Drag Race Between Three Turbo Hondas Shows Why Enthusiasts Love Modding These Cars

Today it’s the former category that gets a place in the spotlight, as not two but three such sleepers (if they can even be called that anymore) are lined up against each other in a drag and rolling race. The lineup consists of the equally famous Integra and Civic, joined by the slightly more underrated Del Sol.

One thing that they all have in common, however, is power, as each car hovers around the 500 hp benchmark. That is a lot of grunt, especially for the ultra-light Del Sol, which only weighs 2,094 lbs (950 kg) and, consequently, boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 526 hp (533 ps) per ton. To put that into perspective, a Ferrari F8 Tributo only has a ratio of 461 hp (467 ps) per ton.

So how does such a small car get so many horses under the hood? It all starts with a K24A engine swap (2.4-liter 4-cylinder). That power unit is then taken up a notch thanks to a turbo with a sidewinder exhaust manifold, center feed intake manifold, 3.5-inch (90mm) throttle body, 1050cc injectors, and a beefy intercooler.

These cars also happen to share a couple of drawbacks when it comes to drag racing. The first and most important is traction, as all three cars are front-wheel drive, which means putting that much power down is quite a struggle. The triad of contestants is also equipped with manual gearboxes, providing an additional challenge in the race.

Up against the aforementioned Del Sol stands the daddy of Honda memes, the Civic Type R. In this case, it is the EP3 generation, and it is just as powerful as its opponent, albeit 660 lbs (300 kg) heavier, thus having a worse power-to-weight ratio of just 400 hp (406 ps) per ton.

Unsurprisingly, the engine modifications are similar, although this time they are applied to the car’s stock K20A2 power unit. The same story applies to the Honda Integra Type R, which, just like the Del Sol, received a K24A engine swap and has a power-to-weight ratio of 476 hp (483 ps) per ton. These numbers hint at the race being a close affair, at least between two of the cars.

But things don’t always go as expected, or at least not as the raw numbers would dictate. Despite being on semi-slick tires and having the best power-to-weight ratio, the Del Sol ended up last in the rolling race, spinning its tires all the way due to a lack of mechanical grip caused by how light it is.

The top step of the podium was taken by Integra, which managed to beat the competition by about three car lengths. Granted, this result was definitely influenced by the driver of the Civic fluffing a gear change.

That leaves the drag race, and to the dismay of the Del Sol owner, not much changed. The first run has the same result as the rolling races, with the Integra being the winner and the Del Sol being left in the dust and proving power isn’t everything. The second run switched things around, although only at the bottom of the leaderboard, with the Civic ending up last this time.