Detailed Perfection

The idiom “the devil is in the details” refers to mistakes usually being made in the small aspects of a project. An older, and less common, phrase “God is in the detail” means attention paid to small things has big rewards. Steve Simpson who built the car featured in the latest episode could be described as “God of the detail” after completely going through his 2006 RSX Type S and leaving no aspect of the car untouched…for a reference point it took Steve three years just to complete the engine and engine bay! Steve has always been into Honda’s and has owned some of the best from the line up including an 92 EG Civic hatch, 98 Integra Type R and S2000. After he sold his Type R, Steve kicks himself everyday for that, he was drawn to the Acura because his father, who past away, had an 06 Type S and would drive around on the weekends with him. The naturally aspirated motor, refined looks and performance of the car was the next in line of legendary Hondas that Steve would own. Steve chose the 2nd gen body style for the sleek looks, bump in horsepower and the history with his father. By day Steve is a master tech for Nissan/Infinity but by night bleeds Honda performance.

Let’s start with the aforementioned three year in the making engine bay and the boosted original motor powering this masterpiece. The K20 Z1 came from the factory with Type R cams and tune gaving the motor an additional 10hp compared to its predecessor bumping it to 210hp. Steve was enticed by the motor because, “it would be great to bolt on a turbo right out of the box.” Steve chose a turbo setup as opposed to a super charger setup mainly to have adjustability of boost. Steve reports on the high end he would have been able to pull 450-500hp on the super charged setup, while at 20psi in a turbo car could get him to a 550-600hp with no problems. Steve immediately bolted on a Precision 6266 turbo with an 82AR housing which was taken apart, powder coated to match the rest of the motor. Stuffed inside the K20 are ARP rod bolts, piston rings, ARP head studs, 4 piston ported oil pump, oil pan baffle, Toda time chain and tensioner while the rest is stock, a testament to the over engineering of the Honda factory. A full race intercooler keeps everything on the cool side air nice and dense.

SM street tuned it on the fly while cruising the turnpike and conservatively Steve thinks he’s putting down 450hp at 10psi of boost, which is plenty for his current suspension setup. The Z1 stock trans has a Type R LSD packed in it to put those boosted ponies down. Steve took it to the next level by still running all of the creature comforts so that him and his family stay safe and comfortable. The a/c, heat, power steering, abs all still work as engineered which, “cost him a lot of extra money and time.”

Top: Stock 2006 RSX Type S engine bay Bottom: Steve’s extensively modified engine bay.

Moving to the asthetics under the hood, Steve being the master tech that he is couldn’t leave anything alone. Every bolt, nut, bracket, housing and pretty much anything that Steve could take apart was cleaned, powder coated or anodized. Steve even tore down the alternator and starter to rebuild and powder coat before putting it back into the car. Most of the powder coating that was done Steve did himself with an old oven in his garage, talk about a DIY! Steve said “I’m one of those people who, if I’m going though the process, I want to do it right and not have to do it over again.”

Each color under the hood was carefully chosen to match or contrast all of the red in the engine bay and every detail down to the hardware was thoroughly planned out. Everywhere there was a black bracket Steve wanted red hardware and everything that was silver he went with black hardware. The firewall, strut towers and front subframe were all painstakingly welded or ground down to smooth out all of the factory imperfections. While it doesn’t jump out at you it creates a the perfect back drop to highlight the detailed work Steve put in the motor. All of the wiring has been extended and tucked while the fuse box has been relocated to behind the bumper to clean up the engine bay further. The abs, all of the ac hoses and system are all tucked away nicely and a Civic EP3 power steering pump was retrofitted and wired. The battery now sits behind the bumper as there has never been a good way to dress up a battery! To top everything off the valve cover has been airbrushed by friend of the podcast John Kokenda to let the world know what this piece of art is powered by.

When I first started talking with Steve I was drawn immediately to the interior which is as clean and functional as the motor and as Steve described, “Type R heaven without having the steering wheel on the other side,” making it hard to get McDonalds drive thru! DC5 Type R red Recaro seats, rear seats, steering wheel with red stitch and cruise control, push start button, pedals with dead rest, door panels and door sills to complete the look. Originally the interior was tan however just like everything else on the cars has been extensively gone over and color changed black. The A-spec trim looks right at home next to the JDM conversion giving it a little USDM mix to make it very unique. To top it all off Steve even has a color matched Mugen rear view mirror cover for the JDM part freaks.

Steve shifts through a hybrid racing shifter and accompanying shift knob and rests his feet on red HFP floor mats made for an Accord. Steve does have a Type R cluster that he’s held off on installing due to worries about the inaccuracy of mileage on the cluster. In the trunk area, being the detail oriented builder Steve is, has factory replaced black panels with all brand new rubber and clips giving it a fresh from the factory look.

The suspension is a mix of JDM Type R and aftermarket. The Function Form Type 2 32 way adjustable coilovers with camber plates bolted to the Type R aluminum control arms that push the suspension out 35mm. The wheels are a staggered fitment, authentic Desmond Regamaster Marquis Promoda 17x9 +38 in the rear 17x8 +35 in the front which have been moved from front to rear a few times. According to Steve the 9’s look better in the front however they tend to track with the road and make the car unstable. Steve reports that it roasts the tires 1st-3rd gear and once he shifts to 4th the car wants to walk all over the place so a few suspension tweaks are in the works.The DBA front rotors are slowed down with the factory Type R Brembo calipers and Mugen lines to give the pedal a stiffer feel. The Mugen rear strut brace ties the rear end together. Every suspension fastener on the cars was measured for pitch and bolt length to make sure the theme from the engine was brought underneath the car.

The exterior of the car stays with the clean and complete look with a mix of factory and aftermarket parts. The front and rear bumpers are Acura A-spec that came factory painted so body work was not needed. The front grill has been removed and shaved to show off the high quality fabrication from the intercooler to the radiator. The side skirts are Mugen gen 1 that were sourced from a gentleman on instagram in Russia. There were parts missing from the skirts where Steve and his painter reworked the back of the skirt to ensure that it never moves. The DC5 Type R taillights were sourced from the UK and factory brand new.

The duck tail spoiler keeps a low profile at the back of the car and was chosen because Steve thinks the Type R spoiler is too typical for these cars. However, in the back ground of the pics you might see a Type R deck lid and spoiler being prepped to possibly be put on the car. Steve was quick to point out one nick on the entire car which according to him warrants a full repaint!

Steve wants to paint the car however doesn’t know if he wants a full color change or keep with the original Milano Red and in true detailed fashion Steve is never done with the car. If he does paint the car he wants to find a high Mugen rear spoiler and install a wide body over fender kit to fit some larger wheel and tires underneath. A product of the Type R suspension swap is poor suspension geometry when the JDM and USDM parts mix. Steve would like to install castor bushings to move everything back to factory specs. This will allow Steve to corner weight and dial in the suspension to ensure that the car goes straight after he tunes it to the 550hp level he would like to attain!

Steve throughly enjoys driving the car and tries to put as many miles on it as possible, except for when its raining..have you seen how clean it is under the hood and car?!? He enjoys taking his wife and kids out in the car and if you listened to the podcast his wife would like to rip it around as well! Steve estimates he has between $40-$50K with the original purchase of a car. This is the level of money it takes to bring one of these import legends to the level Steve has built. If you want to view the entire build Steve has documented everything on instagram @ss_built or on Facebook at Steve Simpson. Steve put an incredible amount of time and effort into the build and deserves the “God of the detail” when it comes to his work.