STROKED ASPIRATIONS

MATT KOTSIFAKIS MAY HAVE HIT THE HOLY GRAIL WHEN HE BUILT A RAPID YET RELIABLE CAR. BUT GETTING IT RIGHT TOOK TIME, AS WE FOUND OUT

MELTING THE ENGINE IN HIS DC2R WASN’T GOING TO DETER MATT KOTSIFAKIS, WHO PUT TOGETHER A TODA-EQUIPPED B SERIES TO TAKE ITS PLACE.

There’s no use investing money in the cylinder head without accompanying intake upgrades. A ported Skunk2 Ultra Street manifold and S90 74mm throttle body took care of that in this case

Change is a good thing. It keeps things interesting, leads to progress, and opens up opportunities and new experiences. Change forces us to challenge ourselves and adapt to new surroundings and lifestyles. However, this principle doesn’t always seem to apply to the game played out by most of you reading this. When the time comes to decide which four-wheeled canvas to work with next, many seem to stick with what they know: another four-wheel drive, the next drift weapon, or a rotary with more displacement than the last. While some move on to a fresh idea once ownership is signed over, many go back for seconds, and, arguably, this is particularly the case for Honda owners.

There must be something addictive about them, a theory that definitely rings true for Wellington-based NA enthusiast Matt Kotsifakis. Having grown up surrounded by Hondas thanks to an older brother and his crew, Matt climbed aboard the high-revving train and hasn’t yet found a reason to jump off. “Researching the motors and seeing their potential and how they perform, I wanted to follow suit,” Matt says, and, “Seeing my brother and his mates progress with their cars and do them up made me want to do the same.” Matt’s previous rides were an EF Civic and an Accord Euro R, which served as building blocks for the ’99 Integra Type R weekender we see here today — a culmination of inspiration, experience, and research-fuelled expertise.

Originally, he was set on the later model K20A-powered DC5, and Matt searched high and low for one that would justify parting with funds, before he became distracted by an unmolested example of the DC5’s predecessor. “Nothing was catching my eye,” Matt explains. Then, “I stumbled across this DC2R, and I thought I’d check it out as it looked extremely clean in the photos. Sure enough, after seeing the car in person and taking it for a test drive, I was sold on it.” Scoring a clean example of any 16-year-old car is always a challenge, and, being close to stock, with a couple of tasteful modifications, the Integra was somewhat of a rarity — the perfect canvas for his next VTEC project.

After he’d bought the car, he squirrelled away funds while slowly chipping away at the build. Being a student, Matt worked hard and savoured the bulk of his earnings while researching, deliberating, and not too hastily coming to a conclusion on what would make his Integra different from the rest.

Meantime, he saw to necessary aspects of the car. BC Gold adjustable suspension replaced lowering springs to correct the ride height and improve the Honda’s handling, and a couple of carefully selected braces complemented the new shocks. Because the intention was to eventually add a good amount to the power and test the car’s limits on the track, an upgrade in stopping