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Messing with "the weird one" of the K family

931 views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Corweena  
#1 ·
Hello everyone......new here, but not to Hondas. I started my journey in 2008 when I got a '96 Accord coupe as my first car, and things have only spiraled from there. I've had four 5th Gen Accords over the years....3 coupes and a wagon. Here's a few pics of the Accords:

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I still have a 97 EX 5-speed coupe, but that is getting a full rebuild....interior, suspension, H22 swap w/ LSD, etc. Will end up getting painted as well, once I decide on a color.

I was daily driving the 97 Accord wagon, but sold that last year as I wanted a slightly newer car to daily, particularly something that was AWD. I had initially looked at getting a 2nd Gen CR-V, but was not super impressed with how they drove, not to mention the EX AWD models were extremely overpriced. I then shifted my focus to the 05+ Acura RL, but didn't want to sacrifice cargo space....and so I ended up on the 1st Gen Acura RDX. I remembered reading about the one Honda Tuning modified as one of their project cars way back in like 2013, so I knew it had potential. The first one I test drove I knew this was the car I wanted.

Did my research, and ended up picking up a very well optioned Diamond White Pearl 2008 RDX Tech Package with black interior, no roof rack, and the OEM optional front lip and rear diffuser (which I learned were both extremely rare parts). Mileage was up there at 195k, but I was only the 3rd owner, and it had been dealer serviced by the original owner until 182k miles.

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I had to re-rice a few things on the car first.....fake carbon vinyl wrap on the bumper and ALL over the interior. Ditch the badly smoked and peeling headlights, and lose the "quad tips" that were poorly booger welded to the stock muffler.

Over the course of the first year I knocked all those items out.
Got my hands on some blackhoused headlights from the facelifted model, ditched the stock wheels for some 19x9.5 SSR GTX01s and 275/40s. Trashed the stock exhaust for a new ATLP catback. There is not much I can do visually on the exterior, so I've mostly left it at that.

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With the visual stuff out of the way, I set about getting to work under the hood. I had been doing maintenance as things popped up, which helped me familiarize myself with the K series motors, as I had previously only dealt with F and H series.

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#2 · (Edited)
Being a turbo motor, I was itching to start working on making more power, so I began the long tedious search for discontinued and custom made parts, all while moving across the county from California to Tennessee. Which leads me to where it sits today.

Stock engine bay (minus intake)
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And now:
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Here is what is done to the car as of now:
Hondata Flashpro
DW 1000cc injectors
Custom front mount intercooler
RV6 catless downpipe
ATLP exhaust
Turbosmart Dual Port BOV
Upgraded transmission cooler

A little sound clip

I'm currently working toward the goal of maxing out the power I can produce on the stock TD04 turbo. I have a spare intake manifold I just got back from being ported, and it will be paired with a 70mm ZDX throttle body. I'll also be dropping in a DW300c fuel pump, so I can run e85. Once that is done, I'll be having Derek at IMW tune the car, as he is most familiar with tuning the K23s. I'd be extremely happy if I can hit 280whp/340wtq....those numbers might seem low, but this car suffers almost a 25% drivetrain loss between the auto trans and AWD.

If all goes well and I want to continue modding the car, I can upgrade the factory turbo compressor and get a nice boost in power. Since this is a daily, I want to try and refrain from going off the deep end....so mostly sticking to bolt on parts and upgrades to factory components. The car is decently quick as it sits....I hit the local 1/8 mile drag strip last weekend and got to race a similar modded '11 WRX. Was able to get him in 3 of the 4 races. Once its tuned, I imagine it will be even better.

That's about it.....just figured I'd share what I've done so far on the forgotten child of the K family. I'm a sucker for the oddball Hondas, and this one has been a blast so far.


And I'll leave you all with a pic of the white whale tackling the Dragon. I already can't wait to hit it again next year, as I'll be upgrading the suspension and brakes in spring.

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#5 ·
I love the 5th Gen in general. Of all the Accord wagons, the 5G one was the best proportioned. But I agree with you....the coupe is where the true beauty lies. The long curved rear quarter panels on the coupes are so good. I never really had a desire to get a RHD one, but I definitely have some Japanese market parts set aside.
 
#4 ·
Welcome to K20a.org @Corweena. I have seen here many cars, but I think this is the first time a K23A1 was introduced here with an RDX chassis.

...new here, but not to Hondas. I started my journey in 2008 when I got a '96 Accord coupe as my first car, and things have only spiraled from there. I've had four 5th Gen Accords over the years....3 coupes and a wagon.
Very nice chassis. What engines did you have implemented in these?

...county from California to Tennessee
Wow, not only a huge distance geographical, also maybe cultural, isn't it? Walk the Line, the Jony Cash biopic film, which shows some areas of Tennessee, e.g. like his later home area near Nashville, the eruptive center of country music.

Not from Tennessee, but Finland, but sort of K-swapped Bluegrass, which is originally Appalachian originated from my understanding and shares a good part of its mountain chain with Tennessee.


Anyway, the K23A1 engine is everywhere here because of its injectors from DENSO, but none I know had really the full engine in a RDX presented here. Great. I am looking forward to see more of it :).
 
#6 · (Edited)
Welcome to K20a.org @Corweena. I have seen here many cars, but I think this is the first time a K23A1 was introduced here with an RDX chassis.

Very nice chassis. What engines did you have implemented in these?

Wow, not only a huge distance geographical, also maybe cultural, isn't it? Walk the Line, the Jony Cash biopic film, which shows some areas of Tennessee, e.g. like his later home area near Nashville, the eruptive center of country music.

Not from Tennessee, but Finland, but sort of K-swapped Bluegrass, which is originally Appalachian originated from my understanding and shares a good part of its mountain chain with Tennessee.


Anyway, the K23A1 engine is everywhere here because of its injectors from DENSO, but none I know had really the full engine in a RDX presented here. Great. I am looking forward to see more of it :).
The first two coupes were both stock F22 and auto. One LX, and one EX. Nothing special there.

The wagon had an F23 swap from a 6th Gen Accord, as well as a JDM LSD auto from a 97 Accord SiR. Since it was much shorter geared (normally paired with the H22), it really livened up the car compared to stock. Was a perfect parts hauler daily driver.

My 97 EX coupe that I still have has a USDM H22A4. The head is built eith Euro R cams, Supertech valvetrain, and lightly ported. The block is currently stock, but I have a brand new set of high compression Euro R pistons that I will eventually install. Was about to build the block, but I need to get the car running soon (it's still in California), so that became priority.



Moving across the country definitely was a change, but I was ready for it. Despite living in CA, I absolutely hate the beach, and big cities. I much prefer mountains, and nature. California has awesome spots to enjoy that, but you have to drive to them. Out here in Tennessee, I live outside the city in farmland and foothills, and its lovely so far.


A lot of people don't really know about this 1st Generation of RDX, and that it was a turbo K. There are quite a bit of unique things with it, so certain parts don't swap over to the other K series or make sense to do. Although, earlier this year Hasport build a budget track EG, and ended up doing a K20 block paired with the K23 head and factory turbo. When it was done, it made 300whp (FWD) and it rips on the track. Because it's such a small turbo, it's actually a great swap for anyone who want a very streetable turbo swap for dirt cheap (no one buys them, so the price isn't inflated).

And yes, everyone runs the factory injectors. I have a second set for my Accord already.