Let me start off by saying thanks for a pretty informative forum from what I've read so far.

I have a 98 Accord EX coupe, 5 speed. The car is bone stock. My plans so far for it include the following:

Headers and cat back exhaust system.
Intake system (cold air)

Coilovers w/ camber plates (how much of a drop is up in the air still)
Rims (from 16-18, undecided)
tower bar struts, rear struts

Inside details- new stereo system.

What I'm looking to get out of my upgrades:

Motor:

Motor needs more zip without sacrificing reliability. An H22 transplant seems to be out of my price range, and given the fact that they are not warranteed motors (from what I've seen), I cant justify the cost at this point. I do have the room and mechanical capability to do the work myself though. Also, the exhaust system needs to be somewhat quiet when cruising, and have a bit of bark to it when driving aggressively. In my mind this car is less of a racer, and more of a "sport coupe", if you catch my drift.

Suspension:

Again, the stock car is a nice ride straight, but a bit wallowy when driven aggressively. I see options for wheels going down to as small as 16" due to weight, ie less rolling weight is a good thing for handling. Tire rub is, for the most part, unacceptable. I realize some ride quality will be sacrificed, but would like the car to be as comfortable as possible while tightening up its cornering ability. Lastly, looks are the least important in this upgrade, but are an issue nonetheless. Properly lowered Accords look great!

Basically, the mods I am doing are definitely aimed at performance first (no bodywork, etc.... I feel that money can be spent better elsewhere) What I'd like is advice from people who have the same generation car as to what is and isnt feasible. Poke some holes in my theories as to what the car needs to have.

Thanks in advance!

 

Welcome to the site!

I don't have a 6th gen, but here's what I'd do if I didn't want to spend a BUNCH of money. Just remember, it's your car, you'll need to make the final decision.

1- Intake, header, exhaust. Your call on which brands to get.
2- Spring/strut combo or coilovers. Whichever you decide on, don't go too cheap here, there's nothing more fun than a great handling automobile. Well, besides sex, and stuff.
3- Either go with a good set of tires on your stock wheels or grab a nice set of aftermarket ones.This again, is what you want, I personally wouldn't go more than 17" though.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

I forgot to add the question of if 98 prelude rims (16" stock I believe) would fit on an Accord.

 

should.

 

never, 97-01(fifth gen lude) have 5lugs, and 6th gen non v6 accord have 4..

get a good set of sway bars, the best investment in suspension period

here what would i do

1)Engine
-aem cai-180
-header-dc(although they not exactly great product) 250
-cat back exhast(apexi ws,dc,etc) 400

2)suspension
eibach prokit/sportline-190
KYB AGX shock-330
ST sway bar-250(F/R)
ebay style sturt bar(plus stock one)-30
rims-doesnt matter, just get some good tires

 

Easy to install V6 hubs from what I understand.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iam7head &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">never, 97-01(fifth gen lude) have 5lugs, and 6th gen non v6 accord have 4..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought the I4 coupe was 5 lug too, oh well, my bad.

 

Consider a custom turbo setup because, if your looking for more performance, don't expect too much from I/H/E on the F23. I know from experience, you could spend close to 1000 on I/H/E, where basic turbo setup isn't that much farther away.

Also don't go over 17" rims.

 

Accords aren't sports cars. Don't expect to see big gains from bolt-ons. Although, the suspension is a different story. They handle like a dream. Even better when you add some aftermarket parts. Also, they don't make KYB AGX shocks for the 6th Gen. The ones made for the 90-97 Accords should work on a 6th Gen, but don't quote me on that. Not that sure. Anyway, welcome to H-T.

 

I have neuspeed f/r sway bars on my 98 coupe and they really make it handle alot better. Also 16's on a accord are perfect for it especially if your gonna lower it. 17's to me are too big.... 15's not big enough. I don't think a turbo setup is worth it for 6 gen accords. Low supply of after market engine parts etc.

This is what I've done so far::
DC Sports Header 4-2-1 SS
AEM CAI
(Installing currently) Zex Wet Kit
Motegi 16'' MR15
Kuhmo Ecsta 712's
(coming soon) Eibach Pro and Koni Yellows
(coming soon) Eibach Front Upper Strut Tower Bar/Neuspeed Front Lower
Pioneer Head Unit
Pioneer 6 1/2's in the doors
Pioneer 6*9's in the rear deck

 

Thanks all for the replies so far. To 98Kord and others that have done it, do you think you got a reasonable boost in performance with your exhaust/intake changes for your money?

And by the replies, I'm not seeing too many votes for a coilover suspension... just not worth it in these cars for the money, or too harsh?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kab &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And by the replies, I'm not seeing too many votes for a coilover suspension... just not worth it in these cars for the money, or too harsh?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've got coilovers on my 6th gen and I can't complain about the ride.
I think coilovers are fine

With intake and exhaust, its the sound that makes it feel faster.

 

I guess since mine's an automatic I can't really say there's a whole lot of performance gain out of my I/H/E although i will say there definately is a diff w/ the sway bar swap. Like someone else said on here the biggest improvement to make on our 6 gen's is in the suspension. While we'll probably never see any major horsepower gains we can still hope for the best. I wanted to get around 250 hp out of mine...maybe eventually a port and polish will help realize that.