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Help! I want to spruce-up my 96 Integra

jdoggg12

jdoggg12

Platinum Member
My 96 integra has 166k miles on it and she's feeling her age. I also have a 2005 TL, but I might sell it and pick up an 07 in a few months. So in the meantime I'd like to breathe some life back into the integra.

Where do I start? The suspension hasn't been replaced since I got it (at 30k miles). I'm thinking of getting some sport coil overs, sway bars, and strut braces. Nothing too elaborate, just something to make it more fun in the back roads. The motor/tranny is still running, but both are nothing like they used to be.. how do i go about looking for parts to fix them up? I dont mind dropping it off at a mechanic to do everything, but what would I ask them to do?

Thanks for any info. Please keep the ricer comments to a minimum, I just want to make my integra fun to drive again. 🙂
 
Neuspeed strut bars, Tein coil overs, YS1 or equivalently geared tranny for acceleration, engine probably cant be saved. For the amount you would spend trying to make it faster you could just get a whole new swap for it...at least that was my case.
 
Originally posted by: RedArmy
Neuspeed strut bars, Tein coil overs, YS1 or equivalently geared tranny for acceleration, engine probably cant be saved. For the amount you would spend trying to make it faster you could just get a whole new swap for it...at least that was my case.
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how much would a swap cost? oh, and i'm not looking for tons of HP, it has 140 stock, i'd just like to freshen up the worn parts and maybe get another 15-20hp out of it in the process.
 
for the most part, i would say just get the suspension stuff and leave everything stock. aleast the suspension stuff holds value if you ever want to part ways with the car.

drop it one way or the other, and sways would make the car diffrent overall. the typical intake, header and exhaust MIGHT pull you a extra 5-10whp but not much overall.

that should be somewhat near 2000$ installed with new parts.



a swap with a c1 should run 4000 on the motor and trans and maybe 500-1000$ for a shop to swap it. b series motors i think are slowly going up in prices as the more the K motors get popular
 
Transmission? 😕 It either works or it doesn't. Is it a stick? Perhaps a new clutch and throwout bearing if so otherwise it shouldn't really need anything unless there are other problems.

I'd second the engine swap if you're really interested in throwing money at an old car like that.

I'm sure your suspension is tired and that would probably give you the biggest improvement in performance. Check your tires too.
 
Originally posted by: evident
just curious, why are you getting rid of an 05 TL for the 07? aren't they exactly the same?
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Going from a regular TL to a TL-S with Navi. After driving a TL-S I fell in love with the feel, plus I'd like to do some work with the display on the navi for a car PC - replacing the non-navi stereo/AC unit is more than just upgrading the car itself
 
Originally posted by: jdoggg12
Originally posted by: evident
just curious, why are you getting rid of an 05 TL for the 07? aren't they exactly the same?
Click to expand...

Going from a regular TL to a TL-S with Navi. After driving a TL-S I fell in love with the feel, plus I'd like to do some work with the display on the navi for a car PC - replacing the non-navi stereo/AC unit is more than just upgrading the car itself
Click to expand...

ah you left out some detail 😉

the TL-S is sexy indeed. the red ambient lighting is nice
 
If you have a reputable JDM source in the area, I fully recommend going with a B18C5 setup, with the right intake, tune, exhaust, suspension, and shoes, it'll outgun that TL-S 🙂 The TL is one sweet ride though, great balance of sport, comfort, reliability, class, value.

But yeah, 140hp Honda motor = ~110ish on the TQ, or maybe less. With a decent tune, intake, exhaust, you're looking at maybe 10hp added at the crank, and slightly less to the wheels. It'll sound better (provided you don't go with a rice exhaust), but it won't really move much better.

At 166k miles on the original motor, going to a 30k mile JDM swap w/warranty can pay rich rewards. Combine it with new motor mounts, bushings, suspension, wiring harness, and all the other goodies that go with such a job, and you should end up with something extremely reliable, very decently performing (a tuned ~200+hp B18C5 can do some damage on those light little frames), and upgradable. There are gobs of forced induction kits for the B-series motors, along with all kinds of internal upgrades, even though they're pretty damn tough stock.

Cliffs though : if you're doing it on the cheap, look at a reputable intake/exhaust/tune, and make sure your motor mounts and suspension are passable. If you have some extra bucks to do it right, go for the swap. Better to get a core trade value on a working 166k mile motor, than to have a blown motor at 180-220k.
 
Originally posted by: Arkaign
If you have a reputable JDM source in the area, I fully recommend going with a B18C5 setup, with the right intake, tune, exhaust, suspension, and shoes, it'll outgun that TL-S 🙂 The TL is one sweet ride though, great balance of sport, comfort, reliability, class, value.

But yeah, 140hp Honda motor = ~110ish on the TQ, or maybe less. With a decent tune, intake, exhaust, you're looking at maybe 10hp added at the crank, and slightly less to the wheels. It'll sound better (provided you don't go with a rice exhaust), but it won't really move much better.

At 166k miles on the original motor, going to a 30k mile JDM swap w/warranty can pay rich rewards. Combine it with new motor mounts, bushings, suspension, wiring harness, and all the other goodies that go with such a job, and you should end up with something extremely reliable, very decently performing (a tuned ~200+hp B18C5 can do some damage on those light little frames), and upgradable. There are gobs of forced induction kits for the B-series motors, along with all kinds of internal upgrades, even though they're pretty damn tough stock.

Cliffs though : if you're doing it on the cheap, look at a reputable intake/exhaust/tune, and make sure your motor mounts and suspension are passable. If you have some extra bucks to do it right, go for the swap. Better to get a core trade value on a working 166k mile motor, than to have a blown motor at 180-220k.
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Thanks for the input. The more I think about it, the less appealing a motor swap sounds... just too much money for a 12 year old ride :-\ I think i'll just stick with a thourough tune-up and go "big" on the suspension. I dont really want to spend more than 2-3 thousand on a car thats only worth that much. I'm thinking of a paint job too - she's about 5 different shades of red. I'm thinking either sticking with red or going flat black.

Just for posterity, here are the obligatory pics 🙂

Integra
http://i12.photobucket.com/alb...on%20test/IMG_0821.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/alb...on%20test/IMG_0822.jpg

TL
http://i12.photobucket.com/alb...n%20test/FrontHigh.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/alb...20test/FrontLights.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/alb...test/Rearroadhill2.jpg
 
Originally posted by: Imported
New shocks, springs, swaybars, wheels and tires.

What do you plan on doing with it?
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Nothing really - just a fun commuter to keep tedious miles off of my TL. I dont need hard acceleration, I just want a peppy go-kart 😀
 
peppy go-kart doesn't come from a stock teg what so ever. commuter is about the only thing it is.

i honestly would look into slightly used stuff like springs, strut and shocks. then go to sway bars and maybe tower strut bars and if anything is left over look into braces. save the rest for your car PC project. like i said aleast with the suspension you can remove and sell at a later time and get some money back. an engine swap pretty much screws you over if you wanted to sell, car is worth 3g and the swap can cost you 3g, selling a c1/c5 swap teg should be 5g max. aleast thats what i would pay for it.
 
Originally posted by: Quintox
Keep it stock, ricers are ugly and annoying
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?? Who said rice?

He has a very nice looking clean Integra. A built B18C5 with moderate exhaust and good intake will not change the look of the car really, nor will it sound like those fart boys. And with 220+hp in reach combined with a very light weight, you can hit the 12s with a real quality setup, and 13s all day long. That's pretty damned sweet if you ask me.

But yeah, I agree with the general sentiment, the absolute worst thing he could do would be to stick a giant exhaust tip on it, put ground effects on it, stickers, ridiculous spoiler, the whole nine yards of stupidity, all on a stock motor.

Nah, if anything, do the sleeper build, after seeing how clean it is in the pics, it's worthy of a decent build. Just keep the entire exterior bone stock, it looks really nice. Most of those cars have body damage or crappy kits on them by now.
 
Originally posted by: Arkaign
Originally posted by: Quintox
Keep it stock, ricers are ugly and annoying
Click to expand...

?? Who said rice?

He has a very nice looking clean Integra. A built B18C5 with moderate exhaust and good intake will not change the look of the car really, nor will it sound like those fart boys. And with 220+hp in reach combined with a very light weight, you can hit the 12s with a real quality setup, and 13s all day long. That's pretty damned sweet if you ask me.

But yeah, I agree with the general sentiment, the absolute worst thing he could do would be to stick a giant exhaust tip on it, put ground effects on it, stickers, ridiculous spoiler, the whole nine yards of stupidity, all on a stock motor.

Nah, if anything, do the sleeper build, after seeing how clean it is in the pics, it's worthy of a decent build. Just keep the entire exterior bone stock, it looks really nice. Most of those cars have body damage or crappy kits on them by now.
Click to expand...

A built C5 that can hit 220HP isn't gonna be cheap. I'd personally slap on a cheap DIY turbo, some suspension mods, and think about a K20 swap down the road.
 
If money grows on trees for you, why aren't you driving nicer cars?

1. Do nothing to the Integra. It's not much more than a backup car at this point.
2. Keep your TL. It's only three years old, for christ sake, and you want to sell it for one that is identical but two years newer? You DO realize that there's a new generation coming out this fall, right? Right? One that has more power than the current TL-S?
3. Profit.
 
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
If money grows on trees for you, why aren't you driving nicer cars?
Click to expand...

Who ever said that? If money weren't an issue I wouldn't have my integra still and I would've bought a NEW TL 6 months ago when I got my current one. My TL was 100% financed, right now I can sell it and break even on what I owe. I'll get another TL in about 6 months when the new generation arrives (driving the price of the current generation down.)

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
1. Do nothing to the Integra. It's not much more than a backup car at this point.
Click to expand...
It's a daily beater that get 8mpg more than my TL in the city, doesn't require premium fuel, and I don't mind putting mindless miles on. I plan on keeping it for a couple more years so it'd be nice to do just enough to it that its fun in spite of the superior TL

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
2. Keep your TL. It's only three years old, for christ sake, and you want to sell it for one that is identical but two years newer? You DO realize that there's a new generation coming out this fall, right? Right? One that has more power than the current TL-S?
Click to expand...

Identical? 😕 There were a lot of minor improvements over those couple of years including FAR superior leather on the 07. Also, like i said, I want to do a car PC and to replace the NON-Navi console that I currently have would be ALMOST the cost of the difference in the 2 cars... plus I'll get the extra HP, looks, and ride of the TL-S.


When all is said and done, I don't want to spend more than a couple thousand on the Integra.
 
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