Newbie has questions, seeking input!

[phoenixitc]

This is my first post so be gentle...

I have a 95 Accord EX 4-dr sedan with 113,000 miles. It's a very well maintained daily driver. I use it to shuttle 3 kids to school/daycare and to work. I need to maintain very high reliability. The only modifications made to date is the additional of an AEM CAI and PIAA Extreme bulbs everywhere possible. I do not intend to race or autocross. I need the ride to be same or better than stock, comfort is important.

Ok... here are my thoughts on modifying the car:

1) Wheels to 17", tires to 215/45/17. I am considering Fast Modes or Splines for the wheels. I need all weather tires to ensure best all around traction. I'm considering Conti Extremes or Yoko AVS/DB2s. Possibly lower the car by 1-1.5" at most, just to reduce the ugly gap in between tire and wheelwell.

2) Upgrade front brake system to AEM big rotors and AEM pads. Rear rotors will remain stock.

3) Add DC Sports or Greddy stainless headers. Leave cat and pipes stock. I am concerned about losing low-end torque. I want to add low-end torque to compensate for larger wheels/tires. I want keep noise increase to a minimum as the CAI has already increased noise above 3k rpm's. I absolutely don't want the high-pitched sound commonly heard coming out of tailpipes.

4) Shocks/springs: not sure about this. Thinking maybe Koni yellows or something that will provide a better ride than stock. Again, handling is not as important as the ride.

5) AEM pulleys... seriously considering this but worried about battery charging. I had underdrive pulleys on an 88 Firebird that was modified. There was no battery charging at idle, only above 1k rpm. Not sure if this is an issue with Accords.

My ultimate goal is to improve looks and ride. Performance increases would be nice to offset additional weight of wheels but reliability is most important.

Any thoughts on what I am doing? Thanks in advance.

[Igovert500]

First off welcome to AF!
A few suggestions/thoughts:
1) You mentioned ride comfort is important, larger rims and all-season tires will make the ride a little rougher and produce a bit more road noise. Nothing bad or annoying, just a slight difference, but those seem like good choices. However, larger rims with the addition of lowering springs, and you will notice a vast difference on rough roads, and your ride quality will suffer.
2) Big brake kits really aren't necessary at all. Upgrade your pads, bleed your brakes, and turn your rotors and you'll be good, better pads will cut down braking distances. Larger rotors really aren't necessary if you aren't racing or braking alot from 100+mph. Maybe switched to cross-drilled or slotted if you really want to upgrade, but I really don't see a need for larger rotors.
3) Headers will make a bit more noise, although it will be deeper, as long as you don't change out your entire exhaust. Just don't expect tremendous gains if you leave the rest of your exhaust system stock. In essence you are freeing airflow in the beginning, but it runs into the same resistance later on in the catback system. You will gain a bit more power, and you wont loss back pressure, and the noise wont be horrible, but I am simply saying, don't expect tremendous gains, as the airflow will still be restricted.
4) Upgraded shocks will help ride performance, but as I said before, lowering springs will worsen it.
5) Pulleys are debated. I don't know if you are familiar with the debate, but they can do damage to your engine. Some swear they are fine, some refuse to use them. I guess you are familiar with them as you had them on your pontiac, I am simply suggesting researching the possible risks of them a bit more if you are unfamiliar with the debate.
Hope that helps.

[phoenixitc]

Thanks for the reply.

I'll hold on the headers for now.

I've been reading several forums regarding brake upgrades. Brembo slotted blanks seem to be a popular option. My question now is what pads to use. Some feel Axxis are good, others say Hawk. AEM pads supposedly work well on the AEM big rotor upgrade. OEM brakes/pads on Accord are not the best for emergency stopping. My driving is fairly normal, not a lot of bump-n-go, more highway. I am looking for shorter stopping distances in emergency situations. I am not sure what the makeup of OEM pads are and I am not familiar with the pros/cons to ceramic versus OEM. AEM's are kevlar/ceramic. I will be replacing the rubber brake lines with metal as I've read that this improves brake feel.

Is anybody familar with FAST wheels? They seem to have limited U.S. distribtion, primarily Canada. Also, I watch an episode of Tuner Transformation on SpeedTV and saw a Saturn ION with "ZEON wheels by Cooper." I can't find any info on these wheels.

I'll probably hold off on the lowering until I have the 17" on.

[VTECsop]

alright, you got yourself a really good car. I have a 95 ex coupe 5spd. If you wanna lower your car put some springs, not coilovers. Eibach has 2 types of springs for your car. the sportline and the proline. I have sportline, lowers 1.8 - 2.0 in. The prolines lower 1.o to about 1.5 at the most. eibach is what I would go for. And headers, I have a 4-2-1 header I got off ebay. if you want torque you need 4-2-1. 4-1 one loses torque but you get more horses. don't get ceramic, they stay cooler but crack. get stainless and buy some header wrap and seal the stainless header. and shocks, if yours aren't blown, don't replace them. if they are get some tokico racig shocks

[92lx]

big brake kits are for looks. In all tests I've seen, they actually in most cases, reduced braking distance (specifically the AEM one, this is not so much true with a lot of others). Yes, they do increase brake performance under hot driving conditions, but not actual brake distances. They do however give the driver a more "secure" feeling, as it takes less pedal pressure to lock up the wheels.

The problem comes from the fact that with most of these kits, they do not change the brake proporitioning from stock, so it throws the brake system off. Basically, you wind up with very strong brakes up front, and weak in the front. While the front do most of the braking, if you upgrade them and not the rears, the rears will do A LOT LESS braking than they did before (you won't even be able to lock them (or rather, come close to) up, if the bias is off too much).

Basically, throw out the brake upgrade, except for some good quality pads and maybe some cross drills of stock size.

And for the record, this is all very true, as I did an internship under my friend's uncle who is head engineer at GM's concept car department - and his specialty is in braking systems.

Of course, I have explained it very poorly, but there is a better way at turnfast.com if you look there.

- Nathan

[phoenixitc]

I just ordered a set of AEM pads. I'll be ordering Brembo slotted blanks this week. The cost for the single set of front AEM big rotors pays for rotors and pads all around. Thanks for all of the replies regarding the brake questions.

Shocks are original. Honda mechanic says they're in good shape. I'll hold off to replace them until after other upgrades are completed. Gotta pay for the brakes, wheels, and tires first.

Anybody know what the weight of the 15" OEM EX wheel is? I read is around 17lbs. I currently run Michelin Energy MXV4s.

[Myrrdex]

will the larger brakes wear out faster if you are using them the same way as you are using the OEM ones.... and what about if you got slotted or cross drilled. I am having a problem keeping my brakes on my car as far as i keep having to replace pads and resurfacing rotors and i was wondering which one of these will last the longest and if i should even replace my factory brakes.

[phoenixitc]

Originally Posted by Myrrdex

will the larger brakes wear out faster if you are using them the same way as you are using the OEM ones.... and what about if you got slotted or cross drilled. I am having a problem keeping my brakes on my car as far as i keep having to replace pads and resurfacing rotors and i was wondering which one of these will last the longest and if i should even replace my factory brakes.

My front rotors are original, believe it or not! I had a brake job done at 60k which involved resurfacing and new pads. I have no clue how long AEM pads will last with Brembo slotted rotors. I only drive 12k miles per year so it's not relative. I'm fortunate to not have to deal with heavy traffic on a daily basis. I'll update this thread once I have the rotors and pads installed.

[phoenixitc]

Do I need to replace the brake fluid? If yes, what's the best?

[phoenixitc]

Ok...
AEM pads, Brembo slotted rotors, and H&R OE springs on their way. I'll get them installed within a week or so.

[dfaulkner]

I have a 94 EX coupe lowered close to 3" on 205/40/17's that I shuttle my two kids around in every day. The ride is not too bad either and I dont scrape on anything except a speed bump or two if they are real big. Just my input. Good luck with the modding!!!

[phoenixitc]

Originally Posted by phoenixitc

Ok...
AEM pads, Brembo slotted rotors, and H&R OE springs on their way. I'll get them installed within a week or so.

Ok... as wife would often say... slowly but surely...

New rotors and pads installed today. Holding off on install of springs until Koni yellows arrive. Will have SS brake line kit installed with springs and struts.