Right-hand drive UA4 from the Empire of Evil
 

Hi there. I've been here for a little while, mostly rummaging through the tech forums, and now I've decided why not introduce myself? My name's Pete, I'm from Russia, and a happy owner of a 2001 Honda Inspire UA4 (the right-hand drive version of the Acura TL). Curiously enough, though being a JDM model, it was assembled back in the day by the same Ohio plant which produced your cars ;) It's the only JDM generation which was made in the USA: the previous Inspire/Saber was made in Japan, as well as the newer ones (them being a knock-off of the USDM Accord). A while back I had a 5th gen Prelude, also JDM. I bought the car in 2010 after selling my 1993 Toyota Chaser Tourer V (that's the 1JZ-GTE model, twin-turbo). In 2012 I swapped the H22A for a J32A2 Type-S motor, which wouldn't fit under the hood - had to make a hole to accomodate the motor. Here's a pic of what that thing looked like:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...deefdecbf1.jpg

In 2013 I imported a 2005 Acura TL 6-speed to replace the automatic which went bad. Mine was one of the first two J32A/6-speed swapped Preludes in Russia at the time. The spec-list was quite modest - just an intake, exhaust and headers, which yielded a total of 291.6 horsepower at the crank. It was a pretty sprightly car, I loved every minute of it. Until a semi-truck veered into my lane back in October 2016 and hit me head on, totalling the car. A shame, that, since I did consider it my "forever car", but - well, life is life.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...10d412a88e.jpg

So that was the end of that story. After sorting everything out with the insurance company, I went ahead and bought my current car. I had it in mind pretty much right after my crash: I mean, I did have a motor and a gearbox on my hands specifically for that kind of car (Honda Inspire 1998-2003), so the deal was sealed, and I went looking for an example in decent shape. I live in Moscow myself, but this particular car, although popular in the eastern regions of Russia, is very rare in the capital city. The closest I could find was in Izhevsk (home to Mikhael Kalashnikov - the guy who invented the AK-47), which is 1300 kilometers away. In December 2016 I brought the car over to Moscow. The shell was in very good condition, no signs of serious collisions from what I can tell.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...d267830484.jpg
It was exactly what I was looking for - silver, without the Japanese touch-screen (which is seriously dated nowadays), and a 2.5 liter 200 horsepower motor, since I picked the car up with the 3.2 swap in mind. I could've bought a Type-S, but they're 260 horsepower, and tax rates here are calculated based on the power figure, so I'd rather my documents say 200 horsepower ;) and the base model does have velour interior, which I personally prefer to leather.

Anyway, 1.5 years in and the car has changed dramatically. I had to buy a new motor, since the one in the Prelude turned out to be damaged from the crash beyond repair (the block was cracked, it was a pretty brutal impact). It's for the better, since the rings were seized anyway, and that motor had an appetite for oil. Anyway, had the motor replaced, went all out with the bolt-ons (I wanted the car to be as fast as the old Lude, but had to compensate for the added weight) - straight-pipe exhaust, J37A mani, a proper CAI, headers, EGR delete, P2R thermal gasket, 70 mm TB from Skunk2, and something else I can't quite remember off the bat. Of course, I had the old six-speed installed, after replacing all the bearings inside for good measure (the old ones were fed up from my inconsistent oil changes - I'm not repeating that mistake again). The suspension has a bunch of poly bushings, plus I put in some Honda Avancier front struts to compensate for the weight-drop after installing the 6-speed as opposed to the old automatic - they brought the front end right down to where I wanted it. It has been a long, long journey getting the car to where I want, it wasn't easy, it cost me a lot of money (parts are way more expensive than in the States, so this was a pretty big commitment - I couldv'e probably bought an F30 3-series or something with the money I spent on this car since buying it 1.5 years ago). But the bottom line is that I'm very happy with the result, and have no desire whatsoever to sell it any time soon. Here are some pics of what the car looks like in its current state:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...2643493804.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...3d992cc6b9.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...b65a887084.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...62c6b8c308.jpg
I've recently gone to a single-mass flywheel conversion, which seems to be working pretty good so far:
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...3db68b6c06.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...0b74b09b8f.jpg

I'd like to extend a big thanks to the Azine community. Chatting with you guys has been nothing but a positive experience so far, everybody seems to be really outgoing and friendly. Cheers!

:rofl: Evil Empire.

Don't get me started about some of the text 'fights', in the comments section, I've had with RF Nationalists on the English version of Sputniknews lately.:) :io:

As an Americanets, personally let me say welcome Pete and that that was a nice summation of your car journey. Without going into to much detail, give us an idea of your profession. An F30 3 series, over here, is a nice goal to shoot for for some of us, as well.:thumbsup:

I mostly do English-Russian translation, so nothing involving drugs, slave-trade, embezzling or anything else illegal ;) I work for a certain translation firm which specializes in adapting YouTube videos for Russian viewers: for example, we manage the official Russian-language version of "Mighty Car Mods", I'm sure you've heard of them. Aside from video translation, I do some random text translations for a number of clients (local science institutes for example), and dabble in voice-over from time to time. If you've heard about Garage54 (the guys who made a spinner from three different cars) - I do some voice-over work for them - I also do video-editing for clients, and for a long time I had my own YouTube channel called SwapBlogRU (https://www.youtube.com/user/SwapBlogRU). It's pretty modest, about 55K subs, but we did some cool videos back in the day - I'm formerly an automotive journalist, worked in pretty much all of Russia's leading publications.

Sorry man, couldn't help myself not to go into a bit of detail ;)

I just watched your 'Honda Inspire' video on the SwapBlogRU link provided, very interesting. Even though I could not understand the native language, it was nice to hear the universal language of that J-series revving through the gears at time stamp 3:58-4:17 & 10:29-11:31. You guys get optimal performance with low humidity and those environmental temps of -5 & -10 degrees. :) Here in S. Florida it is the extreme opposite of 90-100% humidity and an average of 90-100+F degrees.:sad:

Oh man... I'd rather have your weather) winter in Russia isn't very pleasant

:rofl:

You know, there is a sizeable Russian diaspora in Aventura and just down the road in 'jet set' South Beach. Something to think about :wink:, just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen. :)

If I go to the US, I'd probably move to Seattle. My brother lives there, plus I've got a couple of really good friends living down there. We grew up together in the States, then we moved to Russia almost simultaneously, so we've spent a bit of time together here, before they bounced and made it over to Seattle at the end of 2016.

Also I don't think I'd be able to bring my car over to the US.

Speaking of Seattle, contact forum member Saving4aTL, he's a Ukrainian and he, IIRC'ly used to live in NJ and also lived/lives in the Portland Oregon/Seattle areas. There's a good chance he may know some of your peeps.:) :thumbsup: Tell him zeta sent you.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-p...harger-965385/

Wow neat stuff! The Prelude was a cool build! Any future plans for your UA4?

No, not really. Everything's set the way I want it. Just gotta sort out a few small things (maintenance related), and it's good to go.

Привет! 2008-й крутой год ;) на j35a8 небось?

Well, the manual is gone...( If anybody needs parts - I'll sell them cheap (since they are in Russia and shipping costs are a factor, nobody's buying them here for sure). I've put in basically an AV6 auto transmission (MRDA, not BAYA, but it's from the JDM equivalent of the Accords of those years). So far so good! Here's a short acceleration clip (180 km/h is 112 in mph - that's where the speed cutoff kicks in on the JDM cars). As for specs - well, 76 mil intake with pod filter, 70 mil TB, J37A1 mani, P2R thermal gasket, custom thermal gasket for the TB, bored intake manifold inlet (70 mil), some headers (one is from DC-Sports, the other is basically a custom copy), and a stock exhaust with cat delete.

Now I understand why there are so many crash videos from Russia...

That was such a cheap shot, man)

Wow. That J-swap in the Prelude must have been quite the project. Props for the creativity. So are you Russian or from an English speaking country that moved to Russia?

Hey man! If I'm to be completely honest, I wasn't the first person in Russia to swap a J-series into a Prelude - there were at least two cars that had the same conversion before me, and I merely followed in their footsteps ;) I'm Russian myself, born here, but raised in the States (my family moved to the States back in the 80's, taking me with them, obviously). Then in 1999 I moved back to Russia with my father, and have been living here ever since. So the natives generally consider me to be one of their own %)

That auto seems like it does a pretty good job in that video, Nothing like having a manual though why did you swap?

That manual cost me too much money over the last year. Mostly due to mistakes on my part. But the last issue came completely out of nowhere and was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back - the countershaft second gear lost a few teeth, and that's when I thought "I'm out, I can't do this anymore". And I went back to an auto. If I lived in the States and this wasn't my only car - I'd probably keep the manual and try to get it fixed. Given the reality of my situation - that wasn't an option. And actually I like the car better this way, an autobox definitely suits the character of the car better than a stick. The Prelude was a different story though, the manual in there was majestic.

Congrats.:)

The auto and that J sound strong.:thumbsup: Of course, with all that cold air...hehe.

Sounds like you know your way around some Hondas, that's a bummer about the bad luck with the manual, from what Ive heard theres not many issues with the 6mt. I agree, the auto goes well with your current car. Good luck with your future modding

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...7b8838e4da.jpg
Got me a set of new headers, waiting for them to arrive to Moscow) made by P2R

^
Congrats!

Make sure to give us a full critique on your impressions. :thumbsup:

Thanks man! Of course, they've already cleared customs, so they should be delivered very, very soon, and I'm throwing 'em on as soon as possible)

Nice.
You will be the first one on the forum, I believe, to receive them and have them installed on a J32. I bet they are going to sound great.:) Don't forget the pics!

Cool cars. I think I remember your car, or maybe the other J-swapped 5th gen, from a video I saw on a Prelude site.

Ok, so the headers are NOT a bolt on fit. We're currently trying to sort everything out at the exhaust shop.

:what:
I wonder if it has anything to do with the rear motor mount bracket and potential interference? Hope not.

Nope, the J-pipe doesn't clear the subframes. The headers themselves somewhat fit.

I'm assuming it was a different Prelude, all of my videos are in Russian.

Anyway, I've contacted P2R, they say that these headers fit their 98-02 spec Accord just fine. Tomorrow my shop will source the material needed to modify these headers to fit. I mean, there was talk about it being best to maybe reinstall the old headers, but as I see it - there's no turning back. Gotta slap them on one way or another, and I was promised some serious gains, so hopefully it'll be worth the trouble.

Sorry to see fitment issues with these, though, I guess, someone had to be the 'first' to give it a shot.

So what is the engineering plan your shop has in mind?

From your statement above, it appears like they have some kind of 'surgery' in mind for the headers at the j-pipe and/or the subframes?

Nothing subframe related. It involves repositioning the flanges on the headers themselves, plus cutting and welding the J-pipe to clear the subframe and other bits and pieces.

The 'mod' process sounds pretty extensive. :sad:

LOL, I was going to ask you what your impressions were with the 'American craftsmanship' of these headers in general was; (they look awful pretty in the pics!) however, with the fitment issues, I'm guessing you are not in awe? :)

Hopefully, with your added Russian 'fitment improvements', to say the least, you will get the 'promised serious gains' P2R hyped up about these.:thumbsup:

If I understand correctly, they outsourced this batch of headers, so they're not made in the USA. I mean, I am a bit upset, but then again, they do cost about as much as DC Sports (which are made from mild steel, and have literally turned to shit after five years of use). We'll see how the car drives after getting them fitted, I tend to believe P2R's promises, since they do know their J-series'. And if they promise gains - I'm pretty sure they will deliver.

You don't say? Probably Taiwan or China.:dunno:

:cheers:

I asked for details, but didn't get an answer))
Anyway, the headers have been installed, and, well, the result ain't too bad) the gains are definitely there. Especially when driving part throttle and at low revs. It's as if I have more displacement, the motor feels meatier, I guess. As for VTEC - it goes for sure, thing is that it wasn't a slouch before, with the old headers. I'll try doing some testing tomorrow, see if I can record a 0-180 km/h time. It was 17 seconds with the old headers, with a very relaxed start. I'll report back as soon as I have a number.

Here are a few shots - before and after modification - of the new headers. You can plainly see what exactly has been altered by the TIG-welds on the J-pipe.https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...a5670e24bf.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...48e5d2ac7e.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...edceef989e.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...68be77c63e.jpg