by Dan Ponze Last Updated: 01/15/98

After much talking with a variety of shops that specialize in porting and polishing, I decided on Dan Paramore Racing (DPR) to do the headwork on my 95 GS-R. I had heard mixed reviews on JG and most other companies told me that unless I was racing or had a turbo, it wouldn't be worth it. I also liked the review of his shop by Shawn Church.

They are by far the most expensive but do an excellent job and offer excellent service. Since I was going to be tearing my engine apart, I wanted to make sure the job was done right. I went with the Stage VI which includes too many things to list. Some of the highlights include 5 angle valve job, lightening of the springs with shims, fully ported intake manifold and matched exhaust ports to the header (if you send it to them). They also mill the head a little to resurface but since they weld in metal into the combustion chamber to reshape it, they don't take off very much at all. Compression ratio is usually about 11.2 to 1 but can be specified to be whatever you want. You will obviously have to run 91 octane fuel or higher. For some reason, the throttle body is not included in the package price of $1550 but 2 day shipping is. They will, however, drop your throttle body off to RC down the street for them to bore out if you like and will also port match the manifold to your new TB. I had my injectors cleaned by RC as well. The price for the TB is $150 plus $100 for the injector cleaning.

The bad part is that you won't have a car for a while. The job usually takes about 5-7 working days plus shipping time. If you call ahead and ship it 2 day, you should be able to send out on a Monday and get it back Friday of the following week. As far as I know, there is no exchange program. Looking back on it, I think I would've rather just tear the whole engine out and send it to them so they can assemble it themselves. The time for taking off the head and reinstalling it is 8 hours but the head gasket set is another $250. If you're close to 60,000 miles, I would change the timing belt while you're at it. I replaced my timing belt and took the opportunity to install Z-Speed cam sprockets as well.

Well, once everything was put together I was amazed at how much peppier the car felt around town. Winding it out gave me even more of a surprise. The power was incredible and you can now hear and feel the VTEC switching over at 4400 RPM. Something impossible to do with a stock GS-R. The midrange is the most impressive and the top end is even more frantic. Being caught below 6000 RPM isn't a problem anymore and once the secondary intake runners open up, the power is ungodly. Torque steer is increased a little but the car pulls so hard, the trade off is worth it. Frankly, I expected more torque steer from this kind of power but I guess Acura did their homework when it came to eliminating it. Still, I can't wait to get a limited slip in here.

The car is noticeably louder but the roar sounds great and is only present when you get on the throttle. Granted since I did my TB at the same time, that could be the cause of the added noise. I can definitely say that this is the way to get the most power out of a GS-R. All the common bolt-on don't even compare. If I had known the head work would make this much difference, I wouldn't have wasted my time with fancy intakes and headers first. This is also great for cars under warranty because no one will be the wiser. Total stealth. Even the dealer couldn't tell. When you consider that and intake, header, exhaust combo will cost you over $1000, this headwork seems almost reasonable. To get the most out of this head, I would recommend a custom chip or an adjustable fuel pressure regulator but the stock injectors and fuel pump should be sufficient. I have to say that for all those with DOHC VTEC's, this is the best route for normally aspirated motors. If you want power, do this first. As you do the other mods, the power increases will be even more pronounced due to the increased efficiency of the head. DPR also offers titanium retainers which I later installed. If you want them, I recommend you get them at the same time as the head as install is a pain. They cost about $150 and weigh less than half of stock. DPR also offers an intake cam for Integra GS-R's which are VERY similar to the Type R cam. They claim that it makes 1 more hp than both Type R cams. I will write a review on this cam soon. Lastly, DPR also has different head configurations for Turbo, Super, or NOS applications as well.

I would recommend this mod over all others by far and think most people will be happy even if they never change their header or cams. The service I received was excellent and the results speak for themselves. This is one expensive mod, but you get what you pay for.

Copyright 2002, Temple of VTEC