My friend just got an Accord LX 4-door (98hp, 102lb-ft) with an auto (never look a gift horse in the mouth... too carefully). It's wimpy. Is the 2.0L in the Preludes of the same era the same engine? Would it help me to get the cylinder head and cam off one? We're on a bit of a budget, so I dont' think we'll be able to swap in a whole engine/tranny just yet.

You may have to speak slowly... I'm a little new to hondas (I drive a Chevy), but I've always wanted to tweak a car on someone else's tab :D

(edit: It also idles rough and doesn't seem to be able to rev past 3k unless it's in neutral. I'm going over to his house to check the plugs and distributer. Does this year have a traditional cap/rotor setup or is there something decidedly un-chevy that I should know about?)


[Modified by DJEuphoriKa, 8:32 AM 4/6/2002]

 

do not attempt to put anything from the prelude motor into that accord. it is a nightmare. trust me. they are two completely different series motors. if you need parts for an accord, then you will need to stick with accord parts. or at least stay away from prelude parts. if you are going to do a motor swap, just save your money and have a h22a motor swapped into the accord - the prelude motor from 93ish-2001. they actually make mounting kits for that type of conversion. for now, just get the car running smooth and save the rest for the swap.

 

What can I get for this thing? I haven't found any info on 3rd-gen accords in this forum. I was thinking that maybe I could get the twin sidraft carbs and intake manifold off a prelude, but if you don't reccomend prelude parts at all...

Just as well. He ordered a K&N filter. So I guess I might as well see what I can do about the current setup. What about a bigger carb? (What's the stock CFM on this thing, btw? I couldn't find it in the Chilton's)

What about suspension? My friend wants to set it up primarily for handling. What companies would I look to for coilovers, sway bars, and various braces/tie bars?

I pulled all the plugs today. They were fine, but we need to call in the VIN to find out what cap and rotor he's got. The previous owner said that he had changed the plugs, wires, and oil, but skipped the cap/rotor. The fuel filters also probably need changing. Too bad we ran out of daylight. We'll probably go for a round 2 next weekend, though.

 

Yea the carbs on these cars were pretty crappy (I'm glad I've got EFI, hehe ). A Weber carb, cam regrind, adj. cam gear, headers, exhaust, and maybe an ignition upgrade, and you should be moving pretty good.

I'm not sure about most of the parts from the Prelude, but one I do know for sure works on the 3g Accord is the front upper control arms (A-arms) from the 84-87 Preludes. Since the Accords don't have adjustable camber, you would usually have to buy a camber kit ($$$) if you lower more than 1.5 inches or so. The Preludes however, do have adjustable camber AND seperate balljoints, and it's a direct bolt in. Just pull some from the boneyard and get new balljoints for them, and viola!

I'll have to look around for some links for parts, as I haven't got any on mine . A cheap swaybar upgrade (since it's an LX) is to get the heavier swaybar from the LX-i/SE-i. It's a direct bolt in too. They do make coilovers and lowering springs for the 86-89 Accords, but any made for a 90-97 Accord will also work just fine with no modifications.

As for the distributor cap, I don't remember which is which, but you can tell by looking at the old one, and then the new one. One is completely round around where it attaches to the distributor, and the other is almost round, but has one flat edge (towards the front of the distributor). Take a look and you should be able to see, then you can compare at the parts store.

Hope that helps some . Check out the link in my sig for more info


[Modified by 89_LXi, 12:32 AM 4/7/2002]

 

Awesome thanks for the info! I'll definitely look into all of that, and go to that 3rd-gen message board. I'd send my friend there, but he'd probably never check it. I'm starting to turn into the "team mechanic" around here :D Which is too bad, cuz I'm not THAT great.

Oh... I took a few things out of the air cleaner. The little baffle over where the snorkel comes in, and the metal mesh over the throttle body. I've done stuff like that to other cars, and they seem to run fine. Is it alright with this car or will it run lean?

 

No prob It should run fine with the baffle thingy out of there. That reminds me of something I forgot to mention earlier. Flipping the airbox lid



Alot of the carb guys flip the lid over on the carb to allow a little more air to the engine (since they don't make an intake for the carbs). To do this you simply take the lid off, lay it upside down on the ground, and use a hammer to pound the bolt holes down a little bit. Then stick it back on (upside down) and you should be able to screw it back on. If not, hammer a little bit more


[Modified by 89_LXi, 2:42 AM 4/7/2002]

 

I see you took out that snorkel, too. I did that on my truck for a while, but it seemed to be sucking a lot of hot air out of the engine compartment. But then my truck has a throttle body fuel injector system, and the increased airflow was messing with the MAP sensor.

Guess I'll give it a shot... If it's not that great, i'll flip it back over, hammer it back into shape. Should I do something about those mason-jar latches, like tape them down to keep them from rattling? Or will they come off altogether fairly easily?

 

oops....sorry I guess I forgot to mention that wasn't my car in the pic, heh . Mine is fuel injected (DX and LX were carb'd, LXi/SEi were EFI). But anyways, I'm not sure if the little latches come off or not (never seen up that close). If they do it's probably easy as pie to take them off. If not, wrapping a little masking tape or something like that around them should do the trick

 

For that LXi/SEi sway bar upgrade, is that the front and rear, or just the front?

Also, what's the offset on the stock 13" wheels? Somewhere around +40? I'm gonna see if I can't find some 14" or 15" PanaSports. (Bolt circle is 4x100mm right?)

 

Yea the front is an upgrade, and the rear is an addition to (the DX and LX don't have any rear sway bar). Sorry I wasn't too clear on that. Check this link for nicely detailed instructions (better than what I could give, heh)
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t13340.html

The stock wheels are indeed 4x100, with a +40mm offset

 

Are the front wheels 6 or 5 inches wide? And is there any such thing as a cheap AND lightweight wheel? I know OZ makes some light-*** rims, but they're rediculously expensive. You could also buy some crap from American Racing, and they'd be cheap, but they'd be heavy.

Any good places to go to look for a used Weber carb? I looked at Weber's site, but $400 is a bit much for my friend. What about a header?

That sway bar install looks easy enough to do in his garage/bedroom. I could probably get the end-links and bushings at any Kragen or Napa or what have you, right? Any estimate on the prices for the sway bars out of a salvage yard? And the Prelude upper A-arms?


[Modified by DJEuphoriKa, 11:37 PM 4/8/2002]