I recently reviewed the Acura Integra A-Spec. It’s a fun, agile and reasonably civilized sports hatchback. And it’s not too expensive. Me too Love the six-speed manual gearbox, and I am certainly not the only one within the TopSpeed team who praised this gearbox.
But I wanted to know more than you can find in the owner’s manual, or even on Acura’s press site. So I asked Acura PR to pursue one or two technicians in Japan, to see if they could elaborate on three specific “extras” that come on the Integra A-Spec. And some of these features can also be found in the Integra Type S, Honda Civic Si and Civic Type R, albeit with minor variations. This is what I got back in response. It’s pretty trick and fun bar knowledge, even if you don’t own one of these cars.
Rev-matched downshift
This part doesn’t come from Acura/Honda officials, but I wanted to check this box anyway because you’re probably curious about how this works. First off, if you’re new to the world of manual shifting, welcome! Second, what the heck is a custom gear downshift? Well, unlike an automatic transmission, which does all the engine speed matching magic for you, a manual transmission car, depending on its age, has synchros in the transmission. (Older gearboxes don’t, and we’ll leave that lesson for another lesson.)
These act as a kind of intermediary between the engine and the gear you engage. Note that this is more important when downshifting, because when you shift from a larger gear, such as 4th, to a smaller gear, such as 3rd, that smaller gear must spin faster (higher RPM) to maintain your current speed. The synchros smooth the transition from the engine’s input shaft to the selected gear. These work both when upshifting and downshifting, but the synchros are extra crucial for the latter. Still, you’re putting a lot of strain on the transmission and the entire drivetrain when you shift into a gear that forces the engine to jump to a much higher rpm.
Honda/Acura’s Rev Match Control system
Honda first debuted its Rev Match Control System (RMCS) on the 2017 Civic Type R, and it’s very cool. It works by controlling the position of the gear lever. When you reach for a gear, as the shift lever moves through neutral to the next slot, RMCS reads the gear you are shifting into. When you downshift, the system precisely applies the accelerator pedal before changing gears to accelerate the accelerator pedal (also called ‘accelerator pedal’). And Honda says this is more precise (and faster) than people can double-clutch to achieve the same effect, especially on wider downshifts, such as from 5th to 2nd gear, where hitting the precise, higher revs with your right foot is extra difficult, especially if you’re also trying to brake for a tight corner.
Sports mode
In the Acura Integra A-Spec and Honda Civic Si and Type R there is a mode switch that allows you to make the suspension firmer or softer, and the steering feel firmer or more relaxed. But what really happens when you activate Sport mode (or Sport+ in the Integra Type S and R mode in the Type R)? Honda officials explained that the dampers are electromechanical. Essentially, the switch from Comfort to Sport and beyond cuts off the fluid flow in the shock absorber. Honda says, “The damping force…adjusts the valves in the dampers to either increase the damping force, by reducing the oil flow from one side of the piston to the other, or to reduce the damping force (increasing the oil flow).”
In addition, adaptive dampers continuously monitor vehicle movement and automatically adjust up to 500 times per second.
Steering assistance
Under normal conditions, the power steering system works like in any other car. A motor attached to the steering gearbox provides assistance. But Honda/Acura reduces the amount of assistance when you switch from Comfort to Sport. On some cars, the extra “weight” of the effort doesn’t result in any extra feeling. I will add that the feel in the Integra A-Spec is relatively light in the easiest setting, and nicely weighted in Sport. Because the Integra A-Spec also has an Individual mode, you can choose the Sport mode for steering, but keep the suspension softer, for example. That was my choice for highway travel, because I like the less reinforced support, but don’t like potholes that spill my mug of coffee.
Start/stop
While this is less about sporty driving and more about fuel economy if you’re idling at a perpetually light level – or want the relief from clutch work – the Idle Stop system in these cars is quite brilliant, as this is normally only the technology you get in automatic gearbox cars.
On Honda Civics and Acura Integras, Idle Stop can work as long as the engine is warm and you are not drawing too much power from the air conditioning or cabin heater. The way to make this work is to come to a stop, keep your right foot on the brake, press the clutch with your left foot and shift out of gear. and release the clutch. That’s it. The engine turns off and all you have to do is keep your hoof on the brake. As soon as you press the clutch again, the car starts again. This is also pretty great because start-stop ignitions in automatic transmission cars often restart if you look at them funny, restarting seemingly at random even when you don’t want them to. If you want the engine to wake up again, just press the clutch.
TopSpeed’s opinion
Acura may end up getting an even more powerful Integra. During Monterey Car Week in August 2025, the automaker showed the Integra Type S HRC prototype. They didn’t call that a ‘concept’, mind you, they called it a prototype. That’s a hotter, faster Integra Type S with more knots, likely indicating a Type R companion on the Acura ledger. It’s clear the automaker has the chops to do this well, keeping a manual transmission and adaptive suspension as part of the mix. We certainly hope so. Acura, unlike other luxury brands, continues to offer great transmissions and innovative technology to keep driver involvement right where it should be, at 10/10.
#hidden #tech #tricks #Acura #Integra #ASpec #sleeper