My objective was never to build the fastest DA, because that's an issue that's more prevalent to money than tuning, (emphasis on MORE, not always). With that in mind, and not having a big budget, I focused my attention on chassis dynamics for circuit driving. The small budget comes from my personal decision to keep racing fun and affordable. Besides the less time you spend in the garage and the more time you spend on the track is what makes you competitive, and spending 3 years to research and adapt parts in Japan gave me more garage time than I needed. Having driven DA's with a variety of factory engines (ZC, B16A, B18A and B17A) I had a good idea of what the stock chassis was capable of under various power ratings. I realized the B16A had its drawbacks on circuits with elevations, although it does prove itself a competent and reliable engine better suited to a lighter chassis. I believe a 1.8L offers a better overall combination, providing the chassis is balanced for a heavier front weight distribution. Having driven on circuits for several seasons on a B18A with no complaints, I realized the limits of this combination in respects with power-to-weight, and decided to upgrade the DA to respectively perform and handle with more power. As the "TOSS" (Honda Pre-Test Vehicle) DA was originally developed with a ZC 120 ps/rpm engine, a big power upgrade would ultimately overcome chassis performance and render suspension tuning that much more difficult for matching peak drivability. The decision was made when I came across a 35,000Klm 2001 B18C engine with a Spoon clutch/flywheel and Greddy 8 iridium plugs for 1800$ (Benefits of Life in Japan). Having driven several Type R's in Japan, I felt as if Honda's errors and compromises had been resolved in the awareness and feedback stimulated from driving this car (compared with the DA). With the engine acquired, my concern was that adding a 180ps engine could adversely affect the characteristics of power transfer through the chassis, therefore chassis tuning became the foundation of this project in fabricating a DA Type R. Simply buying the ITR was an expensive option but still attached to the DA's pure "Showasha" styling, while also being interested in tuning and fabricating, I decided to construct my own DA Type R. The advantage of making my own Type R was rewarding in that I had the means to fabricate and design components which made this project's budget around 10,000$ less than if I bought an actual Type R from Honda. Not to mention insurance costs, which right there is enough to make a difference. I started rebuilding the engine and noticed the cylinder walls and rings where still in good condition, so I decided to concentrate on the head. A benefit from buying an engine in Japan is that they run a minimum 98 octane (RON), and are relatively clean, although most are run pretty hot, which makes changing all the gaskets a must. The compression was raised to 11.4:1, the pistons where caressed and the throttle body and intake where turned. A big thanks goes to Kuma san from Techno Spirits, who took the time to reinforce the benefits of the Maxime Header in relation to the CFM increase. Dec. 2005 Update I've acquired some JUN 3 cams and will rebuild the engine this winter in order to get ready to Laguna Seca in the spring. Since the engine is already ported for a Stage 2, I will simply be upgrading all the necessary parts in hopes of getting around 200ps.

Ported & Milled:
I spent 3 days porting the head alone. Had a local shop mill the deck to increase compression up to 11.4:1.

Oil Pan Baffle:
While many companies offer aluminum race pans or just baffled OEM pans. I cut up an old EG oil pan to make baffles to be welded in. I also bonded some Aluminum heat sinks to the outer case for heat dissipation.

Head reassembly:
Initial setup was done with a 2 degree advance setting on the intake only running (Canadian 94 octane at the Pump). I have since replaced both cam gears with adjustable ones and they are currently set at intake:+1 exhaust: 0, running approx. 94 Octane gas at the track by mixing Xylene.
Note: I adjusted the valves in -5 degree temperature, so moving to California required the valves to be re-adjusted (it was really off).
Used the starter motor and alternator from the DC2 as they are much lighter than the DA9 units ('01 DC2 starter motor and alternator are 0.95Kg lighter than the Canadian '90 DA9).

Exhaust:
This was built in Japan at a friends motorcycle shop called Akaichi Racing.
I designed it without even having a car to reference fitment. I cant believe it worked out, and surprised at how good it sounds. The canister was made up to 1.6L specs with 60mm diameter piping. I stuffed the canister with flame resistant sound deadening taken from a 1000cc Ducati. TIG welded the canister, piping and finisher. Akaichi San came up with the idea to use an aluminum bracket to mount the muffler to the B pipe. Section welded the finisher to have it exhausting a little downward.