2002 Acura RSX Type-S

Known by most as the Stealth bomber represents a truly revolutionary piece of military aircraft design. Its stealth technology is intended to help it penetrate defenses previously impenetrable by combat aircraft, with its low-observability coming from a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual and radar signatures, making it difficult for defenses to detect, track and engage. Much of the technology it uses to go unnoticed remains classified, but what we do know is that the B-2’s composite materials, special coatings and ‘flying wing’ design (which makes it appear to be an insect on radar) contribute to its stealth abilities.

Kenneth ‘Turtle’ Lau is definitely someone who appreciates the value of flying under the radar. Having placed an order for this 2002 Nighthawk Black Pearl Acura RSX Type S before they were even scheduled to arrive on this side of the Pacific, clearly he was intrigued by this sports coupe’s clean and subtle styling. But not even Turtle himself could have realized that his relentless pursuit of race car performance in a street-legal package would result in a DC5 that is among the quickest and most stealth all-motor Hondas we’ve ever come across.

As a race mechanic, ECU tuner and test driver for Kensai Racing’s Grand Am Cup RSX Type S’s, it’s hardly surprising that Turtle tore his brand new K20A2 engine apart just weeks after taking delivery of his new ride, back in the fall of ‘02. Among the initial list of go-fast goodies he installed was a set of DC5 Type R camshafts and pistons as well as Mugen valve springs, N1 ECU and carbon fiber rear spoiler. In fact, the list of initial modifications made to his Type S engine before it even had a thousand miles on it was extensive, particularly in light of the fact that the aftermarket had only just begun to offer much in the way of go-fast goodies for the K20. Squeezing over 220whp out of this cleverly modified 2-liter, Turtle was clearly ahead of the crowd given that everyone else was just beginning to bolt up cat-back exhausts and cold-air intakes at this early stage in the K-series game.

A lot of people would have been satisfied with accomplishing so much so quickly, but not Turtle. He’s the kind of speed freak who never rests, always looking for new ways to wring extra juice out of his K-series and grip out of his DC5’s chassis. Having run a variety of different cams, programmable ECUs and bolt-on mods during his continuous pursuit of serious K-series power, in early ’06 he decided it was time to step up to Honda’s 4-cylinder ‘big block’. Acquiring a complete K24A2 longblock out of a scrapped ’04 TSX, his RSX now has an extra half-liter of displacement via the 1mm larger bore and 13mm longer stroke.

To take full advantage of the extra cubic inches provided by the K24, Lau had sponsor Web Cams make him a custom set of camshafts, while the valvetrain has been reinforced with Skunk2 valve springs and titanium retainers. The exhaust cam has been fine-tuned using a Skunk2 adjustable cam gear, while intake cam timing continues to be under the supervision of the iVTEC system and a Hondata K-Pro ECU. A set of .25mm oversized TSX pistons were also installed, after having the cylinders bored and honed for the slightly larger diameter pistons and rings. Completing the longblock upgrades is a knife-edged K24 crankshaft, K20 oil pump, and Hytech baffled oil pan. To protect his freshly assembled big block and optimize racetrack performance, Turtle also added an Earl’s 26-row oil cooler, since he’s found that the engine temperature creeps too high after about 20-30 minutes of track use with K-series engines. The Earl’s cooler has helped reduce oil temperature by 25 degrees, allowing for prolonged lapping sessions where Porsche owners are regularly left eating this stealth coupe’s dust.

Bolted to either side of this potent 2.4L mill is a Euro Accord RBC intake manifold and 64mm Accord throttle body and a Hytech Exhaust 4-2-1 stainless exhaust manifold. Further aiding the smooth and rapid expulsion of exhaust gases is a Hytech 3-inch cat-back exhaust system and muffler, giving Turtle’s RSX a deep metallic snarl for those unsuspecting Porsche owners to enjoy as he blows past them up the back straight at Mosport International Raceway.