An open track day is always a good time. Recently I drove the Integra Type R down to Sebring Intl Raceway for a Chin Track Day event. Just a relaxing day of thrashing on a car at the race track. Car prep was limited to throwing on a pair of Spoon Sports Brake Calipers, installing Raybestos ST43 brake pads and loading up the car. The goal was to keep it simple, have a good time and have limited clean up time after the event. There is always a speed bump to deal with though.
Chin Track Days does an open warm up session each morning to get familiar with the track or in my case get heat in everything for a quick once over before pushing the car harder. An obnoxious clunking sound from the rear of the car was not a good sign. After some investigating it turns our there was a caliper to bracket bolt that had left the chat. An odd part to go missing. A drive into the city of Sebring brought us to Triangle Hardware where a super helpful gentleman helped us find the right bolt to get the car through the day. Back at the track and all abnormal noises gone only resulted in 1 missed track session. Not bad a all and with the goal of getting around 100 miles on the track for the day still in a great place for the potential enjoyment factor.
The Integra Type R is basically stock. Well, when car guys say that it means we only have a limited number of modifications. There are Koni Yellow Sport shocks mated with OEM coil springs, Spoon Sports Front Brake Calipers, ST43 front brake pads, Castrol SRF Brake fluid and a Koyo Aluminum Racing radiator. See ... stock.Â
A stock 2750lb with driver Integra Type R is not the quickest thing on a race track in 2025 when everything on the market makes gobs of power and has all the technology in it. But wow, what a blast to drive on the track. The stock ride height and springs made it fun to romp over the bumps at Sebring without upsetting the chassis. The 300TW Advan Fleva V701 tires left a lot of want for more grip but wore great during the day and were quiet on the highway drive to and from the track. Overall a fun driving experience. Remarkably slower than our Black Integra Type R race car but it is a different tool for a different job.
And then it failed. The Koyo Radiator that we had just installed after the Tail of the Dragon road trip sprung a leak. This happened during the last session on track and made the engine bay a mess. It didn't lose enough water to overheat the engine but was a constant drip that would make getting home an adventure. It took us filling up the radiator twice to make the 180 ish mile drive home and gave us a huge project to clean up after the event. There are always speed bumps.
