One owner, low miles, and 550 hp to the wheels

When you take away all the fat paychecks, naked girls and lavish vacations (yeah, right), 2NR is just a bunch of power junkies. From turbocharged Subarus to force-fed Hondas, we find there's no such thing as too much power. Then again, we can't park, drive in traffic or start our cars without a computer error or warning light going off. But when every left turn looks like a drifting demonstration, we're all smiles.

When we came across Mike Barber and his Acura Integra Type-R, we did a quadruple take. An Integra Type-R with 550 hp to the wheels? Road racing suspension and roll cage? It looks good, too? But that wasn't the craziest thing about it. The car was listed on the popular Honda Internet bulletin board www.Honda-tech.com, but it was listed in the for sale section for much less than it cost to build. The man had poured so much energy and time into the project, and it was ready to be handed to some stranger for a few green colored pieces of paper. Who knows what might happen to it then. We had to scoop him up before it went. Consider it a service to the horsepower community.

Technically a year 2000 model, this Type-R has such a mixture of Honda parts that it can't be tagged with a year model. Barber said, "I don't think there is a part that [hasn't] been removed, cleaned, and reinstalled, or modified in some way." The project started with a 2000 theft-stricken shell bought from an insurance auction and a 2001 Type-R shell from a rollover accident. Pre Grid Motorsports in Portland, Ore., brought the 2000's bodywork and Phoenix Yellow paint up to spec, and then the shell was towed to Cascade Autosport in North Bend, Wash. There a full SCCA Improved Touring road racing spec roll cage was welded into the car and the 2001 engine was dropped in.

Anxious to bring the car home, Barber cruised with the bare minimum in parts. "The first time I took it out in my neighborhood, [it had] no doors, fenders, hood, headlights, front bumper, or exhaust besides a JDM header. I'm sure the neighbors weren't too happy." Ah, memories.

But the power bug began to bite, and Barber had to answer. After a year, the Type-R motor was removed and a built motor was dropped in to handle boost. Unfortunately, an engine management mishap by an inexperienced shop made the engine melt like Chernobyl. It was a disappointment, but there's no better reason to build everything back up the right way, top to bottom. The recipe for 550 whp begins with a 1995 B18A block with an Import Builders fully blueprinted bottom end. It still used the stock 89mm stroke, but it was bored out to 85mm. The now roughly 2.02-liter engine was stuffed with Wiseco IB spec 9.0:1 heat and friction coated pistons hung on Eagle connecting rods and braced with Golden Eagle ductile iron sleeves and a Function7 five-cap block girdle. The crank remained stock, but was micropolished and balanced.

Once again thanking Soichiro Honda for interchangeable parts, Barber went with a 2000 B16A cylinder head from a Civic Si. Ported and polished with a three-angle valve job by Mike Castro of Seattle, Wash., the head received Crower stainless-steel swirl-polished oversized valves, 34mm for intake and 28mm for exhaust. The titanium valve retainers, dual race valve springs, and stage two turbo camshafts are all by Crower. Adjusted by AEM Tru-Time adjustable cam gears, the power sticks measure 230-degree intake and 226-degree exhaust duration measured at .050 inch.

But what's inside the magic box? The secret to success for this level of power is turbocharged fury. At the heart of the system is the Garrett GT30/40 ball-bearing turbocharger, which is a GT30 turbo fitted with a GT40 compressor wheel. It features a .70A/R compressor housing and an .82A/R turbine housing. Hung on a Full Race stainless-steel equal-length exhaust manifold, it breathes out of a custom 3-inch downpipe and into a Thermal Research & Development 3-inch stainless-steel cat-back exhaust system. Tial is responsible for the blow-off valve and the 45mm external wastegate.

The intercooler is a XS Engineering GTR core with A'PEXi aluminum end tanks. Fitted with custom 2.5-inch piping and XS Engineering silicone connectors, the intercooler is also fitted with a custom spray bar controlled by a ZEX nitrous control system. These keep the turbo from blasting hot air into the JG Edelbrock Victor X intake manifold and 70mm throttle body. Even the stock radiator looks paper thin compared to the new custom 2.5-inch core radiator and Flex-A-Lite fans that Barber fitted to the Acura. At the level of power this Type-R is making, massive cooling helps keep costly engine repair bills away. Eating with a roof over your head is cool too, you know.

Braided lines for the oil and fuel snake their way around the engine bay, feeding the motor from the Moroso baffled oil pan and fully upgraded fueling system. Juiced out of the 10-gallon fuel cell by a Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump, gas then flows through an AEM fuel rail and RC Engineering 1,000cc injectors. A Crane Cams HI-6 ignition box and MSD plus wires handle bigger spark, in addition to a Crane LS92 external ignition coil with a MSD cap conversion kit to external coil. No stock ECU or piggyback computer could handle this setup, so Barber turned to Torque Freaks in Portland, Ore., to handle the AEM EMS for engine management, utilizing the AEM wideband UEGO and a PLX Devices wideband to tune the car. This rather lengthy list is what it takes to get 550 whp at 23psi using K&S 114 leaded race gas; and that's not including all the things like sensors, various feed lines, or labor and time.

Getting 550 whp isn't that easy, but it's doable. The real question is getting it down to the ground, and turning power into blurred vision. Barber ripped apart a 1996 Integra LS transmission and fitted it with the 4.4:1 final drive gear set out of a GS-R. A Kaaz 1.5-way limited-slip differential keeps peg-leg burnouts at arms length, while a Type-R intermediate shaft and axles connect to the ground. Held by a JUN 9-pound flywheel and A.C.T. six-puck clutch, massive wheel spin is just a bit of throttle away.

Most readers would be content with an Integra Type-R, then their pants with a full roll cage, and then sell their girlfriends into slavery for 550 whp. But this car isn't done yet. A custom 1.5-inch steel-welded rear lower tie bar and custom upper rear tower bar add to the road racing aspect of the build, while the S.P.A. halon fire suppression kit and 10-pound CO2 bottle really add to the racing feel. Autometer EGT, oil temperature, oil pressure, water temperature, boost, fuel level gauges, and a 5-inch tachometer keep the vitals at eye level. And eye level isn't going anywhere, OMP Grip racing buckets and five-point harnesses wrap around all living occupants, leaving just the Sparco steering wheel to hold on to for dear life.

At first, the entire 2001 Type-R suspension was grafted onto the shell, and then all parts not up to the task were changed out. JIC Magic 15-position adjustable FLTA2 coil-overs were set up and revalved to compensate for 1,400 pounds per inch up front and 1,200 pounds per inch in the rear. Yes that's incredibly stiff--racecar stiff, in fact. Ingalls cambers kits in the front and rear compensate for the drop on to the 16x7-inch Rota Slipstream wheels and 215/45R-16 Falken Azenis tires. Brakes are also racecar worthy; ABS is long gone now, as are the front calipers. In the front are NSX front calipers and cross-drilled rotors; all around are Hawk HP+ brake pads and BFGoodridge stainless-steel braided brake lines.

Thanks go out to Peter at Cascade Autosport; Jeff at Import Builders; Geoff at Full Race; Ryan at Kinetic Motorsports; and of course, friends, family, and girlfriend. A car with the body and legs of a road racer and the heart of a drag racer, Mike Barber's Integra Type-R has been his daily driver for almost a year. That speaks volumes about the hardcore nature of the car and its owner, but with aspirations for slicks and over 600 whp, this is going to be one fun commuter car.