How To: Make Your Base RSX (Almost) As Fast As The Type-S
Note: I mention both crank horsepower and wheel horsepower in here, and it's important you know the difference.
- Crank Horsepower - Usually what the manufacturer quotes in specs. Horsepower measured at the engine's crankshaft, not factoring in losses from drivetrain (wheels, tires, drive shaft, etc.).
- Wheel Horsepower - Horsepower measured in dyno results. Horsepower actually making it to the road from the tires. Less than crank horsepower due to losses from friction in the drivetrain.
2003 RSX Base Model (Manual)
2,721 Pounds
160 Crank Horsepower
0.059 Horsepower / Pound
2003 RSX Type S
2,767 Pounds
200 Crank Horsepower
0.072 Horsepower / Pound
So, filling in the missing number here, if we want our 2003 base model to have an equal power-to-weight ratio, and thus feel similar to the Type-S, we'd need to meet either one of these goals, or a mix of the two:
- Make ~196 Crank Horsepower OR
- Weigh ~2,225 Pounds
Why I mentioned it'll feel similar but not the same is both the 5-speed automatic and 5-speed manual transmission that come in the base model RSX have much longer gears than the Type-S 6-speed manual. Assuming you swapped in a Type-S transmission though, a race scenario it would be pretty close against a bone stock Type-S.
The best way to meet your goal is splitting the difference between horsepower and weight savings. If you do full bolt-on's and make 180 crank horsepower (about 160 wheel horsepower), that means you only need to reach 2,600 pounds to theoretically match the Type-S. To be more clear, the mods you'll have to do to make that horsepower are as follows:
- $795 K-Pro
- $300 Cold Air Intake
- $60 Throttle Body Adapter
- $350 RBC Intake Manifold (Cut)
- $350 Race Exhaust Header
- $600 Larger Diameter Exhaust
- $300 Tune
Total: ~$2,755.00
(You may want to add on a Type-S 6-Speed manual transmission, but that can be around $1,500. The gear ratios are shorter though, and therefore faster.)
You can save money by getting some parts used, or choosing cheaper options. The places where you might be able to do this would be:
- Make your own cold air intake out of silicone couplers, clamps, aluminum piping, and a cone filter. You can probably save $200 this way, but it'll require some thinking and you'll probably have to make a bracket for it.
- Cut your own RBC manifold. It's not hard, and you can do it with a Dremel and some metal cutting discs. I did, and it turned out fine.
- Buy a used RBC manifold on eBay, or get a reproduction one. They're half price. I haven't tried a reproduction RBC, so your mileage may vary.
- Buy a used exhaust header and exhaust in a partout on Facebook Marketplace or from someone on the forums.
Instead of listing things for you to remove, I decided to list all the weights of certain items and you can decide what you need. Also, clean your car out so you're not fighting an uphill battle. It should be pretty easy in all honesty to drop 150-ish pounds from interior weight, and if you miss anything (like the ability to tow around passengers) you can add it back in later.
Once you've increased your horsepower and lowered the weight of your car, you're well on the way to having a quick base model RSX. You can either keep adding power and modifying, or be happy with that little bit of extra fun. Either way, this was super interesting to learn how the base can be competitive with the Type-S models fairly easily.
Thanks for checking out my article on going faster in your base model RSX.
