Is it worth it?

[5spdcoupe]

Well guys, i've been patiently waiting and finishing my exams in hopes of workin on my car in the summer. Initially i had planned to do performance as well as exterior mods:

-lip kit
-fog lights
-drop
-rims
-sri intake
-headers/exhaust
-if any dough left, maybe cams, minor engine build etc...

But i just did some research into what i wanted to do and had an epiphany, and that was: i4 Accords are slow. I got a 4 banger and with the mods listed above and even more things done to it i'll never reach 200hp without a huge amount of money put into it while J30's, h22's and others are already at that level.. So my question is, should i be depressed as i am right now, or is there something i am missing here about our car's potential on a not so large budget?

 

[ryan s]

you got your list out of order there...it should say "build engine, cams, i/h/e, and if any dough left drop, lip, lights etc" you dont just happen to have money left over...you have to plan around the big $$$ items.

if you want a faster car, go buy one. were slooooow but at least we look good doing it since i plan on staying with 6th gens for a while, heres my long term plan: buy another f23 and build it in my spare time bit by bit...with the end result of turbo'ing it. assemble it and drop it into the car at one time. ive decided that while n/a is cool and all, i just cant get the same power as turbo. especially for roughly the same price as an h22 swap...the choice is clear (at least in my mind).

 

[Jefften10]

The F23 has a lot of potential. And if you end up killing it, you can buy a nother one for pretty cheap. I would stick with it, especially sicne I am assuming you have a 5spd, and they at least put some power to the wheels!! Good luck!

 

[DarkSideAccord]

if u have a limited budget, u HAVE to choose one road to walk on.... either performance OR looks... i have been mostly looks, esp when i was in college.... so, it's really up to u... and yeah, turbo is the way to go if u wanna go the performance route

 

[5spdcoupe]

Well i didn't list the mods set in stone, it was just kinda off the top of my head but i think it would make sense to let your engine breathe easier before doing other things to it to get the highest gains along the way.

I bought the accord because its reliable and i use it as a DD to university every day so i was just lookin for something that would'nt let me down... but eventually i realised DAMN these cars are sweeeeeet haha so now i wanna work on it.

I think ima scrap all the performance mods and just go for the cosmetic stuff, besides the SRI cuz thats really cheap and is mostly just for the sound anyways... cuz with all the performance mods i'll still never reach the power the v6 version has... and so theres just really no point. sorry if i sound like a downer to anyone, im really not haha

 

[yellowfever]

i went through what your going through and i even tried to get rid of my car because of it. You just need to come to terms with the fact that you dont have a fast car, which isnt a bad thing. Every once and a while i go ride to some get togethers with some kids around here and they roll ITRs civics with CTR engines evos a silvia and plenty of turbo all through out, needless to say this gets me feeling ****y feel quick. You just got to focus on the accord for what it is, like ryan said we're a "show" not "go"car. If u really want speed out of it (and your not made of $)then you gotta build it for turbo. So if u really cant live without some more "go" and u wanna keep the car then use every last cent on a turbo setup and leave cosmetics for very last, cause when i see a clean stock car and hear that "Pshhhhisk" i pay twice as much attention than when i see a nice lipkit. But if you just like ur accord's look then yeah get some nice rims, name brand rubber and a good drop with new shocks cause all those things go hand in hand. Oh and a CF hood always looks good. So yeah bro just think real hard on whats gonna make you happy and these are two solid routes. P.S. the v6 isnt all its cracked up to be

 

[dynasty]

truthfully, you wouldn't want to go big and get a fast car. this is what i think. if you are a student and on a budget. you should keep the accord and just build it little by little. BUT, if you want a really fast car, more like a project car (swap engines, turbo, etc.) you would need LOTS of money to tune and knowing the unexpected WILL be expected. but like everyone said, i4 has potential. especially a manual transmission. i heard that a fully built i4 manual could beat a fully built v6 auto. anything is possible to make it faster.

but to answer your question, keep the accord and start modding little by litt.e

 

[5spdcoupe]

hmm sounds good thanks for the advice all. i think i'll just stick to the all "show no go"... but ofc knowing myself i won't be able to resist getting some extra ponies under the hood anyways.. haha. i'll post up what i've done to the car midway through my summer break

 

[shavedaccord]

looks..accords weren't ment to be fast and all that...I see mine as a cruiser..your on a budget..seems like 90% of accord owners who dump tons of money into their accord end up selling it off anyways for something better and faster..intakes, exhuasts, headers and all that won't gain you enough in the butt dyno to make you happy trust me. You'll still be slow.

 

[theaccordian]

looks..accords weren't ment to be fast and all that...I see mine as a cruiser..your on a budget..seems like 90% of accord owners who dump tons of money into their accord end up selling it off anyways for something better and faster..intakes, exhuasts, headers and all that won't gain you enough in the butt dyno to make you happy trust me. You'll still be slow.

my car is faster and more powerful than stock without a doubt,still slow but faster than it was, my mods are modified airbox, dc header, carsound hi flow cat, magnaflow cat back, and JET ecu reprogram. on top of that I have an auto tranny and my car is alot more fun to drive and think my money was well invested.

true our cars were never meant to be fast, but this is my hobby, to improve the performance of my car and I think for the most part ive been doing a good job, as long as youre not going into it expecting rediculous gains, itll be fun.

plust the fact you haver a 5spd, mods are gonna respond even better, youll be faster than v6's with the same mods. with boltons , good tires, and good tires, I bet you could dip into the 15's. not too fast, but fast enough to have fun imo.