im looking at possibly putting some bolt on performance mods in my 2000 accord lx. it has the f23a4 motor and a 5 speed transmission. i'm looking at a cold air intake, performance headers and exhaust, vtec controller, high flow fuel rail, injectors, fuel pump, upgraded ignition system, and performance chip or performance tune. when i eventually need to replace the clutch, i'd put in a stage 1. does anyone know how much of a performance improvement this would give me and does anyone know of a different setup that would give me more bang for the same buck?

 

Do not waste your time with a VTEC controller. The VTEC cam in the F23A4 is not a power adder, and changing it's activation point will not give you any real gains. And unless you plan on doing some major internal mods I wouldn't bother with a chip or performance tune. The F23A4 does not react well to external mods. You will need to upgrade the cam and valve train at the very least. then you will require a tunable engine management system and a tune.

 

after looking into vtec controllers more, i agree, they seem kinda pointless. but, are you sure about the performance chip? from all my past experiences, you can put a chip/tune on a stock motor and you get more power because the stock tune really isn't ideal in any way.

 

It's highly unlikely that a chip/tune will do anything for your motor beyond say a few (as in well under 10) extra horse power up at redline. If you want meaningful gains in power, you need to venture into the realm of A) Forced Induction, and B) money-money-money.