I am the proud owner of a 1998 Accord LX 4door 5-speed sedan, and I was interested in upgrading parts to achieve better performance.. However, I see alot of v-6's out there and so on, and I was wondering if it's in my best interest to save for a while and get a better car to start upgrading, or will I be able to get my accord to a point where I am made happy by it's performance?

Also, I have a little troublehsooting for you guys, ^_^. A few months ago I started to notice kind of a drop in performance, like a lesser ability to accelerate. while I was accelerating I would feel the engine not so much struggleing but its output would sorta waver between 80% and 100% as it accelerated. Later, my check engine light came on, so I took it to a shop. THey said nothing was wrong, and shut the light off. I continued to experience these problems, then my maintenance required light came on. I brought it to another shop and they said nothing was wrong and turned that off too. Now it revs really high whenI start it, and sometimes it almost stalls if I'm sitting in neutral in traffic. Someone said it might be an O2 sensor, anyone agree? Thanks in advance.

Honda Loyal,
Kietemo

 

how fast are you wanting to make your accord? what code did your cel read?

 

if u want to be in 15's, mod it. If lower, ur wasting money

 

If you're like me and you like your five speed, a V6 is going to cost you a pretty penny. Unless the Honda dealer told me something completely wrong, there were no manual V6 Accords until the 2004 lineup. Or you can get the sport coupe V6 with a 6 speed. Ooooohhh.

I like my 98 4cyl Accord 5-speed. For me, and everyday driving, modding it is a lot of fun. Lots of things to do visually and plenty of stuff to change under the hood.

 

I dunno what cel even is, lol... Anyhow, I also dunno what you mean by 15's. ^_^ Please enlighten me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kietemo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dunno what cel even is, lol... Anyhow, I also dunno what you mean by 15's. ^_^ Please enlighten me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

15's... as in 1/4 mile times.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kietemo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am the proud owner of a 1998 Accord LX 4door 5-speed sedan, and I was interested in upgrading parts to achieve better performance.. However, I see alot of v-6's out there and so on, and I was wondering if it's in my best interest to save for a while and get a better car to start upgrading, or will I be able to get my accord to a point where I am made happy by it's performance?

Also, I have a little troublehsooting for you guys, ^_^. A few months ago I started to notice kind of a drop in performance, like a lesser ability to accelerate. while I was accelerating I would feel the engine not so much struggleing but its output would sorta waver between 80% and 100% as it accelerated. Later, my check engine light came on, so I took it to a shop. THey said nothing was wrong, and shut the light off. I continued to experience these problems, then my maintenance required light came on. I brought it to another shop and they said nothing was wrong and turned that off too. Now it revs really high whenI start it, and sometimes it almost stalls if I'm sitting in neutral in traffic. Someone said it might be an O2 sensor, anyone agree? Thanks in advance.

Honda Loyal,
Kietemo</TD></TR></TABLE>

have you done the regular maintanence intervals (such as oil change, tranny flush depending on miles, fuel injector cleaners) and so on?

cel = check engine light..when this comes on your ecu flases a certain code telling you what's wrong

maintenance required light = time to go get a regular maintainence tune up if you havn't done so yet (oil etc)

i personally don't see anything i've done to my accord to be a waste of money..it all depends what you're making out of your car

 

I dunno how to check that code... heh. Is it gone now that the light got turned off? :D

 

a good thing to check is all of your electrical connections under the hood including the spark plug wires being strongly fastened to both the plugs and the cap, then also check the battery terminal for a loose connection and fasten that if possible, and make sure to check the plugs, you never know with spark plugs, i remember a poor friend of mine got new plugs, and in a matter of months, he ended up having to get new ones, i dont know the exact reasons but that turned out to be the remedy, cars can be very temperamental, so its a matter of locating a problem, a loss in accleration is a big deal, especially if its enough for you to notice considerably.

good luck with it, keep us posted on what it was.

 

In response to your original problem my friend had this same problem with his civic. His engine was misfiring and reving really high before switching gears, but he had an auto, so you're in a different boat. If your car seems to be stalling, one of the cylinders might be misfiring.

If it revs too high, and the clutch feels loose and you're losing power, the clutch might be getting worn out. Do you notice any slipping (revving high without actually transferring power to the wheels) when you stomp on the gas or are going uphill?


Modified by Yodzilla at 2:02 PM 7/17/2004

 

IF anything it doesnt rev up as fast as it did before, when I'm in gear. If I stomp the gas it seems to take longer to reach high rpm's than it used to.

 

Its all about having fun and learning new things...if your ultimate goal is to make your car fast; honda's aside from an nsx or s2k are slow.

Just my opinion but a Camaro SS or mustang cobra would probably suit your needs. If you are wanting to stay in the honda scheme of things, yes performance costs money.

Just have fun and learn, don't be so conserned about times

 

03-04 mustang cobras rock... i get to drive em all the time and good god, LOVE EM!!!!! i just wish i could have the chance to drive the new ford GT.... good god that would be fun... 0-170 MPH in under 17 seconds.... thats a stock accord 1/4 mile for cryin out loud!!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VRDrvr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Its all about having fun and learning new things...if your ultimate goal is to make your car fast; honda's aside from an nsx or s2k are slow.

Just my opinion but a Camaro SS or mustang cobra would probably suit your needs. If you are wanting to stay in the honda scheme of things, yes performance costs money.

Just have fun and learn, don't be so conserned about times </TD></TR></TABLE>

VR, you and i are long lost brothers

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by david90 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if u want to be in 15's, mod it. If lower, ur wasting money</TD></TR></TABLE>

^^ I'm with stupid...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kietemo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IF anything it doesnt rev up as fast as it did before, when I'm in gear. If I stomp the gas it seems to take longer to reach high rpm's than it used to.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry, but I really don't know what to say other than to have it looked at, preferably by a friend who knows his stuff than a mechanic who just wants what's in your wallet (not to offend any mechanics out there)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kietemo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is modding my accord a waste?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes

j/k, but you have to know ahead of time what it is you want to do, so you can shore up on labor and other such things, money is a big thing for some people, so a good plan is best...

 

Have you traveled anywhere out-of-state lately? Started going to independent gas stations? (i.e. NOT Chevon, NOT Exxon,)

What i'm thinking is your running some crappy watered down and/or contaminated gasoline. It happens more often than you think....

 

No modding your accord is not a waste. If it was, there wouldn't even be this forum. What you do have to know though is that the accord will never be a bad-*** drag or autocross car. It is heavy, and front-wheel drive. I have a 2001 4cyl coupe (manual, cause i hate auto) that I have run 15.67 in the quarter. This is after turbocharging it and programming it with Emanage. not exactly cheap, but fun none the less. About your problems, do you drive it into the ground while still keeping to honda's retarded 5000km service schedule? If you drive a car hard, it needs to be maintained that much more. I change my oil with full synthetic every 2500km, check my plugs every week and do a once over of the electrical system whenever i have the time. granted im a little **** about my car. also, when a CEL comes on, don't just have them turn it off, they come on for a reason. get someone to pull the code off the ECU so that you know what is wrong with your car. You would be surprised how much these cars can tell you about what is wrong with them.

Also, with regards to the V6 accords out there, yes they have 6 cylinders, but they are all auto, and the auto that they get is one of the most sluggish that i have every encountered. they really are not that much faster than a stock 5-speed. I could beat stock V6's when I was only running IHE and an AFC

 

If you love your car, modding it is never a waste. Start your research.

Turbo. That is the best long-term solution for you. all-motor will cost you about $100 for each additional horse installed (unless you have skills, knowledge and access to tools).