I have a 1998 Honda Accord Ex Coupe it has the 2.3 F23A1 and the 5 speed manual transmission. I named it the Red Rocket (please don't bash) I am 18 and just getting to the 4 cylinder game and don't know much so any help would help. This is my daily driver but I have another vehicle also so having it down for awhile isn't a problem. I want to boost it but I don't know if this motor would be a good candidate Iv done some research but theres so many opinions I just want some more up to date advice and more geared toward what I want. I make decent money so ill be able to put some change into it but don't wanna put thousands of dollars in it. I want around 350 hp and a reliable build that won't break down on me if I properly maintain it. Im open to any motor swap that will work but preferably one that will work with my transmission. If the best road leads to a different one thats fine. And if my motor is a good candidate then great. So over all what would be the most reliable motor build for me? I am a welder so the custom piping I can probably manage. If theres anything else that needs answered to help with giving me my answer ill be as quick as I can with responding. Any advice would be greatly appreciated thank you.

 

The F23s are plenty strong and good candidates for a conservative boosted setup. You may as well forget your goal of 350hp if you want to use the completely factory engine though. F23 has the longest stroke of any H/F series engine and makes tons of torque because of that. Torque is what breaks parts. Where a B series or similar will make 350hp with 220lb/ft of torque and be fine because it's so high strung, your F23 will have a ton of low end/midrange grunt and be making 300lb/ft or above at 350hp which is very near the limit of the stock connecting rods. Too much torque = windowed block and a hurt wallet. If you could live with a more reasonable amount of power like 300hp and keep the torque at a manageable level you will do just fine on a stock engine assuming you use quality parts and have a quality tune. If you really must have 350hp then you should consider upgrading the internals with a good set of forged H beam connecting rods and a good set of pistons at minimum.

For the turbo setup you will need a bigger fuel pump/bigger injectors, clutch/flywheel, a programmable engine management system, the turbo/wastegate/blow off valve/intercooler/piping/manifold/etc, downpipe/exhaust, and above all a proper tune from a reputable tuner. You can buy the best parts on the market and have the nicest setup on the planet but if the tune is not correct you will still be blowing up engines and breaking parts. I can tell you from experience and MANY years playing with turbo Hondas that it pays to buy quality and do it right the first time. If you buy cheap, subpar eBay components or similar you will constantly be chasing problems and spending more money in the long run because you'll always be replacing parts. You say you don't want to spend thousands but even a decent, entry level turbo kit with all supporting mods will be $3500-4500 or more and that's if you do all the work yourself. If you decide to build an engine for boost, add another $2000 easily after components/machine work/assembly. Additionally, you will find that the stock brakes and old suspension will need to be upgraded and/or refreshed to handle the additional power so account for another $500-750 there. Might as well add some decent tires to the list too because the stock economy hard-as-a-brick tires that they came with originally aren't going to cut it anymore and won't do much in the way of helping you get your new power to the ground.

My advice to you is this; do A LOT of research on parts, fundamentals, how things work, etc before you make your decision on boosting it. When you think you have it all figured out, do more research because I can promise that you've barely scratched the surface. If you still think boost is right for you after you've done your homework, buy quality parts and do it right the first time.

 

Cheap. Fast. Reliable.

You can only pick two.

For a decent turbo setup on the stock engine, including supporting mods I would not budget less than $5-6K. If building the engine, which you probably should to achieve your goal, then I would plan on spending at least $10K.

Aradin covered everything very well.

 

 

 

 

I have a 99 accord 3.0. Runs strong but looking for tips to get more horses. Have cold air intake, and aftermarket payback exhaust. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm new to the Hondas. Old v8 man.

 

Please start your own thread. This is considered thread jacking.