Best Honda Accord 5th Gen Mods

"All you need to know about performance parts and tuning the Honda Accord 5th Gen!"

Can you tune a 5th Generation Honda Accord? Yes with the right mods you can really transform its power and handling. We blow the lid on Accord Mods and help you find the best upgrades and modifications for your Accord in this exclusive tuning guide.

We were asked for more information on tuning and building a modified Accord 5th Gen and particularly which turbo upgrades work best, so we've created this how-to guide which covers our go-to parts for this engine and what we feel are the best value parts you can do.

Let us know in the comments which mods you've done and what your plans are for your modified Accord project.

Check out our video introduction to Honda Tuning, all you need to know about mods and upgrades on your Honda.

Best Accord Mods (5th Gen)

• Fast road Camshafts are are often the best upgrade for an engine, but ideally be fitted to your engine by someone who knows what they are doing and you might struggle to find one but you might have a local firm to regrind a stock cam .
• Intake Modifications and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods won't ADD HP in most applications, but they will enable you to lift power after other modifications by lessening the restrictive flow.
• Braking Mods - Improve your Accord 5th Gen's stopping power should be somewhere in your mods list.
• Accord 5th Gen Handling Improvements - Upgrading your suspension dramatically improves Accord 5th Gen handling Poly Bushes and Coilovers are typically fitted to achieve this
• Mapping - A Remapped Accord 5th Gen ECU offers the most advantage in terms of cost, aftermarket ECUs, and piggyback ECUs are all alternatives.
• Forced induction upgrades - Adding a turbocharger is the most efficient approach to increase your intakes air supply, which permits you to utilize more fuel and make better power figures. It is one of the most technically difficult upgrades it does provide the largest gains.
• Flowing and porting the engine head - for larger gains, you will get better flow and make a more efficient engine if you do this to support your other mods.
• Lightened Flywheels - a reduced weight flywheel will improve the engines rev changes. But not always beneficial for all Accord 5th Gen engines.
• Radiator Upgrades - keeping a tuned engine cool should be a priority in your Accord Tuning project.

Accord 5th Gen Tuning Stages

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Fast road camshaft, Suspension (mild drop), Drilled & smoothed airbox, Performance Brake Pads, Sports exhaust manifold, Remaps/piggy back ECU.

Typical stage 2 mods often include: Suspension (Sports), high flow fuel injectors, Fast road cam, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, Ported and polished head.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Competition cam, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Twin charging conversions, Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing & blueprinting, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression.

(We have Tuning guides for other Accord Generations, see the links below.)

4th Gen Accord Mods 5th Gen Accord Mods 6th Gen Accord Mods 7th Gen Accord Mods 8th Gen Accord Mods 9th Gen Accord Mods

Check out our video introduction to Honda Accord Tuning, all you need to know and full guide.

History of the Accord 5th Gen Engine

Honda developed two different versions in 1993, one for Europe and the other for Japan, America, and Asia-Pacific countries. These 1994 models were based on ‘CD’ chassis having various engine options available. Accord was given the title of “Motor Trend Import Car of the Year” in 1994. The Japanese models have four different engine sizes are available: 1.8L F18, 2.0 L F20, 2.2 L F22 VTEC, and 2.2 L DOHC VTEC. The trim lines for America and Canada remained the same as of the previous generation.

The 4-speed automatic transmission got an update for better grip over gear while driving on an incline. The interior also got some standard safety features such as reinforced side-impact beams, dual airbags, 4-wheel disc brakes, rear stabilizer bar, and anti-lock brakes.

Herein we detail the best approach to Accord 5th Gen tuning and provide tips on the greatest mods that work. Honda Accord 5th Gen are fantastic to work on and with carefully chosen uprated upgrades like a remap, turbo kits and camshafts you will increase your driving enjoyment.

A remarkable upgrade was the addition of a 2.7 L V6 engine in both LX and EX versions of the sedan, then named LX-V6 and EX-V6. The vehicle needs to be redesigned to fit a taller C27 engine along with the taller front fenders, and a distinct hood. Other specs include a dual-outlet exhaust, 15-inch wheels, and updated front grille.

The European model of the fifth-generation Honda Accord was also named as Honda Ascot Innova, produced from 1993 to 1998. The 4-door sedan was built in collaboration with the Rover Group and is unique to Europe. European Accord was based on the CB chassis retaining the six-light original layout of Ascot but it got modern looks with long, sleek, and rounded body proportions. European Accord has 3 engine choices: 2L F20A5 I4 SOHC, 2L F20A5 I4 DOHC, and 2.3L H23A I4 DOHC. This modern car has a superb fit and finishes, fuel efficiency, and good handling. The engineers tried their best to make the fifth-generation cars sportier to attract new car fanatics.

The updates got by the fifth-generation model include reduced window moldings for a cleaner look, merged rear windows for increased visibility, a larger bumper for greater effectiveness, a detailed aerodynamic wind tunnel for improved stability and fuel economy, a raised hood to minimize overheating issue, and a raised top of the back door to avoid passenger head hitting. The styling of the European accord differed dramatically from other models.

Tuning the Honda Accord 5th Gen and best Accord 5th Gen performance parts. If you own a Honda Accord from the 5th generation and are looking for modification and upgrade options for your car, here are some of the improvements that can be done to these cars.

Best Accord 5th Gen tuning parts

Even Though performance mods are popular with Accord 5th Gen owners it doesn't mean you should fit it, we shall focus on the best mods that will give your Accord 5th Gen the best power gain for you money.

 

Accord 5th Gen Handling/Suspension Upgrades

Now that you’ve got a fast car with ample engine and performance modifications, the next thing you must have is a great suspension system. That’s because, without a high-quality suspension, your ride quality won’t be too enjoyable.

One of the most popular reasons for tweaking your Accord 5th Gen suspension is to better its handling. In spite of this, we repeatedly witness the same mistakes over and over again.

Good Quality coilovers permit you to lower or raise the car and this allows you to fine tune your cornering performance.

If you are looking to upgrade the springs of your Honda Accord 5th generation, here are a few options that you must consider.

1. D2 Racing Pro Lowering Springs;
2. Skunk2 Lowering Springs;
3. TEIN H-Tech Lowering Springs;
4. Megan Racing Lowering Springs;
5. TruHart Lowering Springs.

Prices of these parts start from around $130 and go all the way up to $260.

Shocks/ Struts
The following shocks/ struts can be used for modifying the Honda Accord 5th generation cars:

1. KYB Excel-G Shocks/ Struts
2. TruHart Sport Shocks/ Struts;
3. KONI STR.T Shocks/ Struts;
4. Skunk2 Sport Shocks/ Struts.

These parts cost between $110 and $300. The more expensive ones deliver better results but if you are on a low budget, even the relatively cheaper ones work fine.

Accord Coilover Upgrades

You can install shocks, struts or springs but coilovers are the best option when it comes to suspension upgrades.

There are a wide variety of coilovers available in the market and thus the price variation is huge. However, you can use the following different options to get the best results from your Honda Accord 5th generation.

1. KSport Kontrol Pro Front & Rear Coilover Kit;
2. Godspeed Project Mono-SS Front & Rear Coilover Kit;
3. D2 Racing RS Full Coilovers;
4. Yellow Speed Racing Dynamic Pro Sport Front & Rear Coilover Kit;
5. Megan Racing EZ II Series.

What considerations must you make when setting up and selecting your suspension if your Accord 5th Gen serves as a daily car as well?

Improvements to the bushings

Bushing upgrades are needed so what's involved?

The suspension components of the Accord 5th Gen may be mounted to the car's chassis through bushings, which are rotatable rubber mounts. These rubber ones will lose their shape as they age.

Installing new OEM rubber bushings may dramatically improve the performance of your car.

It's probable that the ride may be a touch rougher because of the stronger polyurethane bushings but they'll last longer and maintain tighter handling.

Worn bushings may also accelerate the demise of other suspension components due to the increased vibration and play.

A new set of poly bushes may be able to mitigate the excessive play that comes with rubber bushes.

You may struggle to find a full set of polyeyurothane bushes, but most areas have the primary mounts available. Custom polyeyurothane bushings are often made to your requirements.

How low should you go on the Accord 5th Gen?

TorqueCars research and testing indicate that the maximum suspension drop for most road vehicles is 30 - 39 millimetres, whereas the maximum suspension drop for versions that come with lowered suspension already is 20 millimetres.

These tolerances may be drastically lowered if the wheel size is changed. Even with 16 or 17-inch wheels and conventional suspension, lowering the vehicle may create a a slew of problems.

Accord Remapping/Chip Tuning

If you are looking for different performance chips for your Honda Accord 5th generation vehicle, you have different options from various manufacturers such as:

1. GTE;
2. SMARTTUNE;
3. PIVOT;
4. PLP+;
5. AGT;
6. D1 SPEC;
7. OBDII compatible Tuning modules.

Accord 5th Gen Camshaft Upgrades

Getting a fast road cam will raise the higher RPM power and we generally recommend this as a primary mod on petrol engines, and secondary on Diesels to a remap. We've always seen top end power hikes through performance camshafts on most engines

The camshaft profile plays a big part in the engines power output so camshaft upgrades make quite a large difference. The intake & exhaust durations will alter depending on the chosen camshaft profile, so large bhp gains are on offer for camshaft upgrades.

Fast road camshafts normally push up the power through the rpm band, you could drop a little low down bhp but the high end rpm power will be lifted.

Motorsport and race camshafts, push up the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

A Race cam is not great in heavy traffic.

You should ideally match your bhp range to your driving style so for a car driven daily stick with a fast road Accord 5th Gen cam

Some Accord 5th Gen engines respond differently primarily due to the airflow when camshafts are fitted depending on the camshaft being more extreme camshaft durations than others as unique due to manufacturing tolerances and quality variations so check your engine on a rolling road.

The ECU mapping and fuel delivery and fuel pump also will say much on the torque gains you'll make.

A longer valve duration can alter the torque range, and on most engines there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations and valve lift.

ECU Mapping Improvements for the Accord 5th Gen

Remaps will help to establish the full potential of all the modifications you've fitted to your Accord 5th Gen.

(Sometimes chip tuning the ECU is not an option, so an aftermarket ECU is the route to take, and many of these will outperform factory ECU's but make sure it has knock protection and that you get it installed right.)

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NA (naturally aspirated) engines, but your results will depend much on the modifications you've done and the condition of your engine.

Air Intake Mods on the Accord 5th Gen

Air intakes are one of the most vital upgrades when it comes to increasing the performance of your vehicle.

You can use various air intakes for this purpose but we recommend the following:

• Weapon-R Dragon Short Ram Air Intake System
  For the 2.0 litre engine Honda Accord 5th generation vehicles, Weapon-R Dragon Short Ram Air Intake System is a great option which costs around $200.
• 69-1208TS K&N Performance Air Intake System
  This air intake system from K&N is the best option for the 5th generation Honda Accords with 2.2 L4 engines.
  The process of installation is quite easy and the whole system can be installed in around 90 minutes making it a highly desirable DIY project. The cost for this intake system is around $420.

• Weapon-R Secret Weapon Short Ram Air Intake System
  This intake system works well for the 2.7 litre Honda Accord 5th generation cars and costs roughly $280.

Forcing air and fuel into each cylinder is the aim to any engine modification job.

The intake plenum take the air from the filter and allow it to be drawn into the engine and mixed with fuel.

The bore size, shape and flow rate of the Intake manifolds can make a large difference to to fuel engine efficiency on the Accord 5th Gen.

On popular production engines intake manifolds are crying out for a performance upgrade, although some makers provide decently flowing plenum chambers.

Fitting big valve kits, doing a bit of 3 or 5 angle valve jobs and porting and head flowing will also increase performance, & importantly will allow you to get raising the performance increase on other mods.

Accord 5th Gen Turbo upgrades

NA (naturally aspirated) engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your Accord 5th Gen

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes impressive power gains.

It's not unheard of tuners spending a stack of money on turbo upgrades on the Accord 5th Gen only to have the whole thing catastrophically fail when it's first rolling road session.

There is no bolt-on turbocharger kit specifically available for the Honda Accord 5th generation vehicles. (If you know of one let us know in the comments below please). However, you can fit a universal part such as the BorgWarner AirWerks S400SX Super Core Cartridge but be sure you know what you are doing, this is not a simple DIY mod.

The part can be obtained for around $1150 which is a lot of money but the performance enhancement obtained from a turbocharger is unmatched.

Intercooler for Turbocharged Accord Engines

After you’ve fit a turbocharger to your vehicle, you must ensure the supply of cold dense air to the engine for getting enhanced output. In this regard, various options are available in the market. However, we recommend using the Mishimoto universal intercooler for this purpose.

The best thing about this part is that it costs just $180 which makes it a compelling option for those low on budget but still wanting impressive performance.

Big capacity turbo chargers commonly suffer no power at low rpm, and low capacity turbo chargers spool up much more quickly but do not have the high rpm power band gains.

Thanks to new tech the selection of turbo chargers is always improving and we are seeing variable vane turbo chargers, where the vane profile is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end performance.

Twin scroll turbo chargers divert the exhaust flow into a couple of channels and push these at differently profiled vanes in the turbo. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

You'll commonly see there's a restriction in the air flow sensor (AFM/MAF/MAP) on the Accord 5th Gen when considerably more air is being pulled into the engine.

Going up you'll find 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor was restricting power at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp and torque gains, although more complex to get working. We have this article covering twinchargers if you want to read more.#

Accord 5th Gen Radiators

While stock radiators do a great job when it comes to unmodified cars, their performance is often not enough for upgraded vehicles.

That’s because a powerful engine produces more heat and for effective heat dissipation, an upgraded radiator is a must.

You can use the Mishimoto Performance Aluminum radiator which has an efficient aluminium core and has a two-row design.

Other options in this regard include:

• Northern Radiator Sport Compact Aluminum Engine Coolant Radiator;
• Griffin Thermal High-Performance Aluminum Crossflow Radiator.

Accord 5th Gen Fuelling Upgrades

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to increase the fuelling when you start going beyond 20% of a power increase. Boosting the fuel pressure can provide a better the acceleration responsiveness.It makes sense to be generous with your injector capacity.

A modified vehicle requires more fuel. That’s because a higher quantity of air and fuel mixture is burnt during the combustion process for obtaining greater hp and torque figures.

For this purpose various fuel delivery upgrades are useful. Some of these include:

• DeatschWerks In-Tank High Flow Fuel Pump costing around $105;
• Walbro In-Tank High Flow Fuel Pump.

Pressure regulators also come in handy for ensuring high-pressure fuel delivery to the engine. In this regard, you have the option of choosing

• BLOX Fuel Pressure Regulator;
• DeatschWerks Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator.

Some people like to install injector drivers for optimizing fuel delivery to their vehicle’s engine. The Hondata injector driver for the Honda Accord 5th generation is an amazing option in this regard and it costs under $400 which makes it highly appealing.

Fuel Injectors

Fuel injectors play a primary role in improving the performance of your vehicle. If you have installed a turbocharger, intercooler and an air intake system for getting enhanced performance from your car, fitting high-quality fuel injectors is a must.

We recommend going for the following options for your Honda Accord 5th generation vehicle:

• Grams High-Performance Fuel Injector Kit which starts at around $400;
• Injector Dynamics Fuel injectors. You can choose from various capacities which include ID1050x, ID1300x, ID1700x and ID2600-XDS.

Depending upon which Injector Dynamics fuel injectors you choose, these parts can cost anywhere between $550 and $1500. You can select the one that meets your needs.

The rule of thumb is to add another 20% when buying an injector, helps cope with injector deterioration and gives a bit of spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

5th Gen Accord Wheel Upgrades

The benefits of alloys include reducing your unsprung weight and better brake cooling via the extra air flow they allow. Get a good track legal slick tire to improve your handling and help improve traction on your Accord. Large Accord alloys can decrease performance. If you get big alloys you will be changing your final drive ratio.

Although some people have with bigger wheels we would stick to a 1 inch rim size upgrade as the maximum. and I personally find that smaller wheels perform better in everyday driving.

The Honda Accord 5th generation vehicles were equipped with the following different wheel sizes depending upon the model of the car:

The US Domestic Models had the following tyres:

The 2.2i model was fit with the following tyre options

• 185/70R14;
• 195/60R15.

The 2.7i had the 205/60R15 tyres.

The European Domestic Models were fit with the following tyres:

2.0i Model

• 185/70R14;
• 185/65R15;
• 185/70R14;
• 195/60R15.

2.2i Model

• 185/65R15;
• 195/60R15;
• 195/60R15;
• 195/55R16.

2.3i Model

• 195/60R15;
• 195/60R15;
• 205/60R15;
• 205/55R16.

Accord 5th Gen Performance Exhausts

Only look to upgrade your exhaust if the existing exhaust is actually creating a flow problem.

On most factory exhausts you'll find the flow rate is fine even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts generally help improve air flow from the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too big or you will choke your flow rate. Generally speaking you should stick to around 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Typically exhaust restrictions are in the catalyst installed, so adding a faster flowing high performance aftermarket catalyst removes the restriction, and without resorting to doing an illegal test pipe mod, will keep the car road legal. We note that performance catalyst perform similarly to catless exhaust mod and have the added benefit of keeping your car street legal, as decat or catalyst removal is not a legal mod.

Weak spots, Issues & problem areas on the Accord 5th Gen

The Accord 5th Gen engines are generally reliable and solid as long as they are regularly serviced.

Carbon build up in the head, particularly around the valves which will cause flat spots and loss of power, this is a larger issue on direct injection engines but should be looked out for on all engines. We have tips on removing carbon Avoid short journeys and use a good quality fuel.

Service time oil changes are vital on the Accord 5th Gen, and more importantly so when the car is tuned and will help ensure reliability of the engine.

If you want to learn more, or just get feedback on Tuning your Accord 5th Gen engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Accord 5th Gen tuning options in more detail with our Accord 5th Gen owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Honda tuning articles to get insights into each modification and how effective they will be.

Please help us improve these tips by sending us your feedback in the comments box below.

We appreciate people taking the time to tell us what our members have got up to and which mods work best for them on each model of car. We use your comments and feedback to improve the accuracy of these Accord 5th Gen tuning guides which get regular updates and revisions.

This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Honda. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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