Stock JDM Honda Integra Type-R Dynos

Our previous Beyond-Stock Integra article looked at the power of stock "regular" DC2/DB8 Integra SiRs. In this follow-up we will establish one more baseline reference, this time for the icon of Honda's lightweight performance cars, the legendary DC2 Honda Integra Type-R.

Looking at greatness, the dash of a 98-Spec Integra Type-R

Fans of this legendary model will know that there are two variants of the Integra Type-R, the 96-Spec and the 98-Spec. In 1995 Honda took the Integra Si-VTEC/SiR and made extensive improvements to both the chassis and the B18C powerplant to produce the 96-Spec Type-R. The result was to become a legend, not only amongst Honda enthusiasts but also with performance car fans world-wide. The Integra Type-R is instrumental in establishing the Type-R badge as Honda's assurance of performance at the highest level.

Improvements to the chassis made the Integra Type-R unanimously accepted as the best handling FF car in the world, a title only taken over by the new 2001 DC5 i-VTEC Integra Type-R. The tuning Honda did to the B18C to make it a B18C-Spec-R is even more legendary, squeezing a then hereto unheard of 111 ps per litre specific power output from the 1.8l engine to deliver 200ps ! The engine was designed to run with RON-100 petrol and is spec'ed by Honda to do the 100kph standing start acceleration in 6.2 seconds ! It was also the first Integra model to do the standing-400m dash in less than 15 seconds.

E-DC2 Integra Type-R 96-Spec

Although I have members in my Honda club who drives a 96-Spec Type-R, I actually do not have a dyno-chart for one ! However, I have previously established an understanding with the Integra Dyno Center reference web-site and consequently I am able to reproduce a Dynojet chart of a 1997 JDM 96-Spec Integra Type-R on the right.

The Jamaican owned JDM Integra Type-R was documented in the Integra Dyno Center as completely stock except for the use of ESSO Racing engine oil. Honda equipped the Integra Type-R with a helical LSD, which is a superior type of LSD that does not incur power loss compared to the normal viscous coupling LSD that Honda have been using. As a result, DC2 Integra Type-Rs spec'ed for 200ps at the engine would be expected to dyno at 170ps on a Dynojet based on the 15% loss that we established in our reference articles. The 1997 Integra Type-R dynoed at almost 169ps on the Dynojet, only 1ps lower. For all purposes, this can be taken to be equal to what we have calculated based on the 15% manual transmission power loss formula so we should be able to safely put the baseline reference for a 96-Spec JDM Integra Type-R to be at 170ps at the wheels when dynoed on a Dynojet.

GC-DC2 Integra Type-R 98-Spec

In early 1998, Honda made enhancements to the Integra Type-R to make it the 98-Spec. To the engine, Honda added a stainless steel 4-1 header with detailed improvements to the camshafts, port & polish techniques and other areas. Engine power remained at 200ps but the power/torque characteristics are now improved, especially in the much needed mid-range. The max-torque is increased slightly from 18.5 kg-m to 19.0 kg-m and the max-torque point is brought down to 6200rpm (from more than 7000rpm) but there were no improvements to the low-cams portion of the power curve - an area where the B18CR is quite weak. The chassis received even further improvements; the suspension, brakes, even the tyre/rims were improved to make the 98-Spec Integra Type-R quite faster than the 96-Spec version.

All B18CRs are designed to run on RON-100 petrol which is a rather high octane requirement. To cater for lower octane petrols, Honda made use of the knock-sensor, a standard fitting to all Honda's DOHC-VTEC engine to retard the engine's ignition timing to avoid detonation. As a result, if owners of Integra Type-Rs runs with lower octane petrol, the power output will be less than Honda's spec'ed 200ps.

I have Dynojet charts for two completely stock 98-Spec Integra Type-Rs but the one I chose to publish, on the left, is from a 2000 model purchased as brand new. It has already been properly run in by the time of the dyno session. Everything in the car is stock and Mobil-1 Tri-Synthetic engine oil was used. While it was not documented what RON rating petrol the 1997 Jamaican owned 96-Spec Type-R above was using during its dyno, the highest grade unleaded petrol in Malaysia is rated RON-97. This 2000 98-Spec Type-R was therefore running on pure RON-97 petrol at the time of its dyno so the power output would be expected to be a bit lower than the 1997 96-Spec Type-R above.

The result is as expected: the 2000 model delivered 166ps on a Dynojet which works back to 195ps at the engine. This is around 2% lower than the specification 200ps value, a result that can be well explained by the use of RON-97 petrol. But despite dynoing at around 4ps lower than what the theoretical calculation gives, I still believe we can safely put the baseline reference for the 98-Spec Integra Type R to be also at 170ps at the wheels.

Special Note

At this point, I wish to spend a bit of time looking at a rather unusual, surprising item that concerns the 1997 Jamaican owned JDM 96-Spec Type-R. Firstly the stock power curves for both the 96-Spec and 98-Spec as published by Honda is on the right. I wish to bring attention to the power/torque curves of both engines. Note the big difference in what can be identified to be the high-cams part of the curves, specifically the improved torque in the upper-mid rpm around 6000rpm. So while the low-cams part of both are identical, the 98-Spec has a better mid-range than the 96-Spec, very clearly shown in the torque and power curves.

Now, compare the actual Dynojet chart for the 98-Spec ITR above. The profile of the power & torque curves are virtually identical to the stock ones published by Honda. However, the surprising thing is that the Dynojet chart for the 1997 Jamaican owned JDM 96-Spec Type-R is clearly also identical in profile. The 'proper' power & torque curves for the 96-Spec from Honda are on the left chart and they are clearly different from the Dynojet chart for the Jamaican 96-Spec.

What I think this shows is the open secret that Honda frequently makes constant improvements to their cars throughout their production cycle. The Jamaican owned JDM Type-R is a 1997 model and it seems quite clear that by that year of production, despite it being officially designated a 96-Spec, a lot of the improvements to the engine that makes the 98-Spec are already being fitted into the cars.

Conclusion

The results in this article have allowed us to establish the baseline reference for the DC2 Integra Type-R. Although the 98-Spec R we looked at used lower octane petrol than what it is spec'ed for, I believe we can accurately set the baseline references for both 96-Spec and 98-Spec DC2 Integra Type-Rs to be 170ps at the wheels when dynoed on a chassis dyno like the Dynojet.

Wong KN
November 2001
© Temple of VTEC World
96-Spec JDM Integra Type-R info & dyno-chart : Courtesy of The Integra Dyno Center