Wanting more oem upgrades ideas

[linkcb7]

Ever since I have started upgrading my 93 EX, I acquired a liking to using OEM parts from other accords/preludes to make my car perform better. I put a list together and made a couple of trips to the junkyard and a few searches on craigslist. The point of my thread is, I've pretty much finished my list (a4 header, h23tb/plenum w/ double gutted IAB, h23 5sp transmission with 8lbs flywheel, prelude shift assembly, CD5 EX front sway bar.) I'm looking to start a new list or get fresh ideas to keep the OEM upgrades going.

I recently heard about 92-95 acura vigor rear sway bar which could be had easily.
H22 injectors could be found also but on the pointless side without a tune and maybe a better fuel pump like walbro 255.. I've never touched in the tunning area at all. There is a shop with a dyno in my town. A p06 could be picked up from a junkyard and chipped but Idk about good chips vs. Bad chips
A member added a really good post about a JDM f22b dohc head swap (super hard to find)
I've heard too many good/bad stuff about h23 heads so Idk if that route is for me
A h22 prelude just rolled into my junkyard (not down my alley either)

Ultimately, I'm just needing fresh ideas to keep going in the OEM side of upgrades, yes I do have a few aftermarket stuff like the 8lbs flywheel and strut bars. But I can't find much more info for what I'm looking for.

My car is a DD and that's why I'm interested in OEM parts. I have hit the cb7tuner search button many times... googled a lot, and can't come up with much more.
I'm sure other beginners could learn from suggestions on this post also

Thanks in advance. I won't turn down any ideas. Cb7tuner has only made my car better.

[Jarrett]

http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=182902

[linkcb7]

Thanks for the link. I have come across that link while searching, that's where I got the CD sway bar idea. I was hoping for stuff that hasn't been added to a major link like that. I was considering the heated seats and mirrors since I live in the Midwest but I haven't found any seats that have any life left since a lot of people don't take care of their cars for some reason... even the h22 prelude that I talked about had torn up seats and cigarettes ALL over it.... I also came by a 88-91 prelude the other day that had nothing but rat turds all over it. It was soo bad that it wasn't even worth any of the interior parts. Speaking of the 88-91 preludes, how comparable is the dohc heads from those cars to our f22a blocks? I think they are b20 something??

[Corweena]

For the rear sway bar, just go with an aftermarket one. They are much thicker, and will significantly change the balance of the car (in a good way). I have a '96 Accord LX Coupe, which doesn't have a rear sway bar. I first swapped the rear subframe to accommodate an EX sway bar setup. The difference wasn't that big. I could tell the car handled better, but I wasn't anything significant. But when I purchased and installed my 22mm Tanabe Sustec swaybar, that thing made a heck of a difference. It totally changes the balance of the car. Gone is was the typical overpowering FWD understeer. The car now corners very neutral, and I can even get lift-off oversteer when driving it hard enough.

[linkcb7]

For the rear sway bar, just go with an aftermarket one. They are much thicker, and will significantly change the balance of the car (in a good way). I have a '96 Accord LX Coupe, which doesn't have a rear sway bar. I first swapped the rear subframe to accommodate an EX sway bar setup. The difference wasn't that big. I could tell the car handled better, but I wasn't anything significant. But when I purchased and installed my 22mm Tanabe Sustec swaybar, that thing made a heck of a difference. It totally changes the balance of the car. Gone is was the typical overpowering FWD understeer. The car now corners very neutral, and I can even get lift-off oversteer when driving it hard enough.

Ultra racing has a 19mm for $270... a little out of budget for a DD Honda with 265k+ miles. That's why I like the OEM stuff that I can find from the junkyard or parts cars from CL.. has anyone ever tried to add something to a sway bar to make it stiffer??

[Corweena]

That's expensive lol......brand new Progress (22mm) or Suspension Techniques (20mm) can be found for $200. And try looking for them used......I've seen a Progress go for as low as $80. I paid $150 for my front and rear Tanabe sways that were still brand new in the box. You just gotta look and be patient.


As far as stiffening up your current sway bar, the only thing you could do is replace all the bushings. Other than that, there is nothing you could really do.

[deevergote]

Head swaps are a bad idea.
Larger injectors are pointless unless you need them... they will only cause your ECU to freak out, and risk damaging your engine.
If you're thinking of a chippable ECU in terms of "good chips vs. bad chips", get that thought out of your head. You don't "add a chip"... you program the ECU. It's far more involved than just plugging something in.

If you want more power with OEM reliability, do an engine swap. The H22A is the most practical, with the greatest gains for the money and effort spent on it.

Beyond that, a camshaft upgrade and a proper ECU tune on the dyno are your only options (short of opening your engine and doing internal modifications... which get pricy real quick.)

Or just leave the engine alone and get to work on your suspension. Energy Suspension bushings, quality shocks and springs (or a good set of coilovers... there are lots of crappy ones out there.) Good tires, fresh brakes (a wagon front rotor upgrade is always nice.) If you want to get fancy, and can afford new wheels, a 5 lug swap is always cool.

[linkcb7]

Thanks both for the input. I wasn't much for suspension parts before but after the few things I've done, I like the way it handles and would like to further progress in that direction. I am using energy bushings on my front CD5 EX sway bar, I got them from auto zone (is there a chance that those are the same energy bushings that you speak of or are they an auto zone nock off type?) I'll do some searching on craigslist and such for used sway bars, but its rare for good name brand parts to roll through there in the Lincoln Nebraska area.. I felt that I was pretty lucky finding the h23 transmission and 8lbs flywheel on there.
Another thing that I forgot to add in my thread, I've seen stuff mentioned or sugjested in other threads about h23 non VTEC header and downpipe being bigger and better than the F header including the A4.. I tried to search for something that companies them with great detail but was unlucky.

[deevergote]

Energy Suspension is the brand... so if they said Energy Suspension, that's what you got. Look into the master bushing kit. Some of them are a bitch to install, but it makes a considerable difference in the way the car performs. Cleans up the slop a great deal.

My advice would be to just buy a cheap "ebay" header... maybe spend a little more on DC Sports, if you want quality. You'll see a bit of a gain over any stock unit, and new is better than 20 year old used.

[linkcb7]

Thanks. I was also looking for a verified answer on throttle body size usdm h22a vs non VTEC h23.. manual of course...

Energy Suspension is the brand... so if they said Energy Suspension, that's what you got. Look into the master bushing kit. Some of them are a bitch to install, but it makes a considerable difference in the way the car performs. Cleans up the slop a great deal.

My advice would be to just buy a cheap "ebay" header... maybe spend a little more on DC Sports, if you want quality. You'll see a bit of a gain over any stock unit, and new is better than 20 year old used.

I have been checking out the full exhaust kits on eBay. Header, H flow cat and cat back... use that stuff for a while. Then buy a better header in the future and possibly a better muffler and just use that eBay kit for its piping (my entire exhaust is welded together from an exhaust shop) ... only bolted section is the header to downpipe.

[deevergote]

High flow cats are worthless. The OEM cat is just fine, if it's functional. The design of the cheap ebay headers isn't any worse than anything else you'll find on the market, short of Bisimoto. The exhaust is an exhaust... the cheap stuff flows as well as the good stuff... it just often doesn't sound as good.

As for the throttle body diameter, both the H22A and H23A1 are 60mm. Only the Type S and Euro R are 62mm.
If you want to upgrade to a 62mm throttle body, The AP1 S2000 throttle body will fit the H plenum. The Integra Type R throttle body fits as well, I believe.

[linkcb7]

High flow cats are worthless. The OEM cat is just fine, if it's functional. The design of the cheap ebay headers isn't any worse than anything else you'll find on the market, short of Bisimoto. The exhaust is an exhaust... the cheap stuff flows as well as the good stuff... it just often doesn't sound as good.

As for the throttle body diameter, both the H22A and H23A1 are 60mm. Only the Type S and Euro R are 62mm.
If you want to upgrade to a 62mm throttle body, The AP1 S2000 throttle body will fit the H plenum. The Integra Type R throttle body fits as well, I believe.

My car doesn't have a cat anyways.. the car only had the header and down pipe when my dad bought it for $300... he told a shop to add a flex pipe, resonator and muffler and weld it all. I'd only be getting the full eBay exhaust so I have sectional piping for cheap that I can change certain areas down the road.
S200 huh? Don't think any of those have made it to the jy yet, certainly not a itr ha
Maybe I'll just bore my h23 tb out

[marvin75]

you can get a cheap ebay 70mm billet tb for around 80-100 bucks .

[Kamatari+]

High flow cats are worthless. The OEM cat is just fine, if it's functional. The design of the cheap ebay headers isn't any worse than anything else you'll find on the market, short of Bisimoto. The exhaust is an exhaust... the cheap stuff flows as well as the good stuff... it just often doesn't sound as good.

I'll back this statement. I re-did my entire exhaust last year. The previous owners let the entire system, from header to muffler corrode and exhaust. And there was no cat. It was so loud I couldn't have a conversation in the car with the windows up, and I kept getting pulled over. I basically used ebay everything, header, muffler, down pipe, cat. It sounds great. In this case, great is quiet. I'm not sure about performance. No fumes, relatively quiet noise, no fuss.

[spiderpig]

I'll back this statement. I re-did my entire exhaust last year. The previous owners let the entire system, from header to muffler corrode and exhaust. And there was no cat. It was so loud I couldn't have a conversation in the car with the windows up, and I kept getting pulled over. I basically used ebay everything, header, muffler, down pipe, cat. It sounds great. In this case, great is quiet. I'm not sure about performance. No fumes, relatively quiet noise, no fuss.

So what muffler are you using if its cheap ebay and quiet?