What to do to my 89 accord LXI

[irondragon013]

Been doing a lot of reading and have a lot of stuff I would LIKE to do but is not finacially fesable for a high school student. My goal for my engine is 175 to 200 hp out of this a20a3. Is this posable without forced induction? Can I get 55 hp out of low budget mods that won't keep my car off the road more than a day or two? Just a note: I'm not a genius when it comes to cars, so please speak in english.

Steven

[MessyHonda]

Been doing a lot of reading and have a lot of stuff I would LIKE to do but is not finacially fesable for a high school student. My goal for my engine is 175 to 200 hp out of this a20a3. Is this posable without forced induction? Can I get 55 hp out of low budget mods that won't keep my car off the road more than a day or two? Just a note: I'm not a genius when it comes to cars, so please speak in english.
Steven

i remember i was like you.....i wanted a fast car with out doing much....well the only way you are going to reach thoes numbers is if you go turbo....most of the turboed guys agree...nos is cheap but every time you have to fill up the bottle it wont be worth it on the long run.... on a stock engine you might be able to get out 160hp with turbo

[Vanilla Sky]

you can honestly get up to 130WHP with "bolt ons". don't expect too much more than that.

a ported and polished head, a protmatched B16 intake manifold, and a big throttle body help out a lot it seems.

a header, highflow cat, and a catback get you a long way as well.

everyone around here seems to think the colt tri-flow cam is the best money they spent on their cars. i would tend to agree if it's as good as some of the other gains i've seen from colt's other products on other cars.

an intake will net you a small amount of power, but honestly, getting rid of the horrible intake on the "i" cars is something that's of utmost importance.

after the basics, then it's on to the small things, like an ignition coil (not much gain itself), and sparkplugs. don't buy into multi-electrode plugs, just go for NGK v-power copper plugs. as for wires, don't buy the most expensive ones, but don't go cheap, either. i hear crane cams builds a nice set of wires for us, but they're spendy.

there are a few little things that are good for throttle response and slight increases.

water injection comes to mind as something that's cheap if you're resourceful, and can get you more power by advancing your timing farther than you could with just premium fuel.

a buddy of mine had a pretty much stock accord put down 130WHP with a gtech. that was an automatic hatchback. it really was the little things that counted in his car.

[irondragon013]

I had the feelling that was going to be the answer. So if I wanted to turbo my car what prices am I looking at and time put into it? I would like to do it the best I can for a limited budget. Also this car is an auto and won't be changing unless the engine drops out of the car in the middle of the road. It has around 287,000 but runs great. We are doing the rack and pinion this weekend hopefully and the transmission in around a month.

Steven

[MessyHonda]

I had the felling that was going to be the answer. So if I wanted to turbo my car what prices am I looking at and time put into it? I would like to do it the best I can for a limited budget. Also this car is an auto and won't be changing unless the engine drops out of the car in the middle of the road. It has around 287,000 but runs great. We are doing the rack and pinion this weekend hopefully and the transmission in around a month.
Steven

outch...at thoes many miles your car wont be able to handle turbo with out blowing up....this is only for serious ppl...im not trying to scare you...but you would need a engine rebuild for turbo....im not sure about the money but bobafett can fill you in.

[Vanilla Sky]

yeah, you need an engine rebuild. there's always finding a low mileage engine in good shape somewhere. i have one that's in ok shape with 150,000 miles, but if it's already out of the car, i'd at least rering the thing, give it new bearings, and rework the head.

if you're doing the transmission, go ahead and swap to a manual. it's not that hard to do, and you'll save you self a lot of problems with our weak slushboxes.

[irondragon013]

I was also thinking of getting this car running right and selling it to buy a 3rd gen with less miles and a manual. My parents got this car for $1000. Is this something I should look into? Or should I find a junk yard engine with less miles and put that in as there is no lack of these in local JYs. Also my dad an ex machanic dosen't wan't to mess with a auto to manual swap but if we did the engine we could do that at the same time I might be able to convince him.

Steven

[Vanilla Sky]

selling to buy another LXi is always a nice option. keep an eye out in the local papers and on craigslist. our own marketplace has deals sometimes, but most of the time you either have a cherry car or you're buying someone else's project.

[MessyHonda]

selling to buy another LXi is always a nice option. keep an eye out in the local papers and on craigslist. our own marketplace has deals sometimes, but most of the time you either have a cherry car or you're buying someone else's project.

thats wut i did...guess who has a lx-i 5 speed manual?...oh yeah i got the prevelege to keep my old car also...i drive them both but i got to say LX-i is a super sweet car specially if its your first manual car.

[LiTtLe xOx BitT]

What do you mean by having a limited budget?? How much do you want to spend on performance? You can have as much power as you want as long as you have the money to do so. I had an auto and after a few basic mods i killed it, so if your going for performance a manual swap is needed. You shoud probably Buy a manual LX-i if you dont want to do a manual swap, that will cost around $500 if you do it yourself. For a full Intake/Header/Cat/Exhaust setup you looking at $400-$500 if you buy everything new, a little less if you buy used parts.

[shepherd79]

there are people on this board that made 140hp at the wheels after extensive modifications to the cylinder head, intake manifold, changed the camand other things. it cost more than $1K for sure.

[Vanilla Sky]

shep, with the mileage on his car, he needs a rebuild anyway. cleaning up a head during a rebuild isn't that expensive. it doesn't neet serious overhauling, just a cleanup.

[rjudgey]

Could allways come over to the dark side and put some Weber DCOE's on then 175 to 200bhp is possible without toomuch really expensive trouble but you would need to change the rods to Eagle H beams the stock ones don't last long revving past 7k rpm but then haven't checked to see if it were the rods or bolts that let go if it's the bolts just uprate them with ARP and all will be fine, but what ever you choose to do you need a couple of very important things.

1: Manual Box
2: Engine re-build with uprated internals fro 175-200bhp (no matter what mileage the engine just won't last long if it's stock)
3: A fair amount of wedge

[stat1K]

2: Engine re-build with uprated internals fro 175-200bhp (no matter what mileage the engine just won't last long if it's stock)

i've seen these cars take around 200-225hp on stock internals being turbocharged and last a great deal... that's not to say that i wouldn't do internals. the real question is are you crazy enough to keep your car as long as some of us are? if not just get a civic, you can bolt all kinds of stuff on them and make them close to 175hp but that would be too easy right????!?!? if you stick with the 3g lower your goal if you're not willing to spend some bucks. otherwise raise the amount you want to spend and get to wrenchin.

[irondragon013]

I had to work another typical 8 hour saturday and was thinking the whole time. I figure that I can save around 400 to 500 dollars a month. I was thinking I would save the money to a predetermined amout and just keep the car going and then do the trasmission, engine rebuild including internals, suspension upgrade and a turbo all at once or spaced out as the trans might not last to much longer. I think a turbo is the best thing out there as I want to keep this car looking stock. I'm not sure of the prices I will get for the rebuild and all but I figure a year to a year and a half I will have enough money. This depends on other things that come up. Could you give me a general estiment and a list of what I need to do it right instead of having to fix it every week? I decided I want to have this car a long time and won't halfa$$ it. I figure while I'm saving I will learn all I can about how to do the trans swap and setting up the turbo.

Thanks for the help:tongue:
Steven

[irondragon013]

I looked at nitrous and thought thats what I want, a compressed bottle of highly flamable stuff siting next to me in a car. I get nervous just moving an acetelyene tank in metal shop. Also a turbo will last much longer than one bottle of nitrous and I doubt my parents would let me get any. I would do it if I wanted a :rice: car but I don't. I want a car with a lot of power that I will have fun driving without worrying about a bottle blowing up if I wreak. Gas is flammable enough as it is.

Steven

[LiTtLe xOx BitT]

Slowly build up the car. When you get $40 buy a integra intake. Then save up $200 for an exhaust system, then $200 for a header and so on. Keep add ing parts as you get them.

[irondragon013]

The main thing I need to do right away is the trans. I don't think it will last much longer at the rate it is going. I want to do it at the end of dec. after the rack and pinion witch will be done within a week because the alignment is going to hell and starting to worry me about losing steering. Also is this every thing I need for the swap?

Manual Transmission
Manual transmission mount
Shifter imitation leather boot
Shift linkage
Clutch cable
Flywheel
Driver’s side axle
Clutch pedal, springs, and switch
Brake pedal (manual ones are smaller)
(Whole pedal box highly recommended)
LX, LXi, and SEi came with cruise. pedals bolt to the brake booster
Gauge cluster (is it needed?)
Make sure you get a new clutch
Clutch number is 22105-PH4-A01
Get a new release bearing (www.nopionline.com) unless clutch kit comes with one.
Resurface the flywheel

Also is there a difference in transmissions of the fi and carb manuals? or are they the same? The trans will come from a junk yard along with the pedal box what else should I grab?

[LiTtLe xOx BitT]

you need a manual starter.

[irondragon013]

Talked it over with my dad and came up with this plan. We will keep it running as is and replace the trans with an auto but get a lower mileage a20a3 engine and 5 speed. We will keep the car going until the second motor and trans is turboed and is assembed along with the other parts needed for the switch. this seems best as I can work on the engine without the confines of the engine compartment. I will keep you updated on this project as it comes along. Also I'm leaving the exterior of the car alone except for some simple wheels and the muffler.

Steven

Also please recomend places to get parts for the newer engine like exhast, manifold and related parts for the turbo, new internals depending on condition of the engine and other parts I will need. A turbo parts list will be greatly appriciated:deal:

Another Q: What intake manifold should I look for? Integra? What year?

[irondragon013]

Another note. I was thinking maybe 8 to 10 PSI. What kind of turbo do I need and this should help with the parts list. Also what kind of hp should I expect?

[MessyHonda]

Another note. I was thinking maybe 8 to 10 PSI. What kind of turbo do I need and this should help with the parts list. Also what kind of hp should I expect?

http://www.3geez.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=81

alot of your questions have been asked....7 pages...of turbo stuff...knock your self out:thumbup:

[irondragon013]

"alot of your questions have been asked....7 pages...of turbo stuff...knock your self out"


If I don't post back in 3 days send help.

[irondragon013]

:eek5: :burn: Wow. I think I blew a brain gasket at page 6 It came along with the realization that I think a turbo is too much for me. This project I may try in a few years but for now I will stick to bolt-ons. The more I read about traction problems and programing all of the stuff is too much until I understand cars better. Also this is my only car and I don't want to jack it up. I might have done it if Sean was still making kits. Thanks for the help on this. So my list is changing to primarily bolt-ons. 1. get new auto trans. (will just be easier) 2. CAI

Thanks again,

Steven

[LiTtLe xOx BitT]

If your going to add performance parts then a manual swap is the way to go. Theres no point in going through the trouble of putting in a different auto tranny, it takes one day to do a auto to auto swap and 2 days to do a auto to manual swap. Not just that, once you do a few more performance mods to the car the auto tranny will give out and you will have just wasted your time and money, and if your tight on money then why waste it.

[bobafett]

ill let you read in the forced induction section for a while, but there are several ways of going about a turbo setup.

also readup at www.homemadeturbo.com for an insane amount of good info.

there is the low buck buildup - hmt stuffs
the less costly but somehow mindblowingly fast - jason (accordepicenter)
the more costly but may never run - me
the ZOMFG setup!!! - jon (wickedaccord)

you can read about my build at http://a20turbo.com/features/chris/ prices have been discluded because I would kill myself if i had to look at them all the time. :) :P

you can read about jasons build here http://a20turbo.com/features/jason/

good luck in your endevour, but realize that turbo setup will cost you 3-4 times your initial (even highballing costs). its not as easy as it looks, and you will need a lot of custom stuff built. that being said, enjoy!

[mastaofdisasta]

Turbo will prolly cost 2 times as much as ur bluebook,(just a guess) right now if u wanna stay cheap, go to autozone, get some custom intake piping, make a sri, get a k&n filter, thats about 80 dollars there, a new muffler, cost depends on what u want, i got my muffler for 109, i think i prolly overpaid but IMO it sounds good. If i were you, new tires would be the first thing i got, better tires are always a good investment. Thats some of the basic mods i did. Im in your same boat btw, auto accord, not much money to spend on it.(the only diffrence is that your in highschool, and im a college dropout, but thats a whole other story) Just start small, get the basics worked out before you decided to drop money on a turbo.baby steps, baby steps. Oh, and dont do what i did, dont buy a weapon r dragon short ram intake, im still kicking myself knowing i coulda made my own for a quarter of the cost

[LiTtLe xOx BitT]

Turbo will prolly cost 2 times as much as ur bluebook,(just a guess) right now if u wanna stay cheap, go to autozone, get some custom intake piping, make a sri, get a k&n filter, thats about 80 dollars there, a new muffler, cost depends on what u want, i got my muffler for 109, i think i prolly overpaid but IMO it sounds good. If i were you, new tires would be the first thing i got, better tires are always a good investment. Thats some of the basic mods i did. Im in your same boat btw, auto accord, not much money to spend on it.(the only diffrence is that your in highschool, and im a college dropout, but thats a whole other story) Just start small, get the basics worked out before you decided to drop money on a turbo.baby steps, baby steps. Oh, and dont do what i did, dont buy a weapon r dragon short ram intake, im still kicking myself knowing i coulda made my own for a quarter of the cost
Shhhh no more talking. Ok, you can get a integra CAI kit for $40 shipped and you will have better gains then a Short ram. And dont go and spend $109 on just a muffler when you can get a full 2.25" catback exhaust for $200 shipped. Order a teg CAI off of ebay for your first mod. Then save up the $200 and get the pacesetter catback and $30 for the test pipe cat (some people hate the test pipes). Then save up $200 for a header. Try to stay away from autozone and pepboys mods because they are ricey 95% of the time.

[irondragon013]

My plan is to do bolt-ons and see where I get. If I want more power I will do the turbo. As I sit right now money is tight (it skeaks) and time is short. I have a list of must does to keep it going. I may be able to do the trans manual swap during the summer. I'm heading to ASU to start my college career at the end of summer. I plan on doing several things like the CAI, rear disc conversion, and toughening the supension up. Also I want to learn more about cars before diving into the turbo outfit. Well got to go memorize the Unit Circle for trig:banghead: Also most Auto zone and Pep boy mods =:rice:

Thanks again,
Steven

[mastaofdisasta]

uhhhh. i disagree, just because u bought piping from autozone or pep boys, to make a custom sri or cai, and then put a k&n filter on it, how the hell is that rice? It looks just like any other intake

[irondragon013]

I mean the kits and visual mods.

[mastaofdisasta]

o ya that stuff is wack, like some or most of the APC stuff

[86LUDE03x]

Hey, to use the CAI from the teg, wat year and model should we use? Also would that intake work on a 86 prelude?? thanks

[MessyHonda]

Hey, to use the CAI from the teg, wat year and model should we use? Also would that intake work on a 86 prelude?? thanks

on the prelude ppl at prelude power for the 3rd gen use 3rd gen teg so 94 and up