Hi all, this is my first post. My name's Matt, I'm 17 from Manchester, NH. I've had my 94 Honda Accord EX Coupe "Vira" for a couple months now, and am trying to do research on some low cost upgrades to get this project rolling. I won't lie, I'm no expert but I'll do research, I catch on to things pretty quick, and I have friends who are good with working on their cars and have experience, so I'd like to do some work myself. However I'm not sure where to start or what some good modifications are. My buddy who offered to help drives a Miata and doesn't have the experience with Accords to offer that kind of advice.

I am on a tight budget right now and can't afford any big upgrades for the time being until I get some more work, so I'm holding off on any body work or cosmetics. I'm thinking of starting with suspension upgrades to increase handling. I've maxed at 127 and can start quick. Eventually I heard of doing an engine swap with an Acura.

So the questions I pose are:
- Am I posting this in the wrong place? If so I appologize and I will fix it.
- Which Acura engines are good in a 94 Accord?
- Do you guys think that handling and tightening the suspension are a good place to start?
and
- Any suggestions or experiences to share?

Thanks!

 

Ha, use to live in Manchester, NH, lived on the west side near westside school.

Since you are a noob searching is your best bet, use your common sense, utilize your brain power you will find what you seek.

-yes, you posted in the correct section
-not sure about acura engines, people mostly do H22 swaps or the f20, I have see K20s
-yes, suspension is a good way to start, for example sway bars, coil overs, or a spring and shock setup.
-Lastly I suggest your setup up a budget, all this may cost you around 5 grand more or less.

 

Hey man

My first suggestion would be to go through your car and make sure its in tip top shape since it is a 94'. Once you get that together I would save up enough money to replace your most likely stock suspension with a nice set of coilovers and eventually some decent wheels.

For the engine swap like kidcool said most people go with the h22. Unless you have the knowledge, ambition, tools, and funds for this I would do this last. If your car is auto I would factor in a 5-speed swap with that engine swap to. Good luck and hope you enjoy your accord.

 

H22 rules!! Another way will be really expensive $$$

the search tool will be your best friend here....

 

yea go with the h22 its pretty easy to swap.. the k24 swap is a awsome swap but pretty pricey and not easy to do. suspension is a perfect place to start since the accords are wheel hop kings..lol

 

ok sweet, thanks guys.

It is a 5 speed. I just got the master and slave clutch cylinder replaced, but my mechanic said it's gonna need a new clutch soon. That'll be a project, but my buddy's done the clutch on his Miata before so he said he'd do that with me. The search tool will indeed be my best friend for that lol.

I was thinking sway bar, but coilovers sound like a good idea. I thinkin of putting on some 18's eventually too XP

I'll be looking into the H22, just to save some searching, which Acuras have the H22 that'll go in my accord? Any previous experience to enlighten me on if a junkyard or parts cars could be a good place to look?

Thanks for all the advice. I'll update this if I do anything. Still waiting on that new job to actually have money lol.

 

preludes in the US and some accords in japan come with the h22

 

1. Maintenance
2. Maintenance
3. Maintenance
4. Save money
5. Research
6. Buy quality parts and do it right the first time

eBay is not a place for quality parts, quality used parts sometimes, but not quality parts. It's obvious your friends are not the best place for advice either, do your own research and if you have questions ask them. There are more than enough threads in the Accord section to get you started doing your own work and doing modifications on a budget without skimping out.

Do maintenance items on the car (you can purchase OEM parts from TAS Auto) and learn what's what and what goes where and how to disassemble parts. The car will run much better after a good tune-up and you gain experience. Have fluids changes (brake/clutch/oil/tranny/ps/etc) as well as bushings spark plugs, wires, dizzy, air filter, etc.

Once you've done that doing suspension is a great place to start, replacing bushings, shocks and springs will give you much better handling since it's replacing 16 year old parts.

Wheels and tires are a great next addition as they are one of the biggest components in stopping power and handling.

That will get you started.

From experience though I'll tell you to save your money and spend it wisely, having to go back and spend more to do stuff over is not fun.

 

And don't do an H22 off the bat, research as to what you want and what you're going to use the car for before spending $2k on a motor/tranny and then another $2k in parts/labor

 

Definitely service the clutch first thing, also FYI the miata is rwd and the accord is fwd, a rwd car is much easier to service the clutch in. Make sure you trust your buddies knowledge and do some research before tackling a clutch job. And imo if your looking for performance anything bigger then a 17" wheel is just for looks and will degrade your handling and what not.

 

As most others say plan what you want to do and then work out a budget,this is your car so plan on doing what you want to do to it and not what others tell you you should do,in other words build it for you.

Like the muffinman says plan and don't run out and buy the cheapest parts you can,that just leads to extra work and more money wasted.

Good luck with the build.

 

Haha, try changing the clutch on an S2000 then say it's easier.

Having to drop everything in the known world to slip the transmission off is not what I would call easy.

 

my advice would be to get the car up to par now at least for a daily driver. keep it as close to stock as possible and maitnenced well just so it runs good to get you around. build your plan on paper (i keep build files with sub files for engine, transmission, suspension, interior, audio/media, body work, etc). all my builds for customers and myself have cover sheets in the main file that include the build budget. if you do this you can set a goal of what you need (how much cash) to get the job done and also you can buy stuff you actually need for your build. and find extra ways to earn cash. detail peoples cars for like 25 bucks. recycle cans and bottles. pick up stuff on the road side that can be recycled (i found a big *** aluminum tube once and got like 18 bucks from it at the scrap yard). if you have any aluminum rims that have been hit into curbs and bent to ****, recycle those. maybe your friends have some in their back yard. you will have to cut the tire off with a sawzaw but it will get you 10 bucks on average per wheel. i have also been known to go to storage auctions with like 150 bucks or more and bid on storage units that people havent paid the rent on. i do that for fun sometimes just to be nosy and see what people had but i sell that stuff at yard sales. you find tools, antiques, collectibles, electronics, etc. but some storage units i have bought for 5 bucks and sold the stuff for 300 bucks. others i made more.
i say, get your car running good as it is now. build your capital (cash budget) and plan out your build for now. then buy what you need. you can even buy an item on your list of your plan when ever you can and cross it off the list. once you have your plan just stick to it. if youre a real car guy, we will never be done customizing or rides. save other ideas for another ride or you will never be done with this one

 

As all of these guys have stated maintanence is key. I have a 94 accord and thats top priority. I suggest buying a Haynes Manual for your car, worth the few bucks (any local Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts should have it). From experience, find someone who has actually WORKED on a FWD Honda (or Honda in general) to help you with the clutch. I recently had help form some guys who have knowledge and exp on doing swaps but ****ed mine up cuz no one has done it on my car before (just replacing the stock f22 with another). Cost alot mroe in the long run.

FYI. Acure IS Honda just the American "Luxury" brand (like Lexus for Toyota). Keep it simple for now. Take care of basic maintainence. Suspension is a great start. As for wheels, nothing bigger that 18s. I have a set of 18x7.5 and my car rides fine. I am tight on money (so i actually decided to go to Iraq willingly to get money to finish my project, sad, i know). Look around on forums for parts people are selling. Even craigslist.com can have decent parts.

 

You can PM me for more information on what I have done and for other tips. These guys have a lot of experience though and good advice, hard to find guys on forums willing to help and not be a bunch or a sacful of dicks.

 

I just did the oil change, air filter and spark plugs :D surprising what a difference i felt just from that! I think my next move is suspension.. just changing out the bushings to start as I don't have any money lol

 

If I lower her by maybe an inch or two will i lose room for a body kit?

 

with an 1-2" drop you will still have plenty of room under the car for a kit. buy quality name springs and shocks. like kyb, tokico, koni, bilstein, eibach, skunk2, progressive, ground control or for full coilovers d2, function and form, ksport. find whats in your budget.

 

for bushings you should go with energy suspension. the whole kit is way cheaper than the factory replacements. i did everything on my integra for like 400 but i did sway bars too. the complete bushing kit i think was around $170.00. your kit may vary in price a little. but remember that the energy suspension bushings only come in red or black. i went black but that was my preference. let us know how your build is comin

 

Try replacing an S2000 clutch under warranty. Pays about 5 hours!

My advise to OP is first make sure the car isn't a complete rust bucket since you're in NH.

Second, appreciate the quality build of the 1994 Honda Accord and take very good care of it. Maintain it, drive it, leave it stock. That is one of the best cars Honda ever made.

I would choose something else for a project car.

 

Do suspension and then dont worry about it. You seem like you dont have a budget to support an expensive hobby

 

this is my thought as well on the 94 accord. although i also like the body styling of the 98-2002 accords, the 94 is the best complete package

 

Well its actually from my uncle who lives in Texas, then went to my grandfather in Kansas and then to Illinois and finally to me, so it has some hood damage from sand and rocks and what not. But she's in amazing condition and I know she's been babied. And leaving her stock probably isn't what I want to do as she's an old car and going to depreciate in value. My plan is to run her into the ground, therefore I don't plan to resell her and don't really care to leave her stock, I do love that car to pieces and take the best care I can. But I want some performance increases for sure. I've done some stupid flashy interior stuff, and maintenance so far.

It's more a matter of WHEN I'll have the budget, I'm really just trying to do my research and plan ahead and decide what I want in the upgrades and in what order I'd want to do them in. I just got a call from my buddies dad about that remodeling job I was going for, and he said he'd try me out this Friday!!! He pays REALLY GOOD haha. So hopefullyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, that'll work out and I can start buying parts!

 

Thinking about getting this first: http://www.andysautosport.com/honda/...p00027287.html what do you guys think?

Short ram or Cold Air? My understanding is a short ram would be better, but any experiences??