Hey Guys.

My first post here, so please be gentle. Before you read any further, please note it is going to be a rather large post. If you want to see my question, just scroll to the bottom.

Anyhow, let me start off with a quick introduction of myself and my car. My name is Nathan, and I am 19 and live in the UK. I've been a fan of cars my whole life, taking a particular interest in Fords and Hondas.

Now onto my car....



She is a 2000 Honda Accord SE Sport. She is running a 170hp F20B6 engine, coupled to a 5 speed transmission. For anyone who doesn't know information about the UK Accords, they are vastly different to the American models. Overall, they are a much better car with the US and UK models not sharing much in terms of parts. You may of noticed that I said my car is an SE Sport. The SE Sport is a very rare model of the Accord. It was a UK only model, of which only 500 were made. Most SE Sports were the same as the other models mechanically, with the only differences being the lip kit that you can see. However, 200 of the SE Sports (mine included) were fettled with at the factory.

The differences were as follows...

Engine: Honda kept in the F20B6 that goes into the other Accords, but sent the engine to Mugen, who done some changes. These changes consisted mainly of headwork, with the block being almost untouched. Mugen ported and polished the head, and fitted upgraded cams, valves, rockers, etc. etc. Power was increased from 148BHP to 171hp. The rev limiter was increased from 6900rpm to 8650rpm. The upgraded F20B6 is totally different animal to the stock F20B6's. Not only is the higher rev limit addictive, but the engine now has a much more brutal VTEC engagement.

Management: From my own investigations, the car seems to be running the same 7 ECU setup just like all the other UK Accords. I can only assume that the values must of been changed to accompany the headwork and higher rev limit.

Transmission: Same 5-Speed manual (Autos were available on the SE Sport, but only with the stock 148hp engine.) but the manual gained a Limited Slip Differential.

Chassis: Brakes appear to be the same, which is fine as they are sufficient enough. My particular SE Sport (I've only ever found 2 more with this package.) has Adaptive Shock Absorbers. It was an additional option when buying the car new, but only appeared on the stock list for 2 weeks, before being discontinued. Only a tiny portion of SE Sports have this suspension package. The suspension does run it's own ECU, but there are no in-car controls to adjust the suspension. I can only assume the independent ECU is there to monitor the values (Bump Rebound, for example.) and warn the driver if there are any problems. Also, the ECU does not control the suspension settings. From what I have noticed, the suspension only stiffens up when the weight is thrown around, so I assume it is some sort of mechanical adaptive suspension that changes depending on the pressure inside the shock absorber.

Overall, these additions make the car a completely different animal to drive compared to the other UK Accord trim level, like the SE Executive for example. In case you're wondering, the quick specs are...

0-60mph: 6.7 Seconds (Timed @ Santa Pod)
Top Speed: GPS indicated 144mph, and that was pretty much all it had.

Still reading? Good! Now here's where I need some advice.

Later on in the year, I am going to be performing a full restoration on my car. Mechanically, it is great, but it's not so great cosmetically. The paint is fading on almost every panel, it has a dent in the rear quarter and it is generally looking very tired. The only good point with the bodywork is that there is no rust, due to the shells being treated. It is a perfect excuse for me to strip it down to a shell and tackle everything at once.

My plans are quite intensive, and some would say pointless, but I will do them nonetheless. I'm planning on doing a full underbody restoration (Paint the underside, powerder coat suspension parts etc.), full respray (including engine bay.) and then maybe look into getting more power. The more power part, is where I need the help!

I'm still undecided what to do with the engine. I love how the car performs, but of course, everyone always wants more power. In an ideal world, I would want to keep the engine Naturally Aspirated, with no more than 250hp. I've decided this because the car will still be a daily driver, as well as needing to keep some of it's economy.

I've been looking at some of the US Accords, and came across something interesting. They all seem to have the same stock F20B6 (The 148bhp one) as the UK Accord. Allow me to explain...

This, is an engine bay of a UK Accord with a F20B6.


And this, is an engine bay of a US Accord Coupe, with what I believe to be a 2.0, so most likely a F20B6.


As you can see, they both look incredibly similar!

Finally, we are here. My question!

Does the US Accord 2.0 use an F20B6?
If it does use an F20B6, what kind of parts are available in the US for Naturally Aspirated tuning?

Thanks for reading! I hope you like my car, and I look forward to your replys!

Kind Regards
Frenchy

 

Bump for the daytime readers. :D

 

neat car.

no, the North American Accords haven't had less than 2.2L since 1988. i believe the one in your picture there is an F22B1 from the '94-'97 EX VTEC model. the later F23A1 (...and A4, and A5) all share the same valve cover as well. the intake manifold being the prime identifier without being able to see the engine stamp on the block.

as for your power goals, 250hp on a 2 liter engine is a tall order. not impossible though since the 2.0 S2000 came with somewhere around 260hp. although unless things have changed in the past few years it still holds the record for highest hp/L (VE) of any production vehicle.

a detailed comparison of your F20B6 to a K20A and/or an F20C could be pretty enlightening. look at things like total intake valve area (including max lift), bore size, compression, rod/stroke ratio, valve train configuration (i'm guessing your F20B6 uses a similar finger follower with ~1.6:1 rocker ratio as the NA 2.2L and 2.3L variants.)

also, like has become popular here you could look into swapping the cylinder head and manifolds from the DOHC F20B (SiR-T accord) assuming the bore size is similar between the two.

enjoy!

 

Hello Mark.

Thanks for the advice! It's all very interesting.

Yes, I realize 250hp would be a very hard target to reach. What I meant to say, is that I would not want the car to have any more than 250hp, as I think anymore then that would cause too many traction issues.

That information has gave me some more ideas now! At first I was going to do a H22A7 swap, but then decided to keep the F20B6. Now I'm thinking of doing a mutant parts job using additions from the F22 and F23! Haha.

In the US, what kind of aftermarket parts are available there for the F22B1 and F23A1? The reason I ask is because I'm wondering whether I could retro-fit US parts onto my UK engine, like the headers for example. The block design does look incredibly similiar.

Also, what cylinder head swaps can you do to the F22/23? The reason I ask is because my cylinder head is a hidden DOHC. It has two cam shafts that are chain driven via one pulley. Is the F22/23 the same?

 

Dude that's a single cam accord engine..
You want more power? Think h22 or like he said the f20 dohc
If you're kooky like u say..k20 or k24 swap
Good luck w your build either way

 

almost anything you would need is available in the after market for these engines. i think the only things i've come across that isn't available at an affordable price are the pistons and rods for the F23. they are a bit odd relative to the others.

to get started check out Bisimoto.com and F22parts.com. KMSengineering.com also has some F-series specific items.

though my specific experience with and knowledge of your F20B6 is limited i think it's safe to assume it's a de-stroked variant of the F22B1 i mentioned in my first post. if that is the case, any H-series or F-series (with the exception of the S2000 sourced F20C) head will mate up to your block. without some detailed pictures of your engine and it's manifolds i can only speculate which header and intake would swap onto it. I'm sure though that something will interchange from the NA spec engines.

i know that the K-series (and exception to the rule F20C) has this cam arrangement, i've never heard of this on an F-series. this could change everything i've said if you're correct. please provide some images so we can see what your working with and we don't waste your time with false info.

 

Nope. It is classed as a SOHC, but it actually has two camshafts. There is one pulley, which drives two camshafts via a chain and two smaller pulleys, technically making my car a DOHC.

I will get pictures when i have some free time.

 

That's not what he was saying, he was suggesting you swap in an H22 or F20B which are both DOHC motors. There are other SOHC variants of the F20

*edit*

Just as other thoughts for power adders - I'm would imagine the Bisimoto camshafts and cam gears would work fine on your motor

 

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