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View Full Version : Car Of The Month: Aug '08 - FakeHondaTeg


Vypurr
08-06-2009, 07:15 PM
Car Of The Month: Aug '08
FakeHondaTeg's 2002 RSX Type S

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/6020/fakehondateg1.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=fakehondateg1.jpg)

Interview: Andrew Goodman
Photographer: Bob MacMillan


TST: Thanks for showing us your super-clean RSX and congratulations on being Car of the Month. You have a pretty wide range of mods there, was it built with form and function in mind?
Josh: First and foremost, I would like to thank TriStateTuners as a whole for being around for us, and thank you for giving me the privilege of Car of the Month.*Honestly with my mods, I just started purchasing parts with no real goal in mind.*I followed the cliché steps when it comes to NA cars with the intake, header, exhaust etc.*I did want to build a car that would perform during everyday use and still be fun to drive. After I had some more power, I got to work on my suspension.*I began with Tein springs and they honestly did nothing for the car.*I quickly ditched them in favor of coilovers and added my sway and strut bars. The difference was incredible.*Then I started to piece together my body mods.*It took me a little while to get the look that I have now, but I'm really happy with how my car sits.*It’s clean but still has an aggressive look in my opinion.*The last thing that I have done with my car was Hondata’s Kpro ECU upgrade, which made the biggest difference.*I knew that my car was never going to be super fast with my budget, but who cares?*It gets me where I want to go and has being doing so for the past 5 years now.*My car has enough pep that still puts a smile on my face when I mash the gas pedal.

TST: What is your favorite mod you have on your car?
Josh: My absolute favorite mod by far is Kpro.*Prior to getting Kpro, I had the normal Hondata Reflash. That was not bad at all, don't get me wrong, but I knew that I would be able to squeeze a little bit more power out of the engine by upgrading and getting an actual professional tune.*Not only was Kpro good for a little more juice, but also the other features it has are top notch.*I now have launch control which I have only used a couple of times but it is really rad. Come on now, who doesn't like the sound of two step rev limiters? On top of those little features, it has a real time data-logging feature, which is awesome.*Its fun to hop in the car and do a few pulls once in a while.*Definitely the best money I have spent on my car thus far, plus it got me a fancy Hondata license plate frame. Everyone likes a cool plate frame, right?

TST: Of course, but the Hondata plate clearly is not as cool as the official TST plate frame. Although the RSX is the star of the show, we always like to ask: what were some of your previous cars?
Josh: This one takes me back.*My first car was a 1988 Pontiac Grand Am hunk o' junk.*That car lasted all of 5 months before I crashed it through a fence and into a tree, almost killing a dog in the process.*Quite a humbling experience honestly.*I somehow managed to trade that car in with a smashed in passenger side and picked up a 1987 Jetta.*This one only took me 4 days to ruin.*I underestimated how wide the car was and played kissy-face with two guardrails.*I managed to keep this car for a year after that and traded it in for another Jetta, don’t ask me why. This time I got a little luckier.*I found a pristine 1991 two door and snatched it up.*This was the first car that I started to mod.*I just did the basic stuff. I lowered it and put an exhaust on that made it louder than anything (seriously, ask anyone I know how damn loud this thing was). I also bought wheels and did a headlight conversion.*It was slower than a blind turtle with two legs, but I really loved that car a lot.*This one met its demise with the back end of my sister's car to the front end.*If it were not for my sister, I would not have my RSX, so thank you Shauna.

TST: See, sisters are good for something. What made you decide to mod the second Jetta? Fast and the Furious?
Josh: Now now, I can honestly say that none of the F&F movies influenced me in any way.*We all know that not everyone can be cool enough to have big-rig-robbing Civics or a vomit green Evo.*The generation Jetta that I had was an MKII, not like the one in the first movie.*I decided to mod that car because they actually made some nice parts for it, plus it was a two door and I knew that they were hard to come by. I focused more on the appearance of the car because I knew the only way to actually make the car quick was to drop a VR6 in it or something along those lines.*I was a little bit younger at the time and income was slightly limited. I do miss that car; I guess you could say it was my first "tuner" car.

TST: Now that you are a Honda owner, are you ever afraid that your parts are going to get stolen? That K-series motor is pretty desirable.
Josh: I honestly have never really thought of it until you asked, so thank you for installing the new fear in my head.*I have never really had any problems with theft minus one time when some punk kids tried to steal my front lip.*They managed to absolutely destroy it in the process and left it lying in front of my car, which just pissed me off more.*As for my motor, I know it’s the bee’s knees in the Honda world so I do sometimes have the passing thought that someone may snatch my car.*The only problem with that is, well, I will stab you if you try.

TST: We’ll consider ourselves warned, but in case someone decides it’s worth the risk why don’t you tell us how much power it has as of now?
Josh: Like I mentioned before, my car is not fast at all but what it lacks in power, it makes up in looking pretty.*When I had my car tuned at R/T, I somehow managed to squeeze out just under 200whp, 198.7 to be exact.*I will admit that I was hoping for a little bit more, but with the tuning that was done, I really love my power curve.*VTEC was lowered from 5800 rpms to 4100 rpms and that really turned the car into something new.*My redline was also raised to just under 9000 rpms which made for a fun car ride home that night.*As for ¼ mile times, I would like to think that my car could pull a high 13 second pass.*Unfortunately, I won't be finding out anytime soon because a stock clutch with high miles is not a good recipe for the track.*Maybe after a new clutch and flywheel, we will see what happens.

TST: What are in the works for the RSX?
As of right now, I have no immediate plans because an engagement ring costs a good amount of cheddar.*In the future I would like JDM ion fog lights, the new clutch and flywheel, a built head, new rims, different coilovers, and possibly a wingless hatch. Stay tuned to see if I actually follow through with all of that.

TST: An engagement ring, eh? How does your better half feel about your expensive hobby?
Yes sir, it’s getting to be about that time.*I finally found someone that puts up with all of the ridiculous things I manage to get myself into, and that someone is Laura.*I am really lucky that she came along, so I am not letting this one go. As for her complaining about my car expenditures, she has never really bugged me about it at all.*She will definitely never understand why my brake pads cost so much more than hers and what it means when I tell her that my car is tuned for premium gas, but she takes it in stride.*She does express interest when I talk endlessly about cars or car related subject matter, so I'm lucky with that.*In fact, she bought me the new front lip that is on my car right now, so she financially contributed to my hobby.*I don't think any guy would complain about that!*She did tell me that once we buy a house, the garage is mine.*The trade off being that the rest of the house is hers, haha.*Small price to pay, but I'm down.

TST: Do you have any cars in mind for future projects to fill your garage?
Josh: I would really prefer to just keep my car and drop a built K24 Frankenstein into it.*I have really come to love my car and am extremely comfortable with it.*If I was to purchase a new car, I may dabble in something all wheel drive.*I have always really loved the 2G GSX.*I know DSM's have their bad stigmas, but if you build a car correctly from the beginning and do everything right, you have yourself a nice car.*The GSX has the potential to have extremely high horsepower with everyday drivability and that is really cool.

TST: If money was not an issue for your next car, would you go exotic or have a custom build project?
I don’t think I would ever buy an exotic.*As sexy as they are, there is just something about building a car yourself that is so much more rewarding.*Of course an exotic may turn a lot of heads, but that is not what cars are all about to me.*Being completely satisfied with your own sweat, blood and tears really holds a lot of value in my eyes.*A custom build in the end would be so incredibly redeeming.*All the time that you devote into your project must feel so great.*However, you did say money was not an issue, so can I have both?

TST: Hey, it’s your unlimited fund, do what you want with it. You mentioned a K24 (2.4 liter Honda K-series) motor before, what kind of HP/TQ numbers could you make with that motor?
Josh: Well there are two different routes you can go with that build.*You can keep the K24 bottom end stock and do a mild build on the head (cams, valves, valve springs, and retainers) or you can just go all out and build the motor from the bottom up.*With the stock K24 bottom end and a built Type S head, I have seen up to 230ishHP/170ishTQ.*I would be happy with numbers like that.*Nothing too crazy, but it would pull really nice and possibly hit high 12's with a great driver.*I have seen people on ClubRSX doing passes like that.*Now if you go all out and just build the entire motor, the highest I have seen is upwards of around 300WHP/230ishTQ. That is achieved with individual throttle bodies and slightly higher compression so the build cost is quite high, but that would be a lot of fun.*It would be a much more durable motor if it is built correctly as well. You also have to factor in new axles, stronger transmission components, and LSD as well. The RSX transmission was not designed for 300whp and would turn into mush.*If I only had some more money…

TST: Money is the name of the game, sadly not many people get as much as they want. Do you ever get any hate for having the Honda badges? Non-Honda enthusiasts may not understand the purpose.
Josh: I do get a good deal of haters in regards to my badges.*I just get a good laugh out of it.*Someone takes the time to tell me how dumb he or she thinks it is, or how I live in the USA and I should be happy with the fact that my car was branded as an Acura.*Honestly that is just a waste of their time.*If you owned my car, you could do whatever you wanted with it. The fact of the matter is that I own my car and I like my badges. It is just something that makes non-enthusiasts do a double take and that alone makes me smile.*I have to honestly admit that I love when people ask things like, "Where did you get your Honda? Did you ship it from Japan?"*I guess they forget to look and see that my steering wheel is on the left side of my car.*It cracks me up.*I actually had some kid offer me more money than my car is worth because he was convinced that it was a real Integra.*Mind you, this was after I had explained to him about 10 different times that it was an RSX and I bought it in Pa.*The badges make me happy, end of story.

TST: And we’ll end the story with one last but very important question; what is your dream car?
Josh: If I could have any car, it would have to be the Mine's Skyline. Now, before everyone gets out the Hatorade, I do not get excited every time I see a Skyline and I am not one of those silly people that has dreams of importing one over here.*Something about that specific car just does it for me.*The way the car was built, it is just so incredibly well balanced.*It retains a very stock Skyline appearance with subtle little additions that are designed solely for function over form.*It is an all around car that could tear apart a track and then drive home at night. The only problem is that I can’t have the Mine's Skyline, so I will get back to you when I find another car that is attainable.

TST: Be sure to let us know when you do! Thanks again for talking to us, but before we go are there any people you would like to thank?

I have a couple shout outs: First and most importantly to my girlfriend Laura.*She has put up with all of my dumb car woes and purchases and never complained once.*I love you, squirt. Next up, a big high five goes out to Criztos. You have always had my back when it comes to my car work. Many late nights and lots of cursing have taught me a lot.*Big thanks to Bob (BlackTypeR) for the incredibly sick pictures he takes of my car and all of the help you have given me over the years. Lastly, I would like to thank Troll for giving us TriStateTuners and giving me the honor of being Car of the Month.*I have made a lot of new friends through the random meets that I actually show up to. It has been real everyone, thanks for reading.


User Information:
Full Name: Joshua Cwick
User Name: FakeHondaTeg
Age: 27
Location: Levittown, Pa
Occupation: Human Services Worker/Dept of Youth and Family Services for the State of New Jersey

Suspension & Brakes:
Megan Racing Full Coilovers
Progress Front 27mm Front Sway Bar
Progress 24mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar with Rear Lower Tie Bar
Mugen Replica Front Strut Bar
Mugen Replica Rear Strut Bar
Front and Rear Cross Drilled Rotors
Hawk HPS Front and Rear Brake Pads

Motor/Transmission:
AEM Cold Air Intake
DC Sports Stainless Polished Race Header with Mechanical O2 Sim
JIC Titanium/Stainless Catback Exhaust
Hondata Kpro Ecu Tuned by Vince@ R/t Tuning
Ingalls Engine Torque Damper
Redline Transmission Fluid
Fidanza Short Shifter
Viscous Tech Shift Adapter
SpeedWorks Brass Underhood Shifter Bushings
ClubRsx Aluminum Shifter Bushings
ARC Replica Shift Knob

Body/Wheels:
Greddy Front Lip (Semi-broken bumper courtesy of a generous possum that gave his life for me)
Mugen Replica Side Skirts
Type R Rear Lip
Type R Rear Spoiler
Type R Black Housing Headlights
10,000k HID's
Oem Foglights with Yellow Lamin-X Film
Color Matched Foglight Trim
ChargeSpeed Eyelids
JDM Honda Badges
JDM Integra Badge
JDM Integra Door Sills
Decal Girl Red Out Rear Turn Signals
Decal Girl Smoked Reverse Lights
Final Speed A-Tech's in Bronze Pearl 17x7.5
Hankook HRII's 225/45/17
Stickers courtesy of Jeff@ Auditor Clothing

Click Here For More Pictures (http://img35.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=fakehondateg1.jpg)

nurevekcivic00
09-09-2009, 08:38 AM
usually i dont like eye lids but they look pretty sick on this one

Fabian
09-09-2009, 02:13 PM
this car is sick all the way around. I love it.

The Great NY
10-15-2009, 08:18 AM
not a fan at all of hondas period. But this car looks very good. congrats.

Mr.Crx
11-24-2009, 10:52 AM
That white really pops!

OhNoA2.0
12-08-2009, 01:46 PM
One of the sickest RSX's Ive seen! Kudos

B00MB@
12-22-2009, 12:00 AM
now thats hot

SLDWYSJDM
12-25-2009, 03:27 PM
deffinetly a good pick for cotm

FakeHondaTeg
12-29-2009, 08:31 AM
hey guys, thanks for all of the positive feedback. i greatly appreciate it :thumbup: Since this was posted, i have updated the parts list a little ;)

New Motor (my head blew up and murdered everything)
New Transmission (i lost 6th gear, got a great deal on a new tranny)
Exedy Stage 1 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel
HKS Hypermax Coilovers
and, a new front lip should be coming soon ;)

Tehshewz
01-29-2010, 09:31 AM
Looks clean!

esteener
02-05-2010, 02:02 PM
looks nice

mndthegap1
02-10-2010, 01:22 PM
very nice integra.
great pics

Kill-Bill
04-14-2010, 12:45 PM
Wow,awesome ride...

VTECin5th
07-09-2010, 07:23 PM
That type-s looks awesome

TCB603
04-08-2011, 12:06 AM
sweeeeet

SubyKing
07-23-2011, 11:46 AM
Looks Clean

nolimit201
09-04-2011, 05:48 PM
very nice

Xceleratetune
09-09-2011, 09:17 AM
Really nice

JonnyX
09-12-2011, 11:19 AM
Super clean. Well done!

mreakus
10-03-2011, 02:17 PM
Love a clean, white car. Well done.

Vnaff27
12-07-2011, 09:16 PM
White RSX with Type R stuff..nasty.

Smurf240
12-12-2011, 09:43 AM
always an rsx fan. maybe one day

mxkilla450
12-13-2011, 02:49 PM
nice car looks great!

TERARMT
04-24-2012, 04:38 AM
TERA RMT (http://www.rmtvip.jp/rmt/tera.html)
ラグナロクオンライン2 RMT (http://www.rmtvip.jp/rmt/ro2.html)
RO2 RMT (http://www.rmtvip.jp/rmt/ro2.html)
レッドストーン RMT (http://www.rmtvip.jp/rmt/redstone.html)
REDSTONE RMT (http://www.rmtvip.jp/rmt/redstone.html)

JDM365
08-10-2012, 08:31 PM
WOW that thing is Clean

Xceleratetune
09-05-2012, 12:02 PM
Very nice