Hi all,
new to this forum and modding in general. i'd also like to know what mods could be possible for a 2002 accord coupe ex, F23A4 A/T? I thought about turboing but the car has high mileage at 164,000 and with a turbo, that would mean a full rebuild. I didn't think that was worth the time and labor for only a 50-100 hp increase, so I was thinking about swapping in an H22. However, with the way gas prices are (h22 only takes premium irrc), I was not sure about that route either. I have also read that bolt ons or I/H/E make very little difference in terms of power and would ultimately be a waste of time and money. I just wanna add a bit more pep to my car as I find it a bit slow currently. Would a manual swap help, considering the time and labor, and is there any other engine swaps that would take a lower octane? Thanks.

 

We're original owners of a 2000 v6 sedan. My son thinks swapping in the 4cyl/5sp manual into the thing should be a bolt-compatible casual affair. I directed him to parse a thread in Honda-Tech that details the "do'able-with-caveats" of this violently major job. Smash-cut to months later: I run into an old dragster guy and we talk all things wrenching for two hours. I take the opportunity to ask his opinion about swapping a Honda daily-driver AT drivetrain to manual. Unphased, he casually asks: "Why go to all that trouble just to use OEM? Order whatever you want from Summit Racing! With a Sawzall and a welder you can put anything into anything!". He was serious with his nonchalant suggestion; and in retrospect, it's worth considering for anyone in the planning stages of a major drivetrain swap with the performance as the end goal ...and with time and money to burn.

As an aside, you might consider perusing the posts within the v6performance.net and 6thgenaccord.com forums. Both of these sites tend to be focused on mods and frequented by similarly-minded folks, generally.

 

You really shouldn't consider turboing that engine with that automatic transmission. I guarantee it'll die within a month, they are fragile things.

In terms of mods, you wont get very fast with that engine, but you can start with adding a cone filter or an intake. You wont go much if any faster but it'll sound great!

 

Adding a turbo shouldn't impact transmission operation or put it under any additional load. I'd say any 6th gen BX7A with 160k+ miles is operating in the red anyway, regardless of the addition of a turbo up top.

More impactful turbo issues: finding room in a very cramped engine bay; stress to the top-end (as well as the pocketbook), potential of inducing heat-soak and confusing the ECU.