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G8GT vs RSX type R

5K views 44 replies 25 participants last post by  r1owner 
#1 ·
Have a guy at my church who keeps trash talking the G. He keeps telling me his RSX typeR can take me any day. He has a whole list of mods he keeps telling me about, but he will never open the hood. I'm thinking he is completely stock.

How do you think we will do? I have been asking him to run but he never wants to. Last week when I was on the SLS he said he wanted to run me this week. Looks like i'm pulling the G8 out of storage.

I will post results.
 
#2 ·
Depends if he is modded or not and if so how much. Stock to stock you'll kill him. If he has a power adder it might be a different story.
 
#3 ·
I had a friend in HS who had a first Gen RSX with the 6 speed. That thing was torquey as hell and could pull decently and cornered well. Stock vs Stock I would take the G8, but not by a ton. If he is heavily modded you will have your work cut out for you, plus the weight advantage obviously goes to him.
 
#32 ·
I had a friend in HS who had a first Gen RSX with the 6 speed. That thing was torquey as hell and could pull decently and cornered well.
Torquey? I respectfully disagree.
They had less than 100lb/ft of torque until over 5500 rpm! Even winding up to 8 grand, 125 lb/ft at the wheels was good for those motors.
 
#5 ·
Also depends on if he can actually shift it well. My guess is that if he keeps "listing" whatever mods he has on the car and doesnt want to lift his hoodand be a good sport it is probably little more than an intake, header, exhaust situation. What mods are on the G8?

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#14 ·
Some people are clueless when it comes to imports. It doesn't take forced induction to make Honda/Acura fast. Just sounds like a bunch of what ifs going on. The kid probably has nothing done to the stock RSX K20A motor, but he could also have something serious going on under the hood. If you only know LSx motors and have know idea about Honda or any other import motors, then you shouldn't assume anything. I have seen plenty of V8 guys get there feelings hurt because they assumed that colony of Aricanized beeeeezzzz were all sound and no sting!!

IMHO achieving 300whp on a K series motor is not a challenge anymore and can be done for cheap. If the kid wants an easy 300whp all he has to do is keep his current K20A head, Crower cams, Supertech valvetrain, K24A block from a Honda Pilot, Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Acura TSX, 12' Honda Civic Si (my point is they are readily available blocks $100-200 used, $500 new bare block) 0.020″ overbore w/12.5:1 or 13.7:1 (E85) Wiseco pistons, Eagle H-beam rods, ported intake manifold, 70mm throttle body, 4-1 header, CAI or ITB for more power, 520cc or 750cc (E85) injectors, Walboro 255lph intank fuel pump and Aeromotive FPR all compatible for E85.

Just because a car looks stock doesn't mean it is. I'm sure plenty of forum members me included, have had people assume the G8 is slower than it actually is then end up getting a surprise they weren't expecting. 300whp in a light weight car is nothing to take to lightly!!
 
#16 ·
So what your saying is if he has basically rebuilt the entire motor he can take an almost stock g8?...I sure hope so. Lol just given ya some hell man. Id say its safe to say you know more about the honda 4 bangers than the average g8 owner knows about them.
 
#20 ·
2.4 liter motors are making 300-330whp N/A goals and 2.7 liter motors are making 400+ whp N/A with compression like 14:5.1 on E85.

So what your saying is if he has basically rebuilt the entire motor he can take an almost stock g8?...I sure hope so. Lol just given ya some hell man. Id say its safe to say you know more about the honda 4 bangers than the average g8 owner knows about them.
LMAO :laugh: !! He doesn't have to necessarily rebuild anything. I was only picking random parts since every company seems to make Honda parts. He could actually build a pretty stout motor using an 11:1.1 TSX block and a K20A3 head w/ cams, CAI, header and exhaust.

It's funny to think that a big bore motor is a 2.7 liter 4 banger
 
#17 ·
This is a no-brainer. Even if he is supercharged or turbo'd you will smoke him I guarantee it. And sounds like chances are good he's neither. When I had my TSX for awhile (K24A2 also) I researched every mod there was out there. Short of a complete engine swap nothing on the market was worth a ****. Even going S/C was a complete waste of $$. Not even 300hp with full bolt-ons, SC and tune. Seriously, go destroy this guy and watch the look on his face :)
 
#23 ·
No K series motor will make 300whp from bolt-ons alone; pistons, rods and cams are needed. Just like a G8 wont make 400rwhp on a stock block without bolt-ons and a cam.

The K24A2 block is a gem when put to good use. The TSX makes 201 crank hp with 2.4 liters K24A2 with 10.5:1 and a head that doesn't flow worth crap without opening it up and doing some porting. While the RSX makes 210 crank with 2.0 liter K20Z1 with 11.1:1 and a head that flows a thousand times better.

What I'm saying is to take the K24A2 block and swap a better flowing head such as a K20Z1 form a RSX or K20Z3 from a Civic Si. You would bump the compression up to around 11.5:1 and still have the 2.4 liter displacement. With a cam and bolt-ons this should net you roughly 250-270whp depending on how well the combination of bolt-ons and cam work together and if you have auto or manual trans.

This is a nice jump from baseline 160whp the TSX puts down in stock form. Especially in a RSX that weights roughly 700 lbs less than the TSX.
 
#18 ·
I had a 1.8 vtec Honda 300whp on 14lbs. Enough to give c5 vetted all they wanted and more

A properly Turbo'd Honda is not to be taken lightly.

My money is on you unless he has a good power adder.
 
#22 ·
Coming from and EM2 Civic I followed the Honda scene and these "Fast" civics to be scared of are few and far between. Most are chopped together cars and usually 6th gens or older. RSX's are rare to be built due to the extra weight.

Either way this kid is all talk, just give him a good spanking.
 
#24 ·
#26 ·
This is true for the Integra. But the US never got a RSX Type-R. Also like previous posters have said Honda's can be fast and it doesn't take much money at all. My first 5 cars were Honda's two of which were turbo-ed and managed to hurt a few unsuspecting V8 guys feelings.
 
#27 ·
I have built dsms and a few hindas. I had a h22 turbo prelude that was no joke. 10psi on high compression block with e8blew me away with how fast it was compared to my dsms with way more boost.

What i am trying to say is he is most Likly a punk who thinks its day because it says typeS but those who do bout have respect for the import scene will find themselves butt hurt by a Honda eventually. Even without a power adder they can be quick cars decently cheap.
 
#29 ·
All this import talk has me thinking I'm going to build another import for a daily driver.
 
#30 ·
I have to say ditto for the posts saying you should have to trouble destroying them. I had a RSX try to be a real jerk coming onto the highway once. I saw them punch it as soon as they came to the part of the entrance ramp where I could pass also. This allowed a few car lengths before I hammered it. Before I hit 70 (from 40) I had already caught them and was waving to their confused look as I drove on by. They obviously had a few mods like exhaust and I'm guessing some sort of power adder with the A pillar gauge (unless that was just for looks).
 
#31 ·
Too funny. My G8 with all my current mods still couldn't beat my old Honda in the 1/4 and especially on a road course. Yes, it was only a Honda, but I spec'd it, built it myself and learned tons back in the late '80's and 90's. You just can't beat power to weight ratio!

The RSX guy is probably a dud. He probably thinks it's REAL fast because he hasn't run in a REAL fast car before. I remember a guy who switched from a TSX to a GTO, and he came on the board and said you guys are missing out. Most people gave him **** and called him a neanderthal, old NASCAR crap pushrod V8 from the 50's....blah, blah. Some people listened and I was one, I'm open to all kinds of cars, but the FIRST time I drove my G8 during the test drive my thought was, I was missing out. Run your friend then take him for a ride, he'll say the same thing my BMW M3 friend said today when I pulled onto the highway...."it's been a while since I've been in a fast car!"
 
#33 ·
Torque is tricky to wrap yourself around.
It's twisting force.
(Horsepower is the amount of work you can do over time.)

But in relation to engines it's directly related to engine speed.
So gears have one purpose and that is to multiply engine torque to the wheels & that means high engine speeds=high acceleration.
An engine having a high rev range can take advantage of gearing.
F1 cars have rather low relative torque (specific output) but are at the top of the automotive performance food chain.
18 wheelers have extreme high torque (specific output) but don't rev high at all.

Twisting off your beer cap might come easy but how fast can you repeatedly do it over time?
The more torque you can make higher in the rev range is better for acceleration.
So, while specific output may be underwhelming, you need to account for where it's happening in the rev range and how much it's propelling.
Racing has one purpose only.... maximize the amount of torque to the wheels for the most effective amount of time.

Gear multipication in a high revving engine can give a high amount of "torquey" seat of the pants feel to it.
 
#34 ·
Thanks for the post...a lot of great information there.

I do understand the relationship between torque, rpm, and work; I wasn't saying that there aren't places in the rev range where it may feel torquey, but as you alluded to it's probably more a function of high revs and the rsx's having ridiculous final drive like 4.7 or something...not the motor. But you're absolutely right, that's the exactly the point of the transmission Still IMHO, I would venture a guess that of all the things that those engines (or cars) have been called, torquey is at the bottom of the list.

Yes, F1 cars are at the the top of the automotive food chain, but they also have to rev to 19,000 rpm to make their peak power. A 5.8l NASCAR motor is making the same 800 horsepower, at less than half the revs, with twice the torque. So yes, it's absolutely all relative to where you want the power, in what manner you want it delivered, and how "fast you want the work done" so to speak.

Sorry for the threadjack!
 
#35 ·
No problem about the thread jack.
I'm sure this'll be recreated in the kill section later.
Any bench racing discussion until then is fair game.
We got a high revving I4 in a light car vs a low tech, low revving pushrod V8 in a heavy car.
Their torque to the wheels, to propel the car, is up for grabs right now.

Fun fact about NASCAR is that they have the highest piston speeds in professional motorsport.
High stroke + high rev (9000+) = 'merican supposed low tech in the lead. :)

So there you have the big trade off in cars.
Usable powerband and application vs peak of performance.

Personally, I like a daily driver engine that I can 'blip' and take off.
Wringing an engine out for more revolutions only equals more wear vs an engine that can produce the same amount of torque to the wheels at lower revs.

If we're talking about track vehicles I might change my stance solely for the music a higher revving engine is capable of.
Then again, a track car should have one selfish purpose only.... the feel it gives to the pilot. :)
 
#36 ·
I am sorry, F1 cars are not the top of the food chain. They may be elite and rich euro sports. But a top fuel dragster or land speed record jet cars are way more technical than a lousy hybrid (kers equipped) open wheel racer is. Make no doubts, I love F1, but its not the pinnacle many make it out to be.
 
#37 ·
So it finally happened, came to church on the G8 and we went out to race. Boy am I pleased with the G. Killed the RSX didnt even stand a chance. We came of the exit in (Mexico) lined up in the left lanes from a 30 roll. We both punched it, I was in drive sport. Instantly had three car lengths on him and just kept pulling, at 125 I could barely see him in my rear view. Like usual he tried to say we didnt punch it at the same time, but we both know it was fair race. Very pleased with the G8. Amazing car, and it shut the little punk up. Looking forward to the next victim.
 
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