The crapcord: Bean's '97 Accord LX DD/autox beater

Discount Tire with the clutch save again. Had a quote for tires from Tireman, went to get them installed, didn't have in stock, couldn't get them, and wouldn't honor price that I was originally quoted. Called around to Belle Tire and looked at prices through Tire Rack, unfortunately, Tire Rack couldn't touch the price of four mounted and balanced, out the door price that Discount got me. I love Tire Rack and have done business with them in the past, and will continue to do so, Discount just happened to beat them this time. Ended up going with a 205/50/16 BFGoodrich G-Force Sport Comp-2 instead of the 205/55/16 that I wanted since the 205/50/16's were available this afternoon, but it turned out to be cheaper and Discount is going to drop my car off to me at work since they're right across the street. Couldn't ask for better service, thanks again Discount! Wish I could've gotten the Continental DW at this price, but the Comp-2's are a great tire(replacing the 225/50/16's Comp-2's on the car now), and I'm plenty happy with how they perform. The slightly shorter sidewall and slightly narrower tire should work MUCH better on the 7" wheels I have. Would've gone with something stickier, but I've got a line on some 17x7 centerline RPM's that I'm planning to pick up at the end of this month/early next month for a song, so those will get the good stuff next year. I'm a big time wheel/tire weight weenie, and a 13lb 17" forged wheel is just too good to pass up at this price.

Can't believe that rear bar turned to E36 M3 that fast. I hate salt.

Gotta love Ohio.

Discount got them on and dropped the car back off to me just after I clocked in, maybe 45 minutes after I dropped it off. Wow. Can't say enough about that, awesome service. Guy said it drove really good. I told him its a pile of dump haha. Love the way it feels on the 205/50/16's, way sharper response. Rides maybe a tad bit harsher, but the tire slap from bald tires is gone. Needs moar low to close up the gap, but im going to wait to install the coilovers until I get a few more components: front top hats from fat four customs, Skunk2 adjustable EF 88-91 Civic upper control arms, and some tender springs and perches for the rear.

Update: these things kick ass in the rain. Went through the on/off deluge we had last night on my way home with no issues. Turn in is WAY better, no "mushiness" from the sidewall, sidewall doesn't squirm around mid-corner like it used to, and it spins in first a little bit easier. Need of a diff is more pronounced now haha!

Kind of score, been noticing my clutch feeling a little funny lately and locking me out of 4th gear sometimes, looked at the master cylinder from the inside and noticed it was weeping a bit. Went to vatozone and got a new master and slave, was going to be $50 but turned out I had $20 in loyalty rewards so I got those two items and a big bottle of brake fluid for $30. Need to replace the passenger side axle(again) since the two month old axle in there is slinging grease all over the engine bay, do a drain and fill on the trans fluid, throw on my H22 throttle body/port matched upper plenum/FITV delete, and scramble to try to get my other lower header portion welded together and on the car on Monday and Tuesday so I can safely and confidently make it to the track rental a local group did at Milan Dragway Tuesday night.

Should do a bit better than the 16.3@83MPH that it ran with a bone stock F22B2. If I had to guess, if I don't wheelhop or kill the clutch trying to avoid said wheelhop, I think it's a solid 15.4-15.5@88-89MPH car. We'll see. Hopefully the weird 4th gear lockout isn't the trans taking a E36 M3 on me.

Did some prep for the Toledo Tuners track rental tomorrow this afternoon. Got the passenger side axle/seal and upper control arm replaced(vatozone lifetime warranty w00t), put in new trans fluid(fixed the 4th gear lockout issue), and bled the clutch. Would've swapped out the clutch slave and master but I need a 10/12mm flare wrench. Hopefully finishing up some detail stuff tomorrow and throwing on the H22 throttle body, FITV delete, port matched plenum and cruise delete. Master/slave will wait until I get a stainless line.

14" x 6", 2.25" ID Magnaflow installed, got the ported upper plenum, H22 throttle body, and FITV and Cruise delete done today. Heading to the track rental now, here's to hoping it runs mid 15's! Exhaust is just BARELY louder than it was before, zero to no drone at cruising speed. H22 TB definitely made a difference, doesn't fall off up top as hard, WAY better throttle response, and a LOT louder. Love the whole combo.

Puts it right at about 170 crank ponies, 20 more than what the factory rated. Not too shabby for what's done to the car. Still have lots of parts to put on. Did 6 runs, one right after another, this was the last and the best. 5K dump, a touch of hop, powershifting and right at about 6000rpm at the top of third through the traps. If it wasn't for the heatsoak of hot lapping it, I'm sure I could've gotten it down to a 15.5-6 around 87-88mph, just as I expected it to run. Tires were aired down to about 20lbs, and these things get STICKY after a few launches. Ended up getting rained out after only about an hour of run time, I parked my car to cool about 30 minutes into the rental and was letting it cool. Temps were just about perfect, low humidity too. We should get another rain date with 3 hours to run though.

Exhaust video:

https://youtu.be/H7RCB6EYatw

Just scored an H23A VTEC 62mm throttle body(looks more like 64mm out the outlet), "62mm" thermal TB gasket, and Venom adjustable cam gear for $50 off a buddy of mine. Time to port the upper F23 manifold I just took off! Probably won't get any of it on until I finish hogging out the F23 lower, fix the lower portion of this header, get a full 2.25" exhaust on it, and have a way to tune the whole shebang. Same guy has an S300 ready P28 I'll probably grab in the near future, so looks like this turd will be on Hondata by the end of the year!

On another note, I had to order new inner and outer tie rods as the Moog outers I JUST put on 2-3 months ago have already E36 M3 the bed. Ordered Deeza parts as they're seemingly the ones to get at this point; manufactured in Turkey, Germany, or Belguim, so QC should be higher and built better than the stuff coming out of Taiwan and China. Sucks that Federal Mogul just doesn't have the QC for Moog that Moog had previous to their buyout by FM.

Got the inner and outer tie rods installed, very, VERY impressed with the Deeza stuff. Outers are definitely refurbished OEM parts(stamped SV4 as OEM stuff is), the Moog's had smaller ball joints than the Deeza's. The inners looked almost exactly the same as the OEM stuff, but didn't have the slop 225K miles makes. Very happy I went with Deeza, my stuff was manufactured in Turkey.

Also installed the Hawk HP Plus front pads. Big difference in stopping power from whatever parts store pads were on there before. Pedal is a little soft, but I think I need to change to a better, new fluid. Gonna do Russel stainless brake lines and get Stoptech fluid next check.

Swapped out the leaking lower header section with a non-leaking, less smashed section. Now seems to have only a very minor exhaust leak somewhere between the header and the muffler. Not worried about it since it'll all get replaced with 2.25" pipe in a month or so, anyway, possibly before the track rental on August 20th if I feel like eating ramen every day lol. More than anything, just pissed about the $20 Percy's multilayer "leak free" gasket warping and blowing out. Not sure when that happened.

Threw on the 3" Velocity stack(Blox? It's metal and black, so who knows) and BIG AEM Dryflow filter. I believe it's the 5" tall filter. It's a squeeze fit, tight around the battery and right on the backside of the headlight. Feels like it doesn't fall off as hard past 5800RPM now. Very much like. Not really a function part, but I also swapped out the couplers for black Vibrant 3" units, which are way studier than the flimsy rubber pieces before.

Hogged out the spare upper intake I have and installed H23A VTEC throttle body tonight. HUGE difference in throttle response as well as higher RPM pull. Can't believe it. I didn't take measurements(or pictures), but it's a much more extensive port job than what I did with the H22 throttle body. Wheelspin in first gear is now a thing, as well as a intake whistle at a specific partial throttle positin; the whistle is kind of annoying, wish I could find a way to get rid of it.

My Prothane rear engine mount insert FINALLY came in from Summit, and I'll be installing that and the front radius rod bushings tomorrow. I was going to get the exhaust done, but that'll have to wait for another day, probably next Thursday. Tip: the Prothane poly is WAY stiffer than the Energy Suspension poly. Very like.

Got the shifter cables zip tied together, ES poly radius rod bushings and Prothane rear mount insert installed, AND fixed an axle on a Lexus. Busy day. Tomorrow, 2.25" exhaust will be attempted to be fabricated and she's gonna get all purtied up for the Car and Driver Cars and coffee Saturday, and finally get to the NWOR SCCA autocross on Sunday. All that'll be left is the lower intake, adjustable cam gear, and get it tuned! At least for this year....

The ol' dirtbag is finally coming together, haven't been this happy with the car in a very, very long time.

2.25" exhaust and cat delete were put on Thursday. Holy E36 M3 did that wake it up. Still hasn't thrown a secondary o2 code. :D Sounds like a can of bees past 3000rpm at lower speeds. Need to fix that. Barely louder at partial throttle and cruise.

AutoX today, didn't do so hot. Brakes work freakin' AWESOME though... almost too good, had a NASTY lockup my second run when I was putting in some more 'drive'. Car still needs front camber and the coilovers put on. Do that, and I'll be at the limit of the tires. Got beat up by most everyone in STS by about 3-5 seconds. Not good. Really small, short, slow course though, only once did I get to the top of 2nd gear. The added power helped a TON compared to last year before the F23. No longer do I feel like I'm waiting for power to come on. Feels like it puts down power a lot better with no front swaybar. A limited slip would definitely help, but that's on the agenda for next year. This year is just trying to dial in what I have/what's in waiting.

So I just spend $75 on 90-93 Integra DA upper control arms. Decided to go with Beck Arnley stuff since it's usually just repackaged OE parts. Should be in and on by the end of the week. Hoping to get about -3deg of camber out of them, should be more than enough. I'll post a before/after of the alignment specs once I get them installed and the car back on the rack.

BAM SUCKAS! Not bad for a $300 engine and about $200 in power mods. Soooo close to running 14's. Car just doesn't 60ft like I want to, still gets a little wheel hop. Mounts and traction bar will be happening this winter. When I'd preload with the handbrake, it'd dig out GOOD then just spin the clutch into second. Ran 15.06 about 3 times, a 15.07, 15.09, then the last decent pass was a 15.12, all with 2.1-2.2 second short times. Hits the limiter in 3rd JUST as I cross the finish. Dropped tire pressures down to 20lbs, removed spare tire and passenger seat, which didn't make much of a difference at all since together they're MAYBE 40lbs. WOT shifting, of course.

Changes since running a 15.8 @ 86mph: H23A VTEC TB+matched upper intake, Velocity stack, cat delete+2.25" exhaust, and put a second IAT in the intake tube about 8" before the throttle body. 60ft times didn't really improve so I don't think the rear mount insert and radius rod bushings really did anything to help traction, maybe slightly less wheelhop at the track. Removing the cat and doing the full 2.25" exhaust helped the most, for sure, but the whole combo together makes it awesome. I'm basically at the limit of power with this gearing.

Plans for winter now:

T2T4 Accord SiR-T transmission, Stronger clutch, Ported/Gutted Lower intake, Traction bar, Solid mounts, Possibly a cam(since I now had a spare F23A1 cam), Tune

Wow, been a whole month since I updated this? It's like an entirely different car now.

Added budget Bilstein coilover goodness.

mmmmmmm 225/45/16 R1R's(Thanks Per!)

Definitely need tender springs at full droop on both the front and rear. I may have won the Ebay springs lottery though, springs are STIFF and car actually rides pretty freaking nice. Not as soft as with the progressive rate Skunk2 Racing Sport springs, but that's to be expected. This is probably about as stiff as the Bilstein's will take, but so far, so good! Not bouncy at all, very controlled. Currently down to the "50" mark in the front, and it's at 13" from hub center to fender. My goal with this was not to get "z0mg l0wz!" but to add stiffness, reduce weight, and have the ability to swap the springs out easily. The previous ride height at 13" from hub center to fender was perfect for me.

As far as the upper control arms go, I think the DA ones are where it's at. Got almost -3 degrees on the alignment machine and another +1 degree of caster. The added caster is a GREAT improvement, there's a bit more effort involved when steering it, but it's not like I dropped the power steering. Turn in is RIGHT NOW, holy E36 M3 the improvement in feel and steering is amazing. Like it a LOT. I did use the anchor bolts from the Accord so I wouldn't have to deal with any issues.

Got the 225/45/16 Toyo R1R's installed.... holy guacamole what a difference those made. Rides better, quicker reacting, and ZERO sidewall squirm. They just grip and go. Love these tires. Run them at about 30psi cold. Feels so much better than before, no tracking issues, and the added caster makes it weight up really nicely just off center. Seems like straight line stability has improved as well. It's stunning how well the shocks can handle this heavy of a spring. Just soaks potholes and road imperfections right up, and no extra rebounding going on over bigger bumps.

Couple other little updates:

New, rust free driver door. Has a pinstripe I have to remove and the door needs cleaned up. Also has a nasty clearcoat failure right above the door handle, but it's not rusty, the window motor works and has auto down(yay!), as well as the lock doesn't sound like it's going to explode(also yay!). I'll chalk that up as a win. Also installed leather door panels, my LX ones were getting pretty beat and the driver side was worn out on the arm rest.

Got a driver fender off the same car at the junkyard and let my buddy who details on the side clean it up. Looks and feels near new. I'll be installing that after winter when I get the door re-cleared and the rest of the car detailed. I'll deal with my nasty dented up one until then.

Paid $75 for the door, panels, fender, front fender liners, and some other misc odds and end's at a local pick-n-pull over labor day weekend for a fill a wheelbarrow for $75 sale. I should've grabbed the front and rear bumpers, as well as the leather backseats and rear panels. It was hot. I don't like being hot.

Put my OEM Prelude intake back on. Had to slice the intake tube where it attached to the TB to get it to fit because the H23A VTEC TB is HUGE. I think I like the sound better, and it feels like it has more midrange with maybe a little more dropoff up top compared to the V-stack intake. Have the V-stack intake up for sale, but may keep it for something elseor dyno days.

Picked this up for next to nothing, plan to chop it up and make it work with the F23. It's a PLM H22A H2B header. Nice long primaries, short secondaries, and a decent 2.5" collector. Waiting to re-do the whole exhaust to 2.5" before this goes on.

Car crossed 230K miles the other day, too! Bilstein/eBay combo still rides great, the added camber and caster are very welcome improvements, as are the R1R's. I don't know why I didn't go this direction in the first place.

Hi Dad.

This thing needs paint so bad. Whole driver side rocker and corner is rotted to about halfway down the door. So much better(visually) on the driver side without the rust on the door though. Now I just have to deal with how damn ugly it is.

Did some parts trading, got a socketed P28 to FINALLY get my tune on.

Jumping on the Rotella boat as well, picked up a gallon of T6(+1qt), a new Honda filter... and some new Valvoline Syncromesh and ANOTHER passenger side axle seal. The vatozone one leaks like a mofo, so I spent the big $7 and got a Honda one this time. Still getting a clunk up front, need to check my tie rods. When I went to get the alignment done a few weeks back, one had loosened, but somehow didn't screw up the alignment. Locktite'd it, but it still makes me a bit leery. It's probably just a giant chunk of rust about to fall off.

Oooooo i like how this is coming along.

Any reason why you kept the factory spring perch on the shock? Should just be sitting on a circlip. If you hammer it off towards the top of the shock, then your sleeves would sit on/over the circlip. Probably doesn't matter much if you're happy with it now, but hey.... weight? Or something?

More for ease of install and peace of mind. Those collars have been there a few years and are... solid. I'm not sure if I trust the sleeves enough to sit on the clips. I wrapped the shock in tape when I installed them so they're centered and sit pretty solid. I'd like an 8" spring up front and a 9" out back, its about the same price for four new springs as tenders/helpers. I may re-do the whole coil over using all-star stuff like you did.

Love the build. F23's make great power, especially with some more compression and cam. They are cheap and easily swapped into a civic chassis. With a decent transmission (H22/H23, or H2B) they make quite the performance drivetrain. It's like a 2.3 Duratec only better/cheaper/faster http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=95154&page=36 Have you seen this guy's build? He made 187whp/172tq on a stock F23 bottom end.

He's made over 220whp on a stock JDM F23A block/mild F22A head with his custom ground camshaft, and it wasn't very aggressive. He did the work into figuring out which intake manifold and header would work best with his combo, and spent LOTS of time dialing it in. I probably won't get to be that lucky, but I'm still planning on seeing how far I can take this engine with the stock longblock/intake(ported/gutted)/camshaft, then how much power it can make with something designed to make more power.

This is the one very real advantage you have over Major Hater: The ability to make cheap n/a power. I miss that.

And a whole half liter of displacement! I've probably already gained 20hp over stock with just the bolt ons, there's at least another 20 to be found before I even take off the valvecover.

making our engines breath easier does wonders for the hp/torque

my 1.8 LS Integra went from 105 whp dead stock ( ok .. not so dead stock .. a K&N filter) to 121 with the addition of a DC Sport header, and then to 131 with a AEM CAI (the V2 version) … just making them breath

170whp is very attainable. Later in JDM92_accorn's build he discovered that the JDM f23 pistons actually have about .5 more compression due to a -10cc dish vs the USDM -14cc. Which means all of his stock bottom end numbers were actually at about 10.4:1 with the milled head.