AllGOnoSHOW
Well-Known Member
This thread confuses me. Good day.
Car tuning: is it worth it?
- Thread starter cvjoint
- Start date
AllGOnoSHOW
Well-Known Member
Lmao, thats awesome!
RedRyder
Save the manuals
^I can't take credit for that one lol, I saw it somewhere.
he has said it best
*Wires are not custom cut or terminated properly, we see a move to electrical tape and butt connectors
*additional electrical accessories are added on existing lines causing excess draw and wear
that comes from people who do ****ty wire work (you are going to the wrong shops) .. i have paid for my wire work to be done and it looks awesome
*parts just don't fit right: lip kits, engine mounts, piston domes too high,
People custom fit things so that they can enjoy the looks on your car look at i think its sickJDMs car he has custom fitted a 5th gen wings west front lip on the car and it looks great
*decrease in safety,carbon fiber hoods without proper restraints that can fly in your face, improper mounting of seats, batteries with no strap downs
yes and all that is easy stuff that can be fixed if you dont rig stuff up.. not actaully take the time to instal something properly
For everything else there is a stock car that will have a better value and make less compromises. So...tune accordingly.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]
i think that the big point that you are missing is that you mod your car for you enjoyment and it sounds like your not enjoying it
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Russianred
Snail Spools You!
1) You know, the Accord isn't the best platform to mod.
2) Most of the aggravation of shop all shop error could have been avoided by doing it yourself, except for precision machine shop tasks and dyno-tuning.
3) Is tuning worth it? Yeah, without it, all real performance modification efforts are futile, and bottle-necked. In other words, not able to reach their potential.
In conclusion, sucks that you are discouraged and jaded by the Accord, but you can't say it was unexpected in the long run. Good luck on your next car man, and keep us posted!
2) Most of the aggravation of shop all shop error could have been avoided by doing it yourself, except for precision machine shop tasks and dyno-tuning.
3) Is tuning worth it? Yeah, without it, all real performance modification efforts are futile, and bottle-necked. In other words, not able to reach their potential.
In conclusion, sucks that you are discouraged and jaded by the Accord, but you can't say it was unexpected in the long run. Good luck on your next car man, and keep us posted!
cvjoint
Well-Known Member
I can give a short summary I suppose:
*The swap itself started at $2500 with the Innovative race mounts included
*$400 extra for new wires, plugs, custom PS line, temp gauge ('00 and above 6th gens require it)
*$1050 Hondata S300 and tunning
*$2000 Aem V2, Hytech replica header,metal substrate cat, 3 Magnaflow resonators, dual Apexi mufflers, custom 3 inch stainless steel mendrel bent exhaust, 7 custom high rigidity hangers
But...the engine was gunked, it sat for too long or whatnot, the oil pressure was too low for the Vtec to opperate, the Innovative mount did not fit on the driver's side, the distributor harness was taped toghether, it fell apart shorted, things got nasty. The swap shop guy till this day thinks the Vtec did work when it clearly didn't, he was also but hurt about me yelling at him when the distributor wiring fell apart and didn't want to take my car in to redo it claiming he has no more garage space. He also half assed the driver's side mount with a bracket and the engine constantly moved and made noises.
*$3000 later I got it out of another shop where we installed an Endyn modified oil pump to get more oil pressure, Greddy kevlar belts where added while I was at it, H23 manual tensioner, new water pump and thermostat, Air fuel sensor for the Hondata unit and an oil pressure gauge.
Things fixed: Vtec turns on no problem, Oil pressure at 100psi sometimes, the synthetic oil changes and a motor flush got rid of the gunk. The distributor harness was cleaned up and fuses replaced. New problems: the t-fitting on the oil pressure gauge was poor quality and was hand tightened and therefore leaking, back engine mount was not even bolted up and at this time the remaining front mount, the stopper, broke. Powersteering pump started making a lot of noise after the job and same for the timing belts, possible bearing problem or overtigtening. The mechanic also broke a big bolt with a huge chunk out of the engine block, he claims this only impacted the automatic tensioner system and therefore it's ok. Blox fuel pressure gauge broke after only 5 months of use, new Marshal liquid filled shock proof unit installed.
I'm on my third Innovative mount and it still doesn't fit right, going back to Innovative next week for the 4th custom mount for the H22.
*$250 bucks for new power steering unit, on the way, not installed yet.
*$100 powdercoat valve cover
*$500 spent at the third shop now to replace valve cover studs and nuts that were crossthreaded by the original owner, new ignition coil since the old one gave out, new cam seals since the old ones were really bad.
*$150 new starter
Biggest lesson learned is that the H22 is an old engine, to run properly almost everything needed to be changed. If I knew this to begin with I might have bought a newer K series and gotten a bit better value especially since one mounts has to be customized anyway. 3rd shop hasn't failed me yet, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I suppose I'm not lucky enough to have thousands of dollars worth of tools, a 2 car garage, and enough time to polish every metal part on this vehicle and re-engineer it. Again, I don't mind paying people to do some of the work and I don't see anything wrong with it, America is built on specialization and it's a darn fine system if you ask me.
Perhaps I've been a bit rough on tunner mechanics, most of my interactions with mechanics of any type left me jaded: the dealer ****ed up an oil change, dented one of my speakers trying to change the window regulator, and I spend $2000 diagnosing an engine issue that I ended up fixing myself after numerous visits and work done by the shop foreman and many other guys. I understand human error but this is bad work at a very high level of statistical significance.
*The swap itself started at $2500 with the Innovative race mounts included
*$400 extra for new wires, plugs, custom PS line, temp gauge ('00 and above 6th gens require it)
*$1050 Hondata S300 and tunning
*$2000 Aem V2, Hytech replica header,metal substrate cat, 3 Magnaflow resonators, dual Apexi mufflers, custom 3 inch stainless steel mendrel bent exhaust, 7 custom high rigidity hangers
But...the engine was gunked, it sat for too long or whatnot, the oil pressure was too low for the Vtec to opperate, the Innovative mount did not fit on the driver's side, the distributor harness was taped toghether, it fell apart shorted, things got nasty. The swap shop guy till this day thinks the Vtec did work when it clearly didn't, he was also but hurt about me yelling at him when the distributor wiring fell apart and didn't want to take my car in to redo it claiming he has no more garage space. He also half assed the driver's side mount with a bracket and the engine constantly moved and made noises.
*$3000 later I got it out of another shop where we installed an Endyn modified oil pump to get more oil pressure, Greddy kevlar belts where added while I was at it, H23 manual tensioner, new water pump and thermostat, Air fuel sensor for the Hondata unit and an oil pressure gauge.
Things fixed: Vtec turns on no problem, Oil pressure at 100psi sometimes, the synthetic oil changes and a motor flush got rid of the gunk. The distributor harness was cleaned up and fuses replaced. New problems: the t-fitting on the oil pressure gauge was poor quality and was hand tightened and therefore leaking, back engine mount was not even bolted up and at this time the remaining front mount, the stopper, broke. Powersteering pump started making a lot of noise after the job and same for the timing belts, possible bearing problem or overtigtening. The mechanic also broke a big bolt with a huge chunk out of the engine block, he claims this only impacted the automatic tensioner system and therefore it's ok. Blox fuel pressure gauge broke after only 5 months of use, new Marshal liquid filled shock proof unit installed.
I'm on my third Innovative mount and it still doesn't fit right, going back to Innovative next week for the 4th custom mount for the H22.
*$250 bucks for new power steering unit, on the way, not installed yet.
*$100 powdercoat valve cover
*$500 spent at the third shop now to replace valve cover studs and nuts that were crossthreaded by the original owner, new ignition coil since the old one gave out, new cam seals since the old ones were really bad.
*$150 new starter
Biggest lesson learned is that the H22 is an old engine, to run properly almost everything needed to be changed. If I knew this to begin with I might have bought a newer K series and gotten a bit better value especially since one mounts has to be customized anyway. 3rd shop hasn't failed me yet, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I suppose I'm not lucky enough to have thousands of dollars worth of tools, a 2 car garage, and enough time to polish every metal part on this vehicle and re-engineer it. Again, I don't mind paying people to do some of the work and I don't see anything wrong with it, America is built on specialization and it's a darn fine system if you ask me.
Perhaps I've been a bit rough on tunner mechanics, most of my interactions with mechanics of any type left me jaded: the dealer ****ed up an oil change, dented one of my speakers trying to change the window regulator, and I spend $2000 diagnosing an engine issue that I ended up fixing myself after numerous visits and work done by the shop foreman and many other guys. I understand human error but this is bad work at a very high level of statistical significance.
slowaccord
Well-Known Member
what i have found is that most tuner shops dont know a thing when it comes to accords. half of em refused to tune my car when it had a unichip. when i did get it tuned i was ripped off and the car drove horrible. The con man "street tuned" my car. never opened the hood or put it on a dyno. took my money and 15 minutes later said the car was street tuned. i took it to another shop and the a/f ratio was below 10:1 After wasting a few hundred on that bad tune and diriving about 300 miles total that day to get to that shop, i was forced to drive another 100 too get the car retuned and the unichip removed. this cost a few hundred more and i had to give up the chip.
it was extremely frustrating when a shop doesn't know what they are doing and they can't admit that so they save face by making excuses. This was with a j30a1 and comptech supercharger. Well known shops in the norcal region were trying to sell me hondata when that **** doesnt even work with this motor. I always get heat from dumbasses who are like "dude ur in norcal you have no excuse for not finding a tuner"
Yea sure. everybody and their momma opens up a "racing garage" or tuner shop when they dont know what they are doing if the car isnt a wrx or dumb little civic.
end rant. i feel for the OP.
it was extremely frustrating when a shop doesn't know what they are doing and they can't admit that so they save face by making excuses. This was with a j30a1 and comptech supercharger. Well known shops in the norcal region were trying to sell me hondata when that **** doesnt even work with this motor. I always get heat from dumbasses who are like "dude ur in norcal you have no excuse for not finding a tuner"
Yea sure. everybody and their momma opens up a "racing garage" or tuner shop when they dont know what they are doing if the car isnt a wrx or dumb little civic.
end rant. i feel for the OP.
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HondaLuver83
Well-Known Member
The point im trying to make is. An f23 with the basics with a 5 speed manual is pretty fast for WHAT IT IS. I dont bother making my car faster because FWD is only good for so much useable Hp.
I know my car will never be as quick as an STI or any other of those AWD sports cars, so I dont even really fawking bother with it. For 10k I could have bought a WRX if I wanted to rip around.
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BlkCurrantKord
Super Moderator
Oh ya, you're the one with the dual 3" exhaust on a n/a motor for a future turbo setup.
