Hello Everyone,

I have been doing little things to my 02 honda here and there, Tokico Suspension, new CV Axles, Wheel Bearings, Rotors, Brakes, Belts, etc... Just tuning it up a little at a time. But in doing so my wife decided to give me 3k to play with and hook up my honda. So.....

My next question is all I want to do is just make it run better, faster and cooler. I do not want to Drag Race, nor take it to the track. I do want my car to have a little more get up and go. I was told Cold air Intake, headers, Exhaust and a short shift clutch would be a good way, and i also heard getting a Turbo Kit like the whole kit from the down pipe, intercooler, turbo, blow off valve and buying a new computer for the performance upgrade is the way to go.

Now I am asking for all the experts out there what way is better or what do you reccomend that I do to to give my little honda a little more performance? My friend says I am wanting a Sleeper but Im not too sure what that is yet.


Thank you everyone who provides input towards my questions.

USMC_02 Accord

2002 Accord LX
4cyl 2.3L Sedan
5spd Manual

 

well here is the deal..

to get a full turbo kit with intercooler and to tune your ecm, its going to cost more than 3k.

on a side note. you may be able to throw on a discount turbo system in your price range. do some research on turbo trim levels, and must have parts(intercooler, blow off valve, high flow fuel pump, injectors, tuned ecm or stand alone system.)

or you can go with intake, header, and exhaust. those will give you minimal gains 10-15hp at best.

if thats all your looking for then go that route. i would do some more suspension tuning. polyurethane bushings, strut bars, etc..

p.s. "sleeper" is a stock looking car or subtle cosmetic upgrades, with lots of upgrades to the engine. so when someone thinks you have a stock car, it is actually pretty quick.

 

I would ditch your turbo idea since you don't want to track it or race your accord. I would snag a h22 swap. Cost your right around 2k for the full swap engine trans axles ect. ect.
You can pull little over 200hp with few aftermarket parts and a good tune.
Why I recommend this rout it....

1. performance engine and a stout one at that.
2. reliability. Turbo cars always have prob.s Doesn’t matter if you do everything the right way you still have issues. Also it cost more to maintain a turbo car.
3. Cheaper

I think the h22 swap would be the way to go with the amount of info you gave me and good luck...keep us updated on what you do

You will throw more money at your f23 engine and not get the same amount of power out of it. The h22 swap is the way to go with your budget and what you want to do with it.

 

i second this idea. the engine swap totally slipped my mind.

 

Thanks for the info guys. By the way where can I find a source to start looking for H22 engines?? And what is a good source of import performance parts? A buddy suggested Import Tuner, some sort of magazine subscription. Thanks for the info.

On the Car note, i just purchased some adjustable camber ball joints and camber strut bars I think thats what thier called to correct the negative camber causing the inner tread wear. Thinking about getting the sway/roll bars for the car now.

I was told that a fast car isnt good without a good suspension. So with that I was planning on just beefing up my suspension and then moving onto the engine work.

Again than you for the input and any additional information is greatly appreciated.

N8

 

ebay is your friend!!

you can nearly find everything you want.

energy suspension bushings will make your ride a lot more solid. i am in the process of doing a full polyurethane bushing install. you can see the mods i have in my sig. i am very pleased with the results.

also dont forget about brakes. stainless steel brake lines make a night and day difference in pedal feel and brake response.

 

Well, I got my SPC Peformance Camber Strut and Upper Ball Joints installed today. I had to drop some cash on a new set of tires, because after lowering my car I didnt know my camber was non adjustable. So none the less they are installed, and now im debating whether Strut/sway bars or an Exhaust. Oh and I almost forgot, what does a test pipe do versus a catalytic converter? And would a test pipe pass Texas vehicle inspection??

Thanks again,

Sempre Fi.

 

a test pipe takes the place of a cat, but keeps the muffling abilities the cat gave, also for shops who visually check for cats they look similar.

when i had my 02 sentra se-r i screwed my rear o2 sensor into a spark plug anti-fouler to pull the sensor out just enough for it to read clean exhaust so it wouldnt set off a code.


to be honest the hp gains are so minimal if at all, do the earth a favor and keep your cat. get a high flow one. magnaflow makes some.

 

hmotorsonline.com

is prob. your best bet. Fair pricing and I have yet to hear a bad thing about their imported engines. They also tell you if it's a auto or 5 speed engine. B/c the h22/f20b engines have a lower hp rating for the autos. No other importer will give you that info that I know of