Potential Integra Owner - Have a few questions

dustinb

New Member
Howdy folks. I've never owned an Acura before, or a Honda for that matter (dirt bikes yes, cars no), however I am planning on selling my PT Cruiser and buying a 3rd gen 4 door integra. Now at this very moment, I have one sitting in my garage which I will be taking to get inspected tomorrow. And if all goes well, I will also buy it tomorrow.

Here's a few details of the car before I get to the questions:
Year: 96
Trim: SE
Engine: Stock (not V-Tec)
Mods: Not much. It has GSR rims on it, and a no-name ugly yellow intake.

Questions:
1. I noticed when driving on the highway at lets say the 100km/h + range, there was quite a bit of wind noise coming in through the closed sun roof. If I pulled the sunroof cover over it the noise went away. I'm guessing the rubber around the sunroof is getting old and needs to be replaced. Any suggestions?

2. Again with the sunroof :) I washed the car (best way to find imperfections), and with it still wet I went to open the sunroof. It moved back maybe an inch and then stopped. I had to give it a litttle nudge upwards before it kicked in. Guessing the water made a better seal and it got stuck, but this would suggest to me that the motor is getting ragged. Any idea on cost and difficulty to replace the motor?

3. Is it a easy job to replace the rear power antenna? This one makes a ton of noise and doesn't go down all the way.

4. How the hell do you get at the rear speakers? I figured the grills would just pull out, but they appear to be firmly attached to the entire rear lid. Any suggestions?

***** performance questions *****

5. Onto the meat of the questions. I like massaging power out of an NA engine. I've hooked my Miata up from 93HP to 119.6, and I'd like to do something similar with the Integra. However, I still want it to be a nice driveable machine. I was initially thinking a better Intake (suggest one please), a header, Apexi Neo, and apex road sport exhaust (quiet). However, I also notice there are performance intake manifolds by Skunk and OBX. Is the new intake manifold a big waste of time if the car isn't force induced?

Well that's it for now. Thanks for all the help :)

And here's my main passion:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2088066/
 

JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
First and foremost, welcome to clubintegra! Now to answer your questions:

1) I also hear a little noise from the sunroof when the cover is on. No big deal, so don't worry about it.

2) It's normal for the sunroof to be wet right after washing the car. Just don't open it til everything's dry. You don't need to replace the motor unless it stops working. Don't waste your money on things that still work fine.

3) I don't recommend replacing the antenna with another motorized one. It's just gonna break on you again in the long run. I suggest getting something like the S2000 antenna. It doesn't need a motor and it looks better too.

4) To take out the rear speakers, you need to get in the trunk and uncrew everything. You cant take them out from inside the car.

5) You can definitely gain more hp/torque by adding modifications to your DC4. Just like you said: Intake, exhaust, header, and a high-flow cat will help free up some power. Instead of the A'PEXi Neo, you should get a tunable ECU like a Hondata S100 or S200. They work much better than piggy-back ECUs. By the way, the A'PEXi exhaust is called the "World Sport". About intake manifolds... I don't suggest getting an aftermarket one unless you plan on upgrading your cams.

I hope I helped with a few of your questions. Again, welcome to CI!
 

dustinb

New Member
Hey thanks for the welcome :) It's amazing how great these internet communities are.

So talking more about intakes. I've typically dealt with K&N stuff in the past, but I'm hearing better things about foam filters. I see a company called Weapon makes an intake called the Secret or something. Of course they claim their intake is great, but can you or perhaps someone else suggest a better one? Is there any research posted on the web that compares the intakes and their gains?

Thanks again :) And I'm pretty sure i'm buying the Integra tomorrow. It feels great compared to the others that I drove.

Ahh yes, I just remembered another question I have. I have a 2 year old daughter, and car seats require a latch to be installed behind the seat. I've seen on other 4 door 3rd gen integra's that there are little plastic covers (3 of them) for where the latch can be installed. On this car, the screw in post is there, but there are no plastic covers. I'm guessing I'll just have to punch a hole through the rear deck cover, but any info on that would be great. In addition, does anyone know if this will accept the regular ones you can buy from a store, or does it have to come from an Acura dealer?
 
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DailyDB8

>>>Honda Enthusiast<<<
btw will this be an automatic or 5spd?
 


graveyardhippie

New Member
the se i had, had 3 positions on the sunroof, closed, angled up, and fully open. that may be what u were talkin about in ur first post. or maybe i just misunderstood altogether.
 

dustinb

New Member
It's a 5 speed.

graveyardhippie said:
the se i had, had 3 positions on the sunroof, closed, angled up, and fully open. that may be what u were talkin about in ur first post. or maybe i just misunderstood altogether.
Click to expand...
No it actually got stuck when it went to open. I had used the sun roof several times, and then when wet it wouldn't open. I had to give it a nudge with my hand.
 

DailyDB8

>>>Honda Enthusiast<<<
i think you need to replace the rubber seals on your sun roof. i have the same problem with the driver side window. sometimes it doesn't wanna roll down so i gonna push it a lil bit.
 


dustinb

New Member
OK cool. So I just remembered another question:

When I was looking at 4 door 3rd gen integra's, I came across one which was pretty beat up, but it had a factory fog/driving light button, and what appeared to be factory fog lights. Any idea where I might be able to pick some up for a good price?

Here's a link to a picture I took of them
http://www.dbmiata.com/integra/integfog.jpg
 

TegSox

Super Duper Moderator
dustinb said:
So talking more about intakes. I've typically dealt with K&N stuff in the past, but I'm hearing better things about foam filters. I see a company called Weapon makes an intake called the Secret or something. Of course they claim their intake is great, but can you or perhaps someone else suggest a better one? Is there any research posted on the web that compares the intakes and their gains?
Click to expand...
The company is WeaponR, their intake is called the Secret Weapon. WeaponR in general is kind of a ricer brand of aftermarket parts, like APC or TenzoR, ect. I wouldn't buy that thing personally. Many people will tell you to "just buy a $10 Ebay intake and call it a day". While it's true that those cheap intakes can yeild very similar HP gains to name brand intakes, they often have fitment issues, use a cheap filter which is a death wish for your engine, and won't come with a CARB sticker which may or may not matter depending on where you live. So saying that, some quality name brand intakes are AEM, Comptech and Injen. AEM uses K&N filters, Comptech uses a foam filter, I dunno what Injen's use. I'd go with K&N vs. a foam filter, because I've heard just the opposite of what you have about foam vs. K&N, I've heard that foam is inferior.

HERE'S a link to an intake comparison article that might help you out.
 

TegSox

Super Duper Moderator
dustinb said:
Questions:
3. Is it a easy job to replace the rear power antenna? This one makes a ton of noise and doesn't go down all the way.

***** performance questions *****

5. Onto the meat of the questions. I like massaging power out of an NA engine. I've hooked my Miata up from 93HP to 119.6, and I'd like to do something similar with the Integra. However, I still want it to be a nice driveable machine. I was initially thinking a better Intake (suggest one please), a header, Apexi Neo, and apex road sport exhaust (quiet). However, I also notice there are performance intake manifolds by Skunk and OBX. Is the new intake manifold a big waste of time if the car isn't force induced?
Click to expand...
Seems alot of Integra owners have their power antenna crap out on them, but I have a 1995 and mine's still going strong (I've never had that leaking radiator problem either guys, lol), but replacing it isn't that difficult. It's just removing the side panel to get at it, removing a few bolts and unplugging a wire harness or two. Take out the old, put in the new, reverse the removal procedure, and your done. Easy, just time consuming.

Doing a properly sized I/H/C/E exhaust setup for the Integra will get you the nice power gain I think your looking for and keep your ride comfortable and fun. I had an Apexi World Sport in the past and loved the way it sounded, but I took it off for something else because it has a chambered muffler design which is poor for high RPM flow, but that's also why it's so quiet. I'd absolutley leave an aftermarket IM out of your plans unless you plan on upgrading internals quite a bit, like "stage 2" level cams and high compression pistons. The stock IM is fine even for a mild NA build, it flows plenty of air even for a "stage 1" cam and upped compression.
 
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