all of your comments :)
 
beautiful car and great mods. such a clean looking Integra. your car is just quality man. straight quality. keep up the great work!



Vernon



EDIT: lets see how many leg humpers you get to post:)
 
Thanks :)





Dalton: I have recieved 2 tint tickets for my side windows so far and been pulled over twice for my windshield. I told myself 1 more tint ticket and I'm stripping the side windows and breaking the windshield. I have glass coverage and my windshield is pretty pitted, so a new one would be nice :)



Vernon: I know...I thought of your friend when I posted that pic with Liz.
 
Yeah that sucks. I wass going to tint but legal in NY is the same as my factory and I really dont need any tickets.
 
Dalton, but then again look at my car compared to yours.



No offense but I'd be singled out of a herd of speeders if I was doing the speed limit. My car is a little flashy to cops.



My dad has 35% on both his Cobra Mustang and Caddy CTS and my mom has 20% on her PT Cruiser...They've never been pulled over for tint.
 
No offense taken. I have the "family sedan". I know. I also drive like an old man so good point. I have a great friend who owns a detail shop that does tint and he has been bugging me to let him do it. Maybe in the spring. I think it would look sharp with the silver.



Cops look for red sports cars. Lucky you. Seeing your car though I would say it was worth being singled out.
 
ooooooooooooooooh :) nice.



I have an AEM short ram too. I like the sound, not much for performance, but...the sound makes people turn their heads above 4k RPM. It's quite funny.
 
Cool writeup Sean, unfortunately where I live you can't own a car like that. It would be stolen and stripped faster then you can call your insurance agent. Did you take the tints of your windshield?? I remember seeing it at Poorboy's detailing day and it looked pretty light, and some of the newer pics look lighter then the above.
 
great write up. interesting to see the evolution of your integra which i must say is very nice. :xyxthumbs so what mods are next?



and you posted a picture of liz? i didn't see it. ;)
 
Nice history in pictures of your car, Sean. Interesting route you've taken. Why did you go with the short ram instead of the cold air? Fear of hydrolock? I had one on my Accord for 5 years and drove it in all kinds of weather, I just stayed out of deep puddles. Much quieter than a short ram at idle and cruising speed, but a mean growl when you get on it. ;)



Have you thought about changing cams, headwork, etc? What about the grounding wire kit? I've heard good things in the magazines, 2-10 horsepower for just better engine grounding sounds like cheap power, but the gains seem real dependent on how good the factory grounding is.



Oh yeah, don't post the pic of your girlfriend on offtopic-the request for pics her will overwhelm you!



Vernon-I have a leg humper smilie. ;)
 
Sean - Yes great write up, yes, great mods, but what a shine! Those latest pictures are simply stunning! You never mention any audio stuff! Are you into it? What setup do you have in the car?



(I love bass)!



Nice post.
 
Man I loooooove your teg!! So clean and ohhh so pretty. Just love how the rims look when you got them color matched...although I also thought the car looked sick with the subzeros. Heck, I think the car looked sick with the stock rims painted flat black! Always been a fan of dc2's, and yours is a prime example. That paint is like liquid.



Are you ever planning on going with the jdm front swap? I think the car looks sick as it is, but just wondering if you've ever given it any consideration. Keep up the good work and great documentation of the history :)
 
So, just how many sets of rims have you gone through?!



Nice looking car. I came very close to buying a GS-R in the mid 90's myself.
 
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