Sebring is about 2.5 hours from IPGparts headquarters. It is what I consider our home track. We have turned thousands of laps at the place at this point in all sorts of cars. Over the last 6 months we had the chance to run both a stock ('ish) 1998 Acura Integra Type R and our race prepped 2001 Acura Integra Type R. The lap time delta is nothing short of astonishing.Â
Your gut is always going to tell you how and why the lap time would be considerably different but to actual see the black and white data of it is satisfying. Here is quick run down of the 2 cars and what I would consider the largest performance changing characteristics to be.
1998 Acura Integra Type R
- Stock B18c5 Engine (guessing 170'ish wheel horsepower)
- Stock B18c5 Transmission and LSD
- Koni Yellow Sport Shocks on stock springs
- Stock Alignment
- Spoon Sports Front Calipers with Raybestos ST43 Brake Pads
- Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
- 195/55/15 Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 (300tw)
2001 Acura Integra Type R
- Rebuilt and Upgraded B18c5 Engine (dyno'ed at 208 wheel horsepower)
- Rebuilt and Upgraded B18c5 Transmission with 4.7 Final Drive and MFactory 1 Way Clutch Type LSD
- MCS 2 Way Remote Dampers with 700lb Front Springs 600lb Rear Springs
- ASR 24mm Rear Sway Bar
- Track Alignment, Aggressive Camber and Moderate Toe Settings
- AP Racing Front Brake Kit with Ferodo DS3.12 Brake Pads
- Castrol SRF
- SCCA Spec Roll Cage with Sparco Circuit Seat and 6pt Harness (this is a huge way to gain confidence and lap time, being securely held in place)
- 205/50/15 Bridgestone RE71RZ (200tw) on 15x8" Gramlight 57DR wheels
With the amount of laps I have turned at Sebring I have the consistency down pretty well. Maybe not the quickest, but definitely not the slowest and my lap times are very repeatable. Here is a comparison of 3 of the best lap times during a session in the stock '98 ITR vs the '01 Prepped ITR.
-- 1998 Integra Type R
-- 2:58.35
-- 2:58.79
-- 2:58.84
-- 2001 Integra Type R
-- 2:31.40
-- 2:31.44
-- 2:31.52
I am honestly surprised there is that much of a delta. There isn't one facet of the cars setups that are the biggest difference maker. It is the combination of all the parts that add up to a little bit here and a little bit there to create the increased speed and quickness of the race prepped car.
