Track Weapon: My 2001 Acura Integra Type R Build Story

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Jason Wong

2001 Acura Integra Type R

Instagram: @jw88_

Photographer:  Marvin Recinos / Aaron Sanchez

Instagram:  @mr2mivin / @driftstallion

Performance Stats: 224hp/160lbft

My name is Jason Wong, I'm 35 years old and a Southern California resident. I was born and raised in Gardena, CA during the 90s, raised by immigrant parents with lots of hard work and love. Today I am a father, husband, software engineer, and the owner of a naturally aspirated 2001 Integra Type R. In my free time, I am mostly with my family and raising my son. When I can, I enjoy hanging out with my friends as they do random automotive jobs, learning what I can through them. 

A Childhood Steeped in Car Culture

A recent hobby that I picked up a few years ago has been taking my car out to the track. I try to visit the local raceway at least 3-5 times a year, when the weather is nice, to get some seat time. I am in love with the process of figuring out where I can become a better driver and understanding how to push my limits before changing the car. It's given me a much better appreciation for car mods and a good driver. Like a lot of people, I have an older sibling who was into cars when I was growing up. Specifically, Hondas. They were cheap, obtainable, and easy to personalize. We didn't have a ton of money as kids so modifying a Honda was the closest thing we could mess with to look cool on the road. 

I remember tagging along with him and his friends to Hot Import Nights in my early teenage years and seeing all the cars on display. The 90's era of import tuning was all about lights, stereos, paint jobs, and wild body styling that set the bar for years to come. For us, a lot of the things we saw were out of our skill level both mechanically and financially but that didn't stop us from tearing apart my brother's 1999 Civic DX. We spent a lot of nights after school installing whatever we could to try and participate in the culture. That's what sparked it for me.

As the years went on, I got older and made my own friends, and my brother grew out of it. I began getting exposed to a lot of different type of cars in the city of Gardena. Rotary Power down the street from where I went to school had this beautiful mustard-colored Datsun 510 Bluebird that I always saw on the way home. My buddies were always telling me in class how they were hanging out with professional drifters over at the MotoRex warehouse where they once imported Nissan Skylines. My coworker at my part-time deli job taking me for cruises in his '83 Cutlass Supreme for lunch. You name it, if there was a genre of car, Gardena had it and I was soaking it all in.

From Inspiration to Ownership: The Dream Car Takes Shape

I vividly remember the Acura Integra always standing out to me the most amongst all the other popular compact cars. The 1993 Integra was originally my favourite because of its boxy body lines and when I learned that the 94-01 JDM version opted for the USDM 4-eyed headlights for rectangular ones, I was sold. It quickly became my dream car and still is.

I bought the car in 2022 already converted with the JDM front end which was the most important to me. I originally had a JDM converted 94 GSR but quickly sold that when the opportunity came to own a true Type R. The previous owner had it dedicated to track duty with an origin from the East Coast. As I dug up the records, I learned that its salvage title was due to theft and no history of any wreck that could have compromised its structural integrity. Most people might turn away from a salvaged title Type R but to me this was the one. I have no intention of turning a profit or having it sit in a museum one day. The goal is to be able to drive it and not stress about wear and tear that could devalue it in Today's crazy market.

My vision has always been a Spoon Sports theme DC2 because of how simple and OEM+ they've managed to keep their builds. I did not want to alter the original lines of the car with anything aggressive, so I've kept it consistent with a full Spoon Sports exterior catalogue minus the tow hooks. Adding aerodynamic panels may be something I reach for in future iterations of the car but I am not there yet as a driver to appreciate or need it. On the inside, I've kept true to Spoon Sports with a lot of collector items as well as things you can still purchase through Spoon Today. I like to keep it simple and OEM+ as I can. With OEM parts for the DC2R going extinct by the minute, it's been a treasure hunt to find a lot of these pieces in 2024 and the car acts as my display case.

I added an Alpine touchscreen unit with JBL speakers for street driving. On track days, I mount an AiM MXS 1.2 Strada on my cluster bezel to give me lap times and engine vitals via CAN bus. The rear is completely gutted to make room for a half cage from AutoPower, Takata racing harnesses, and a rear Laile Beatrush X-Bar to reduce any chassis flex between the rear hatch pillars.

Performance at the Heart: Acura Integra Type R

Under the hood, I run a stock K20z3 engine that was taken from a low-mileage Civic Si involved in a rear-end wreck. It powers a K20A Type R Transmission that has been upgraded with an OS Giken LSD unit. I've added an oversized radiator from CSF, a Laile Beatrush cooling plate, and a Spoon Sports thermostat to keep the engine cool. For breathing, I have a custom Loi-Spec titanium cold air intake arm and a full HyTech header and exhaust system all the way through. For fuel, I relocated the fuel system away from the exhaust headers to avoid potential fires using Radium fuel lines, fuel rail and filter.

For suspension, I added JRZ RS Pro to allow dampening adjustability 2 ways with compression and rebound so that I have plenty of room to grow as a driver. Most of my suspension components are made by Kingpin Machine with the exception of a few PCI pieces in the rear. I've also added Spoon rigid collars to remove subframe play and run a Mugen rear sway bar to stiffen up the rear and a stock ITR sway bar up front to give me a more aggressive turn-in. For wheels, tyres, and brakes, I am running Spoon 16x7.5 SW388 wrapped with Falken RT660 and Spoon Monoblock callipers paired with Project Mu Club Racer brake pads. 

The Uniqueness Lies in the Journey

My build has always been about balance. It is a reflection of where I am at in my driving journey and so that alone is unique enough to me. I think a lot of purists or horsepower junkies might look at the car and come up with a million different ways they could have spent the money to put down high dyno numbers or restore the car into a collector's item and cash out, but that's not me. The car represents who I am. It's disciplined, aggressive where it counts, and true to its roots.

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Acura Integra Type R Build List: 

Acura Integra Type R Engine

• Stock K20z3, 
• K20A Transmission, 
• OS Giken LSD, 
• HyTech 4-2-1 header, 
• HyTech b-pipe, 
• HyTech twin loop axle back muffler, 
• Radium fuel rail, 
• Radium fuel filter, 
• Radium FPR, 
• LoiSpec Titanium intake arm, 
• Hondata KProv4, 
• RyWire MilSpec Engine harness, 
• K-Tuned Race shifter cables, 
• K-Tuned billet shifter box, 
• Spoon Sports Valve cover, 
• Spoon Sports Spark cover

Acura Integra Type R Interior

• Spoon Sport bucket seats, 
• Spoon Sports cluster, 
• Spoon Sports steering wheel, 
• Takata 6 point harness, 
• AiM MXS 1.2 Strada digital dash, 
• AiM GPS Module, 
• Alpine double din head unit with PowerPack amplifier, 
• JBL Speakers, 
• Beatrush Rear crossbeam x-bar, 
• AutoPower Rollbar, 
• Relocated trunk XS Power battery, 

Acura Integra Type R Suspension

• JRZ RS Pro 2-Way with Swift springs 13kg/12kg, 
• Spoon Sports Rigid collars, 
• Spoon Sports ball joints, 
• Kingpin Lower front control arm, 
• Compliance bearings and upper control arm bearings, 
• PCI upper control arms. 
• Function 7 rear lower control arms, 
• PCI rear trailing arm bushings, 
• PCI rear camber arms. 
• Mugen Rear sway bar, 
• Spoon Sports lower rear tie bar, 
• Spoon Sports rear strut bar, 
• Carbing Front strut bar with brake master cylinder stopper.

Acura Integra Type R Exterior

• Spoon Sports Hood, 
• Spoon Sports Front Lip, 
• Spoon Sports side mirror, 
• Spoon Sports wiper blades, 
• J's racing tow hook, 
• Circuit sports rear tow hook, 
• PCI splitter brackets.

Acura Integra Type R Wheels/Brakes

• Spoon SW388 Wheels 16x7.5 +30,  
• 215/45/16 Falken RT660 square, 
• Spoon chromium molybdenum lug nuts
• Spoon Monoblock front callipers with Project Mu Club Racer pads, 
• OEM ITR rear brakes and Castrol SRF fluid

The Masterminds Behind the Build

This car was already K-Swapped by the previous owner in the early days of K-swaps, so a lot of the technology and aftermarket support was non-existent and needed to be updated. Loi and Brian over at Loi-Spec Garage helped me 100% with the build and I owe them the credit for helping me bring my dream to life. Alignment and corner balancing is done with Rob over at Chewerks. Engine management and tuning done by Chris at Natural Aspirations in Torrance, CA.

Future Plans for the Acura Integra Type R

I think the future for this car is pretty simple. I will add modifications once I have maximized the full potential of the current setup. I am currently focused on putting down my fastest possible time as is at Streets of Willow in Rosamond, CA before I add anything more. 

Once I have reached what I feel is the limit of the car, some more power will be next via drop-in cams and the appropriate supporting mods on the valvetrain and fuel injection, along with a larger intake manifold and throttle body.

Aerodynamics like a GT rear wing and front splitter will be added once I start focusing on Buttonwillow 13. There is more elevation changes and longer straights that require stronger downforce to keep the car stable at higher speeds and I want to experience that limit before I add it.

Shout Outs

• @loispecgarage
• @itr_brian
• @bshield_auto
• @chewerks
• @natural_aspirations
• @tsr_fabrication
• @mr2mivin
• @meng.tea
• @donutroidz
• @vics2000
• @hytechexhaust

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