So, I'm just curious... with my 130 hp automatic I feel confused as to why Honda put out such a week engine. If my car is full of people it refuses to move. Tell me what you think of this... and also, I'd love to know what mods anyone did to this generation and if they actually made a difference? I figure that even a little bit more horsepower would make a difference.

 

I see you have an automatic 97 accord but there were a few different engines that came with that car.... what trim do you have? lx, ex etc...? I assume you have the dx/lx f22b2? 130 hp model.... I know that it's a common engine and easy to mod with pretty good results.... turbo's work great on that motor.... short ram intake would add a little power, headers exhaust etc.... you may look into what it would take to do a head swap and put the f22b1 SOHC Vtec head on there or an H series head swap.....

 

sorry, I just made my signature... Yes, it is an lx in Canada but I do believe it's a dx in the US.

 

dx = non vtec usually and the non vtecs were tuned 10 to 20hp less then their vtec brother. If you were to replace the cam with a more agressive one you could get that 10 to 20 hp back and have a stronger running bottom end then the vtec's. In turn it wouldnt be as gas effiecient.
What it seems like honda has been slowly building engines that you can beat the crap out of and each stage is stronger running then the previous. I think it turns into opinion as what someone views as weak, after all you arent running a 400hp v8.

 

I didn't consider just a cam but that may be true.... because I have the f22b1 which is the 140 HP version of your motor, with the SOHC V-tech, you may be able to just buy the cam and replace it and get that extra 10 HP then add a Short Ram intake and I bet for around $200.00 you could add 12-13HP which is enough to notice and feel it clearly....

 

And non vtec cams are cheaper and more readily availible

 

How do I find a cam? What do I search? I'm a little unsure as to what this is...

 

http://www.f22parts.com/item_F22cam.htm

the cam is an important part that helps decide when air flows in and out of the cyclinders, as well as defining spark timing, but thats just a very basic definition of what it is

 

How's the installation on this? I'm skilled enough to put on the short ram but i don't know how much farther i can go...
Also, how much of an effect would obx headers have if i kept the current exhaust?

 

I believe the OBX headers will give you at least 5 hp power with stock exhaust..... as for difficulty installing the cam we could walk you though it but it can be difficult and without having someone around unless you were willing to make a 2-3 day job out of it and keep very close pictures/responses with us on here I probably wouldn't tackle it..... if you can afford to take a couple of days then I guarantee you we could walk you through it and you could do it on your own if you had the tools on hand...