In the realm of time attack, most often than not, the phrase ‘less is more’ can be aptly applied in most circumstances (I think power and tire size being the exception). Even those competing in street cars forgo the extra amenities in favor of shedding overall weight in their car; a willing sacrifice if it means quicker times. More and more we see entries into the sport that push the boundaries of limited modifications; some even entering the circuit with untouched motors. Such is the case with Shoutarou and his Integra – a pair that push simplicity to it’s limit.
The K20A is an incredible motor. The default option for Honda Japan’s Type-R lineup has proven it’s credibility time and time again. The square bore and stroke, paired with it’s naturally high compression ratio of 11.5:1, was engineered to provide both usable power and reliability. This particular K-series motor is engineered so well, to extract more power from the platform would require a good amount of money and time. Shoutarou himself admits that the K20A motor is the overwhelming reason he loves his Type-R so much. His love for the motor is so much so, that he centered the entire build of his Integra around the ability to keep the motor stock. Honda’s reliability from an OE standpoint is outweighed by few, even under the abuse of time attack, and by keeping the motor stock, he was afforded more time to research other areas of the car that would benefit from modification. It wasn’t long until the build was at a point where Shoutarou felt content about it’s performance, and he set out to prove it on a handful of tracks around central Japan.
With modifications at a minimum, maximizing track time is easy. It’s a common recipe that many people use to hone their skills early on, or to adapt to a particular chassis all around the world. There’s no sense in hopping into a high power build if you’re not able to control it at it’s limits. You aren’t able to mask your mistakes with power if there isn’t much of it to go around. I suppose that’s one of the draws to a near classless attack series; the freedom to push yourself and your car regardless of other’s performance. As a result of this, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone drive as much as Shoutarou. Bouncing from circuit to circuit, year round, he drives the Integra as much as possible, gaining valuable experience from each lap. Accumulating knowledge on how the car will react in different conditions, his skill in driving the car increased rather quickly. As each circumstance played out, the car’s predictability around each corner could be found; even in wet conditions; where Shoutarou thinks FWD shines over RWD.
Aslan prepared the chassis with a fully custom roll cage, gussetted at the A and B pillars. Sometimes the forgoing of safety equipment for either money or weight savings gets questioned in the grassroots arena, but like myself, Shoutarou thinks that safety is a necessary component of the sport, wearing a full race suit and HANS device each outing; a mindset I think everyone involved should adapt. The cage provides both safety and the bonus of making the chassis more rigid. Aslan also crafted a custom exhaust to compliment the K20 motor.
An ATS LSD replaces the factory limited slip, and a carbon ATS clutch handles the on-track duty that the stock clutch may not have been able to handle.
Check out the video below of Shoutarou and his team mate having a bit of a dogfight at Central Circuit this past weekend with his friend driving the Meishin S2000: