Accord 6-Speed V6 Coupe as a track car?

rcutclif wrote:

Type Q wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: Lol, "track day" car, owns a Porsche and a Miata. Man, you guys must witness a lot of accidents at tracks to be so paranoid about something happening to your car.. or dont trust yourselves driving.

I have been to 10 track days in the last 6 years. I have seen cars totaled or significantly damaged at 4. That's 40%. As far as my driving, I am pretty good. That doesn't mean nothing is ever going to happen to me.

I don't disagree with your overall point, but that is a slightly ambiguous statistic. In the effort of clarity - You have seen significant crashes at 40% of your track days, but the number of cars damaged (assuming 50 cars per track day) is more like 1%.

Its a lot more dangerous to drive to work in the morning and a much likelier reason to have a car damaged than being on track in a non-competitive environment was my point.

But hey, if he wants to spend more money on ANOTHER car to take car of that is a heavy fwd bloated pig, well by all means, WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

Interestingly, the guy who autocrossed his Accord locally stopped showing up a while back and when I was asking my mechanic friend (and co-competitor) about why he told me that the V-6 "blew up" and the motor is incredibly rare (expensive). Something along the lines of 10 grand just for that exact engine. Something about it is different than the other J motors.

Klayfish wrote: Woody, You're highly experience in Accords. Thoughts on the V6 6spd coupe as a "sporty" DD? I'm talking EX-L trim level.

All three of the EX-L V6 Accords that I've owned have been sedans with the automatic. I still own two of them, the third was totaled. I think they are fantastic cars and I love the engine. I have driven each of them from Canada to Florida and the cars absolutely devour miles. I wouldn't call them sport sedans, but I think they qualify as sporty sedans.

My 2010 suffered from a common issue with the cylinder deactivation system causing ring wear. I caught the problem in time and Honda covered the repair under warranty. It's not enough to scare me off of the these cars, but it's certainly something that I'd be mindful of and investigate on any car that I was thinking about buying.

I have no direct experience with the six speed or with the coupe, which is why I threw the idea out there to the GRM masses.

HiTempguy wrote: But hey, if he wants to spend more money on ANOTHER car to take car of that is a heavy fwd bloated pig, well by all means, WHO AM I TO JUDGE?

As I mentioned, I would be selling the Miata, so I would be maintaining the same number of cars as I am now.

Years ago, I went to a couple BMWCCA Autocross events up at Giants Stadium and a guy ran an late 90's early 00's Accord Coupe manual trans on r-compound tires and seemed to do pretty well.

Woody wrote:

Klayfish wrote: Woody, You're highly experience in Accords. Thoughts on the V6 6spd coupe as a "sporty" DD? I'm talking EX-L trim level.

All three of the EX-L V6 Accords that I've owned have been sedans with the automatic. I still own two of them, the third was totaled. I think they are fantastic cars and I love the engine. I have driven each of them from Canada to Florida and the cars absolutely devour miles. I wouldn't call them sport sedans, but I think they qualify as *sporty* sedans. My 2010 suffered from a common issue with the cylinder deactivation system causing ring wear. I caught the problem in time and Honda covered the repair under warranty. It's not enough to scare me off of the these cars, but it's certainly something that I'd be mindful of and investigate on any car that I was thinking about buying. I have no direct experience with the six speed or with the coupe, which is why I threw the idea out there to the GRM masses.

First, just as an FYI, at least with the 2007 models the coupes do not have cylinder deactivation like the sedans. They are also tuned a little differently. Mine was a fantastic car, although an automatic due to health issues. My BIL has one with a 6 speed and while I wouldn't call them ideal, I do think that you could make one a very fun track car. I love that V-6, and otherwise it wouldn't be that much different than tacking any other car of it's type. And FWD? I've recently been on a mission to rid my life of FWD. The reason is torque steer. However, I just raced my CRX in the Put In Bay Road Races and realized that while the driving style is different than a RWD car, I otherwise forget all about it when I'm on track. A short story long, my dislike for FWD on the road doesn't really translate to the race track. I used to track an Integra GS-R 4 door sedan. I'm not going to say it's the same as an Accord, but it was a lot bigger and heavier than the CRX's I was used to. I had a blast in that car. My $.02.

Woody wrote: As I mentioned, I would be selling the Miata, so I would be maintaining the same number of cars as I am now.

I am mainly busting your balls, just so we are clear. I have no issues tossing a $50+k car into a tree, so my opinions are different then most

However, just to make sure, I reread through the thread, and at no point do you say "I am getting rid of the miata" or anything to that effect

Oh, I caught it:

Again, the Miata isn't a good choice for me and it would be sold to make room for something else. And I can throw away four or five Accords for the price of one of the Porsches

I had to really hunt for that. In that case, I completely agree except that if you want a "two door sports car", a double wishbone Prelude is more up your alley and the motors/motors that can swap in are very durable. For the price you pay for the Accord you want, you could buy a pristine older Prelude and PAY someone else to swap in a larger honda motor or turbocharge it for you. It will be more fun, better on track, fit you well, and still be relatively comfortable.

Added bonus, you won't look like a middle aged wiener, unless you are into that sort of thing

HiTempguy wrote: In that case, I completely agree except that if you want a "two door sports car", a double wishbone Prelude is more up your alley and the motors/motors that can swap in are very durable. For the price you pay for the Accord you want, you could buy a pristine older Prelude and PAY someone else to swap in a larger honda motor or turbocharge it for you. It will be more fun, better on track, fit you well, and still be relatively comfortable. Added bonus, you won't look like a middle aged wiener, unless you are into that sort of thing

I'm not looking for a project car. I'm thinking more of a "track car hiding in plain sight". Something that wouldn't even attract attention in the neighborhood. Pads, sway bar, tires and an oil change. That's about it. Maybe toss the back seat and possibly even the passenger seat on track day and have a little fun.

And what makes you think that I don't already look like a middle aged weiner?

You drive a silver 911 and run into burning buildings for a living. I'm pretty sure you're the James Bond of Connecticut.

mazdeuce wrote: You drive a silver 911 and run into burning buildings for a living. I'm pretty sure you're the James Bond of Connecticut.

It's Diamond Blue.

And... no, I don't think so.

Looking through the GRM Ultimate Track Car results is sort of interesting and IMO enlightening.

There is a clear cluster of dedicated high end stuff, followed by a block of Porches, then a block of BMWs, wrapped up by a pretty wide variety of others.

The Passat VR6 looks closest to the Honda you are shopping (290 hp, FWD, 3,300 lbs) and they reported that it was nuking its brakes after a few flying laps. How do the NOA Passat brakes compare with the ones on the Accord coupe?

It does look like the E46 chassis is ready made for low profile, trackable car.

I feel like the thread about 2011+ V6 Mustangs and Camaros is the answer here...

Why not run a Miata? (I kid, I kid.)

I'd go with something that has better aftermarket for such a task. Why not just buy an E36 M3 and run that? The pitfalls are all known and can be taken care of prior to going to the track. You can fit a cage in it and still drive it around. It is RWD and has a limited slip.

Either that or E46 for something newer.

Unless you enjoy experimenting.

So what kind of mpgs have you gotten with the V6 autos, Woody? I agree even the Accord wouldn't be considered a sports car/coupe, but more like "sporty". I'm OK with that, as long as it truly is at least sporty. With the mix of highway speed and bumper to bumper traffic I have, I want something that can be good at both. Fun when there isn't tons of traffic (the one road I use to take my kids to football practice is a very twisty two lane country road), but a relaxing and comfy place to spend time when I'm in gridlock. Do you have any complaints about either the driving experience or anything with the interior?

I would say to use a 4-banger Accord instead for a lighter car and more available 5-speed trans. Of course, you do lose the sexiness of 270 hp.

I had an Acura CL Type-S with the J-series 3.2L and the 6-speed manual (2003 only) and it was a great car. Plenty of power, added a rear sway bar and it was a lot of fun. It could eat up miles but was happy to rev too.

I would imagine the Accord would just have less of the luxury you wouldn't need, so potentially lighter and even more fun. There should be a decent aftermarket for brakes/suspension.

Klayfish wrote: So what kind of mpgs have you gotten with the V6 autos, Woody? ... Do you have any complaints about either the driving experience or anything with the interior?

When she gets home with the car, I'll try to pull the average mpg over the life of the car (13k).

I absolutely have a complaint with the interior, so much so that I plan to contact Honda about it.

Our 2014 is an EX-L and has chrome accents around the shifter, cup holders and parking brake. You cannot drive the car on a sunny day without getting blinded from below by the sun's reflection at some point. It's dangerous and they should offer to fix it. Very unHonda-like.

The car's not here right now, so I was looking for an interior photo online, and you can actually get an idea of the problem from this picture:

Here's another:

In reply to Klayfish:

I thought it would calculate total mpg over the life of the car but I was mistaken. But I can tell you that over the last 720.2 miles, we've averaged 31.5.

It also tells me that I have a range of 487 miles.

I had a chat with someone today who mentioned that the V6 manual Accord coupe is quicker, stock for stock, around a track than a 370Z with proper drivers. He says it's a rediculously underrated track car.

Here's the one that I was thinking about:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371440434216?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

mazdeuce wrote: I had a chat with someone today who mentioned that the V6 manual Accord coupe is quicker, stock for stock, around a track than a 370Z with proper drivers. He says it's a rediculously underrated track car.

I'd imagine with the same tires, I cant imagine the tires the Accord comes with rivaling the 370's especially not the nismo package or whatever. 2015 Accord coupe comes with 235/45/18 or 235/40/19. 370Z sport comes with 245 and 275 section width and they are summer tires while the accord was "grand touring all season"