Honda Accord: 4 banger verses V6

I currently own an 2004 Honda Accord EX Coupe V6 and I'm loving the car. And I wanted to get your opinions on how you guys think about this: I hear people say how 4 banger is a better option than a V6. In many ways like installing turbo, supercharger, maintainence, etc. I'm pretty sure this is off topic but please discuss this with me :)

I think the V6 is by far better than the 4cyl. I mean most people out there will only get intake, header, and exhaust. Very few will get a turbo. If they do get a turbo they will need to beef up the tranny and spend even more money.

Since the 7th gen has the k series, it does have a lot of potential since it's responsive to mods. But stock for stock, the v6 is the better option. And if we're talking FI, then the v6 still beats the 4 banger no matter which way you look at it. The only way for the 4 banger to come even close to the v6 is the k20/24 swap and boost it. But the j32 from the TL can be swapped into the v6 and make it into a 3.5L with the rods and pistons from the pilot or mdx (I forgot which one) and you'll still be making more power than the 4 banger. Down side, either way you look at it, money is the deciding variable. And maintainence cost a little bit more than the 4 banger.

i've got the 4 cyl and i'm loving it. it's got plenty of quick to it especially with the top speed governor removed and the cold air intake. With those 2 mods alone i'm keeping up with my brothers Dinan chipped 325i, and i've got my own chip comming in the mail. To top it all off i'm averaging 420 miles to a tank.

hey where did you get your chip at? and how are you averaging that many miles? i only get like 330 before i gotta fill up 

I mean.. I guess the V6 can be better but why is it SOHC? ALL Honda V6 engines are SOHC not DOHC.. why why why.. and they say how Honda is known for its 4 cyl engines??

4 cyl. FTW!

the NSX has a DOHC V6.  They use SOHC for a few reasons.  It's cheaper to make; less moving parts = more reliable than it's DOHC counterpart (hypothetical); SOHC is smaller than DOHC.

My gripes are:  Why did they take out the second step of VTEC control on the 6th gens and wtf is with this crappy auto tranny!

in response to 02 blue accord: hey where did you get your chip at? and how are you averaging that many miles? i only get like 330 before i gotta fill up
i got my chip off of ebay for one (chose the 100% garenteed one), and for the 420 miles to a tank, 1, i usually am driving freeway and 2, i'm light on the gas unless i'm driving my favorite windy road or mashing a random car that looks fast :)

unchipped you should be getting wellover 420miles per tank......     i mean seriously before the mods i got over 480 on a 15 gallon fuel up after all my mod 380 miles   50 50 city highway driving.....  but i still have yet to do full highway on a tank..... kinda makes me wonder how people mess up their cars or are just heavy on the gas

ya i drive alot of steet now. but im moving soon. so im sure ill be using alot more high way so hopefully i get more mpg. do you remember the link for the chip? cuz everyone i talked to said you cant replace the chip cuz its sottered on so we have to ship it in to get the chip reset and stuff..

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=honda+accord+performance+chip&category0= pick your favorite 02, it's not an ECU chip that's a whole nother can of worms but these aren't too bad.

it's not great for the car to trick its sensors with a universal capacitor-type "chip".  My V-AFC also tricks the ECU, but is dyno-tuned and is set up for my car only.  Yes, they may add a few HP at peak and make the shifts slam, but at what cost?  Shortening the life of the engine and tranny?!?  If you plan to keep the car for only a few years, go ahead, but if you want it to not have any problems, get something better.

And if you expect the car to ACTUALLY be faster, good luck.   More than 3-4 HP peak gain, not likely.  Reduction in MPG, very likely.

i'm talking about something like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Prelude-Accord-Odyssey-Passport-Performance-Chip_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33597QQihZ020QQitemZ300152152143QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
not some o2 sensor type stuff

Ok, that's a little better than the capacitors, but you're still tricking the car into thinking that the air is colder and denser than it really is.  It's still going to cost you MPG because the IAT signals were already optimized for emissions and efficiency.  The emissions will be a bit worse also, but IDK if that matters to you.  35 HP is a joke!  I'd discredit any company that makes these kind of claims.

All in all, this trick might make you a little bit faster, but not as much as a piggy-back ECU with a dyno-tune.

ive gone through this debate with friends and on this board countless times. I was under the impression that the stock ecu was perfect for the accord. Or is it the type of thing where the more mods you have the better the PB ECU will preform?

That's it!!!  The ECU is set up well for stock components, but when you open up the airflow, the air charge can keep more momentum thereby increasing volumetric efficiency a bit.  This is why bolt-ons help performance.  Also, if you change the spark timing via advance/retard, you change the burn characteristics of the air/fuel charge.  All of these factors play into the fine tuning of the A/F mixture.  Changes on the V-AFC are in 1% increments (which I think become even smaller due to the stock ECU trying to adapt to the piggy-back system).  I'll look after work, but I think my largest adjustment is -7%.  The other half of the controller, the V, is set up for exactly how I want VTEC to engage .... this really changes how the car feels to drive.

My VTEC engages at 3200 rpm, disengages when rpm's drop to 2800, setpoints are overridden whenever I floor it past 65% throttle and when the intake pressure hits -0.7 psi (steep hills mostly).  In addition to the dyno tune, this makes my car much more responsive to spirited driving.

As far as I know, 5th gen 4 bangers are about .5 sec faster in 0-60 and about a whole sec in 1/4 mile. I was surprised when I found that out myself. I own a 97 accord LX.4cyl Manual. At first when I bought it, I just looked it as a car to get me around. Then, I found out its potential. One perfect day, I was on a moderatly straight road and I thought "lets see what this thing can do." So i shifted down and pressed the gas. OMG I was so surprised and happy. Its acceleration was far faster than the camry that I previously owned. The great howl sound was amazing. So I quickly bought a apc air intake and a exhaust kit. I am in love with my car and I dont ever want to let it go. But I know time to part with it is coming soon as the car has 167,000 miles.

Honda heartbeats ring out 4 cylinders at a time, anything else is just there to raise the sticker price.  167k doesn't mean its almost time to swap cars...just maybe swap engines . You can keep the car you love, and it'll be even more fun to drive (and cheaper than even the best of trade-ins for another decent ride).

LOL ..... that may be a little true if I didn't buy it used to knock down the depreciation, but I can ROAST most 4 bangers that don't have forced induction.

As for tuning ...... I'm looking into getting a '96 Prelude SH for my next project.