Hello, my name is Phillip. I appreicate this forum and all the information I have acess to because of it, thanks to everybody involved.

I recently purchased a 94 Accord LX with a F23A motor. I have read as much as I can find on this forum to learn about what I have but I still have a few questions. I love the car, no CEL. Everything in the interior is cherry and like new working condition. No dings or dents outside, can't wait to wax her up this spring and see how the paint really looks. My car feels quick and full of torque and has averaged 30.5MPG on a 120mile/day commute.

How do I know if VTEC is working? I hear no noticeable difference when I shift down and pass someone on the highway. I just got rid of a 95 civic with a B16Y8 which screamed when VTEC kicked in.

When I look for upgrades or have need to replace worn parts how can I know which part to shop for? F23A or F22B2?

How can I tell OBD1 from OBD2? If I understand correct my car is OBD1 but this motor is OBD2, Advantages/disadvantages?

What can I learn from the serial number of my motor? I have no paper on the age or miles or where it was installed.

I am interested in max MPG, any upgrades I should consider which may pay for themselves sooner than later; as I drive 600 miles a week.

Thank you for your time and input.

I posted a few pictures of the motor if you would like to check them out http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...3&l=76142a59ce

 

The Accord VTEC is more based around fuel economy so you won't hear much of a difference. But its there. Also when uploading pictures you should use either an external uploader like photo bucket, or the built in uploader on here. Works a lot better, welcome to HT.

 

VTEC-E was built for economy. For that matter all VTEC was built for the best of both worlds; power & economy.

the VTEC implementation in the F23A1 motors was designed to promote intake "swirl" at low rpm for good fuel economy and low emissions. what, I think many folks don't know/realize is that VTEC crossover on these motors is between 2800 and 3500 RPM (based mostly on throttle position)! if it's functioning the only reason you wouldn't hear it is because of the stock intake system and resonators.

My wife's F23 equipped accord, bone stock aside from a cheapo aluminum SRI and a cone filter sounds like an angry banshee above 4k, WOT. very exciting!

try at least temporarily removing the resonators and see what you get. be sure the oil is full and clean (for good measure). there are some "proper" tests in the service manual, but I don't have one handy at the moment...

this is a swap, so you won't know for sure until you get in there to work on it... this is part of the problem with buying a car already swapped.

I would suspect most of the motor itself is F23.

from the pictures in the FB album it looks like you've got an OBDI distributor, not the stock F23 unit. this would make sense as the easiest way to do this swap is to stick with the existing system and just add the hard parts of the motor.

take a look at the ECU under the dash. it will have a part number #####-***-###. the "***" is the important part. that will confirm OBDI as well as the probability of VTEC working. (if it's a non-VTEC ECU, you probably won't have VTEC...)

if you have the actual VIN tag (green, starts 1HGCG3... something like that) you can find out exactly what year, trim level, transmission, body style and so on for the car the motor originally came in.

tires (narrower is better) with low rolling resistance, good tread, good air pressure. a tune up; plugs, wires, dist. rotor and cap, clean air filter, fresh oil (5w20 is a good place to start) and good idle and spark timing adjustments. but most of all, driving technique!

 

I think that's a JDM f23a since it's just stamped with no number after the a, correct me if I'm wrong. Looks like you have a tiny coolant leak. Best to take care of that before it gets worse.