One glance at Jose Guzman’s Arctic Blue Pearl Type-S, featuring its expensive JDM bits and pieces spattered over an overtly sanitary appearance, and you probably draw your own conclusion rather quickly in regards to what this car was developed for. It’s what you can’t see that makes all of the difference in the world,. That’s after all, you’ve been somewhat conditioned, albeit unknowingly, to assume that high-dollar Japanese aero garb is nothing more than yet another piece of flair in a community hell-bent on outdoing the other person in hopes of moving up that imaginary ladder maintained by street cred and likes. Funny part about a car like Jose Guzman’s RSX.What’s quickly learning to be a well-sorted track car was once a full-time street car with little more than a few bolt-ons. Originally bought in 2006 at a dealership in Orlando, FL, with just 40K on the odometer, the car was mildly modded, and was then placed into hibernation on an extended length of time. It sat in my parents’ garage for about two years because I was getting stationed overseas in Japan guzman adds. Once I arrived in Japan and got settled in, the mod bug bit me. I started buying parts and shipping them over to the U.S.–I seemed to get an addiction to Mugen DC5 parts. After completing his overseas duties, Guzman was then stationed in California the location where the build continued, and he attended a few meets and events. It wasn’t until I met Richard Payne from Garage Spec Motorsports that the build started picking up some momentum. He helped me with lots of the new mod installs and suggested ideas on the build.
Time went by, and on a whim Guzman attended a couple of track events, first being a spectator, and shortly after decided to pick up a helmet and check out a few sessions in his own car. Like so many before him, he was instantly hooked. He recalls, It had been lots of fun. That is, until I spun out at Buttonwillow in the rain and landed within the mud. The automobile was covered in mud, it was horrible, and to this very day, I am [still] finding mud in strange places!
2002 acura RSX type S tein camber plate 07
2002 acura RSX type S circuit dreams custom splitter 09
2002 acura RSX type S js racing 60R muffler 13
Another turning point came into being after a chance encounter with Justin Wesseling of Circuit Dreams by JW Racing, along with his father Jerry at Cal Speedway. In order to become more competitive, taking an immediate interest in Wesseling’s Honda Challenge Civic, the two exchanged numbers and began devising a game plan to take the RSX to the next level. In order to accumulate seed money for a K24 block to replace the car’s tired, original 2.0L, many of Guzman’s original mods were then sold. Supporting mods are fairly simple with an emphasis on usable torque, as opposed to peak horsepower. Subtle compression remains, as being the only block changes would be the micro polished and properly balanced crank, while the original K20A2 head received Portflow’s handy work, together with a set of Skunk2 valvesprings and retainers that support a collection of OEM TSX cams. A custom Circuit Dreams 3-inch intake and BPI flow stack bring air in, while a 1-off ASP header directs spent gasses to custom exhaust piping plus a J’s Racing 60R muffler. To avoid starvation on track, a K20 oil pump conversion and Circuit Hero oil pan baffle were both added to insure reliability. To many people, the combination may appear rather simple, almost to a fault, but the results certainly are not, with a dyno finale of 275 hp and 210 lbs-ft tq.
In stark contrast to the mild engine development, suspension upgrades are anything but. Counting on a laundry list of aftermarket bushings, both polyurethane and spherical, tie-bars, lower and upper support bars, end links, roll center adjusters, and a lot more, the RSX delivers a degree of handling light years beyond what the original chassis was capable of. J’s Racing fenders provided enough clearance for 17×9 36 SSR Type C’s in advance, while the rear relies on 17×8 42 for any staggered put in place that Guzman assures us has been very beneficialpropulsion and suspension requirements and significant testing, the team felt that the RSX will benefit from some additional downforce. Guzman states, The car needed more aero, so Justin tasked Jerry with building custom risers for the Mugen wing and a custom splitter with PCI brackets for that BYS front bumper. The back bumper was trimmed significantly and a Max Racing vented hood was added to assist in cooling. The result is an aggressive look that seems to be quite effective; helping to bring home multiple top three finishes in competition.
Weekend track days are the focus, but that hasn’t stopped Guzman from driving the car on the street, even attending a number of meets here and there for fun. Admittedly, parking lot encounters involve fielding a large number of questions about the cars aero enhancements along with its aggressive demeanor. When asked about any future plans for the build, Guzman had this to express, After plenty of testing and podium finishes at a couple of HFF events and Super Lap Battle, the car has become pretty competitive, holding its own on the track against lighter Civics and Integras from older generations. My goal for the car is to consistently develop it and have fun along with it!