188 whp sounds sort of weak for a type R. im pretty sure they're in the upper 160s-low 170s from the factory, and with even some stage 2 ish type cams you should see mid 190s whp wise with other bolt ons. torque is always a problem with hondas, but the solution is in the shorter gears hondas have. i had a b20 vtec in my crx, and it only made 164 whp, and that was completely stock inside with only a CAI, header, and exhaust. but i ran a B16 tranny, which is identical gear wise to a type R one minus the LSD, and that helped a TON. i guess the difference in the two is in the displacement. with an LS or B20 block and with whatever new cams he has he should see WELL over 200 whp. the shop that built my car in tallahassee built a B20/Vtec for an EK that was running 11:1 compression and made 217 whp and upper 150s trq and ran on pump gas all day, i think it all comes down to the tuning, ESPECIALLY in N/A cars.

 

Yea, he was pissed becasue he thought that he was goign to break 200whp. Hopefully he'll break 200 with the new cams. then We'll race again, and see who wins.