beef up my engine
#11
10-14-2013, 08:46 PM
#12
10-14-2013, 09:54 PM
idk i'm not really a fan of the back end of the coupe the bar going across the center hold water
#13
10-15-2013, 06:39 PM
I'm just a fan of making sure that the "base" is sound and solid before getting into "adding" things....why add lowering springs/struts when the bushings are shot to begin with. Why add a cold air/short ram when the tb is dirty......that is where I was going.
Good luck.
#15
10-16-2013, 07:21 PM
well i don't know if i should start a new thread but what are some of the things that stock are very weak for the base that if changed could extend the life of my car?
#16
10-18-2013, 06:46 PM
Brendan,
So, how much more do you know now than you did before posting?
Actually, there are a few things you can do. As first suggested, you'd need to bring car back to spec, because depending on the car condition you can be nowhere near the 200HP spec'd for that engine. That will entail a... "tune up", which is basically spark plugs, wires, air filter, static timing (if you have distributor), timing belt check to ensure marks line up, fuel pressure check. If you pass these, then you want to look at engine condition, compression test and oil pressure. If your compression and/or oil pressure are low there's no reason to spend more money.
Assuming you pass these tests, you should have an engine pretty close to factory spec.
Going forward, you have a few options. You can try make full use of the 200HP you have by tweaking the suspension. The car will "feel" faster and will handle better. So you can go with poly bushings, lower springs, coilovers, etc. Ride will get stiffer, but corners are faster.
You can also use some bolt-ons: headers, CAI, high flow exhaust - all of which will improve engine flow. Gains are minimal, maybe 10HP for correctly picked intake/exhaust mods.
But I'll tell you, my 2005 Volvo has 210HP and it's pretty fast, and it's heavier than you car. Ooops... did I say heavy? That's another item used to increase power-to-weight ratios (makes cars faster).
If you noticed, so far we did not touch the engine. It costs money to touch the engine. In order to mod the engine you need a good, strong engine. Otherwise additional HP will only shorten engine's life.
Cheapest thing is to find a good tuning shop that works on Hondas, and talk to those guys. See if they can change your ECU mapping from the factory settings to a more aggresive one. Like altering the spark timing and injector duty-cyle. These cars come from factory tuned to a mid-range, reliability mode. They will charge you, so ask first to see if and what you get.
At this point you'll need to start taking the engine apart. If you can't do some/all of work yourself this is medium bucks. One thing you can do is head work to improve flow. You can also replace valve stem seals, assess condition of valve seats and guides. You'll need friends that have tools and gauges, or use a shop (money involved). You can build your own flow table, and use a Dremmel for port matching/material removal.
You can also do a full engine blue-printing, but it gets more expensive. If starts with a cylinder assessment, and if they are beyond wear limit it will have to bore/hone cylinders and move to larger pistons. Shop and money. Then crankshaft needs assessed, it may need polishing to remove wear. Shop and money. And it goes on and on. This may end up being 2,500 or more if you can't do any of the work and have access to no gauges.
And then, there's forced induction. The kits available themselves cost in the 3k range. But it does not stop there. You'll need engine work, at a minimum to replace pistons and connecting rods to forged rather than cast. New injectors and fuel pump. Head gasket. And then take to a tuner for mapping. Advantage is that you get 50 or more HP right there, engine being in good condition, and you'll tell the difference.
The transmission - again, things are designed with a safety coeficient baked in there, so 50HP may be fine. You may want to research to see if that model tranny was used on other Hondas/Acuras.
So, like someone said, some reading is required. To get into modifying engines is expensive if you don't do most of the work yourself, and don't have friends in right places. As for how and what to do, there are tons of material out there describing all I just said. For example, when I rebuilt the bottom end of my '99 Accord, F23A1, I ended up spending upward of $600 on stock parts only, but I bought only OEM. I did all the work myself, and had a friend that has a machine building shop and was kind enough to lend all gauges I needed. Crank did not need any work. And all I did was to restore engine to stock condition.
So, how much more do you know now than you did before posting?
Actually, there are a few things you can do. As first suggested, you'd need to bring car back to spec, because depending on the car condition you can be nowhere near the 200HP spec'd for that engine. That will entail a... "tune up", which is basically spark plugs, wires, air filter, static timing (if you have distributor), timing belt check to ensure marks line up, fuel pressure check. If you pass these, then you want to look at engine condition, compression test and oil pressure. If your compression and/or oil pressure are low there's no reason to spend more money.
Assuming you pass these tests, you should have an engine pretty close to factory spec.
Going forward, you have a few options. You can try make full use of the 200HP you have by tweaking the suspension. The car will "feel" faster and will handle better. So you can go with poly bushings, lower springs, coilovers, etc. Ride will get stiffer, but corners are faster.
You can also use some bolt-ons: headers, CAI, high flow exhaust - all of which will improve engine flow. Gains are minimal, maybe 10HP for correctly picked intake/exhaust mods.
But I'll tell you, my 2005 Volvo has 210HP and it's pretty fast, and it's heavier than you car. Ooops... did I say heavy? That's another item used to increase power-to-weight ratios (makes cars faster).
If you noticed, so far we did not touch the engine. It costs money to touch the engine. In order to mod the engine you need a good, strong engine. Otherwise additional HP will only shorten engine's life.
Cheapest thing is to find a good tuning shop that works on Hondas, and talk to those guys. See if they can change your ECU mapping from the factory settings to a more aggresive one. Like altering the spark timing and injector duty-cyle. These cars come from factory tuned to a mid-range, reliability mode. They will charge you, so ask first to see if and what you get.
At this point you'll need to start taking the engine apart. If you can't do some/all of work yourself this is medium bucks. One thing you can do is head work to improve flow. You can also replace valve stem seals, assess condition of valve seats and guides. You'll need friends that have tools and gauges, or use a shop (money involved). You can build your own flow table, and use a Dremmel for port matching/material removal.
You can also do a full engine blue-printing, but it gets more expensive. If starts with a cylinder assessment, and if they are beyond wear limit it will have to bore/hone cylinders and move to larger pistons. Shop and money. Then crankshaft needs assessed, it may need polishing to remove wear. Shop and money. And it goes on and on. This may end up being 2,500 or more if you can't do any of the work and have access to no gauges.
And then, there's forced induction. The kits available themselves cost in the 3k range. But it does not stop there. You'll need engine work, at a minimum to replace pistons and connecting rods to forged rather than cast. New injectors and fuel pump. Head gasket. And then take to a tuner for mapping. Advantage is that you get 50 or more HP right there, engine being in good condition, and you'll tell the difference.
The transmission - again, things are designed with a safety coeficient baked in there, so 50HP may be fine. You may want to research to see if that model tranny was used on other Hondas/Acuras.
So, like someone said, some reading is required. To get into modifying engines is expensive if you don't do most of the work yourself, and don't have friends in right places. As for how and what to do, there are tons of material out there describing all I just said. For example, when I rebuilt the bottom end of my '99 Accord, F23A1, I ended up spending upward of $600 on stock parts only, but I bought only OEM. I did all the work myself, and had a friend that has a machine building shop and was kind enough to lend all gauges I needed. Crank did not need any work. And all I did was to restore engine to stock condition.
#17
10-18-2013, 08:58 PM
this was very helpful!!! i knew the basics of what can be done after the engine is back to OEM standard but the whole before part of replacing older used parts. i do have almost all the tools needed the only thing i would need is gauges and a friend of mine owns a garage so i could probably get stuff from him the only problem is the amount of time and the proper knowledge of doing all of the changes
