I was wondering how to go about this. I have a 2001 Accord Ex 4 cyl. Currently I'm sitting at about 120hp with my auto tranny and 197,xxx miles on the engine. I am wanting to do a 5spd swap. Should I drop a new engine in? If so, lead me in the right way please I do want a turbo as well. I would like to stay in the mid-range for prices if at all possible. If necessary I can go higher. Everything is stock in my car except electrical/stereo.

 

May I ask why?

Without trying to insult you at all, these questions usually are asked by teenagers that get their parent's car as a hand-me-down. I was in the same boat myself actually awhile back.

The automatic transmission in the 6th generation accord (what you have) has a high number of failures, so you probably don't want to modify the automatic.

That said, it also seems like your goals are all over the place - a shotgun approach, so I don't think even you know what you want. 5 speed swap, motor swap, turbo, "mid-range prices"?

Let's start with a better question, have you done all the required maintenance on the car? At that mileage you're due for a second timing belt/water pump/major service. Has the transmission fluid ever been changed? Brake fluid? Brake pads/rotors? What do the swaybar bushings and ball joints look like?

If you don't know or haven't done any of those things, I'd suggest you start there before looking at a motor swap (if you're asking these questions, you're probably not the one doing it, so expect ~$5k to have it done properly) Or a 5speed swap which can be costly as well since you have to source all the parts from a similar Accord then modify yours.

You also have to take into consideration if where you live does emissions testing - doing a swap becomes much more difficult if you have to stay OBDII.

 

Not to be rude either but I agree with TheMyffinMan!! If you want to get some power out of your car first get a 5 speed then do it properly. Like new valve springs and rods and possibly pistons! Get all the seals change and do a full tune to it. Then see where your at and if you have the funds to continue..

 

i dont get it. just buy a 5 speed and save yourself the hassle. its not like manual accords are rare.

 

It's a shame that Honda doesn't support the "Motorhead" community any better than formula racing. They don't even offer crate motors for G**d's sakes.
First off; you have to realize that if you do this - you will destroy any resale value of the car if you decide to sell it. And getting to where you want to go will be expensive.
A blown K motor with a Manual transmission would be a "hoot" 4 sure but I suspect it would require some re-engineering what with some of the drive-by-wire aspects of that engine.
I'd say; if you've got the money AND the drive to pull it off - go for it. But do your research before hand.... it will be expensive.

P

 

I dont think you can even get close to 150whp without a turbo. F23s got pretty low compression,all the bolt ons in the world wont even get you 150whp....Just 5 speed swap it and enjoy no need to have 200 hp,whose going to be at 5,500 rpms all the time on a 200,000 miles motor thats asking for a premature ovehaul,but just my opinion its your car you may do as you please

 

Is this a serious statement?

150whp N/A from a car already putting 120-125 to the ground is an attainable goal. The F23A1 has a tad higher compression than the F22 where people are getting up into the 150-160whp N/A without doing major bottom end work. However, those numbers are usually obtained using a PT3 head.

It's all in the head. How well you can feed and exhaust the combustion chamber will determine how much power you will make.

However, as it pertains to this thread, I would sell the auto Accord and buy a 5spd Accord and go from there. That is if this is truly the chassis/platform that you want to build upon. Faster cars can be had for cheaper.

 

first post of mine here, not jump on the turbo band wagon because you can easily attain upwards of 80+ extra hp without any power adders and cheaper than buying a turbo but its mostly small parts. Has the head gasket or timing belt been replaced for an engine with that much mileage? As for adding power, a simple exhaust and intake replacement helps out a lot though that's another can of worms.

 

these are good suggestions. but if you try and turbo with just around 8 pounds and stock internals make sure you go ahead and get new piston rings, head gasket and also, rod bearings. cause if these havent been replace you will probably throw a rod...i was gonna do this but i recently got an h22 and going that route instead bc of the new bearings and rings issue.