The other night I had a chance to go
up against a "Type R" under semi controlled
conditions. I said semi controlled because we were on
a quiet side street with no driveways or cross
streets for about 750 meters plus myself and my
friend, that was driving the "Type R" for
the owner, are experienced competition drives. On
paper I should have been at a big disadvantage. The
"Type R" has more hp, less weight and
better gear ratios. Other factors to consider is the
weight of tire and wheel combo I have on my car and
the power required to accelerate them. The 16"
Momo Arrows and 225-45-16 Toyo T-1s aren't exactly
lightweight compaired to stock they weigh 3Kg more
per axle. Each additional Kilogram of rotational
weight at the wheels is like adding 4Kg to the weight
of the car. Also my sound system adds about 76Kg to
the overall weight of my car.
From a rolling start at about 50km/h
in second, we ran it through the gears until we hit
fifth. I was able to jum p ahead about a half car
length. The "Type R" seem to have a much
power as a Civic Si until it hit 6000RPMs then the
"Type R" would have a sudden burst of power
until it reached redline then it would catch up,
shifting up to the next gear I would jump a head
again but not as far ahead this time not as far.
Shifting into forth we were running nose to nose and
by fifth the "Type R" was slowly pulling
ahead.
The Integra "Type R" has a
much shorter and tighter shifter so it is able to go
between the gears faster. I think if I had my other
transmission with the 4.39 final drive ratio rather
than the 4.10 final drive I use for daily driving I
think I would have been better matched. The other
thing I didn't think about was to remove the two tool
boxes from th e back of my car. Luc will tell you I
carry enough tools in my car for my job that I could
rebuild the car on the side of the road. The combined
weight of the two boxes is about 60 to 70Kg.