Honda Integra DIY

Hello all. I have been a member of this site and an integra owner since i first started driving 6 years ago. Ive been through 3 integras and enough tickets and things getting stolen to have picked up a set of rules i live by that keep me in the car i love so much. These are all just tips that I have accumulated over the years and I’d like to share my knowledge with the rest of the community. If your tired of getting messed with by cops and theives, look here. This thread is PURELY my point of view with huge generalizations and any valuable info provided by any other member will be added to this post.

COPS
Unfortunately, there are more ricers and civics with huge exhausts and a heavy foot to give the rest of us import owners a bad reputation. The following will keep thieves and cops at bay. Most of us are relatively younger guys driving an already high profile car, this with our already bad reputation makes us easy targets.

-Front liscense plate
Just leave it on guys in the stock holes. I know its not pretty , but its one less reason a cop can pull you over. Ive gotten pulled over for this. Deleting the holes and putting the plate in the window is only going to target you, if you notice, only people who mod their cars do that lol.

-Rear liscense plate
Make sure your rear liscense plate bulbs are working and make sure you dont have a plastic cover over it. Ive gotten pulled over for that too.

-exhausts-
Other than speeding, this is probably the BIGGEST and easiest reason why a cop will pull you over, even if your exhaust isn’t loud at all. Even if they don’t hear it and see that its modified, expect to be hassled. i would Definitely shy away from N1 style canister looking mufflers, as well as overkill 3.5″ exhaust setups, especially in CA, i know midwest and east coast states are more lenient. Exhausts are a TOTAL double standard, Harleys and domestics can blow around town with cut pipes making your ear drums bleed and not get messed with. But hey that’s just the nature of our society and its just something we have to deal with, so take the precautions im outlying for you and you WILL NOT BE HASSLED.

^ This is a perfect example of exactly what a cop would look for when pulling you over. Im a fan of RSR exMAG and type R exhausts, given that they give good performance gains but are low profile at the same time with black mufflers. Basically anything with a black muffler and oval shape is in your favor. you can even go as far as spraying your greddy SP2 or whatever flat black to give a more sleeper look.

^Type R muffler.
Obvious exhaust modifications will also point out to the cop and or thieves that you have MORE modifications done to your car, causing you to hear the dreaded “pop your hood”
If you do get your hood popped, please have carb legal parts or no parts at all. Its going to become a HUGE hassle especially in California to deal with if you’ve got illegal parts on your car.

Stickers
Please guys.. leave the APC racing, and performance shop and product stickers anywhere else but the outside of your car. The only thing that will accomplish to a thief is tell him everything hes going to get if he steals your car. The only thing that will accomplish is tell the cop you’ve got modifications to your car and your worth pulling over and ticketing. The only sticker i have ever and will ever rock is a team-integra sticker lol.. straight up.

Body kits / spoilers / Rims

VS

Now which car do you think an officer would be MORE than happy to jump into HOT PURSUIT after? lol.
You already know the answer to this one. A body kit will not only get your car keyed, but its a great way to destroy an integra as well as get pulled over at the same time lol.
Rims are hard man. I try to stick with OEM rims like LS mesh and SI rims, but I have always LOVED aftermarket just as much as the next tuner. the only problem is again gives us an unfair target

Its a shame how we cant even mod our cars to the way we want in fear of thieves these days…

TINT
Another good topic that was brought up was tint. In Ca, the tint laws are:

Windshield: Non-reflective tint is allowed on the top 4 inches of the windshield.

Front Side Windows :Must allow more than 70% of light in.

Back Side Windows: Any darkness can be used.

Rear Window: Any darkness can be used.

I have always ran a lighter tint upfront and have never really had a problem with my tint , being pulled over numberous amount of times lol. this is my old setup. I know tint is a big deal though, just make sure not to get it too dark up front

Badges


Look how much this car stands out with the Driver rating in the windshield and the yellow high beams… yellow high beams.. = ticket. Also note the mad tyte JDM honda badge. Now i know most of you are going to hate me for this one lol but putting a HONDA badge on your ACURA INTEGRA is against the law. I have heard of people getting hassled for this but have not experienced it personally because i like driving an ACURA.. makes me a little higher class lol. But yea guys i know most of you buy into that novelty but its another reason to get you pulled over when the cop asks you why you’ve modified the car to say its Honda when its really an Acura.. and then when he pops your hood and it says H on the motor hes going to think somethings up lol. Cops are not privy to our “JDM” subculture and will not take to changing the make of your car lightly. They don’t give a shit if Honda MAKES Acura.

If you have any GSR VTEC or Type R Badges on your car, i STRONGLY ADVISE you to remove them at a moments notice. B series VTEC motors are 100% more valuable on the street compared to their LS counterparts. Advertising you have a nice “B18C” under the hood will no way shape or form benefit you in ANY WAY. Run these badges at your own risk. This engine is probably the MAIN reason why our cars are stolen. This engine is powerful and can be swapped into most late model hondas.. damn those civics lol.

Sound Systems
For headunits.. please buy ones with a detachable face. If you cant bring it in with you to school or whatever leave it somewhere in the car but ALWAYS take the face plate off wherever you go, even if its to the grocery store. It takes about 5 seconds maybe less to unhook it. put your subs and amps in the rear spare tire enclosure if you can.. thats where all my stuff is after my entire system was stolen. at first glance it wont look like you have a system. if they dig thoroughly though they will find it. When driving into garaged or multi level parking structures, turn your system WAY down about a block before. if your going to see a movie and blast your system all the way through to the top and then park it for 2 hours, trust me, someone is going to get an idea. This happened to my friends EK hatch.. stole everything by the time he got back. When you get near your house, turn your system WAY down a couple blocks before your street. I do all this stuff now because my system was stolen. For all you guys running those MASSIVE systems, if you see a cop, immediately put it on pause or turn it down, They can AND WILL ticket you for sound system being too loud and force you to take everything out.

DRIVING

Radar detecters..

Please guys.. just do yourself a favor and dont waste your money. If your in a position to actually use a radar detector and it starts beeping, there’s already a cop on your tail and hes not going to give you up easily with that modified exhaust lol. Imagine getting pulled over and right in his view is a radar detector..try talking your way out of that one. The best Radar you will ever have is your EYES. the only way you can slow down is if you physically SEE him before he sees you. Im not condoning speeding all Im saying is that you can be ticketed for 1 MPH over the limit and honestly who drives 65 these days? people go 65 on the street lol.
There are 2 Key areas you need to be watching at all times . One, the shoulder on the right side, most cops sit here with their radar guns. Second, this one is really important also. Watching your right mirror and rear view mirror for cops entering the on ramp. these guys FLY when entering the freeway and most of the time after you get your ticket you say to yourself, man he just came out of nowhere ! This is where they get you most of the time. you should be checking your rear view mirror periodically as well.
If you do get pulled over, keep your hands ON the steering wheel. don’t give an officer the impression your reaching for something. They will shoot to kill if they believe you are reaching for a weapon.
The following is a good view on radar

Quote: Originally posted by xtearitupx on Mar/25/09

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i’m going to have to throw up a pro-radar detector opinion.
I agree if you have it in the middle of the windshield, buy crappy, and rely for it SOLELY to get you out of tickets, get rid of it. its useless.
If you use your radar as a GUIDE it can be just that.
My recommendations (and how I install them) is up on the top of the windshield, with a clear view out the rear windshield. My favorite spot is to the right of the rearview mirror. This spot works even better if you have that top part of your front windshield tinted.
This is a great location that offers excellent range, and hard for a cop to observe from looking in either window, as it is so high up.
I in no way condone speeding, but if I find myself doing 10-15 over on a large highway, the radar detector has successfully GUIDED and AIDED me by giving suggestions to slow down.
If you’re going to use radar detectors, buy quality, and use it efficiently as a GUIDE.

end rant.

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Common Sense

Quote:

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Never once was I pulled over while obaying all the laws just because I had a red truck. And I had it for 3.5 years and it was lowered, 20% tinted windows, 18″ chrome wheels.   Just because your car sticks out doesnt mean that you will get pulled over as long as your obaying the law. Easiest way not to get pulled over is FOLLOW THE LAWS.

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This is just common sense. Follow the traffic rules.

CAR COLORS
This is TOTALLY just my opinion, but flashy colors like red, baby blue, and YELLOW are totally distracting and appear to be going faster than normal colors. This can and WILL attract all kinds of attention you do NOT want. Stick to neutral colors like gray, gunmetal gray, silver, white, and black.

TICKETS
If you do in fact get a ticket, you have a Right to fight it without actually showing up to court. I was always afraid if the cop showed up id be screwed because they normally already have rep or with the judge and your just going to loose. i first told my friend about Trial by written declaration and after seeing him get out of a few tickets, decided to try it myself. Out of 2 tickets, i was found not guilty on one of them, the other is in the process. A good site for information is here Ticket ASSASIN
*** UPDATE ON MY TICKETS***
I have received 2 tickets since last August of 2008. one for speeding and the other for following too closely. I contested BOTH tickets in writing through written declaration, with really good letters, ( i did my research and sounded like a lawyer) as of 4/22/09 i was found not guilty on both of them, and the court is going to refund my money of 160$ on both tickets, which were received on different occasions. This is in fact a not so well known defense that ALL motorists have to contest their tickets. Please take FULL advantage of our justice system. Here’s the deal. Most cops get paid overtime or some kind of pay when they show up to court on the court date, otherwise there would be NO incentive to show up to every ticket that is contested. Through trial by written deceleration, the officer has a month to reply back in writing HIS side of the story, and in most cases, they wont even remember who you are. They do not get paid anything to write their side, so whats the incentive to fill out more paperwork? from what i hear, officers HATE paperwork. lol. If in fact you ARE found guilty, you can always request traffic school IN your declaration. Just do your research and look for samples online on how to write your side of the story.

Thieves

If you keep thinking it wont happen to you.. your in for a treat. because it can and WILL happen to you if you do not take the proper precautions to owning this car.
The more layers will just make a thief pick another easier target. Just remember, the more parts you put on your car, the more someone is going to want it. If you cant provide a safe place to park it at night like a garage or in front of another car in the driveway, dont put yourself in the position of building a MAD JDM RYDE YO only to have it stolen. Guys, all you have to do is KNOW what your driving. Be aware that this is the TOP stolen car in the United states, it holds about 5 of the top 10 spots people. Integra is top stolen car articleFear Mongering is absolutely necessary if you want to keep your car. Don’t ever take a chance, meaning lock her up EVERy night, park in your garage and in front of other cars in your driveway if you can. If you go see a movie or go to a theme park and are going to be gone for a couple hours or the whole day, DISABLE THE CAR by pulling your ecu fuse. sleep with your car on your mind and check on her at night if you have a bad feeling, hear something weird. You think im kidding but its the one time you let your guard down that it’ll happen. Just layer it up, make them work. lol. If Im at the movie theater I actually make it a habit to check in on my teg at least once during a movie, maybe about halfway through. If Im in a bad part of town i make whoever I’m with rotate to check on the teg about every 30 mins. Im not lying man lol. i hate it when i park far lol.
Things you can do to protect your car are
-Fuel cutoff swtich
-Ignition kill switch
-Autolock
-alarm > wont stop the car from getting stolen but might scare a thief away (make sure to add a Backup battery and a mini piezo siren on TOP of your alarm)
-hood latch relocation ( to prevent from popping your hood and disabling your battery)
-sheet metal to cover the hood latch wire under the bumper
-club > wont do much but will slow them down
Dont leave ANYTHING in plain sight, on your seats. this includes, Ipods, mp3 players / cd headunits, wallet, phone, money, even nice shoes GPS Systems, alot of thieves are opportunistic and will strike out only when the opportunity arrives.