Well I got my bonus the other day, and have some serious coinage to waste on my ride.

I want some opinions on how good a handling car the 6th gen Accord coupe can be. Is it possible through the use of strut bars, shocks, springs to get the Accord to handle or at least keep up with Integra's or Preludes on twisty roads.

I know the Accord was built for highway cruising and in general it doesnt have great handling dynamics, Im wondering if any of you Accord coupe owners have managed to get it to handle corners better, and what you have done to achieve this.

I am also wondering what kind of gains if any you guys are seeing through simple engine bolt on's like headers, filters etc.

Or should I accept the fact that my coupe will never be the great handler i want it to be, and take the second route and just create a pimp mobile with custom paint and chrome wheels.

Any opinons comments appreciated .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kavehman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> just create a pimp mobile with custom paint and chrome wheels.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

friends don't let friends do chrome wheels

at least in theory, you should be able to keep up with ludes since the 6th gen coupe is about the same weight as the 5th gen lude and has very good suspension. a good spring/shock combo or true coilovers, stiffer sway bars, and good tires will go a long way. as always, an adjustment to the nut behind the wheel is critical

if you are going to stay with 15 inch rims, step up to a 205/60 instead of the stock 195/65. I changed size about 3 or 4 months ago and I only have good things to say about it

 

What is 6th Gen Accord? Is this the new 2003 ones? Also, what are the diffs between the Sedan and Coupe as far as performance? I am going to buy the Sedan this week. I cant find any info about the 2003 Accord V6 Sedan anywhere.

 

98-02= 6th gen

 

No, it won't be as nimble or "tight" as the Preludes and Integras. The wheelbase on the Accords is longer and overall chassis rigidity and various stiffness (torsional and bending) should be less than the 'Tegs and 'Ludes as well. Why? Well, the Accords are tuned for daily mild driving, not for spirited driving. You can make the Accord coupes handle way better than stock but I doubt it'll become sports car-ready without doing some extensive modifications like stripping the interior, welding in reinforcements and such.

The mods you can do are sway bar upgrades (Comptech or CL-S rear swap), strut bar upgrades (make a custom rear one if you can't find an aftermarket bar since they're rare), and a coil-over suspension. With that setup, you'd be happy with a nice comfortable ride that Accords are known for, while being able to handle pretty well in the twisties. The car will still feel "heavy".

As for engine mods. It depends on if you have a V6 or I4. With either, you really have to spend more than 2G's to knock off about 1.5 sec. in the 1/4 mile. Either go natural aspirated and build a high-compression, highly tuned engine with camshafts and etc. or boost the suckers. If you have an I4, I hope you have a manual tranny because the auto tranny on the Accords make the car more sluggish and will be a big bottleneck. So with about 4G's, you can either turbocharge an I4 or supercharge a V6.

So there you have it. You need lots of money to go much faster than stock. And handling can be improved but it's like using a toaster oven to cook a gourmet dinner. It's really good at making toast, but for a rack of lamb? I don't think so.

 

Thanks for all the replies fellas, Yeah I did some thinking and figured I'd end up putting roughly 10 grand in it at least to make it half decent. And yeah my ride is 5spd. Best to mess with a design that was meant for cruising

Instead I think I'm gonna keep this stock and just put some rims on it, some clean 17"s. I am gonna use this as my daily driver and look into getting a second car as something to use on the track for more spirited driving.

Gonna look into getting a second hand type r, and probably keep it stock but strip it completely and use it on the track and street. Unfortunantly I love VTEC too much so its gotta be another Honda...

Let ya all know how it goes.

 

I have a V6 and mine hadles better than my brothers prelude. I have done springs, strut bar and put nice tires on my wheels. I have raced my bro around twisty roads and i always pull away from him and keep more speed throuhg the corners. Oh and to Showgunz, it will take a lot more than 4 thousand to get a v6 supercharged.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 01accordv6 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh and to Showgunz, it will take a lot more than 4 thousand to get a v6 supercharged.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Only a little more. About $4500 for a Comptech supercharger. I consider it a waste of money. Quite a few reports of low hp gains.

 

Hm, not sure whether you guys like paying retail prices but I've seen places that sell them at discount around 4 grand.

And I still stand by the fact that the Prelude feels more nimble. The Accord needs more than standard sway/front strut upgrades to feel "tight". I know because I've done the mods. It's not just the longer wheelbase on the Accords but also the weight to power ratio that contributes to the nice, comfortable, but not very sporty ride on the Accords. You can mod the suspension with some of the best parts but without weight reduction, the car still will not be "tossable".

 

All of my suspension mods cost me less than $1200 and made a world of difference even with stock rims/tires. Tires are due to be replaced soon, so I'll upgrade rims/tires at that time as well and have a great handling car with a usable back seat that gets me 35mpg+ with only $2000 spent on suspension and handling.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by showgunz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The wheelbase on the Accords is longer and overall chassis rigidity and various stiffness (torsional and bending) should be less than the 'Tegs and 'Ludes as well. </TD></TR></TABLE>

when I jack the front of my accord up at the stock jack point, the rear wheel comes off the ground. Ive seen plenty of cars not do that, so it's at least stiffer than most cars on the road

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kavehman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">02 Camry (Wheel came off on highway and crashed at 80, currently suing Toyota) </TD></TR></TABLE>
Well Good Luck With The Lawsuit If U Win U Can Buy Any u want


-Shant