I have a 1997 Accord SE, it has the 2.2L non-vtech engine, auto transmission. I just had my transmission re-built and now that I have decided to keep it for a while I want to start doing upgrades. I have a good idea of what I want to do aesthetically but as a newb to car repair/upgrade I am a little lost as to what to do next. I am unsure about putting too much money into this engine (I feel I may be starting with too little power) and an automatic transmission. I am simply hoping to get some advice as to whether my concerns are warrented or not. I am thinking that I may do some small upgrades to make the car a little bit more fun to drive if others agree that this is not a good base to start with. Either way I would appreciate any advice as to the best steps to take next without wasting time and money on poor choices. The only real specific question that I have is whether 17" wheels will fit on my Accord without modification. I have been reading as much as I could for the past three days so I have tried to avoid the flaming that come come with a broad newbie question such as this. After much reading I decide "what the hell" and I am giving it a shot. TIA for any info.

A.V.

 

You've valid concerns, and shouldn't worry about getting flamed here. If your question is considered unworthy, you just won't get a response.
You'll have to ask yourself some questions before you start, and you're going to have to be honest with yourself. Most are obvious ones, but some won't.
1) Do you intend to keep the car 'till it dies a glorious death, or do you see selling it in the future? The reason for the question?, you'll NEVER recover the money you may put into the SE as accessories or improvements and you will limit the number of potential buyers because it isn't what THEY want. (most 50 year old grandmothers aren't tuners)
2) What kind of budget do you have?
3) What's my motivation? Do I want to run with the Bad Boys, or do I want to make a personal statement?
4) Will this project be a weekend campaign car, or will it be my daily ride?
and there are probably others that escape me at the moment.....

The reason for the questions??? Because there are all sort of avenues which you can take making this ride "yours".
You can take a "cosmetic" tact and go with body kits, graphics packages, lamp upgrades, wheels and tires etc,etc,etc.....
Or you can go mechanical upgrades such as Intake and exhaust systems, sway bars, or any of the other go-fast stuff thats out there.
Or you can combine the two.

The SE is a great "daily ride package", but because it's loaded down with accessories (Sun Roof, etc) from Honda, it's heavier than the "ideal" performance platform. It's a great start for that "Personal Statement" you want to make (however).

My SE ('97 red) I'm going the cosmetic and light mechanical upgrade route. Primarily because it's my daily ride (and I need reliability) and at this point I'm satified with a car that looks, sounds good and handles great. I've a fresh F22B2 to which I've fitted a turbo kit, but that won't see light until my original engine s...ts the bed.

Take some time ang lurk the threads and you'll find all kinds of ideas.

P

17" will fit, look at the Tire Rack ( http://www.tirerack.com ), they have a size recommendation program that can be very helpful.

 

Thanks P_Adams,

You brought up some great points and confirmed my thoughts that I should probably buy another car to really tune it up. I think I am going the stylized route that you said you took your SE because it is going to be a daily driver. Thanks again for the info.

 

One trick I used before I starting plinking my money down was determine what effect I wanted. Surprisingly, it started the day I spotted a '98 Coupe (San Marino Red) and was bowled over with the effect the way the rear lamps blended with the car color to almost disappear. Not being able to afford a '98, I was fortunate to secure a '97 SE coupe (San Marion Red) to which I swapped in a set of TYC Elegant Red Taillamps and duplicated the effect I wanted. The rest was more analytical.
Another idea which can in very useful was to secure a side view (preferably a line drawing) of a 5th generation coupe. With this, and the use of a computer "paint/draw" program I 'whitted out" all but the basic lines and made myself a bunch of copies. On these I layed out several different option packages involving windshield banners, rear window enblem and other graphics.
Refer to some of the online Graphics Suppliers and see what they have to offer (a GOOGLE search will offer bunches).
Half the fun can be the research, and it will save you a LOT of money in the long run.

P

 

just a side note on the wheel situation.. 18 and even 19's will tuck nicely in our accords..
i dont know about 19's but i know if you get a 25 series tire on the 18's its almost identical to the tire height of the stock tire+wheel so it doesnt screw w/our odometer..just the gas mileage.

and 17's look wayy to small on the 5th gen..have to get 18's and if you do get lightweight.19's look amazing..just gotta worry bout potholes and $$$

just my .02

 

17in wheels i dont think look bad at all if you lower it right.. i had 17 in seven spoke wheels lowerd with ground control coil overs and ingalls camber kits the wheels and tires were 700 mounted and balanced the coil overs and camber kits were 300 each... if you have the money an h22 would be a nice addition i got mine for 2450 shipped it was a complete swap. i bought it from hmotorsonline.com. i now have 18's now and they look really good ill try to get some pics on here so you can take a look and see what you want to do

 

I will trade you my already done up accord for your SE. Check out my car at: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/743880
Reason why im selling my car is because i want a 350z or a g35, Dealers wont take my car as a trade in because it has "too much stuff done to it" crap. So if i can have your car, i can trade it in, and then I wont have to mess around with trying to sell my car. If you interested, shoot me an email, I will consider an even trade after i take a look at your car.

 

Which bears out what I offered as one of my questions:

") Do you intend to keep the car 'till it dies a glorious death, or do you see selling it in the future? The reason for the question?, you'll NEVER recover the money you may put into the SE as accessories or improvements and you will limit the number of potential buyers because it isn't what THEY want. (most 50 year old grandmothers aren't tuners)"

I should also have mentioned that New Car Dealers generally don't give a "rats a.." about customized autos. They prefer that bland example of automotive drudgery which they can turn around and sell quickly" without having to worry about putting a warranty on it

P

 

One thing i can tell you about gaining power for the accord is that it is really "go big or go home" for the most part. You can do intake, headers, and exaust for $500-$1500 but you really want notice much performance gain. To notice big performance gains an H22 will run you around 2 grand doing the work yourself, and turbo kits can be as cheap as 1000 bucks (custom of course) but to have turbo reliably on a daily driver will be far more. One of the most bang for buck upgrades for your car starting out is suspension. For the 1000 bucks you spend on name brand i/h/e you could easily have a decent budget suspension and you will notice far greater a performance gain. Thats the route I wish I would've gone. Good luck

 

dmurphy2k3 has a very valid point (and co-incidently part of the route I have been taking). The first performance modifications I undertook were those which involved no chrome, no random gutting of the engine compartment and in fact, if you didn't know where to look, you'd never know. Sway Bars, Stainless Brake Hoses and Ceramic Brake Pads. (A set of Suspension Techniques sway bars to be exact.)
Not only did they all but eliminate body sway in corners, but the transitional reaction feel was improved drastically.
The Stainless hoses and ceramic pads both firmed up the brake pedal, and really improved brake fade resistance.

P

 

I would suggest getting a body kit and lowering the car, add in HIDs with projectors. In case you want to sell the car in the future, you can take everything out. Performance wise maybe an K&N intake, catback exhaust, headers and a sound system. 17's rim are nice 18's are a bit too big. This is something I would recommend, but you should check with other people for more advice.

 

18" is not to bit it's just right especially for the Accord IMO, they tuck nice and there is no wheel gap which is nice especially if your going for cosmetic's.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 13lue &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Performance wise maybe an K&N intake, catback exhaust, headers and a sound system.</TD></TR></TABLE>

a system is performance.....I never would'a known


im getting 15" wheels for my 5th gen

and id definately do suspension.....but if you plan to sell the car, a slammed car wont go for much at a dealer

 

Well not performance exactly, but it will turn alot of heads.

 

not always what you want though

too much attention = better chance of tickets

but thats just my $.02