Honda Inspire

2003 Honda Accord EX Coupe
Motor: K24A4 inline 4
Transmission: Automatic

Current mods:
DC Sports Header
Injen Cold Air Intake

I want to obtain more HP & TQ, but I have a slushbox. What should I do? Not planning on buying new car anymore. Well I dont think I am..

Any input is welcomed.

Im unsure whether to work on this car or save money for a new car, but keep in mind, I might not be able to get a manual transmission due to family reasons.

Possible cars to purchase:
Lexus IS 350 (est. $35k)
Lexus IS F (est. $61k)
Lexus LF A (est. $100k+) Im totally dreaming on this one. Maybe when I am a millionaire. LOLS.
Nissan GTR (est. $85k) Dreaming, but hopefully, my saved up cash can get it.
_____________________ <- Recommendations?

Please. Really offer some advice. Daily driven car. Should I work on the Accord or save? If I were to save, it would take me about 2 years to gather enough for the IS F or 3 years for GTR..

h22 kid

buy camshafts, cam gears, valve springs and retainers... that will boost you up quite a bit...!

Honda Inspire

Im wondering is it worth the upgrade, after the upgrades on the cams, camshafts, valves, etc. I will need a retune and K-Pro does not offer support on automatic. Is it worth upgrading, or should I just save the $$$ and purchase a new car? I love my CM5, I dont know about the automatic transmission. I wish I could get a manual trans, but theres times that I am not around and no one could move my car for street sweeping and only my brother knows how to drive a manual trans, but he isnt around.
Street sweeping tickets in my area is 35$. Every monday. Thats a problem and they hate it if they cant move it.

ekb16

iTrader: (1)

if u COULD go manual then throw in a k20a2 head and tune it with kpro and call it good..but u would need to switch out piston n rods

Honda Inspire

I wish I could, I am unsure at the moment right now. My friend is selling me a K20A2 head, but I am unsure where he got it from, I am thinking it is stolen from some other car. Doesnt the "head" come with a VIN number on it? He might give me the K24A2 pistons and other stuff, but I am not sure about it though, I dont want stolen stuff. If I can get a TSX intake manifold, I might dish out some $$$ for a K-Pro and do and dual ECU setup. I heard it works, but I need to reflash my ecu(TSX ecu) which I dont have at the moment, and then tune a K-Pro and then have a complete TSX motor.

What is more expensive? To use the K24A4 that I have and swap the pistons, valves, cams, camshafts, etc. or purchase a TSX motor? K24A2 and run dual ecu?

Please help. Thanks to everyone for the input. VERY MUCH APPRECIATED. I am new to the K-Series block.

K24power07

a new motor will cost a bit much,ive seen them go *** far as 5000.00 if ur going to purchase a motor from a tsx , just use that money to put a down payment on a tsx auto ,they are 5sp auto-stick so u can shift it if u want or not ,i had the same problem when i purchased an auto and wanted to modify it, so i got rid of it and been driving stick since.just remeber if u upgrade ur motor , u need a strong tranny too,..smart move on not excepting stolen parts, if u look for it ull find parts to boost that puppy up..gl..

Honda Inspire

thanks k24power07, I guess ill just save the money and buy an IS 350, I want the IS F but there arent any mods for it. I been searching around. The GTR is way to pricey.. IS350 or ISF i guess.

K24power07

no problem, ......isnt the lexus isf a 8cylinder 8shift automatic pushing about 400hp , for close to 50,000. u wont need a gtr, u could get two lexus for one gtr , plus the gtr is auto...plus its a new car so in 6-8mths theyll start making things for it ...

GoLowDrew

What's your family reason? Kids? If so, keep in mind the IS is really small inside. My sister owns one (IS250), and you could hardly fit a car seat in the back.

ED9man

why not try to trade it in for a manual transmisson equipped one?

Honda Inspire

My family would not allow me to purchase a manual transmission for the following reasons:
1.Unable to move the car when I am not around. (Street Sweeping)
2.Stalling on hills and accidents. (Unable to control the manual gears)
3.Sometimes* my car will be used, in the case of emergencies or other reasons. They dont know how to drive a manual transmission.
4.They dont trust me with a manual transmission. (Think I will be racing or get into accidents)

Many more, just not in my mind, but no doubt, I cant get it because I dont want to be selfish and think about myself only, I need to think what is best for me and my family.

GoLowDrew

^^^^ ok. Another good alternative is VW GTI or GLI with DSG. Not interested in a debate. But there is nothing "weak" about an automatic. In many cases for most people, it's actually better in terms of performance. A lot of people think they know how to shift (in terms of performance), when they really don't.

Most high end sports cars are "automatics."

ED9man

your family sounds retarded, if they are smart enough to make a sandwich, handling a car with a manual, especially a new honda, is no problem

enjoy your shitty slushbox

bizzybear

nobody mentioned this yet but why don't you see about getting a 6 cylinder??... the Accord 3.0 is nice... the TL's 3.2 is better and of course the RL's 3.5 is probably the best... the newer engines of those cars would be harder to get and cost more but the power in them are way better...

my friend deals with the J-series engines a lot, which is the 6 cylinder Honda motor, they're not as expensive as some of the K-Series engines and it's basically a straight bolt-on to your chassis... you would have to get it complete tho meaning - wire harness, ecu's, axles, etc...

i have a 2006 Si and i had a K24A4 block i was gonna build and put in my car but i decided not to and just wait for some good tuning for my car...

another option would be to use the RBC Intake manifold which comes on the K20Z3 (Civic Si 2006+), K20Z4 (2006+ Civic Euro-R)... it's by far the best flowing K-Series manifold made by Honda and from the dealership they run about $140+/-... i'm not sure on the bolt pattern on the throttle body side compared to your current manifold... but i'm sure they have an adapter to make it work...

maybe some lightweight pulley's, some may debate this, but they do free up hp/tq... a grounding kit may free up a few ponies as well...

w/o tearing the motor apart and building it your next best option would be to look into lighter parts to free up hp/tq...

TunerN00b

There is a world of difference between a torque converter equipped automatic slushbox, and an electro-hydraulic operated clutch (or double clutch) based manual...

So, no. Most high end sports cars are NOT automatics. They are manual transmissions that do not have a clutch pedal.

Mx6GT89

iTrader: (1)

Finish the rest of the exhaust?
Did you feel any gains from the intake? I want to put one on my moms Accord. If you didnt Ill just do a drop in....

Honda Inspire

Fu*k You Bit*h, your just mad your dumbas* got burned by a automatic. Piece of shi*. Your family is retarded you dumbfu*k. Stupid as* motherfuc*er. If your dumbas* can make a sandwich, then you should know when to shut the fuc* up.

Honda Inspire

I am thinking about it right now. Currently undecided. Dont really like the automatic transmission. I dont want to blow the trans and fixing it will cost big $$$.

Honda Inspire

As for exhaust, it hasnt been removed yet, but for the intake. Go buy it, DONT GET INJEN. I have an injen and the damn plastic piping that connects the intake to the motor is breaking. Damn cheap plastic pipe. Sucks man. Need to fix it, causing leak in air on my car. Throttle response lags with that problem.

H.I CTR

i feel u man..instead my mom has a 4 door ex..shes going to give it to me when i graduate in a couple years..i have the same problem whether i should keep the car or sell it and buy a civic(5 speed)..hope u get what you want

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Don't complain about when you get a free car..........

Kinda biting the hand that feeds you.

Free car > car w/ payments

Personally it sounds like Honda Inspire you're in high school and your parents are providing you with the Accord to drive around. I get that feeling especially after reading your reasons for why to not have a manual. I was in a similar boat back in the day.

Appreciate the car for what it is. My dad told me once I provided him with a budget of sorts showing I could pay for gas,car payments, insurance, maintenance, unexpected issues, etc then he'd allow me to buy my own car. That wasn't until Soph year in college I was able to do that. Use the car you have and be thankful for it. Also for resale value purposes I wouldn't do much to it at all. You'll either lose money trying to sell the parts later (part out) or lose money on the trade-in for it not being stock. Your parts will never appreciate in value. And I'm going to wager you'll buy something other than an Accord later on.

Honda Inspire

I really agree with you on that, I am currently a Jr. in college by the way. I guess I will just save up money for a new car. I like my car though, its just automatic, but I like the accord.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

It's gravy - I didn't mean to come off as condescending but most of threads like this are high schoolers who get a hand me down and throw a temper tantrum because it's not what they think is cool.

I was one of those kids back in the day haha

seaballs

Looks like they hit the nail on the head with number 4 there!

Gold DA9

JRSC.... no mentioned this...