Hey, whats goin on.. just got a 1990 Honda Accord from my sister.. Was just wondering, what should I do to it first? What is recommended? Suspension? This is my first car.. Not really sure what to do with it lol.. Imma get a full diagonostic done on it... good idea?

 

*bump*

 

You don't bump after 90 minutes.

First decide what you want to do. Cosmetic, handling, weight reduction, traction...blah blah bla.

Personally, I would work on traction and suspension first. Then swap out the engine. Then boost.

Keep the car stock looking.

 

yup, the 90-96 accord has serious understeer, dunno bout the newer ones, but i have a 95 and my frend has a 91...and understeer is our biggest problem, so work on tires and suspension first...then, being underpowered is the next problem, so work on sum engine mods, and yea, i wud recomend turbo if u have the money

 

how much would a upgraded suspension cost? and the turbo? what about air intake system or new exhaust? how much would that stuff cost? just need some idea..

 

I wouldn't waste my time on intake and exhaust at this moment. It will only make noise, and not give that much power.

Shocks/struts/spring or Coilovers = 500-2000 [Used or New, and brand]
Good tires, and fair rims = circa 1200 [Might get away with just under 1000 dollars]
Sway bars = 150-600 [Used or New, and brand]
Strut and Tie bars = 60-400 [Used or New, and brand]


A turbo will run you a few hundred, but for the entire system anything from 2500-20000.

 

How hard are shocks and struts and springs to come by? I'm damn poor, just inherited the car.. I heard that I could prolly get them at a pick your part location.. Are these things hard to install? I have no training or experience on cars..

 

You cant just get springs and shocks at a pick a part, unless some idiot there passed over a Tein coilover kit or something. The point of the shocks and springs are to have springs that lower the car and give it better handling and having shocks that wont break with the different springs, thats why you needs some Konis, Tokicos, KYB AGX's, or Bilsteins + aftermarket springs, unless you go coilover like Omni Power Apexi or Tein...

If you dont have an EX accord you COULD get the sway bar from a pick a part EX, or you can go aftermarket.


You can get an exhaust, but make sure its mandrel bent, stainless steel, and 2.5" diameter. You can always have this even if you go turob so you wont be wasting money at all...

 

is it possible to create your own mandrel bent exhaust? also, how hard is installing suspension? New to all of this stuff

 

As far as mandrel bent exhaust, you need a machine and the metal. If you think you can make it yourself then do that, but I know I couldn't.

Installing the suspension isn't difficult, but you need some tools, and it will take you about a few hours.

Installation around here is only 100 dollars, so you might just save the time and take it to the mechanic, or take it as a learning experience by doing it yourself.


If you are low on cash then just wait. Seriously. If you are on a budget, and you need to do something, then get the cheapest short ram intake you can find on Ebay, but make sure it has a K&N filter.
Besides that..get good quality product header, exhaust, suspension tires, etc.

Before the power, I would go with suspension and traction, and if you can't afford the relatively good stuff, then save up unless it's urgent i.e. all tires are bold and you need to replace them with 49.99 dollar tires from pepboys.

Hope it helps.

 

Is there a guide I can find to help me "Install" my suspension?

Also.. Whats a ram intake?

 

A ram is a short ram.

It's a tube that replaces your stock air intake. The short ram is bent to fit inside your engine bay and provide better flow.

You can buy a cheap eBay short ram and then put a good K&N cone shaped filter from a car store on the end of it and it'll work just like a 150 dollar brand name one, thus saving you about 100 bucks

If you want to try to do it yourself with the suspension, check out a haynes or chiltons manual for your car. They will tell you EXACTLY what you need. Look at it before you buy it and see if you can do it yourself. If not, take it to a mechanic.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Asdfman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there a guide I can find to help me "Install" my suspension?

Also.. Whats a ram intake?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Before I would worry about installation, I would think about what setup I am going to buy. If you are tight on money, then I would tell you to save up for something good. Also, what do you hope to accomplish with the suspension?

 

dont bother doing anything, it is an accord. Just get the regular maintenance, save your money, and buy something else if you want to go fast.

 

Well, I was hoping to help the "Understeer" as someone put it.. They said that since I have a 4th gen, that the car would have a shitload of understeer and that suspension might help? Is that true? Also, I dont want to be flipping my car...

 

change your oil, tranny fluid, coolant, and air filter. Get a tune up. Check your brakes. I would suggest doing general maintenance first, but then again I have no mods on my ride it's bone stock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Asdfman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, I dont want to be flipping my car...</TD></TR></TABLE>

He don't drive too crazy. No engine mods necessary and it's free.

 

read the "guide to basic accord" sticky thread. If you haven't already.

 

suspension, wheels, tires, power....

theres not much need to get some awesome tires unless your making more power than stock....unless your gonna autocross or some other form of LEGAL racing....by the way, its 90-93 accords (4th gen) and 94-97 (5th gen)...not 90-96....

also, understeer happens of ALL FWD cars, most AWD cars, and some RWD cars....on an FF however, its pretty much impossible to TOTALLY eliminate without drascitcally changing the suspension geometry

 

because the car you own is close to 15 years old, well, i suggest you modify it, but you take into consideration that used parts are a better deal to buy than brand new parts, a lot of times people modify their cars and end up spending more on mods because of the value of their car, i was like that with my first car. Good Luck.

 

thx for info.