Hey guys, i work at a Keyes Honda. We also have a Keyes Acura, so i decided to go test drive and see what the new integra's all about. I salesman there was really cool and business was dead, so i ended up drivng both the base model and the type s.
The base model had 160 hp, and i'd say its between the old GS and GSR, nothing to special, the engine sounds okay. Enough said.
On to the real car, the Type S. First, all RSXs have a 5-lug bolt pattern, i was trying hard to see any realy visual differences between the two, the only real way to tell from what i can see is that the SOME colors are exclusive to the RSX. ANYWAYS, i think they stole the transmission from the S2000, real short-shifting and nice, i hope the 2002 IS manual will feel as nice. You can really tell its a Honda engine. THe new i-VTEC helps alot more with the low-end than the old VTEC, but trust me this definately does NOT have a strong low-end. High-end you can really feel the thing pull, and it does feel like it has 200 hp, the engine sounds great at high rpm, throttle response is great at high rpm.
I don't know how well it will do against our car. First, we have a bit more HP and a lot more torque. But, we are also a LOT heavier.
So technically we may win in the end, but the RSX revs HIGH. I remember when there was a comparison with a A51 Supercharged IS vs. the new M3, some speculated that with close hp and a lot more torque, the IS may win. But the only problem is, is that high revving engines keep pulling hard for a long time, even though they don't have a lot of torque. But all in all, even if it is slighty faster, i would never get an RSX over our IS
