NOT THE TIME FOR TAKE OFF
The 40-something mother who sold Kerr the GS-R probably wouldn’t recognize it today. A custom English Racing lip spoiler and splitter work with Kiwi Specialties’ side skirts to prevent airflow from making its way underneath the chassis. As speed increases, the chassis becomes more susceptible to taking flight or, at the very least, losing a lot of traction. Lips and splitters positioned at the front break up and restrict air that would otherwise flow underneath the chassis and create lift. Instead, these components force high-pressure air along the top and sides of the vehicle, increasing downforce. Strategically designed side skirts perform a similar function; the closer all of this is to the ground, the better it works. These are important factors to consider, especially when planning to go 50-plus mph faster than Honda’s engineers ever imagined this Integra would go.
STARVATION IS DEATH
At one of the Shift S3ctor Airstrip Attack events in 2013, Kerr brought the Integra to race on the airstrip in Coalinga, California. With the aerodynamics set up, he was ready to take a swing at his goal. But this venture fell short of his goal, as he only had enough power to reach 173 mph. To add to his shortcomings, Kerr noticed a 50-psi drop in oil pressure the moment he began braking, which in turn resulted in oil starvation and spun bearings. A new mill would be in order.
ALL ABOUT GEARING
Big horsepower will only get you so far. To reach 190 mph in a halfmile, torque must be applied at the right time. Transmission gearing, tire height and engine speed are all interdependent and must be considered collectively when targeting a specific trap speed. The gears’ sizes and the number of teeth determine how long this happens before the engine speed maxes out. The transmission’s final-drive gear takes whatever you think you know about your gears and multiplies it by another number, resulting in each gear’s actual ratio. Tire height applies its own multiplication factor to the driveline. The difference between a properly configured set of gears and tires can mean 190 mph at 10,000 rpm versus 190 mph at 13,000 rpm.