Any thoughts on the best way to increase HP and about how much it would cost?
Thanks

 

Buy a TL.

Sorry for the wise-ass comedy. But if I didn't do it, I guarantee you someone else would have.


But maybe you'll get some real help too.

 

why do you say that? do you have a tsx? and if so are you unhappy with it?

 

Good questions -- I don't see why he'd want to do it either. But from what we've seen on here, A LOT of people would like to increase hp.

 

The question was for you

 

I would start with removal of the airbox and a K&N filter.

 

Well it depends on how much more power do you want? You could easily start at sth with new intake and exhaust and work your way up to customize supercharger or NOS... it's up to u!

 

Actually maybe the resonator first.

My mods are fairly simple:

1) Lighter wheels
2) CAI Intake (Injen's looking nice)

Other than a NOS shot, nothing is really out there right now that has been reliably dyno'd. I wish Hondata would get an ECU program going, but it won't be this year.

 

Slap in an ultra lightweight flywheel pretty early in your mods. This mod pays big time, and plays big time on the revvability and torque, especially in the 3 or 4 lower gears.

 

Kinda off the subject, but: I'm curious about why Honda/Acura didn't just build the cars with some of these things. Why wouldn't they have? In some instances I already know -- like about the lighter wheels, we discussed that on another thread. (Answers: A lot more expensive than some people thought, and maybe/probably worse wear.) Also the K&N filter. (Well, you'll get dirt in there. I think Honda/Acura had a good idea on this. )

But what about lightweight flywheel? If it really does make a significant difference (and Sauceman usually does know what he's talking about), why wouldn't Honda/Acura have just done that? Would the cost differential be great? (Doesn't sound like it to me.)

Just wondering.

 

Ya ..it would cost more (aluminum is more expensive). Sure it wouldn't be alot more..but enough. Lets say you sell 100,000 cars. Saving even only 10 bucks ends up being alot of money.

The reasons for Honda not putting in some of these performance mods themself probably breaks down into four main categories...

1) It would cost more.
2) It might make the car less reliable.
3) It would make the car noisier.
4) Emissions/ Fuel efficiency.

There is usually a trade off of some kind with any performance mod.

 

I don't know how much you want to spend but my dealership will add a supercharger and new gears in the transmition. Plus keep the car under factory warrenty.

However the mod is estimated at $6K.

 

Do the new gears include a taller 6th? What dealership is this?!

 

High flow CAI = good idea
Lightweight wheels/tires = really good idea
Lightweight flywheel = bad idea

There's a reason that the flywheel has mass! Unless you want your engine to sound like a diesel bus, I would leave it the way it is. You will get a lot of chatter coming through from your engine with a lightweight flywheel not to mention the possible reliability problems this poses.

Lightweight wheels and tires (don't forget the tires) will make a very large improvement in 0-60 and overall acceleration/handling.

Here's the general formula for rotational mass:

Say your car's stock wheels and tires weigh 50lb per wheel. The total weight of the wheels and tires on your car is 200lbs. If you were to switch to a lighter weight wheel and tire package at 46lbs per wheel you would save 16lbs total. This doesn't seem like much but you have to multiply this number by 7 (don't ask me where the 7 came from, it's just supposed to be 7!). The total then becomes 112lbs.

For every 10lbs you save you gain an additional 1hp for straight line acceleration. I shouldn't really say you gain 1hp but you have an additional 1hp that would usually be used to spin the extra mass. In this case you would actually pick up 11.2hp that would normally be wasted.

The formula is too complex to use for cornering but the effect of lighter wheels when accelerating out of a corner is actually greater than when accelerating in a straight line. This rule doesn't just apply to wheels and tires. It really applies to anything that is spinning on the car. This is where the benefits of a lightweight flywheel come into play....


Dan

 

One think I have kinda been wondering is...how much variation in weight can you really find in tires. I've never really looked at tire weight .... wheels yes...some are much lighter than others. But can we really shed much weight from just tires alone?

 

It seems that you can save 3 to 4 lbs per tire at best. Which is still 12 pounds overall.

 

Thats not too bad. So if we use the x7 rule thats over 80 lbs.

 

...or 8 "HP"

 

I just found a "+20hp" mod on ebay for only $0.99.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2434605534

 

just cut some pounds off yourself

excercise = horsepower

 

Yep, but unfortunately the 7x rule doesn't apply! I would be fasting already if it did!

 

Thanks, Dan -- Great reply.

 

Dan, I'm sorry to have to oppose my opinion to yours on this, but I have installed a 10lbs lightweight aluminum flywheel, and have had only good to say about it. I don't know where you took it that it causes the engine to chatter, sound like a diesel, and become unreliable, because I never have experienced this.

If anything, I loved the way the revs would flash up with a small tap on the throttle. I also found the car just wouldn't stall, which was a first for Accords of those years.

I have found there was no downside to having a lightweight flywheel, except the exorbitant price I paid for it: $1100Cdn.

Edit: If I was to start modifying my car again, it would definitely start by the flywheel. Agreed though that light wheels and tires have their advantages, but don't go driving on dirt roads or badly damaged roads, because you will have to start a budget to repair bent rims. Been there too.

 

No problem. There is so much BS in the "tuning" world that it can be frustrating some times.

 

I heard that thoe light weight flywheels can sometimes comes right off at high speeds and enter the cabin. That would of course get very messy. I have no clue if this is true or not.

 

That's entirely possible. I'm sorry if I made it sound like all lightweight flywheels will cause engine chatter. There's a fine line that a lot of manufacturers cross where lightweight flywheels become a problem. Anything too light and you definitely start to notice the chattering I'm talking about. It's more a more common problem on 6 and 8cyl engines than 4cyl.

Did you do the underdrive pullies at the same time?

 

Can happen if the flywheel is not properly installed. But I never heard of it entering the cabin. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though.

 

Yes, but not the crank pulley, because F22's have harmonic balancers, and it is pretty important to retain those, because if you slap in say an UR crank pulley, you lose the dampener, and it has reportedly caused crankshafts to crack. But definitely, the accessory pulleys have been swapped for lighter CNC machined billet aluminum underdrive pulleys. There again, nice little mod, though costly for the bang, but there are no downsides to changing them, especially when you have a healthy alternator.

EDIT: We may be coming to an agreement here, because I don't have any experience with V6s and V8s. I know for a fact that the harmonic balance of 4 cylinder engines is usually much higher than on 6 and 8's, who often need to be heavily counterweighed to prevent deadly vibrations at higher engine speeds. Harmonic balance for a typical 2 litre 4 banger is somewhere around 10,500rpm if I am correct, so it is not as critical as say a V8, where it is usually situated at around 4500rpm.

 

Good, it sounds like you did the right thing. There are very few things on honda engines that you can safely run at lower rpm's than what they are designed for. The weight savings will yield a slight but noticable increase in "revability" out of the engine.

 

I don't know the gear ratio. But the dearlershipis UNIVERISITY ACURA in Fresno, CA. They told me about the mods they can do and a supercharger is one of them.

They also do brakes, exhaust, spings, and he said they were going to have a lot more mods coming out in the spring.