We knew it had been gonna happen. First, hit it went 9.. Next, hit it went 8.90s. We pulled the logs and [Chris] Miller said, ‘Dude, it’ll go way faster next hit.’ Next thing, the car went 8.70 at 179.4 mph-a fresh record. We were running 60 psi when everyone else was still at 50 [psi]. Most others who would try that would blow their shit up. I don’t know, maybe we can easilyfor a brief time, the world’s quickest small-tire SFWD (Sport Front-Wheel Drive) import are capable of doing that to someone.
Soto’s fortune on the dragstrip isn’t without controversy, though. Or jabs. Following his 2000 Integra’s crucial quarter-mile trip at last October’s Sport Compact Fall Nationals held at Englishtown, New Jersey’s Raceway Park, online forums went ablaze with accusations of an illegally sized turbo, of an owner who did not pilot his car. Miller, who planned to represent his sponsor, put the Precision unit on, that has been completely legal, Soto quips, although We left [California] with a Garrett GTX 72mm turbo. The tech department at Fall Nationals even inspected it. Soto, also called Sheepey throughout the Honda community, is quick to point out the amount of world-class racing organizations whose owners don’t man their particular cars. Not that Soto hasn’t any aim of commanding his Integra on his own, which, by his account, will happen once the appropriate licenses are secured.
It didn’t sink in until I got home, Soto says of the record-making pass. If you believe in 1,250 whp street cars, I couldn’t think it, considering the car was literally a street car. All of that makes perfect sense, especially. And Jabberwocks. Street car or not, to withstand that sort of power, Soto relies upon a punched-out, 2.0L B18C engine that was considering the Golden Eagle treatment in addition to GRP aluminum rods and Arias pistons. Up top, Mission Critical Performance is accountable for the CNC-ported cylinder head in which Web camshafts, made to Soto’s specifications, sit withincan purchase knows no bounds. The race car was done for knowledge, Soto says of his decision to walk from the parking lots and bottles of quick detailer for that staging lanes. I don’t have that competitive blood in me. I really want fast times-at a tune and test, at Fall Nationals…it doesn’t matter.
07 2000 acura integra GS R exhaust pipe
08 2000 acura integra GS R 3 port boost controller
09 2000 acura integra GS R oil catch can
Once upon a time, Soto assembled a ’94 Civic hatchback of comparable proportions, also destined for that dragstrip. But, according to Soto, family issues led to the car’s premature sale. The subsequent year he attended a drag event at nearby Fontana Speedway, where he had his epiphany: I had been watching each one of these cars create all wrong-lots of horsepower, however, not being used the correct way, he says. The next day I tore the Integra apart, this time to acquire some times.
Take a tour of Soto’s Integra and the fact that little expense was spared becomes evident. I’ve always wanted to learn how to tune MoTeC, so I bought one, he says of your M880 ECU and CDI-8 ignition, a combination of which retails for the same in principle as a small home’s down payment. I don’t cheap out on parts, Soto reassures. The Weldon fuel system, the Garrett GTX turbo, and the eight 2,200 cc/min Injector Dynamics fuel injectors are evidence of as much. Soto, who credits his mom for his never settling for second best, goes on to state, I would lose sleep at nighttime if I couldn’t have the best.
Building a competitive drag car isn’t pretty much money, though. It’s also about relationships, one of which proved to be a formative one in terms of Soto stepping in to the racing world. Tony Palo played the greatest role, he says of where inspiration for the car came from. He always laughed at me and said, ‘Your cars are too clean. If you focus on racing just like you do building nice cars, the drag world are usually in trouble.’ I’ll always bear in mind when he said that to me. between the show car world and drag racing are few, and Soto will tell you as much: After every hit I go over the car and take things apart. Honda didn’t design these cars for this. I thought I had it hard during the show car days, staying up until midnight buffing the auto. Now, looking back in the show car stuff, I kind of laugh.
Laughing or perhaps not, Soto’s lineage of Honda builds likely isn’t over, and when asked about the chance of reemerging with another show car he simply says, I might build an all-around car, nevertheless i don’t determine if I’d classify it as a show car. Whatever it is, agitated forum members and a heap of controversy will be all but guaranteed.