Hello,

I am getting into dirt track racing, and im starting in the 4 cylinders class. the car i built is a 2000 Accord (f23a1 5 speed) and I just finished my 2nd race with it. its obviously not very competitive, and its never going to be a #1 car, im very aware of that. Its what I could afford, and its what im stuck with for the season, so im trying to make the best of it. the track I race on is 3/8 mile dirt oval, and the governing body is pretty relaxed as far as upgrades you can make. they only require no turbos, superchargers, or NOS, but everything else is pretty much fair game. So, that brings me to the question,

What upgrades can I do to this thing to make it faster? I've seen something about swapping an H22 head onto the f23 block, is that actually pheasable? does it just bolt right up, or do you have to do some machining? what kind of benefits would that give me? im trying to do most of this on a budget, so no, im not trying to swap in a K or B series, even if I had the money, it would take too much time. I race every week, and I want to try and make every race. I already have a tune in it, and that did give me a bit more power, but are there any cheaper upgrades I can do? would it be worth it to do that head swap? are there any sites that sell performance parts for this motor? I know its a lot of questions haha but I'm just trying to learn some stuff, help my car a little bit, ya know?

Thanks guys,
CFH22

 

Hey, I just have to say, pretty cool. I don't think I've seen that done with an Accord, so hats off. What are the rules to stay in your class? For example, in this case something like rebuilding the engine with forged internals and adding a turbo would be one method, but I don't know if that moves you from "stock" class to another one where you might also be not competitive. Can you simply replace the engine with a newer one?

So, in this class of racing:

1 - What are the restrictions on engine
2 - What are the front cars running and winning with? Meaning, what horsepower are they running? Also, what suspension are they running? I don't know dirt track well enough t offer advice without some other info
3 - What is your budget, that will probably answer everything? if you say you have no budget , then you need to go back and figure out the budget first before people can offer ideas that will be useful.

 

Throwing an H series head on it will cause more problems than it solves. Those "G" swaps are garbage and prone to issues.

F22Ax head swap would be cheaper, easier and more reliable. Add a cam regrind and you'll gain a lot in the top end too.

If you feel like digging into the bottom end you can pick up some cheap cast 86mm K20 pistons. They will drop right in and bump up compression. They must be run "backwards" to account for the difference in pin offset between the engine platforms though.

 

Hello, thank you for responding,

they require no turbos, superchargers, or NOS, so that is automatically out. this year they are running basically no rules on engines besides they must be 4 cylinders and are supposed to remain "stock," but none of the cars down there besides mine actually are completely stock. the front running cars all seem to be Dodge Neons and Acura Integras, not completely sure what horsepower they are, but they run pretty damn fast. I would venture to guess somewhere in the 225 to 275 HP range, where mine is currently somewhere around 150 ish. suspension is supposed to remain mostly stock as well, but there are obvious ways to improve that which im working on right now. the accord actually corners pretty damn good, I can keep up with the other guys in the corners, but as soon as we hit the straights, they just take off and walk away from me. my main concern right now is how do I increase my hp and torque. id like to keep this as cheap as possible, so no swapping motors or building a new one entirely. id like to keep the internals stock as well. obviously, no turbos, so thats out of the question. I'm not a professional engine builder by any standard, but I have rebuilt a few motors and I know my way around a car, im just trying to keep this as cheap and easy and fast as possible. I dont know a whole lot about honda motors tho, so any knowledge helps as well.

Thanks again,
CFH22

 

I don't see how you will have any chance then with this engine. You are not going to get 75 more horsepower without messing with the insides. As suggested F22A swap, swap the pistons. I believe that would get to to 200. Then a cam which might give you another 15 horses. But that's it, you won't get anywhere without a built motor, whether mild or wild.

I would suggest trading the car for a Neon or Integra. Or sneaking in a K swap engine to then be able to start around 200 horsepower and painting it to look like the stock setup.

And they do make things like stroker kits for the F23A but the cost is close to another engine. I wouldn't go that route (although it is sneaky, no one would be able to notice it)