power please. view please.

tltypes

Full member
Points
31
Location
united states. 63146
Car
tl type s 3.2l
i own a 2002 acura tl type s. i was wondering what kind of power i get to the wheels my engine is 260hp and 232tq. i have 136k miles. and my car weighs 3600lbs... i want to make my car faster my fuel cut off is at 7300rpm range. what rpms should i shift at and what not to get max acceleration. i know i sound like a dumbass but i need to start sometime. but what engine mods what can i do engine swaps that would be better than mine? anything would help.
 
Hi there and may I wish you a warm welcome to TorqueCars, it is a pleasure to meet you.

The best mods for a car engine are as follows.
Internal work yields the biggest gains, head work like porting polishing and 3 angle valve jobs will maximise the airflow and raise the power.

If you want to go to the max then cryo treat the block, get it rebored and look into blueprinting and balancing as well.

Bigger valves are an obvious addon but not all engines are suitable as it depends how close together the OEM valves are.

A fast road cam will yield good power gains, especially in the top end of the rev range. Don't go mad though a profile of up to 270 degrees will give the best gains without the engine becoming cammy.

The most popular power mods are induction kits (which are questionable as power mods but they can sound nice if that is your sort of thing) and sports exhausts with sports catalysts or decats.

To keep the car legal I'd recommend a sports catalyst rather than a decat.
The last mod should always be a remap as this will allow you to fully realise the power gains on offer from your mods.

It's worth having a read of the articles on www.torquecars.com/tuning/ for more information on these mods and what the terms mean.
 
would having vtec kick in at a lower rpm create gains in acceleration as well? i know how it works and makes engine more efficient and powerful but im wondering if that was true why would vtec always be engaged
 
the VTEC comes in at higher revs as the engine needs more air in quicker - the tec allows the cams to open the valve for longer.

iirc if it was open all the time the low down engine would struggle even more with torque - and hondas dont exactly have much to begin with

it also means you get decent fuel economy :)
 
i know everything about vtec im just wondering why if its more efficient why you wouldnt want it at low rpms as well. i also know i-vtec is a less harsh kick in and it kicks in at lower rpms
 
sorry im not that clever

think of it as having a comp/racecam - going alot further as its more noticeable
you end up with a lumpy tickover as the car isnt running efficiently
 
dont get me wrong there is plenty that you could do. being in the US its probably easier than over here, just that it wont be as cheap as others engines to work with
 
yeah, would the power gains be more seeing as though i have a v6 instead of a straight 4 as most honda engines. im thinking common sense would say i would have more gains but also i wouldnt really know. im just looking to do a 0-60 time within 4.5-5 seconds and then ill be fine lol.
 
my rev limiter is 7500 found out today by accident. i usually shift at around 6800-7000 rpms and just seafoamed my car 2 hours ago so im expecting increased performance. it feels like it but a very small amount my car makes me smile. i can get a little squeel shifting from 1st to 2nd on asphalt if im revving high. im just wondering with 136k miles what i cn do without making car interior different and without using forced induction
 
Interior wise you can do a leather re-trim, fit some bucket seats, colour code plastics. It all depends on how deep your pockets are, and how much imagination you have.

Forced Induction is the easiest (and most cost effective) way to get increases from Hondas. At 136k miles I'd be inclined not to spend to much on the car, at least only on stuff that can be removed.

How much are you willing to spend? Do you want to do stuff yourself?
 
yeah, would the power gains be more seeing as though i have a v6 instead of a straight 4 as most honda engines. im thinking common sense would say i would have more gains but also i wouldnt really know. im just looking to do a 0-60 time within 4.5-5 seconds and then ill be fine lol.

yes you would see bigger gains over the 4 cylinder models but the gains would still be petty low.
for a 60 time in 5 seconds youd need to go FI or major work on your engine
 
mother #!#!#!#!er. so im really thinking its not worth it to do all this. im thinking maybe one day what ill day is unbolt all my seats and take out floor mats and spare tire and tire iron and use a 1/4 tank of gas and just race then lol id obviously leave my seat though i would just do stuff i could put back on lol but only for a day. do you think id beat my friend who has a 2000 saab 9-5 aero with 99k miles on it?
 
what ive come up with so far is injen ram air, and dc sport headers, is there anything i need to do to the exhaust system more? and i can't find pulleys for my car, also would some sort of tuner work?
 
remove the cat if youve not already done so
what do you mean by tuner ?

the weight reduction would help alot but unsre about beating the saab as it would depend on what it had done to it
 
the saabs stock and its definetly not an off the line car. and removing the catalytic converter? that doesnt sound good to me what would happen if i did? smell different
? sound different? im not wanting my car to look like or sound like a ricer. and a tuner like a plug and play tuner for my car that would modify fuel and air and injection and stuff
 
ahh you mean mapping - or standalone ECU

reoving the cat would free the engine up slightly more, however it will make it louder. If you also have emissions tests then there could be issues passing them.

a remap (although i think hondas are funny with their ECUs) would possibly give you 12-15 bhp more on the V6
 
removing the catalytic converter?? is there a how to and would this affect the sound of my car cause i dont want a ricer just a faster car and a tuner to work with air fuel mixes and then the saab only runs a 7.1 0-60 and its not an off the line car at all
 
removing the catalytic converter?? is there a how to and would this affect the sound of my car cause i dont want a ricer just a faster car and a tuner to work with air fuel mixes and then the saab only runs a 7.1 0-60 and its not an off the line car at all

Removing the catalytic converter and replacing it with a de-cat (basically a straight throught pipe) will increase power slightly as exhaust gases can flow out quicker, but it will make the car louder.

By 'tuner' you mean ECU. The car's computer in basic terms. You can get it remapped (reprogrammed) so that it runs at a higher level of power.
 
but since im bouncing around so much ive decided what im gunna do and id like feed back. apexi exhaust. ram air. headers. dyno tune and anything else that would help? thats not expensive like performance spark plugs or something
 

Please watch this on my YouTube channel & Subscribe.


Back
Top