(car engine roaring)
(screams)
- When I was in high school,
you either liked domestics or you liked imports.
I was an import boy.
Every Saturday night, we'd all meet up in the
Tinseltown parking lot and rev our engines at each other
before engaging in a hundred-man knife fight.
It was a wondrous time.
The century was turning.
I was becoming a man.
Taking Back Sunday knew me.
Like, really knew me.
♪ And with my one last gasping breath ♪
♪ I apologize for bleeding on your shirt ♪
- Wow.
(laughs)
Born from a brand focused on luxury,
the Integra's only goal was to bring
driving joy to the masses and it became
one of the best front-wheel drive cars of all time,
and helped usher in one of the most
hallowed names in driving, V...
TEC!
This is everything you need to know
to get up to speed on the Acura Integra.
(imitates car engine roaring)
(screams)
(energetic chiptune music)
This episode of Up to Speed
is brought to you by MVMT Watches.
Go to MVMT.com/donutmedia to get 15 bucks off
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I wear mine everyday,
and I don't even know how to tell time.
(engine sputtering sharply)
In the late 80's, Japan was importing
fewer cars to the U.S.
To make up for lost sales, the main Japanese automakers
introduced luxury brands
that could be sold
(cash register dings)
for more money.
Thus, Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura were born.
Honda based Acura's models on existing Honda platforms,
but the Integra wasn't just a Civic with a body kit,
no, sir.
The Integra had disc brakes on all four wheels,
re-tuned suspension, and,
oh, yeah, pop-up headlights.
It was also powered by a new
dual-overhead cam inline-4.
The Integra was pure and simple fun.
In the first gen's four years,
Acura sold almost a quarter of a million of them.
The second gen Integra arrived in 1990,
Just like Jonathan Lipnicki.
- Do you know bees and dogs can smell fear?
- It had a bigger engine,
an independent double-wishbone suspension,
which would become a signature Integra feature.
In 1992, Acura gave us the Integra GSR,
and helped usher in
the most legendary tech in the land of Honda.
(engine roaring sharply)
- [Commercial Announcer] Honda.
VTEC.
- What is VTEC, you ask, grandma?
Well, it stands for variable valve timing
and lift electronic control.
I can see why they shortened it a little.
Here's how it works.
Each cylinder has three intake lifters
instead of two, like a normal engine.
While you're cruising along,
taking it easy, the two outside lifters
are riding on a pretty mellow cam profile.
The valves aren't open for very long,
which saves gas.
But, once you put your
foot down,
oil pressure engages some pins hiding
in that extra middle lifter, and all hell breaks loose!
The lifters get locked into a more radical cam profile,
letting more air and gas into the cylinder,
which means, more power!
VTEC just kicked in, yo!
Bah!
This genius technology made it feel like
you had two different engines in your car.
A little, efficient baby one,
for driving your grandma to her boyfriend's house,
and a fire-breathing monster,
for when you want to scare the crap out of him!
Dude, Troy, I get it.
Gram-gram looks great, for a woman her age,
but if you break her heart, I swear to God,
I'ma break your neck!
The TEC-E got even better in '94,
with the release of the third generation.
It had an all-new chassis,
with the new 1.8-liter VTEC motor,
making more horsepower.
And, the refreshed front end
featured the now iconic twin headlights.
While other luxury brands like Cadillac, Mercedes,
even Infiniti, were making big, boxy couches on wheels,
Acura was turning their image of luxury vehicle
into more of a sports car.
In 1995, Acura made the GSR even sportier,
with more aggressive suspension, a spoiler,
and badges, to let people know...
Hey!
This is a freakin' GSR!
But the best was yet to come.
Because, in 1997, Acura gave us what some might say
is the greatest front-wheel drive car
of all time.
The Integra Type R.
Simply put, the Integra Type R
was a bombshell in the import scene.
Acura abandoned all pretenses of luxury,
to prove that they could make the best
sports car in all of the land.
Its entire function
was to be as light and as rigid as possible.
It didn't have A/C or a sunroof.
No cruise control, or rear wipers.
Acura was so focused on cutting weight,
that the Type R didn't even have vanity mirrors
in the visors.
This thing was a race car.
They freaking seam-welded it.
Google seam welding.
It's thing they do to race cars.
Putting the Type R on a diet
made it 140 pounds lighter
than the GSR.
In the U.S., the Type R was only available
in championship white from '97 to '98.
The car disappeared in '99, just like my dad.
- You'd know I'd take you with me, if I could.
(car tires screech)
- But, when it came back in 2000,
you could also get it in black,
and pheonix yellow.
It's not named after that town in Arizona.
It's named after the freakin' bird
that died and came back on fire.
Dumbledore's pet!
Jean Grey!
Wolverine's girlfriend!
Also, Cyclops's wife?
The DC2 Type R got its power from a very special motor.
The B18C5.
It had a lighter flywheel.
The connecting rods were torqued by hand.
The intake ports were hand-polished.
That meticulous attention to detail
is usually reserved for big-time race cars,
which makes sense because,
that's what the Type R had become.
Acura even had the piston skirts coated with mol...
Molydb,
denium.
Molybdenium?
Molybdenum.
Yeah, I really liked those condos.
In fact, molybdenum!
(giggles)
Acura even had the piston skirts coated with molybdenum.
Now, I'm gonna be honest here, guys.
I don't know what molybdenum is,
but it sounds like a freakin' X-Men metal.
And I want Wolverine claws made out of it,
to reduce friction as I'm stabbing through my enemies.
Watch out, dad!
Baby's got molybdenum.
(claws screeching)
With the Type R and NSX in their stable,
Acura was now the leader in Japanese performance.
Even though they were supposed to be a luxury brand.
The U.S. got a totally redesigned Integra in 2002.
While it was still called the Honda Integra back in Japan,
Acura decided to give all of their cars
boring alphanumeric designations instead of real names.
The Integra was now the RSX.
The RSX was completely new, from the ground up.
Acura designed the car with a
more mature market buyer in mind.
Someone with their shit together,
just like Craig, Jessica's new husband.
It no longer had
double wishbone double wishbone suspension,
which is kind of what made the Integra so special.
But, critics still praised the car's spirited handling.
In the U.S., the RSX was available in two trim levels.
The bass-making 160 horsepower,
and the RSX Type S, making 200 from the awesome K20A2.
It's a great engine, if you put it in a Civic.
The U.S. did not get an RSX Type R,
which sucks, because Japan did, and it was really sweet.
The new Integra Type R in Japan
was a continuation of Honda's proud Type R tradition.
It came with Brembo four piston disc brakes.
Red Recaro seats.
A new LSD,
a Momo steering wheel.
And, like the Type R of the 90's,
it didn't have any vanity mirrors,
because you know you look dope as hell,
'cause you're driving an Integra Type-R!
It got its power from the K20A.
It had a new version of VTEC, that,
on top of liftered stuff,
could also tune its ignition timing on the fly.
The result was a smoother power delivery,
putting down 217 horsepower.
In 2005, the RSX got an updated exterior,
including a new spoiler, and Enkei wheels, which is cool.
And, in the power department,
the Type S got a new cam shaft.
- Oh, I love it when you say cam shafts.
Whisper it to me.
- Cam shaft, and exhaust package,
giving it 10 more horsepower.
It had more bark, and more bite.
So much so, that Car and Driver called it The Top Dog
in its class.
The RSX ended production in 2006.
It marked the end of two-door sport coupes
in Acura's lineup.
Honda was free to export as many cars
as they wanted to the U.S.,
and didn't need to make up for the gaffe
with Acura, anymore.
The new Civic SI was very similar to the RSX, but cheaper.
There just wasn't room for the RSX anymore.
Today, the tuner scene
is a weird mish-mash of drifting,
time attack, and stance cars.
But, it wasn't always like that.
The Integra was a stand-out car,
from a forgotten time.
People are always talking about the heavy hitters,
like the Supra, RX7, GTR, and even the NSX.
But, the Integra earned a claim
from critics and drivers alike,
by being a really great car.
It was focused, it was simple,
it was the best front-wheel drive,
naturally aspirated car,
of all time.
This episode of Up to Speed
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Simple, cool-looking, and functional.
Just like the Acura Integra Type-R.
That's everything you need to know,
to get up to speed on the Acura Integra.
Golden Age of Hondas, holler!
You ever been in a knife fight at a movie theater?
Does import drag racing still exist?
That used to be, like, the thing.
Send me a dollar for my Lambo,
I really want one,
we're up to about 10, now.
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I almost started crying.
(laughs)
Look, it's like, really personal.
(giggles)
♪ Cut my life into pieces ♪