F23 Bolt-On Bonanza
—courtesy, Tuner Performance Reports magazine
The
Honda Accord is one of the most popular vehicles on the planet. The 2002
Accord used for this test was the daily driver of our Copy Editor Victoria
Wang. We say was as it became scrap thanks to a drunk driver. Fortunately,
Victoria is still in one piece and we were able to test a myriad of products
before the vehicles untimely demise.
PROJECT GOALS: STAGED PERFORMANCE
Our plan was simple with this Accord. We wanted to bolt-on a carefully selected combination of performance parts to improve the performance and utility of the vehicle. The plan was to get more without making any sacrifices to the creature comforts and character of the vehicle. The tried–and-true combination of intake, filter and exhaust was further enhanced with the addition of power pulleys, grounding wires, cam gears and high-performance engine oil.
THE BASELINE DYNOs
This Accord rolled in with 10,000 miles in pure stock condition. The factory engine was backed with a 4-speed automatic transmission. To eliminate a gear change in the middle of a dyno pull, we made all pulls with the gear selector in “2.” Baseline power checked in at just 108.4 horsepower at the wheels.
AEM Cold Air Intake System 
Intake systems are generally the first performance upgrade that enthusiasts select. In general, a well-designed intake system will offer a nice performance increase for a limited investment. The AEM Cold Air Intake system bolted in place without a hiccup. This 50-state legal system showed performance gains as high as 10 horsepower (at 4000 rpm). Power was enhanced across the entire powerband. Peak horsepower increased 4.7 horsepower at the wheels.
GReddy Exhaust System 
Victoria had a wide selection of possible exhaust system choices. In the end, she wanted a system that wouldn’t be loud, but would still deliver maximum performance. She opted for the GReddy exhaust system and was very happy with the sound quality. The fit of the system was excellent. This bolt-on increased peak horsepower by 2.9 horsepower. Gains were once again realized across the powerband with this bolt on. In fact, gains as high as five horsepower were realized at the higher rpm range.
DC Sport Header 
Headers are another critical ingredient in the performance recipe. Wanting to retain 50-state legality and maximize performance, we opted for a DC Sports 4-2-1 header. For the third item in a row, horsepower increases were made from the beginning to the end of the powerband. The DC Sports header added 3.6 peak horsepower to put us at 119.5.
Sun HyperGrounds 
After rave praises by the staff of XS Engineering on their experiences with Sun’s HyperGrounds, we decided to try a set for ourselves. While our gains were far from the big numbers realized by XS Engineering on other applications, the HyperGrounds got us to the 120 horsepower plateau. It’s our belief that the HyperGrounds may show much larger gains on older vehicles that have a poorer grounding technology than late-model Hondas. We’ll be continually testing HyperGrounds and relay the results to our readers.
More Octane, Less Power 
Seeing that we were in need of more fuel to continue testing, we took a trip to our corner gas station. This time the tank was filled with 91-octane, instead of the 89-octane that is typically used in the vehicle. Back on the dyno, the different gas resulted in lower power output. In the end, we lost 1.7 peak horsepower.
AEM Power Pulleys 
Looking to get pointed back in the right direction, it was time to install a set of AEM TRU Power performance pulleys. The AEM pulleys were just what we needed to get back in the business of producing power. By redirecting some of the power wasted in the accessory system to the wheels, we found a solid 3.1 horsepower at the wheels. Best of all, the power gains were realized across the board.
New NGK Plugs 
In the past, we’ve seen good power increases in the dyno from a fresh set of spark plugs. The factory platinum NGKs only had 10,000 miles which meant they had 40,000 miles worth of life. However, we wanted to see if a brand-new set would show any power increase. The new plugs worked like the different grade of gasoline. We lost power. A half of one horsepower was lost in the peak power department. Why? The used plugs most probably had a slightly bigger spark plug gap from the erosion that occurred from 10,000 miles of use. This bigger gap would allow for a slightly bigger spark that could help ignite a higher percentage of the air-fuel mixture. Had we had more time, we could have experimented with opening up the spark plug gap until we maximized power on the dyno. However, we were anxious to test more.
Royal Purple Motor Oil 
In the past, we’ve tested Royal Purple high-performance motor oils with great results. Royal Purple’s synthetic formula contains friction modifiers that reduce the amount of horsepower lost to friction. With friction reduced, you can also see the benefits of cooler operating temperatures and extended engine life. The Royal Purple elixir freed-up an additional 1.9 peak horsepower.
NEXT CASE
At the end of the day, we ended up with 122.8 horsepower and 126.7 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. This represented 13.3 percent increase in power over the stock powerplant. Had we kept the original plugs in place and not changed the fuel in the middle of the test. We should have seen another 2.2 horsepower or a peak of 125 horsepower at the wheels.
|
HP Level |
HP Increase |
% Increase |
| Baseline Power | 108.4 | ||
| Test 1 AEM CAI | 113.1 | 4.7 | 4.3% |
| Test 2 GReddy Exhaust | 116.0 | 2.9 | 7.0% |
| Test 3 DC Sports Header | 119.5 | 3.5 | 10.2% |
| Test 4 SUN HyperGrounds | 120.0 | 0.5 | 11.1% |
| Test 5 Premium Fuel | 118.3 | -1.7 | 9.1% |
| Test 6 AEM TRU-Power | 121.4 | 3.1 | 12.0% |
| Test 7 NGK New Plugs | 120.9 | -0.5 | 11.5% |
Test 8 Royal Purple® |
122.8 |
1.9 |
13.3% |
| FINAL POWER | 122.8 | +14.4 | 13.3% |
Before this project went to car heaven, our plan was to also dyno test an AEM adjustable cam gear along with an A’pex Integration Super SAFC fuel computer. These two components should have allowed us to approach the 130 horsepower mark.
—courtesy, Tuner Performance Reports magazine
