2001 2.3 V-Tec Modding Advice.....

I have a 2001 4cyl. V-Tec Accord I've decided to hold on too. I am wanting to get a little more power out of it as this car stock is EXTREMELY boring to drive lol. I don't want to get crazy with it, I was thinking maybe bolt-ons and tune and be done with it power wise. I dont know much about Hondas so I need some advice.

What would yall do with $1,000 - $2,000 power wise to get a little more daily driver power? There is only 27k miles on it so I wanna keep it for awhile so no nitrous or anything like that.

I'm coming out of a 06 modded GTO so this wont ever feel strong to me, lol. I just want it to be easy to at least merge onto the freeway.

tyxpx said:

I have a 2001 4cyl. V-Tec Accord I've decided to hold on too. I am wanting to get a little more power out of it as this car stock is EXTREMELY boring to drive lol. I don't want to get crazy with it, I was thinking maybe bolt-ons and tune and be done with it power wise. I dont know much about Hondas so I need some advice.

What would yall do with $1,000 - $2,000 power wise to get a little more daily driver power? There is only 27k miles on it so I wanna keep it for awhile so no nitrous or anything like that.

I'm coming out of a 06 modded GTO so this wont ever feel strong to me, lol. I just want it to be easy to at least merge onto the freeway.

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Our cars are not fast. Try driving a manual though, it's more spirited.. ....

engine swap or manual.

There is a couple routes you could go. Do a little research on this site and you'll learn a lot.

You can do the basics to start..I guess. I haven't done any engine mods yet, but after reading a lot on the forum, you can get small increments of power with an intake and exhuast from what I've read. Or turbo I guess since you're willing to spend $2,000.

Sketch_05 took out his A/C to make the car weigh less. He has a DIY for that if you're interested haha.

Goodluck!

If you want a noticeable increase in power, invest in a nice header and resonated test pipe, make an O2 fouler. Grab a nice Cold air intake and add a velocity stack. It will give your car a little more torque and power down low and in the mid range. If you want a nice high end increase, join all of these with a nice cat-back exhaust.

I've got megan 4-2-1 header and a megan resonated test pipe, O2 fouler. Weapon R intake with BPinitiatives velocity stack. I wrapped the intake in heat resistant material. I have bypassed my coolant flowing through my TB. My cat-back exhaust is stock. I dont know if ur auto or manual but regardless my car is a little more torquey and its definitly easier to get up to speed. I rarely shift pass 3,500rpm, with a few exceptions

$2000??
turbo it! haha
but wow 27k miles....i would def try a 5spd swap
you could probably sell your tranny for a good bit since it has such low miles.

for that amount of money, excluding nitrous, everyone's going to say the same stuff: intake, exhaust, header, test pipe. Unfortunately though the truth is even with all that stuff, you're still only achieving pretty marginal gains.

If you want any real noticeable increase, especially since you're willing to spend a decent amount, you're best off to piece together a turbo kit (or buy one used), OR consider some sort of engine work like a G23 build. Either of these is obviously going to be a lot more work than bolt-ons, but they're your best shot at getting a real bump in power.

And fyi a turbo won't blow up your car if you're conservative in your build and tune. 27k miles is nothing, you've got way more to go on that engine.

Wildman said:

for that amount of money, excluding nitrous, everyone's going to say the same stuff: intake, exhaust, header, test pipe. Unfortunately though the truth is even with all that stuff, you're still only achieving pretty marginal gains.

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+1 If you're looking for noticeable gains, don't waste you money in I/H/E. Like Cody said, the only way you're going to see any decent gains is with a NA build or FI.

Either way, coming from a GTO, it's always going to be slow to you.

H23 transmission swap (M2S4) and 11 lb. flywheel, or 8 lb. but that is less street friendly.

Until you do this you won't realize that one of the primary reasons the 4 cyl Accord is painfully slow is the absurdly tall gears and final drive ratio. This swap easily knocks at least 1 second off the 0-60 mph. Yes that's my butt g-force meter, but if you drive my car back-to-back with yours you wouldn't argue.

Revs will be pretty high at highway speeds, but there is the option of swapping the F-trans 5th gear if it bothers you - PM AFAccord.

Exhaust will give you more up top but you pay for it on the bottom end.
It's funny, I have a stock exhaust that I keep to pass inspection, and whenever I switch back to it from my Apexi WS II I am tempted to leave it on there. Power is smoother and there is definitely more torque under 3500 rpms. But there is no reward on the top end, instead the engine just feels like it's choking. I always reinstall the cat-back, it's just too fun.

Here's my best advice on the F23, if you don't like revving to get into the powerband, then leave the header and exhaust alone, and put that money into your suspension.
If wringing out the power is good times to you then open it up.
Trust me though you will not be shifting at 3,500 rpm if you get a cat-back, more like 5,500 rpm.

Dollar-for-dollar nothing will make the car quicker than the H23 transmission. If I am choosing between I/H/E and the H23 trans, I'd pick the H23 trans every time, even with no damn bolt-ons.

I'm exlcuding nitrous when I say that. I mean is it really smart to pop that on when you're trying to merge on the highway? Good gears are always there, they never run out, and they keep the car totally reliable. Presuming you don't drive it at 6k rpms all day long.