Brad Coup's Honda Integra DC2
Words & Photos by Henry Phull
I’ve wanted to photograph this car for a while now, so it made sense to make it Slam Sanctuary’s first feature. May I present to you, one of the cleanest Honda’s I have ever seen – Brad Coup’s 1996 JDM Honda Integra Type R. Some would say it can be a daunting task to try and make these stand out from the rest of the Integra herd, many fail, but it’s clear that Brad knows what’s up. Subtle modifications and a clean cut look is the winning combination here. We met up in the New Forest in Hampshire on a beautiful Summer’s evening. Let’s take a closer look…
A lot of love, time and tremendous care has gone into Brad’s pride and joy. You’ll never see it out in the rain, it’s treated to the garage – except when he’s out enjoying it of course. Fair play to him because the condition of this Integra is stunning.
The roads around these parts are atrocious and Brad likes to drive the car hard so it sits at a respectable ride height on a set of Meister R Zeta S coilovers.
Catching your eye first are the yellow tinted headlight lenses, not to everyone’s taste but a definite way to stand out. The front bumper has been paired with a colour coded Fiberworx Spoon lip and a J’s Racing air duct. Also noticeable is the Feels carbon bonnet and Spoon mirrors – always an effective upgrade on any Honda.
A look at the rear end shows more tasteful modifications including a Mugen Gen 1 spoiler, and an Aztect rear lip to set off the bumper. Underneath you’ll notice the Beaks lower tie bar and aftermarket exhaust system; an HKS Super Dragger coupled with a DC Sports 4-1 manifold.
The attention to detail continues inside the cabin, which is fully stripped out, featuring a Recaro Pole Position drivers seat fixed to a Buddyclub low rail, along with a Sabelt 4 point harness. A Personal Neo Grinta steering wheel with D1 Spec carbon snap-off boss really sets the interior off nicely. Brad has ditched the flimsy looking OEM gear knob for a D1 Spec heavyweight knob along with a K Tuned shifter, which works oh so well.
As good as the OEM rear strut brace looks alone, Brad wants to take it to the next level, with plans for a full MSA welded cage!
A glimpse under the hood and the first thing that hits you is the monstrous Tegiwa Carbon CAI, additionally a Koyo radiator and a Tegiwa 3-point front strut brace. More noticeable improvements include an ACT Lightened Flywheel and ACT Stage1 clutch tied with a Kaaz 1.5way LSD plus s80 – mfactory 4.923 Final Drive. If that wasn’t enough, Brad has had the P72 remapped with Neptune and shed some weight by removing the ABS, air con and power steering.
The DC2 sits on a bronze set of Volk TE37c’s (15×7 ET43) paired with Yokohama Advan AD08 195/50/15 rubber all round. Braking enhancements include Wilwood Dynalite calipers, 282 discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads. The front bumper is also finished off with J’s Racing canards, but soon to be replaced by some colour coded Fiberworx examples.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Integra. Unfortunately last year a valve spring went on the gassflow’d big cammed head. Brad took it on the chin and decided to rebuild it as standard but to make it more to par he had the gearbox rebuilt with a 4.9fd and the Kazz diff. Right now the car is pretty much where Brad wants it to be, bar a few small modifications to come of course – let’s face it, a car is never finished.
The headlights looked great lit up as Brad set off to leave.
There you have it, our first feature. Stay tuned for more cars coming in the near future.