I own an Automatic 1997 Honda Accord and I'm relatively new to the JDM car scene. I'd love to turn it into a Sleeper. Which engine would be best to do that?

 

What engine is currently in there and how much money do you have? Keep in mind, the very fact your car is an automatic is a massive detriment as Honda automatics, especially of that era, are not able to deal with much more power than the stock engine produces.

 

Ah man, it has the 2.2 L 4-cylinder engine. I think it's the stock engine but I'm not 100% sure.

 

LOL, okay, by my count, Honda put six different 2.2 liter engines in the Gen 5 Accord, you most likely have some flavor of the F22B engine. The good news is, with enough money this engine can be hopped up with a turbocharger to make some reasonably nice power, say, low to mid 200s for maybe three to five thousand dollars. The bad news, as I alluded to earlier, is your transmission will quickly go Tango Uniform when asked to deal with that much power. If you really want to keep your car, buy a Gen 5 "Parts Car" with a 5-Speed and convert your car to a manual transmission; figure another grand or two if you do all of the work yourself.

Long story short, if you want a faster car, it is going to cost you some coin, in fact, it will most likely cost enough to easily justify simply selling your car and buying something faster. Then again, you'll lose the "Sleeper-Factor".

 

That's good to know. What if I were to add an aftermarket exhaust and/or a cold air intake?

 

Virtually worthless, errr, unless you simply want more noise.