I'm looking for some things I could do myself to make my car run a little better. I just ordered Megan Racing headers & downpipe. I have a CAI and thicker exhaust with a hi-flo cat, and a strut bar and tien coilovers. It's an f22a4. I'm looking at those engine mount inserts, but I'm not sure if I should just get new mounts, cause mine are pretty beat. It's a jerky ride. I'm thinking about improving the fuel delivery system (pump, lines, rail, injectors, etc) but I don't know if its worth it, because my motors at 172k, and I don't know if its ever going to reach over 160hp. After I get it running real nice, I would like to purchase some brian crower cams, and then work my way down internally. What are some things I should replace/install? I'm not really looking for performance because I drive like an old man, but I don't want my car to **** out on me. I just want it to last as long as possible. Oh yeah, two things quick. theres a knocking noise in the passenger side wheel area only when I hit bumps. I thought this was a ball joint but I was wrong. The sway bar end links look pretty sketchy, but they're together that's for sure. Could it have anything to do with my struts or towers? Second, my buddy pointed out what is believed to be a cracked strut tower. It's not on the tower itself, and i cant see it from the bottom of the bay, so could it just be some kind of molding? Any help is appreciated

 

Wow, lots of questions. I'll try to answer to the best I can, one thing at a time. Your best source of reference for all these questions will be from cb7tuner.com as it's more oriented towards the F22A* engines.

honestly, You probably wasted money. You'll see little to no gain at this point. Maybe 5whp peak, at best.

Here again, you probably wasted money on the intake and exhaust- and by thicker I'm guessing larger diameter. We're, at most, up maybe 10whp. You're wasting money on these 'power' mods if you're just throwing money and parts and not looking into things further. An F22A6 lower intake manifold coupled with an H23/H22 upper intake manifold makes some decent power just about everywhere in the powerband.

Unless you shelled out a ton of money for the higher end Tein stuff, you probably would've been better off with a Ground Control and Koni Sport/Yellow setup. The lower end Tein stuff just doesn't have the spring rate and damping ability for 'real' use(autocross/track).

Ah ha! Finally, some reasonable thinking. The mounts 'should' reduce the jerkyness of the 'ride'... as long as you're smooth with your throttle/clutch inputs. Expect a LOT more vibration, though.

More than likely, you'll never realistically see more than 140whp out of it. Seriously. Unless you do some port work(and I mean GOOD port work) and add a ton of compression and a big cam, you're not gonna see a whole lot of improvement. While the F22A heads flow decently from the factory, the exhaust side is pretty restrictive without work. Luckily, there's lots of room for improvement with them, but you better find someone who knows WTF they're doing or you could make things go downhill, FAST. As for the fuel system... don't bother. Just ensure all your lines, filter, etc are clean and in good condition. If you're already stating you don't think you'll ever make more than 160hp, there's no sense in upgrading anything as doing so won't produce more power, but will merely support the ability to make more power.

STOCK, STOCK, STOCK rebuild if you want crap to last, and with a compitent builder. Crank and journal bearings, rings, seals, etc. An F22A6 cam should give you a bit of a boost in power. In addition to all the other mods you can do, this will probably make the biggest difference. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, GET IT TUNED. You can run a factory F22A6 ecu(I believe it's a PT3) to get you going, but for the best drivability and power potential, it's better to go with an OBD1 ECU and some sort of tuning.


Replace the endlinks. You've stated they look pretty shot, they're cheap(MOOG makes a $12 replacement with a higher-grade bushing), and easy to replace. Start there. While you're under there, check your bushings and balljoints for play.



Overall, you're maybe looking at a total of 10-15hp extra by bolting all that crap on untuned. Add a tune, and there could be a good amount more power available. I'm not going to say how much because it all depends on the combination and the tuner. If anyone thinks this isn't sound advice, I'm open to discussion. Sounds like you're basically throwing money at stuff and expecting a LOT more than what the reality of it all. Research is your friend.

Good luck, and PLEASE go to cb7tuner and poke around there. The Search button on here and over there are your friends.

 

im looking for more reliability than power. thats why i.got those headers, mine are beat and my flex pipe is 100% gone. it was the price of an oem one so i figured it wouldnt hurt. i didnt pay anything for the cat or the exhaust so i cant complain- and you cant tell me im wasting money if i didnt spend it! haha but i dont want to go to cb7 tuner cause when i ask them things they act like a bunch of shafts. i do know someone that works at a machine shop. actually a couple people. if i get it port&polished would it make a noticable increase in gas milage from being more efficient?
and with those mount inserts, i like the feeling of a stiff ride. im good with the clutch but if i pop it out just a little too fast everyones head is bobbin around. kind of annoying having people tell me to learn how to drive when they cant even drive stick lol. but as for the fuel system, id just like for the engine to have a better supply of fuel, the system is stock so replacing a few things wouldnt hurt. any thoughts on soke aftermarket parts or should i just go for OEM with better injectors? and i realize my motor is old, so would replacing the springs/valves/retainers make it a bit smoother? or should i go right ahead with the
a6. cam?
as for the suspension goes, this cars never seeing anything close to anything even resembling a track- i cant do it, ill have too much fun and break something. lol but the suspension is fine around the city and its worth 20 dollars less than what i paid for the whole car so i cant complain. i appreciate your response, and you trying to talk some sense into me, but if youre thinking im all about the power im really not, i just need this car to last and be cleannn at the same time. if i was about the power id just put on a stupid body kit and a four foot tall wing. perhaps lower it all the way and put steelies on it and get euro tail lights. that should be like 200hp right there.. lol

 

and about the knocking noise. i know i should replace the end links anyway, but do u think the endlinks clapping together would be that loud? i realize you cant hear it, but its pretty loud. my last accord had a busted sway link and i.heard it moving around but it wasnt as intense. the car also wasnt lowered, so would a stiffer lower suspension have anything to.do with it hitting the metal harder? it makes sense to me

 

Sorry, long day yesterday, kind of took it out on the keyboard.

Well then, no complaints there. At least you'll have a little bit more power!

I wouldn't suggest just having some average joe at a machine shop do it, unless they have a LOT of experience. I'd rather keep a head stock than muck it up with a bad port job. You probably won't notice any difference with port work in terms of MPG's.


The mounts will help tremendously then. Keep working on your technique, too.

OEM will be plenty. Ensure your injectors are clean. Better injectors? The only thing that might help are newer style injectors with a better spray pattern, say out of an RDX or something. I bet there's some sort of new Bosch style injector out there that is the correct size/style, but you'll probably have to buy some new clips and do some wiring to get them to work, possibly even wiring in resistors/resistor box. I'm not really incredibly familiar with the style of fuel system in these cars yet, nor have any idea what style injectors are in your car now, especially since you swapped it with an A4. Making sure the lines and the filter are clean and clear are probably more important than injector spray pattern, though.

Your stock stuff is fine. Just make sure your valves aren't toasted, and your valveguides/seals are in good shape. When it doubt, replace them.

You can still add some nicer shocks like Bilsteins or Konis for a bit more control. Springs with mild lowering and spring rate increase are out there if you do some more research, too. I lobe Bilstein stuff, they're basically a race ready shock with street appropriate valving. H&R is my go-to brand for regular off the shelf springs. I won't touch most full bodied coilovers at a low price, they're usually garbage dampers with who knows where they're made springs and shoddy build quality... typically the only difference is paint.



Well, hopefully you don't have to deal with rust. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to having a clean car. Hate dirt, hate rot. I'd rather have a 100% *right* bone stock car that I don't have to do any maintenance to than some hacked up POS that someone thought was sweet to throw parts at to make "better."


They could. I'm running into a similar noise, I'll be investigating it further. I know for sure my endlinks are pretty much toast, so I'm starting there as well. The PO of my car said he just replaced the ball joints on the car, so I'm going to say they're new... although I don't necessarily believe him nor the work that was done. It's just been too damn cold/crappy out for me to crawl around under it to check. People state tie rod ends, bushings, bolts, links, etc. You really have to check them all. It could be something like a wasted shock bottoming out. You really don't know until you crawl under there and check it out, and it's different for everyone.

 

yea those guys are definitely some average joe's but they do know what theyre doing. ill probably go ahead and get those mount inserts, but i cant find sets of all 4 mount inserts. ive seen sets but i cant acquire any information on if they are for all four or just different types or something.
as for the injectors, i have a resistor box. i just replaced my fuel filter but it seems to be lacking some power/throttle response. could this be a worn fuel pump, or could my huge exhaust leak cause less power?

is there any way i could tell if the valves are toasted just by driving it/noticing anything? i really dont want to take the head off any time soon, but if i do i might as well put another gasket on. it doesnt blow smoke, or at least not that i can see, but hey i guess it really wouldnt hurt to take them out and check them or grind them down, i forget what its called but i could make sure they fit in the seat with a 45 degree angle or whatever, hmm lapping the valves i believe? sounds right. but id need to drill the seats too of course.

I have noticed oil in my spark plug tubes as well. tube seals are bad, at least thats what i think, so would i need to take off the head to put these seals in??? if thats the case i might as well get the seals and head gasket right away, so then when i put on my headers and mid pipe, i can do it all at the same time. oh yea, silly question, but one of my spark plugs just rests on the valve cover. it goes down onto the lip thing but after i let go it just moves up and off of it. the cylinder is still firing fine and the tube thing is attatched to the plug. would this affect performance at all? and does the oil in the tubes?

for the exterior look, i know what you mean. i have a little rust under the wheel wells but its not too noticable. 20-40mins of bondo work will do the trick! the body to my car is great, nice and solid frame

the noise though, it just kind of stumps me. the ball joints seem to be good all around. when on the lift, my wheels have virtually no play. if theres barely any could it still be a problem? i never measured the actual distance of travel but its probably a couple thousandths (its pretty much not even noticable). dont think its a wasted shock though, cause wouldnt my car have a small lean to it? my tie rod ends seem nice and sturdy- and quick question about those! my steering wheel is off center. do i just turn the tie rod ends without the steering wheel holder in position? i never checked the alignment on the alignment rack but it goes straight when the wheel is left go of. and i do realize with any adjustment to the tie rod ends theres an alignment needed, lol. everything i look at on my car is pretty corroded to be honest but it all works. i stripped the ******** out of a nut on my steering knuckle and cotter pinned it on, but the klunking was there before i did that. hasnt gotten worse at least not noticably.
jeez sorry for all the questions, but hey its your fault for answering them so well!

 

in the shop that i have access to, i might actually not have the ability to tune it.. therefore, are there any shops i could get it done at? i went to hook up my car to a computer to diagnose a CEL, and i got the adapter so i could plug the computer into the car, and i could find where to plug it in! is that what id need to use to tune it? or should i just look for an a6 ECU

 

Hope the work turns out good! I'd get it flowbench teste before and after, and make sure they have #'s for each runner on both sides.


I think they're only sold in sets of one or two, you'll probably be better off junkyard diving for a set of mounts and poly filling them.


Eh, probably none of that. These cars are just slow. Clean out the EGR ports, change your spark plugs, maintenace stuff.


There's really no way to check the valves unless you pull the head. Have you pulled the valvecover and inspected the head? Maybe a quick valve lash adjustment could help? If the valves are in good shape, I wouldn't touch them, unless the seals/guides need replaced.

Sounds like the seals on the valvecover are letting some through, but it could very well be the spark plug tube seals as well. I just did my VC gasket on my '97 LX, had the same issue. I didn't want to remove the rockers to replace the tube seals, so I just changed the seals for each tube where it contacts the VC. Haven't checked since. Effect performance? I wouldn't think so, but that's just another reason to go junkyard diving to see if you can find the plug wire holders. I may have some sitting around I could stuff into an envelope and mail to you if you'd like.

If there's no play, it could just be a bushing problem. I have to poke around under mine this weekend and look to see what my issue is. A wasted shock can make lots of noise, and it wouldn't have a lean; the spring supports the weight of the vehicle, the shock merely dampens the body motions. Is the car kind of 'floaty' and has lots of body roll?

You can do a tie rod adjustment, drive it around the block, and adjust if necessary. I need to do the same thing. It's very smart to get a real alginment though. There's tricks you can do with a yardstick/measuring tape for a DIY alignment, but it won't be as accurate.

********? lol no idea what you're talking about there? Balljoint maybe? I'd change it out, last thing you want to do is hurt yourself or someone else because a part failed, much less risk trashing your car.


If a shop has a dyno, most likely they'll be able to tune it for you. What year is your car? Which ECU are you running? I'd say that you won't have a way to read codes other than the paper clip jumper method. Not really sure, I haven't played around with OBD0/1 stuff much, most everything I've owned has been OBD2+. If you run an A6 ECU(PT3 I believe), you should be fine with the A6 cam. You're better off finding an OBD1 Civic/Integra ECU(can be had at junkyards for SUPER cheap), adding an OBD0>OBD1 jumper harness, and having that chipped/tuned with whatever program you want.