David Ying's '05 Acura RSX Type-S
Don't let the name of David Ying's Canadian-based auto shop fool you. Yes, the Evo Garage namesake is that of the legendary rally-derived sub-compact, the Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione, but Ying and company most assuredly specialize in the Honda brand. Admittedly so, the famed, early-'90s Lancia is this Richmond, British Columbian's most prized piece of automotive racing fare. He thinks his RSX is sort of okay, too.
Understand the merits of the race-inspired Lancia, understand that, despite those, Ying still owns and tracks his RSX, and you will no doubt understand that Ying's RSX most likely is something spectacular. It is. Ying's fourth-generation Integra stand-in is every internet forum "Appearance and Cosmetic" regular's dream realized. But not for the reasons you'd expect. Each Japanese-sourced aero piece, each obscure engine bit, they're all there for a reason, and they're all exploited beyond reasonable exploitation.
Inside Ying's Lancia track car's bay rests two liters of turbocharged worthiness. The RSX shares similar displacement but no turbocharger. What it lacks in low-end torque, though, is made up for with its Japanese-spec, K20A Type R engine that's dressed with a Toda Racing header and valvetrain, a Mugen air box, and a Spoon Sports throttle body. Beneath Ying's Lancia track car sits an AWD layout-the kind you have to take seriously, with a torque-biasing differential in the center and a Torsen-type one out back. Of course, the RSX benefits from no such layout, however, Ying wanes off traction woes with an ITR-spec gearbox that's upgraded with a Spoon Sports final-drive gear and limited-slip differential that transmits torque through a Carbonetic clutch and flywheel combination. The pairing is a special one, so much so that Ying had it and the rest of the powertrain prepared for the RSX prior to even owning it. Once the chassis arrived, its North American-spec K-series was plopped out in favor of the act of God that is the ITR powerplant.
Pay attention, because the more you know about Ying's RSX, the more you'll begin to forget about the compact, rally-bred gem he's got tucked away in his garage. You won't miss it one bit either. The genuine Mugen aero kit that gracefully complements Ying's DC5's lines, in part, helps ensure this. The Mugen front bumper and canards play into the hands of the JDM-spec Type R headlights that drip from the carbon-fiber bonnet, also from Mugen. The reshaped lines spill into the Mugen side skirts and across the Mugen rear under-spoiler. Carefully avoiding an exterior in disarray, subtle touches like a JDM rear trunk lid and taillights as well as Vision Technica Type MC mirrors were among the final accouterments applied to the body. Of course, there's also Ying's massive J's Racing wing that's every bit as functional as it is large. So much for subtleties.
The ITR K20A power plant, already lethal in factory form, was improved upon with a few sel
Although the sought-after Mugen externals, Enkei wheels, and Recaro seats may lead you to believe that Ying's RSX parks itself and does so quite hard, make no mistake, this DC5 was built for the track, not for the Sunday afternoon parking lot get-together. As a matter of fact, Ying admits that, of the few times throughout the year that the RSX is removed from its garage stall, it's done so in preparation for a road course beat-down. After all, it's what Ying bought his RSX for in the first place.
Ying's track appetite was first made whet thanks to his previous '96 Civic CX, which was motivated by the pre-K-series-era B20-VTEC. His first track experience took place nearly 10 years ago, which he shared with that first hatchback. He was hooked. Three years later he opened the doors to Evo Garage, the shop that caters to the Honda enthusiast yet pays homage to a compact car produced under the guise of parent company Fiat. Never mind all of that, though. Fortunately for Ying, Evo Garage proved viable. Unfortunately for Ying, Evo Garage prevented him from visiting the track again until 2005, when he made his return in a K20A-swapped '02 Civic Si. Ying tracked the EP3 regularly until after no more than a year he traded up for a barely used '05 RSX Type-S. Ying says that the RSX was had in near-mint condition and its price reflected as much. The Honda garage entrepreneur makes no qualms about the entry cost, however, nor the dollars associated with the top-quality fare he associates with his RSX, like the Vision Technica carbon-fiber air duct, Mugen N1 coilovers, and completely custom AP Racing brake rotors and Brembo calipers that remain unique to Ying's DC5. The whole "You get what you pay for" axiom sounds sort of appropriate right about now.
The purpose of Ying's RSX is quite clear. The fact that no expense was spared is quite evident. The idea that a man so obsessed with another make's rally-inspired homologation had the wherewithal to pull off a Honda build of such caliber...well, that part is neither clear nor evident. The best part is, though, it doesn't really matter at all.