i got a 92 prelude with a h23a1, it allready has

dc headers
full exhaust
aem intake
aem underdrive kit, no A/C pump
msd coil and wires
findaza 2.1 clutch
findaza light flywheel

i love the engine the way it is but i would like to squeeze some more power from it, i am not going to swap for an h22 as i have driven several h22 powered ones and feel little to no difference. i want to keep the car n/a here are some ideas i have please give me some input about these potential mods

-shave head use thinner head gasket and 93+ octane ?

-adjustable cam gears and tune cam timing for improved torque ?

-port and polish head ?

-h22 JE pistons to create higher compression?

if anyone has a h23 engine and has done any of these mods listed please let me know if it made a difference or not, or if ya got any other ideas?
h23prelude is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

 

Cams, balance shaft removal, loose power steering, crank pulley, throttle body, etc for basic stuff. If you want to go crazy with it that's when you get into P&P work and pistons and compression ratios...but they all have to work together, you can't just P&P the head or change the comp ration and expect gains.

Read the FAQs at the op of the Prelude forum.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1046336

not that much to putting an engine together if you know how everything wants to flow. Choose your cam, then choose the rest of your parts to work with the cam. If you are going to run a really aggressive cam, you are going to want a good bit of compression. If you are going to run a mild cam, you dont really need alot of compression.

I'm speaking in very general terms, but if you do some research you will be able to come up with a good build that suites your needs.

good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by h23prelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i love the engine the way it is but i would like to <FONT SIZE="3">squeeze</FONT> some more power from it, i am not going to swap for an h22 as i have driven several h22 powered ones and feel little to no difference. i want to keep the car n/a here are some ideas i have please give me some input about these potential mods

</TD></TR></TABLE>

theres your answer

 

hey thanks, does anyone have some first hand expertise with any brand cam, i.e. Crane cams, skunk2, OBX... and what type of lobe design? im looking at building a lower end torque h23 just because it allready feels to torquey. and one more thing i was thinking of getting adjustable cam gears and because of the lack of a dyno around me i was curious of what settings you're putting them at? im probably going play around with the settings quite a bit i just want a good starting point to base my self at. any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

^skunk 2 and obx dont make cams for the H23

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95greenlude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^skunk 2 and obx dont make cams for the H23


</TD></TR></TABLE>

and he doesnt need to be looking for OBX parts in the first place.

my free advice - stay off ebay, stay away from chips

I would not mess with cam gears unless you have a way to test the result of altering the cam timing. ie: track, dyno...etc

You will need to find a tuning solution such as hondata or neptune in order to properly synch a built motor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98vtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

and he doesnt need to be looking for OBX parts in the first place.

my free advice - stay off ebay, stay away from chips

I would not mess with cam gears unless you have a way to test the result of altering the cam timing. ie: track, dyno...etc

You will need to find a tuning solution such as hondata or neptune in order to properly synch a built motor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

all those are wise words

 

your deff going to need a tune if your going high compression pistons unless you want to risk detonation.

 

I love the H23a1!! This is a awsome engine with cool FRM sleeves. My H23a1 Pictures

I think your best bet would be to start with Hondata. You can really unlock some power with Hondata and get the most out of your upgrades. Then maybe do some headwork. I would put some Crower stage 2 cams in your vehicle with a port and polish and port match the intake to the head. This with Hondata and your other upgrades would be give you a nice hp gain.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KohliBuilt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I love the H23a1!! This is a awsome engine with cool FRM sleeves. </TD></TR></TABLE>

FRM sleeves are really a bit of a crutch as far as tuning/performance goes. What pistons are you using?

 

did your crower cams make your idle really poor? and i was curious what hondata you guys recommend to use, the s-100 s200 or s-300, i am very good with wiring and electronics and i just have never done a ECU modification. but to make more power out of my motor with hondata would i just be turning up the injector pulse widths? its a obd 1 computer, if anyone has gotten good power results from a h23 non turbo please give some input thanks.

 

most aftermarket cams with different primaries (the only set of lobes in your case) will not idle properly without compensating with fuel and ignition.

yes, you are effectively changing the pulse width of the injector.

You will need to get a pr4, p75, p74..etc ecu, socket the ecu and then take the ecu and car to a tuner and allow them to tune it. You can use freeware like Crome or you can buy tuning programs like Neptune.

 

I am using custom Mahle Pistons.

See you wont need to do any ecu modifying as far as wiring goes with Hondata. You just have your computer modified by Hondata and then take your vehicle to a shop to be dyno tuned. There is alot that goes into tuning your computer. Anything you do to the car would require you to remap your ecu to get the most out of the upgrade. Once you change one thing everything is effected in some way.

If your not racing the Indy 500 you really don't need to worry about remapping your computer after changing your cold air intake. But when changing something like your cam or porting your head will require computer remapping. Like most Hondas, your car uses the map sensor to make fuel changes. This is the main reason why you need to remap after a cam change. If your vehicle used a mass air flow sensor then you wont have to worry as much, but your vehicle uses a map sensor. So the map sensor measures air pressure in the intake. With a big cam the vacuum your vehicle produces at idle will be changed causing your map sensor to send the computer a crazy signal. The computer fuel maps will then become mistuned causing the vehicle to run rough. This is only one part of the ecu effected by the change. Programing a ecu is alot of work and if your good at it you can make a nice living tuning computers. A good place to get your vehicle tuned is KingsMotorSports

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KohliBuilt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am using custom Mahle Pistons.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

No problems so far? Seems like so few people have shared any personal experience with these on Honda FRM sleeves since they came out....hard to know of they work well or not.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98vtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

and he doesnt need to be looking for OBX parts in the first place.

my free advice - stay off ebay, stay away from chips

I would not mess with cam gears unless you have a way to test the result of altering the cam timing. ie: track, dyno...etc

You will need to find a tuning solution such as hondata or neptune in order to properly synch a built motor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

sorry i wasnt implying OBX was a good product at all, i was just disproving the fact they dont make H23 cams.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

No problems so far? Seems like so few people have shared any personal experience with these on Honda FRM sleeves since they came out....hard to know of they work well or not.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've always wanted to know too....

 

who makes aftermarket cams for H23? I have only seen crower

 

^crower, gude, or (hawkze suggested some regrinds) i cant remember the brand

 

Gude is crap.

Never shave your head to gain compression.

 

^yea i was reading about your experience with them a while back.....

 

excuese my ignorance, but what is Gude?

and why in your opinion should you never machine a cyl head to gain compression? because its been a common method to raise compression ratios.

time to some 's!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by h23prelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">excuese my ignorance, but what is Gude?

and why in your opinion should you never machine a cyl head to gain compression? because its been a common method to raise compression ratios.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Gude is an old school performance shop that I have never read anything good about, and you don't shave your head because then your timing will be all f'ed up and it will be a pain to get it set right (if you can).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

FRM sleeves are really a bit of a crutch as far as tuning/performance goes. What pistons are you using?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you're into forged pistons then yes, otherwise FRM is a better cyl liner than iron is.

You can fix the timing differences with some adjustable cam gears, but you'll also screw over your piston to valve clearance and your future serviceability is screwed as well. What if you need to take it off again? When it goes back on, you'll need to have it shaved flat, but it will have already been milled so much you can't go any further.

 

would the only way to get my timing right again to buy adjustable cam sprokets and use a dyno, cuz im tryin to do this with out a dyno because the closest one is allmost 50 miles away. couldent i just keep playing with the cam timing until its running its best at the track?

 

the correct way is to degree the cams with a Cam Degree fixture.