I just bought a 1998 Honda Accord LX 4 door, and I was wondering what kind of engine swaps where out there.

 

Welcome to the forum,

Search before posting. The car is 12 years old at this point and there are a ton of options.

 

What are your goals? What do you want to use the car for? What are emissions laws like in your area (as far as if they do test, does your car need to stay OBDII)?

That question is incredibly general and has been asked quite a bit, so please give us some more to go on. We can give you better answers that way.

 

I'm trying to make a daily driver and weekend track car. I have no emission laws. One route that I was thinking of was to drop a boosted H but i don't know what i would need to do that.

 

Well you are lucky with the emissions. I don't know what your power goals are, but you can achieve 200-300whp no problem with just boosting the F23 you got.

Don't underestimate the SOHC. Check out bisimoto.com if you haven't.

You can go for the H22 if you want, but IMO you are wasting money if you are just going for a mild/mid range turbo setup. H22 is a good choice to drop in an Accord for some decently priced N/A power, but can get expensive if you want to build if for a turbo (compared to just building the F23). Plus, you have the FRM sleeves to deal with in the H22 if you want to start building the block.

I would do some searching through the forced induction forum to gather some more info before you make any decisions. Also just do google searches on the subject. I always find tons of stuff. And of course, don't be afraid to ask questions about something after you have looked it over pretty well.

 

H22 is your best bet for instant power gain and a more fun drive. Boosting the f23 can be done but it takes ALOT of time and effort. or a lot of money. Or you could try something totally different and do a K swap.

 

Could you explain why? I'm curious because I've seen it done for less than 1000 bucks (with a LOT of the persons own labor involved). Even if you are going for high power its not THAT expensive.

I mean, by comparison, the H22 is MUCH more expensive to build to a higher standard.

 

Trial User


That's why

 

Always a possibility.

I'm always curious about reasoning when someone says something very contrary to popular belief... or fact in some cases.

 

I gotta agree with Bwill, the f-series motors are pretty underestimated when it comes to making some good numbers.

I'm not completely sure how much they changed the f23 from the f22, besides the extra stroke and bore of the pistons, but I do know that those engines can make a good bit of abuse.

Save yer money from the swap, buy a decent turbo kit, upgrade the head a bit, a good midrange Bisimoto cam, a good tune, and by that time you might be a bit over the price of the swap, but, you will have more power, and you wont have the pain of figuring out why the car wont fire after you swap the engines.

 

I think you can put in a H22A.

 

You can swap in a JDM H22A, JDM H23A VTEC, Euro R H22A, JDM F22B DOHC, or an H23A1 depending what your budget is.

It'll all add up quick because you'll want to do your timing belt, balancer belt, water pump, front seal, rear seal, balancer front seal, clutch, flywheel, spark plugs, wires, caps & rotors, plus engine mount etc.

 

Yes you can. It was already suggested so perhaps you could add some more input?

Exactly. There's nothing wrong with the H series, but for some applications it just gets too expensive.


Another thing to keep in mind is that you can always buy another F series motor on the cheap and do the turbo build on that. That way you still have your stock motor if the turbo build ever takes a crap on you and you need a quick replacement. You can choose another F23, or one of the F22a's or b's. They are all pretty stout.

 

Don't get me wrong a boosted F23 would be a good idea cause its a good durable block and cheap, but unless you know how to do everything yourself like the custom piping and stuff I wouldnt say that its worth paying somebody to do it for you. You pretty much have to piece a kit together yourself. there aren't very many kits out there for the f23 and the ones that are arent complete. Trust me ive searched and had other people search. The other thing is he is asking about a swap. The h22 is a great motor and yes I do agree that some parts add up quick but I think it has more potential if you want to go turbo or do a N/A build for a little more power than stock. Personally Im getting the swap done here soon and I already know that I am going to like the results. Just my two bits

 

If you are buying a "kit" you are overpaying anyway. Piecing together something and learning how to do as much as you can yourself will save you money in the long run. Hey, sometimes piecing together a setup can be a challenge, but for this engine series it isn't bad at all if you do your homework.

Getting someone to do all your piping and exhaust CAN add up, but that's why you get friendly with a shop first and do a deal.

We can debate power potential all day. Sure the twin cam will always make power more easily. It's been proven (SOHC can make power no doubt, but twin cams WILL always have the advantage). But the difference only REALLY starts to come out in forced induction at higher power levels (which it doesn't sound like the OP wants). Plus, you have the FRM sleeves on the H series to deal with before that point...

OP, here are some links for forced induction installation and info that philadd posted on another thread. They are a bit old but still can give a bit of insight.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced-induction-16/complete-how-turbocharge-your-honda-rep-ing-hypnotik-speed-1263795/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-prelude-4/tips-basics-building-your-motor-fi-having-last-783372/

Keep in mind, these are just intros really into the world of forced induction. Read MUCH more than this to really learn something. You'll thank me later (hopefully haha).

 

I've done a bunch of research and come to one conclusion. Unless you wanna boost the F23 with stock internals just go with an f22 and build and boost the **** out of it. Parts are scarce for the f23 as far as internals and the rods alone are 800+ for the F23. Parts for the F22 are easily found and you can keep like 90% of your F23 parts, especially the tranny. And dude's right (I didn't catch his name), f22's are dirt cheap and everywhere and a damn stout block (bisimoto is running 9's in an all motor F22 so imagine building and boosting it.) I'm working on this exact build. I'm gonna video the entire swap but if you're in a rush don't wait for me lol.....rushing a build is just asking to grenade. There's TONS of info on boosting F22's. I don't care what people say.....build your motor......boosting stock pretty much only gets you 230hp safely.....once you go boost you're gonna wanna turn it up so why waste time tearing the car apart again...do it right the first time. If money is the issue....you need a new hobby cuz speed=money....period. As far as the H goes.....everyone is correct....if you want turbo and don't have deep pockets.....don't bother. If you build the engine the aftermarket pistons will chew the **** out of your frm sleeves (more $$ lol) On top of the fact the engine and swap isn't cheap either. But hey bro, good luck and keep us posted on how the build is going....go big or go home....you don't wanna spend a shitload of cash on something that could get stomped by a Kia optima lmao..

 

F-this H-that....wheres all the K-series swaps at? A built NA or Boosted k24 would be sick in a 6th gen.

 

bought an 98 accord coupe recently super solid body, stock F23 looking to swap disregarding money from the equation what would be the easiest option to swap in my accord? F20b F22 or maybe even the V6 of that year (forget engine name) or perhaps do people have built f23's just laying around? Thanks for any input.