New Guy - Questions About My '02 EX

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kriz

kriz

New Member
Hey everyone, I recently found this board looking for some info on exhaust systems and decided to join.

I'm a 17 year old high school student who just recently got his very first car. I got an '02 Honda Accord EX w/ VTEC 6-cyl 3.0L engine (All stock) and I've got to say I'm really happy with it. I'm no street racer but I would like to make some modifications to my car, problem is I don't know very much about cars in general and I don't have an uncle or cousin or friend to show me the way... so I'm here! ;)

I don't have a lot of money at the moment but I'm saving up and I'm planning to do a few things to my car. Amongst a few minor details I'm looking to get new rims/tires and change out my exhaust tip. I've been reading up on the internet and I am a little more confused now than I was before. I thought it would be simple to switch out my exhaust tips for some cooler looking/sounding ones but now I've found out that I may need a resonator if I don't want my car to sound like crap. Since I don't have a clue of what I'm doing I would really appreciate any advice from you knowledgable Honda owners lol.

Hope that didn't get too long, and thanks for your help! :thumbsup:
 
IMO, the car already has some decent power.. so upgrade teh wheels, suspension and brakes first .. then focus on the motor.. oh, and an exhaust tip isnt gonna do much for performance.. just make it loud.. change teh whole exhaust system.. you're gonna have to save for a while though
 
eg6sir said:
IMO, the car already has some decent power.. so upgrade teh wheels, suspension and brakes first .. then focus on the motor.. oh, and an exhaust tip isnt gonna do much for performance.. just make it loud.. change teh whole exhaust system.. you're gonna have to save for a while though
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:werd: If you want a better sounding exhaust look into getting a cat back system, they arent cheap for a good sounding one so keep this in mind when looking at them.
 
you have a great car to roll around in. plus you are still in high school.

just get some wheels and a decent suspension. get a GOOD alarm. hang out and pick up girls.

you aren't going to get much out of modifications for that car. save your money for movies and eating out.
 
don't get a tip.

several reasons

1) it will look like shit
2) it wont add power
3) people will think you are trying to be fast and furious in an accord. it's a grocery getter, not ricky racer
4) it will sound like shit
5) you can spend the money better on other parts of the car
6) it will sound like shit and not add power (just trying to make a point)
 
Yeah the alarm is the first thing I'm upgrading... Thanks for the advice, I thought I'd get an exhaust tip first since it seemed to be less expensive than getting rims/tires but I guess it would be better to save that for later and get a whole exhaust system.

Again I'm not a racer so I'm not trying to make the thing into a beast, I just want to customize it a bit make it look a little better but I agree the car is the shit as it is.

And I think its more than a grocery getter :p
 
A nice set of wheels and maybe a little drop will make the car look 78564 times better than an exhaust tip.
 
kriz said:
And I think its more than a grocery getter :p
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you're right, it's a pussy getter.
umawagon.jpg



and don't upgrade the tip. people will laugh at you and girls will think you are trying to be fast and furious. if it's the ONLY mod you have, it looks ridiculous.

save for the wheels and tires and a stereo. just keep it from getting stolen.
 
lol I hear ya, thanks a lot for the advice guys its much appreciated.

As far as the wheels go, any ideas on dimensions/brands? As I said before I'm pretty clueless... I don't want very large rims but I'm not even sure how big the stocks are. I'm thinking probably 17" will do but I'm not sure about the thickness.
 
I always say, keep the stock tire diameter. If you get plus size rims, get low pro tires that give you the same size diameter the original wheels had.

Maybe some suspension work? Springs/shocks? Coilovers?
 
One thing I've learned is, don't get impatient. Save up for the things you really want. I've made so many regrettable purchases for my civic I could have been fully built and boosted by now. Just take your time, think things through before spending the loot, ask around, have a plan or goals for your car, etc.

Or if you don't know what you really want yet, start putting money aside. Things look so much better when you drop 6k into your car in one work session rather than a front lip here, an exhaust there, a header here, and a tune months from then.
 
Yea you're right, that's exactly why I joined here. I want to do some research before I start dropping money onto the car, specially since I only have a part time job and I don't make that much money its a big thing to do but its something I really want.

This may sound a little stupid but the other day I learned to change the break pads on the car and it felt so good working on my car even though it was something small and silly. I really want to learn more and do more stuff to it.

I was thinking of getting 17" or maybe 18" rims with the thinner tires (idk what they're called) since I've read that getting bigger/wider tires can really hurt handling/power on a car.
 
stock they come w/ 16's, ... so 17's wouldnt look bad on an Accord.. .. plus the Accord is a bigger car so they wouldnt make it look like a Hot Wheel like 17's do a CRX
 
sheet, sell it. and invest in a old honda. and with all that sparemoney from selling it to a grandma. boost her.:)
 
lancemah said:
sheet, sell it. and invest in a old honda. and with all that sparemoney from selling it to a grandma. boost her.:)
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No way man, she's my baby I'm not selling her.

Looking further into the future, any of you guys got an idea of how much a full sound system of decent quality might cost?
 
kriz said:
No way man, she's my baby I'm not selling her.

Looking further into the future, any of you guys got an idea of how much a full sound system of decent quality might cost?
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Anywhere from $100 to $10,000...

No, seriously though, that question is VERY vague. You have so many options with audio that you'd really need to be a bit more specific for us to even give you a ballpark figure.

And in regards to your original question, don't just get a tip. Tips are just for looks, they do nothing power wise. If anything, buy yourself a decent after-market muffler, preferably something oval-shaped with a straight through design (think Magnaflow) and have it installed by a shop. That way you'll get sound, looks, and a bit of performance...
 
Depends on what you want in a stereo, but I'd save atleast a grand, more like 2 for a nice one. 2 12s in a nice box with a good amp and quality cable, capacitors if necessary. Do you know what you want in a system?
 
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