Acura RSX-Type S value

While searching for a motor swap for SCCA STL class I have noticed how cheap RSX Type S cars have become. I have found a few for challenge price. Besides the suspension and lack of lsd are these cars that much of a let down from the Integra?

Big fan here. The K20A2 in the Type-S is one of the best engines of the past decade, bar none. With a few bolt-ons and a reflash they put down consistent, provable 200WHP+ numbers. They are fantastic for that reason alone. Aside from the crappy rear suspension the pre-05 transmissions have fragile syncros IIRC and they all have heavy glass sunroofs but that's about all for the negatives. In my area they are all beat to crap at that end of the price spectrum, a decent one is still $5k+.

Was interested in this very idea until I started looking at actual cars, most of which have been beaten to death.

Also curious on these. I see some real negative opinions on the front steering and suspension geometry. Just fanboi hate or does it really affect the DD status of the car?

GTwannaB wrote: Also curious on these. I see some real negative opinions on the front steering and suspension geometry. Just fanboi hate or does it really affect the DD status of the car?

NONE of that affects the car as a DD. I laugh my ass off at the forum warriors who preach Integras over the RSX for the suspension when they will never track either in their entire lives, it's all a moot point for a street car. In a modification-limited race series, completely different story.

AFAIK it's the rear that is truly awful. Realtime had to run 4000lb (!) springs to get it to go around corners properly because the geometry is so bad. Most of the hate for the front surrounds the fact that Honda abandoned its beloved double wishbone suspension for a strut setup, to my knowledge.

As track cars, the Integra is held back more by its engine than the RSX-S is by its suspension, so it'd be a no-brainer for me. The fact that RSXs have an immobilizer and are 10x as theft-proof as an Integra is icing on the cake.

GTwannaB wrote: Also curious on these. I see some real negative opinions on the front steering and suspension geometry. Just fanboi hate or does it really affect the DD status of the car?

I have been informed numerous times that the strut suspension is the worst thing to happen to cars ever and the RSX is the worst car ever made because of it and Honda should just shut down as a company for going to struts instead of the double wishbone suspension that, in its final iterations, had a camber curve and roll center almost exactly like what strut suspensions have.

Make sure you check insurance before committing to buy. I was surprised how high it was relative to other similar cars.

Knurled wrote: I have been informed numerous times that the strut suspension is the worst thing to happen to cars ever and the RSX is the worst car ever made because of it and Honda should just shut down as a company for going to struts instead of the double wishbone suspension that, in its final iterations, had a camber curve and roll center almost exactly like what strut suspensions have.

That's the long form of why I tend to avoid Honda forums .

glueguy wrote: Make sure you check insurance before committing to buy. I was surprised how high it was relative to other similar cars.

All hondas seem to fit in that category. They are popular with theives and street racers

Wasn't there a $1 purchase price RSX at the challenge this year?

NordicSaab wrote: Wasn't there a $1 purchase price RSX at the challenge this year?

Type S RSX?

The only thing I have to add is that I have driven exactly one RSX Type S, at Mid Ohio, as part of their one day High Performance Driving class and it was a blast.

I DD an EM2 civic which has similar suspension characteristics. My past stable has included several DWB civics and Accords and can tell you that day to day driving experiences are identical from a handling standpoint, though the d17 in my current vehicle sucks donkey nuts.

FYI for autocross purposes there is now an approved kit for Street Touring that goes a long way in fixing the rear suspension that is ST legal. As such, they are considering moving the car out of STF.

drove one for years as a dd and st autocross car. That K engine is definitely sweet. Intake, exhaust, flash...just loved running it up over 8k rpm. I ran 700 lb rear springs and 400 front but would have done better with over 900 in the back and 500 in front. I did pretty good with it. Would like to of tried it out with an LSD but there were no good classes for that setup at the time.

One of the big differences between the RSX and the Integra is the cowl height. The RSX was one of the first Honda products to do away with the super airy, low-cowl design that gave such a great view of the road ahead. The dash in the RSX is pretty high---like most modern cars. The feel inside isn't as sporty-feeling as the Integra--- it's more sedan-like. Besides that---- I don't really see anything to hate.

A local guy here in Denver had and RSX-S with (nice) homemade camber/castor plates. I think he dialed in a ton of castor.

The car is/was quick and tidy.

Rog

Knurled wrote:

GTwannaB wrote: Also curious on these. I see some real negative opinions on the front steering and suspension geometry. Just fanboi hate or does it really affect the DD status of the car?

I have been informed numerous times that the strut suspension is the worst thing to happen to cars ever and the RSX is the worst car ever made because of it and Honda should just shut down as a company for going to struts instead of the double wishbone suspension that, in its final iterations, had a camber curve and roll center almost exactly like what strut suspensions have.

It wasn't the strut type suspension that was bad, just this one. They put the rack at the top of hte engine bay (raising the CoG)and the strut is manufacturer with an arm to be steered instead of the knuckle. So Camber changes affect toe more than other cars and getting struts make it more vehicle specific. Not so bad when it's a honda, but still limiting.

drdisque wrote: FYI for autocross purposes there is now an approved kit for Street Touring that goes a long way in fixing the rear suspension that is ST legal. As such, they are considering moving the car out of STF.

STF was never meant for that car anyway. Should have stayed in STS. STF was for the lighter, low powered cars or the heavy higher powered cars.... not light high powered. When you can get the car to 2500lbs with driver and have 200+whp, that does not belong in STF with 2500lb mini's with 115whp (on a good day) or a 27000lb 150whp Mazda3. Sure the open diff does hinder putting power down in tight turns, but that weight and power make it a force to be reckoned with.

Well I assume the K20 engine is as good as any 8th gen Civic Si K20? I wonder if the 8th gen Civic worked out the RSX/Civic suspension woes.

Joe Gearin wrote: One of the big differences between the RSX and the Integra is the cowl height. The RSX was one of the first Honda products to do away with the super airy, low-cowl design that gave such a great view of the road ahead. The dash in the RSX is pretty high---like most modern cars. The feel inside isn't as sporty-feeling as the Integra--- it's more sedan-like. Besides that---- I don't really see anything to hate.

And that is why Honda stopped using the double wishbone suspension. The main reason they started using it was because it allowed decent suspension travel while keeping a very low beltline. (Same reason why the previous small-cars used torsion bars and struts) The design trend went to higher beltlines, so there was no more reason to not use the common strut and coil spring setup.

I bought an 02 type S about a month ago for $400. It had jumped timing and owner was told it would need a motor. I put the motor back in time and replaced the timing chain tensioner and it runs like a champ. It has since become my daily.