Hello all, I'm new around here and I've been doing some reading. But haven't found too much new information on turbocharging a 2000 accord vtec f23a4. I'm new to turbocharging in general, however my accord will be my first project car on trying this out. I'm curious what all I need to get started as in what type of turbo kit I should be looking for with what internal upgrades I should be looking to get. My budget is around 4 thousand for the initial build.

I've read and heard a lot about putting an f22A head on the f23 block as the f22A head is suppose to have better flow with upgraded bisimoto internals. I live in Arizona which gets decently hot, I've heard a few horror stories of trying to boost the f23 on stock internals etc. So my question is can someone point me I the right direction in what type of kit I should be looking for, and if I should swap out the f23 head for an f22A and what internal upgrades I should be looking to get.

 

The only "horror stories about stock internals" you have heard are because vast majority of people don't have enough sense to get their car tuned after modifying it. A turbo setup with no tune, or a bad tune, will cause all kinds of problems like melted pistons, cracked ringlands, bent/broken connecting rods, washed out cylinders, etc. So, get your car tuned by a reputable tuner if you manage to boost it. The F23 is an absolute tank of an engine with an extremely robust design and can withstand a lot of abuse even in stock form if it's treated correctly. A typical example will live happily at 300whp mark with stock internals assuming it's modified and tuned appropriately.

4k is barely going to get you in the door with a decent, reliable turbo setup. Forget a head swap or a built engine. Don't bother with an F22A head swap as that's more of a NA thing and will just overcomplicate everything. A basic forged rod/piston engine will be $1500-2000 extra, easily. You can easily blow the rods out of the stock F23 with the stock head if you run too much boost, so it's not that restrictive. For a reliable turbo setup coming from a complete stock car you will need turbo, turbo manifold, intercooler and exhaust piping, bigger exhaust, intercooler, blow off valve, wastegate, fuel injectors, fuel pump, chipped ECU, clutch upgrade, front brake upgrade at minimum, better tires, stiffer suspension, etc etc etc. Any problems you have prior to being turbo will only get worse once you add a bunch of power so any maintenance you've been putting off needs to be done before adding a turbo too. Since you live in a hot climate you will have to take extra steps to ensure the vehicle stays cool like upgrading radiator, better fans, etc. As you can see you will chew up that $4k budget very quickly just building a basic, reliable turbo setup and upgrading the chassis to effectively handle the extra power.

 

Yeah, I figured as much, like I said 4k was the initial build budget for the turbo setup itself. My question is more what is a reliable turbo kit for the f23? Or am I better off building the 'kit' myself? If so can you point me in the direction of doing so? I know that I'll need a lot more but right now I was just looking to find a decent turbo setup to look at, to see how much I'll be spending on a turbo alone, so I can figure out how much I will need for the clutch upgrade, brakes, coil overs, etc.

Right now my goal is to get it to around 250-275 WHP with 7-8 pounds of boost. If that's possible.

 

It will be better to piece one together on your own honestly. The only kits that still exist for that platform are unbranded eBay deals that have a lot of subpar components and lots of fitment issues. You can get in the door with a decent, quality turbo for about $700 for a basic oil cooled journal bearing unit. I can point you in the right direction but I have to go back to work so you will have to PM me or wait until I can respond to this thread later.

 

Since your a newb I would say stay away from head swaps until you have more experience. Slap on an eBay turbo and keep the boost low. Enjoy and be safe. Plenty of people run ebay setups with no tune. It’s when you want to turn it up is when you definitely need a tune. Try and buy a kit that comes with injectors. I’ve recently seen turbo kits including them. While that setup is getting beat up. On the side build yourself a strong block.

 

Well, thing is I don't see the point in wasting $600 on a turbo that I'll swap out later anyway. Why not build right from the start?

 

why bc time and money and knowledge

Thats takes a lot longer than a weekend turbo swap

a lot more money if you think your ready for acl bearing arp rod and main bolts aftermarket rods and pistons cams and valve train then a pcm and tune

then there’s knowledge do you know how to use a plastic gauge or feeler gauges then do you even own a piston ring filer or piston ring compressor ???

i was you and had 4K just for a build just go buy someone’s running turbo build for 1k and thrash it around

 

Well, I have a friend that does Turbos that will help me out with the Turbo, I actually do have the piston ring compressor. Knowledge is the whole reason why I'm doing this, it isn't about just having a car with a Turbo in it to play around in it, I want to learn how to put one together and to build it up. I like working on cars and I like learning about how to do it, I'm not sure why you're gate keeping that. Where I live an average turbo'd civic goes from around 3-4k for engines that have more than 200k miles on them, getting a turbo'd car for under 3 grand is rare. So yeah, I asked because I was curious about what type of turbos I should be looking into because I am doing research on it. And have a couple of friends that build hondas that will help me out. However, I wanted to do some of my own research so I know what to ask about and what to look for rather than looking like a complete idiot lol. This is a project, and I want to have fun with the experience of building the car myself rather than getting some random turbo'd car that I don't know much about, and if I breeak it.I will know better how to fix it.

 

Yeah don't listen to that guy. You absolutely need a tune even if you're only running .5psi. Stock Honda ECUs of this era were never designed to see any amount of positive pressure and thus do not have any fuel or ignition tables to compensate for the extra air being introduced. A tune is a requirement, if not the most important part of any build. Doesn't matter if you dump 1k into parts or 10k, if the tune is not there or not right it will still blow up.

 

I’m telling you to build an engine on the side how is that gating you wtf even is gating wtvr I just want to help you as a newb with the order so your ride doesn’t sit on jack stands or end up in the junkyard. Not the how to or parts list. If your motor has a poop ton of miles the most it deserves is an eBay turbo kit. Tune it, it will cost/last a little longer. Enjoy that until it blows blue or white smoke. Then order to your door step a new low miles f22 or 23 whichever you like and over the weekend have your friends help you get back on the road by Monday. By then you’ve probably watched enough YouTube to know the whole how to and parts list and you can source then bolt on a quality setup. Then head to the tuner the next day and you’ll hit your hp target.