I recently picked up a 92 Accord EX Wagon that is in really good condition (175k miles with a new rebuilt engine). I love driving the car, but I would like to "tweak" it just a little. I am 60 yrs old, so I don't need a hot rod race car, but I would like a little more performance out of it. I spend a lot of time using it to drive on narrow mountain roads, so I'd like to slightly upgrade the cornering ability of it. It corners pretty good right now, with stock components, but I'd like to improve the cornering another 20% or so without going crazy spending money. Ideas?

My car has the auto transmission, and I'd like to give it a 'little more pep" if I can, again without going crazy buying expensive aftermarket parts. Is there anything that can be simply done to it to give me a little "bump" in power.

The headlights suck in this thing. I bought new enclosures thinking that would help, to no avail- I feel like I am driving with 1 candle power. Again- best bang for the buck" improvement on the headlight output?

I love the car as it is much more fun to drive than all my newer cars- my only issue is being 60 and 6'4" tall, it is getting more and more difficult to get out of.

 

Welcome,this site's members should be able to help you.The EX model has factory front and rear Sway bars and with 175K the rubber bushings are shot. RockAuto.com is a good place for parts and the prices are better then most chain Auto parts stores(Napa etc). I also would assume that the Wagon exhaust is factory stock ? you could pick up a few more HP with an Header and freer flowing(louder)muffler.

The stock headlight's are not good on low beam and need to be bumped up try GE Nighthawks on low beam at 55 watts. I get out by leaning over and putting my hand on the door sill and basically rolling out and up up up as your drivers seat bottom is about 5 inches off the ground. I have 2 CB7 EX's and yes they are very,fun to go around corners with shocks,some of the newer car drivers by how hard they will corner

 

In that year car, was there an ECM that could be tweaked? The car is a CA car, so I guess I could advance the timing a bit to get that little bit of extra power, eh?

 

Yeah, getting out, I put my shoulder on the roof support and roll out that way. I wouldn't trust leaning on the door. Also, where is a good place to get good door moulding? Mine is starting to crack.

 

�� I meant Door sill plate that's the scuff plate to your left and down,as you get in and out.Yes it's not the cleanest thing to put your hand on but it helps �� I think maybe you should check out CB7tuner.com for Mods as they have guys racing wagons on weekends and driving to work on Monday,they are friendly but some are a little hardcore,better to just read for awhile and then post questions after searching there forums for your answers first. Best thing to do is read everything you can on the wagon at that site

 

For handling, a few suspension components would really liven it up. Sway (anti- roll) bars would be a good first step. Since you have an EX, you have a decent front one, so I wouldn't bother touching it. The rear though, is pretty small at like 14-15mm. Progress makes a great 22mm rear sway bar which will do wonders with handling. Definitely get that.

I'd also recommend replacing the shocks/springs. Chances are the car is on the original suspension, which is probably pretty worn by now. Now, since you don't want to go crazy, I'd go with a simple setup. Koni STR.T shocks and Eibach Pro-kit springs. the Eibach springs only drop the car about 1in, so its hardly noticeable. They are stiffer than stock, but not by much. Enough to help the handling, without riding like the car is on rails. The Koni shocks are meant for aftermarked springs too, and will pair nicely with Pro-kit.

Lastly, what kind of wheel/tire setup do you have? That will also make a huge difference in handling. Good tires are a key element to good handling. Even OEM wheels with good tires will handle better than the cheap econo tires a lot of people roll on. I would however recommend going to aftermarket wheels, which would allow you to run wider tires for more grip....and when you go up in wheel size, you run a lower profile tire which is more beneficial to your handling.



As far as these motors go, you have to do a decent amount of work to make more power....they are tanks and will chug on forever, but don't react to modifications like performance engines do. That being said....since you have an EX, you could probably make a few horsepower of an Intake, header, exhaust. For and intake, since you are also in CA, go with AEM. Their's is CARB (and thus Smog) legal. Not too pricey and they have the best filters around....worth the money over the generic brand stuff. For a header, DC is the brand to go with, as they are also smog legal. Brand new is like $300, but you can find them used for about $100-140. For exhaust, you could go cheap, but that normally means loud and obnoxious. There are some nice quiet (just slightly more aggressive than stock) exhausts out there that are good. Since you have a wagon, you'd probably have to go custom anyways, since its different than the sedan//coupe. With those mods, you should be decent....anything more and you're getting into swapping parts from different engines to make more power. Also, check the throttle and kickdown cables....over time they stretch and loosen...tightening them up if they are loose makes a difference in engine response.

Also if you do some curvy mountain driving, I'd get new brake rotors (Centric Premium rotors are super nice, and not too pricey), paired with a more aggressive pad....I use Stillen Metal Matrix, which are a nice street pad. Pretty cheap too....fronts are $60, rears $40.


And lastly, you headlights....those can be a pain. The cheap option is to get an HID kit for them. Only problem is they tend to glare a lot. But get a quality kit and it will definitely light up the road better. Go with a 4300k bulb color...pure white. And you may want to adjust the headlight beam after installing to make sure you are not blinding everyone.

 

Replace your tired and worn out suspension with OEM replacement stuff. No need to go all out with drop springs and adjustable shocks/struts. Go up a diameter or 2 in wheel size and/thus down in sidewall size. This will eliminate a lot of the roll you get with a stock 14-16" with 60/70 series sidewall tire. Take it up to a 17" wheel and down to a 195 17 40/50 series tire.

If I remember correctly the Wagon already comes with the larger brakes..... No need for improvement there.

Don't bother wasting your money on a cold air intake if it needs to be CARB. They don't add any performance, only more noise. This can be achieved simply by removing the resonator from the stock intake air tube.

if you want a little more pep out of the engine, look into the Intake and exhaust upgrade on the CB7Tuner forum. Talks about using the upper manifold from an H23. There is a lot more information on that website for upgrades.

 

A voltage stabilizer would give it a little more pep. It basically acts as a capacitor. I had one on my old accord and I noticed it helped give it that extra push up hills. They have been dunno proven to give 1-3 HP. You will need to find a secure spot to bolt it into though.

Go over the work order of what was done when engine was swapped and check things that they didn't replace such as the distributor fuel filter and so on. Just keeping everything maintained in a vehicle that age is the key.

It will be harder for you the exit the vehicle if it is lowered. I suggest changing bushings and sway bar end links and sway bar frame bushings to tighten things up in the front end.

 

The C-West voltage stabilizer was around 25$ shipped. There are more expensive one out there, but the c-west will suffice.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the input..... I will consider all. The tires are stock, but I need to keep them mud and snows as it can snow where I am driving. I think the tires are coopers. I think I will for sure look into stiffer springs/shocks and a thicker rear anti-sway- that may fix the squeeling tires- if not, maybe a larger or wider tire. I'm not too interested in lowering it as it is already pretty low and I live on a dirt road.

I would think if I am a little underpowered right now (auto trans), by adding a larger diameter tire, it would make it even more underpowered.

So I guess there is no ECU to tweak? I am really not interested in adding headers as in all the other cars I have done this to, it has made them much louder. I like a quiet car.

Anybody recommend a good place to get door weatherstripping? My drivers door is cracking.

 

You don't want to go to a larger tire on your OEM wheels.....that won't solve anything.

I was referring to going wider with a smaller sidewall tire on say 17in wheels vs the OEM 15s. Since you have to deal with some weather, it may benefit you keep your OEM wheels with the tires you have on them for the winter/wet season. Then have a second set of wheels (say 17s) with some grippier performance tires for summer/dry season. That's what many car enthusiasts do in areas where it rains/snows a good amount.

As far as suspension, finding something that won't lower the car, but is stiffer to improve handling can be a bit tricky. New OEM suspension really won't help all that much....since you still have the soft OEM springs. You'd probably be best getting a coilover setup. Tein Street Basis are relatively cheap, and VERY comfortable. You can run them all the way up on the height adjustment, and it will sit right at the stock height. So you get the slightly stiffer suspension, without the drop. Price wise, they run the same price as a new set of shocks and springs anyways, so its a pretty good deal.



I did not notice a big noise change when I got a header. My exhaust was still stock at the time too. But ECU wise, there is no easy chip to tune the motor. You can find stuff that says it can, but its virtually all a gimmick and won't do anything performance wise. The economy Honda motors were not meant to be tuned and such, so they don't react to modifications as good as their performance motor.

 

I have a 92 EX and have done some of the same research you've been doing.

I would recommend the upgraded rear sway bar, the stock one is really small and the car has a tendency to "push" when cornered hard (this is intentional by Honda and most FWD setups as it reduces the risk of spinning, but sacrifices handling). I just installed a ST Suspensions rear bar, I would recommend it over the Progress bar because it does not require drilling. Should stiffen the rear and make the car handle more neutral.

If you get bigger wheels keep in mind they usually add weight, which will hurt your straight line acceleration and braking even if they do help lateral grip.

Regarding horsepower I would agree with GhostAccord, not worth getting an air intake. If anything, just get a piece of 3"OD exhaust coupler and a K&N cone filter and use your stock air snorkel, it would do the same thing. You already have the factory 4-2-1 header and downpipe so you won't get much out of most aftermarket headers.

I think the most effective upgrade you could do for power would be a Delta 260 cam and the H23 upper plenum. Power gains vary depend on who you ask but my guess would be 5-10% while retaining good driveability and idle quality.

 

Not quite true.....OEM wheels are actually pretty heavy for their sizing, especially if they are steelies lol. I've had quite a few sets of wheels, and as long as you have a good quality wheel, weight shouldn't be too much of an issue. My wheels have ranged from 15lbs (forged Desmond Regamasters) to my current Racing Hart Tracer Type Cs, which come in at 20lbs (in 17x9 width). 15in Honda alloys are about 18-20lbs. Steel wheels come in at closer to 28lbs or so. Most decent aftermarket wheels will be larger diameter, wider, and with almost no weight penalty. So as long as you choose wisely, there isn't really a downside.

 

That's true, if you get a high quality wheel. I would guess the cheaper ones would be about the same as Honda OE for weight (they would be cast aluminum also).

I weighed my 15" stock Honda alloy with a Cooper tire (195/60-R15) and it was about 38 lbs, so the wheel itself is around 17-18 lbs.

I also weighed a 15" stock Acura TL alloy wheel with a Dunlop DZ102 (205/50-R15) and its about 34 lbs so I think these wheels are a bit lighter.

 

Just weighed my 17" DR19 wheels, without tires, 19lbs.