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mod secrets and first gen tips...

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87K views 120 replies 62 participants last post by  Muffo  
#1 ·
by C25A1guy. Now that he's got a new project, he's letting a go a bunch of mod secrets and first gen tips he's learned through his experience of owning a g1 sedan for a number of years. :bowdown: :bowdown: thanks C25A1guy!! He asked me to post this stuff:


" . . .Sure. These will be off the top of my head. Oh, and post these for me, I've been extreamly busy lately.
1. Stock wheels make for great drag wheels. When you get new rims, save your stockies and put on a set of 195/50-55 R15 size tires.
2. Magnetic drain plugs are a god send for old engines.
3. USE 5W-30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4. Tighten the kickdown cable (auto trans) to have the trans hold out gears and not cancel as much power.
5. Old trans should stay away from Mobil 1 ATF (I think it's one of the things that went into the demise of this trans)
6. Exhaust don't do sh*t. If you want more power, figure out some way to get more air and fuel into the cumbustion chamber, and modify exhaust size accordingly.
7. If you wanna do anything major, BATTERY RELOCATION IS A MUST!
8. It will probably be a lot easier and cheaper to put in a Vortec supercharger then a turbo. Find somebody to do it
9. for the manual trannies, CENTERFORCE CLUTCH!!!! Next step down (but not by far) would be Exedy.
10. See if you can get your hands on another core engine and work on that.
11. WEIGHT REDUCTION! Take everything off when you run it if possible. Hood, lights, bumper, A/c system, disconnect the p.s. belt, tail lamps (if they'll let ya), all of your interior (including dash).
12. It's easier to duct the cold air from behind the battery then from around the front and down. You keep some of your air velocity that way because it's a shorter path and you still get cold air.
12. Get Level 10 trans with a torque converter that will lock at 3000-3450 RPM and get a B&M ATF cooler while you're at it.
13. When the thermoswitch goes, UPGRADE to the mugen or spoon thermoswitch.
14. Our cooling systems use a 14 psi cap. see if you can find another raditor cap of same fitment, BUT at 14.5 or 15, even 16 psi if you can find it. Cooler the car runs = MORE POWER and LONGEVITY.
15. DON'T SKIMP OR GO CHEAP ON MAINTNANCE!
16. STOP WASTING YOUR CASH AT THE DEALER! GOTO A TRUSTWORTHY INDEPENDENT SHOP, BUT MAKE SURE THEY USE O.E. PARTS. Only thing about the dealer I would go for is once a year, go in to do a diagnostic service. Sh*t, our cars are 13-16 year old cars. Is it relly worth the $75/hr labor charge?

There will be more to come later.

P.S. Once a Legend, always a Legend. I will be back, bigger, and badder then ever. . . . "
 
#53 ·
squalus said:
Everything has a downside:

-Tuning a car any more than bolt ons will have tons of issues. See: http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=683477

-Intake and exaust make the car better in the upper end and less in the low end. If they don't then they make the car too loud for normal people.

-CAIs are too loud and odd sounding for normal people, like your grandparents. It's a luxury car right? It's also a liability to them if you suck up water and destroy your engine.

-Dropping makes the ride worse, no matter how good your suspention. You can have an adjustable roll center and fully controlable suspention components but the springs and dampners have to be stiff to keep a lower car off the ground.

-Only a few people like body kits and Altezza lights, and even less have your favorite as their favorite.

-Lightened flywheels make your car harder to drive. It has less inertia so the clutch control has to be near perfect.

-Stronger clutches require more control as well.

-Sway bars(roll bars) make the ride jarring over uneaven left to right surfaces.

-Strut tower bars make the car too twitchy for many people, and can cause the car to loose it's safer understeer balance.

-Big rims make the car twitchy at the limits, reduce snow traction, and wet traction. The overall car gets worse.

-Big rims also raise the unsprung weight, making the car uncomfortable.

-Wide tires reduce gas mileage and stability in low traction conditions.

-Gimmick spark plugs (Splitfire, Bosch Platinum4+, etc.) only last longer at the stock power. Replacing worn spark plugs raise power anyway.

-Hyper-Ground and MSD are cost prohibitive, and may not really raise the hp b/c you replace the above when you install it.

-NOS kills your engine like steroids and is horrible for the environment. The remaining NOx destroys your cat. I've heard that they don't mess up your cat and I can prove to you with logic it's a lie: Your putting more Nitrogen and Oxygen in the chamber so you can burn more fuel. There WILL be extra NOx from ambient Nitrogen combining with the oxygen instead of carbon combining. In any case, more fuel burned means more bad gasses, period.

-Turbos require a lot of engineering knowledge, destroy the engine the same as NOS, and are very cost prohibitive to the manufacturer. The same T3 has been used in almost every factory turbo, with only slight modifications.

-Blocking the reduces emissions considerably and the manufacturer would be fined for this.

-Neon breaks very easily.

-Alarms, shaved locks, shaved doors, etc. are really useless and make getting in a car with a full load of groceries that much harder.

-Stripped interiors are just ugly.

-Carbon fiber is very, VERY cost prohibitive.

-In Dash receivers are cost prohibitive, the manufacturer can make much more money by making their own stereo.

-Subs use power and all the controlls to keep the power up are cost prohibitive and bulky.

-Everything that gives you performance reduces gas mileage and/or costs a lot and/or is hard to maintain.

-Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, has a downside. Just ask me and I'll probably have a downside to it (not to be all pessimistic and all).

There is a reason for the factory not putting on that nice looking strut tower bar for you! If it was an overall good idea then they would have it on all their vehicles. They don't want to make a slow car. They want to make it an efficient car, comfortable car, reasonably priced car, easy-to-drive car, etc.

EDIT:

OH yea!! I forgot!!

-Big brake kits are cost prohibitive and usually too big for the factory wheel size.

-Drilled and/or slotted rotors can break when in cold, wet climates.

-Steel brake lines are cost prohibitive.

and LBNL:

-Racing pads are a nightmare b/c they have to be at a proper operating temperature to work well. When cold they are MUCH worse than stock.

I'm not saying don't do it, by all means. I am happily modding my car, and I hope the rest of you are too. This is just so you know what your getting yourself into... Newtonian Physics aply to tuners just as much as Murphey's Law.
anything u buy will be cost prohibitive... if u didnt want that, u wouldnt have a legend would u? i didnt think so
 
#54 ·
phantom of the acura said:
anything u buy will be cost prohibitive... if u didnt want that, u wouldnt have a legend would u? i didnt think so
Try producing 10,000 steel braided brake lines for $100 each($1,000,000) compared to 10,000 rubber ones for $50 each($500,000) and you'll see why they don't care that the steel ones work a little better. The normal person doesn't need steel braided brake lines so they won't even notice.
 
#57 ·
bloodyromance said:
is there any company who mkaes a turbocharger hit for a legend?
There is only one company and they are very expensive. If I was you I would do a juckyard built turbo. Well here is the site if you want to check it out. Legend Turbo Kit

Welcome to the forum
 
#59 ·
JerzeyJ said:
LOL it all has to be custom My R33 Body Kit from an Accord makes the Legend Look like a Skyline, I am soon doing an R33 tail coversion and verticle doors. Everyone STOP putting the Legend into one category (Luxury) My car with it's JDM Engine and soon to happen 5 Speed Swap will Tear up cars at the track. :eek2:
The "vericle" doors (by the way you misspelled vertical) you refer to are called jacknife doors, as seen on lamborginis. These are the most **** of all mods you can do to disgrace a Legend. Go buy a civic and rice it out... You are not a true Legendeer.
 
#60 ·
lacaci said:
Wow, so narrow minded, I'm amused. Listen, Honda itself makes more parts for the legend than you think, you just don't have the guts or the brains to try them.

If you don't know it..(of course you don't) H22 pistons will fit on a legend and will give you close to 11:1 compression ratio.
Putting heavy duty valve springs? Just get a set of exhaust inner spring from any junkyard and place them inside the intake springs.

What other internals are you looking for? Cause the crankshaft is forged steel, if you replace that you are wasting your money. The rods are very good quality steel, just need to balance them to get a little bit more rpm.
Ohhh and honda makes titanium rods for you...and crower, and any other aftermarket company makes them.

What other internals could you possibly want?

The pistons can be ordered for an H22 with low or high compression from JE and will cost you the same just add 2 pistons, no big deal. Same price as everyone else, just two more...but of course, YOU would have to order them custom made because you don't know better.

Tell me what other internal part you want and I'll let you know how to get it. Cams? crower, custom made just like any other car out there. Relatively same price.

And yes, I have a civic...and yes, it has a legend motor inside...and no..I'm not getting the hell out.

Let me know if you figured how to advance/retard the timing already.
Your civic is one of the few in can respect... Within it flows the blood of a champion... the Legend
 
#61 ·
good ideas though some sink than float speaking from strip exp.

couldnt agree more. nothing spells disaster like blowing your trans because of over boosting a 125 shot at the track :eek2: with no flatbed in sight :mad: . though i never had to rebuild my auto(until now) though i only have raced it a few times, its strictly for luxury :( , and my manual had 3 rebuilds under its belt though because of syncros failing over and over and over and the fork 4 times as well, as well as the slave soilenoid 2 times, and the line bursting once. from 1st to 2 and 2 to 3rd. tho for the auto i found a rebuild kit for 125.00(ASE for auto trans so i save money) on this site comp to the 1700 huns x3 i had to spend on that stricken manuel though stronger.(working on that cert now for sure). but the auto did slip under only like 3 hard races even with a oversized trans cooler. :werd: . any ideas on where to get a kevlar band for the trans? or perhaps a shift kit? or a stall torque conv, id rather buy one than build one-

------My Mods to Acura's Model "T"

2.7 block bored /.60 over/re sleeved for NOS applications(new update)
2.5 heads(believe it or not more compression, think about this now the valves arent different its just the bore)
deckplates, line honed, clearanced, decked, & squared. It then had new magnetic freeze plugs, TOGA HP cam bearings. Then the rotating assembly was professionally balanced, blueprinted, and assembled.

The top quality parts and time that went into the build are as follows:
[Under the Hood]
-Sub Zero /shot ping-the block for durability (hardens block and corrects fatigue)
-New Crankshaft
-Forged H-beam rods w/ARP custom bolts
-TOGA Forged pistons .60 over
-4 bolt billet main caps (center 3) re-drill
-ARP custom main studs
-TOGA HP over rev dual relay main and Rod bearings
-TOGA HP over rev dual relay Cam bearings
-TOGA HP Heavy Duty Oil Pump (no oil deprivation from high rev)true definate
-Magnetic Freeze plugs
-Total Seal Plasma Moly rings(no comp loss)-for anyone wanting some easy horse look into this.
(decking & squaring block with deckplates, line boring, balancing, clearancing)
Professional blueprinting/assembly of the shortblock better than factory!

----[Outside the Internal Engine]
-MagnaFlow dual exhaust
-Custom chopped headers into classic mustang "H" pipe design- true dual exhaust(the pipes might be small and welded together in some spots-not fed together until H then back to dual- but there aint no lawnmower sounds here people ask if i have a 305cid..(chevy 5.0) -NOPE! :giggle: ) (also i recommend a mandrel bend, the oldschool crimp restricts and baffles flow.)
-AEM cold air intake(my weapon r was quiet)
-NGK Iridium plugs
-11mm wires i cust and made at my buddies shop
-MSD Ignition Coil
-MSD Ignition 6AL (yea if you get a voltometer you can easily install this, so what if its not listed)-my vid will be up soon from the strip as well as instructions you just have to have wires on your distributer that arent color faded.

---[the body]
well believe it or not but a 92 accord body kit will fit(dimensions are not diff for rear though front is tricky(think the g1 frame went to this honda, get back to me)
-Blackwidow Full Bodykit
-my spoiler was stolen but i had a carbon fiber one from jegs. oh well theres over 300 down the drain.
-working on shaving the handles and app keyless entry

[inside]
=the dash=
-PCP White/12 glow gauges
-Chrome Bezel Backround

=cabin=
-Comp Tach w rev limiter
-Comp Batt Gauge
-Comp Oil gauge
-L.E.D. nav bulbes all around from stock glass(saves power, no reason)
-Aiwa CDC-X407
-Kenwood 250w 6 1/2 door
-kenwood 6/9 250w rear
-Kenwood 4 channel amp 1000w
-Phaser II Radar Jammer
-Cobra detector

[the trunk]
-Rockford Fosgate 12'sx2 1200w tog
-Rockford Fosgate 800w amp(too many rattles)

[RIMS]
-Konig Rush 17's
-General xp2000 215

[Suspension]
-so far just left alone, the suspension was brand new macpherson struts and all around the prev owner was a doctor so he kept it in top shape, all the bushings were a year old too, and i didnt see any need for a change just yet. there was no scraping or sitting, and i dont like fiberglassing, also liked the fact i could still jack my car like usual. But my Camaro SS was calling for a rod and a rebuild so this will have to wait. :vomit:

-- hey if theres any question on my horsepower im not sure, but i can burn alive camaro and mustang v-6's (not to mention quite a few older v-8's):vomit: and i can moderatly hang with my friend laparries mod pontiac GTP. my quarter mile time is 14.06. good for a n/a 86' with 4 g's in the motor. kinda wanted more. oh well it's finally kinda from hell now. :mad:
 
#62 ·
experiMENTALacuramodelT said:
---[the body]
well believe it or not but a 92 accord body kit will fit(dimensions are not diff for rear though front is tricky(think the g1 frame went to this honda, get back to me)
-Blackwidow Full Bodykit
-my spoiler was stolen but i had a carbon fiber one from jegs. oh well theres over 300 down the drain.
-working on shaving the handles and app keyless entry
Well welcome to the forum, and You should get that vid up soon. I also put the black widow from a 92 accord on my sedan
Image

and it worked out well with the car (my only complaint was that I had to use a fiberglass kit to get it to work). Everything you have done sounds good and If I was you I would put a 5-speed instead of keeping that auto. I switch from an auto to 5-speed and you could really feel the power of the motor much better and I had alot less tranny problems.
 
#63 ·
I put 93 in all my cars...It matters, try a tank, and tell me you don't feel the difference...Keeps it cleaner, and runs more efficient.

IT calls for 86 and above...I agree...86 would be fine...but if you want to put the best in your car, why not spend the extra 20cents a gallon??

I experience little minor things if I use 86 octane...but that could be because I always use 93...and I tried using the regular...poor starts, rough idle....intermittent starts...this are cars that request 86 and above...I have a GS400, calls for premium, I had a Z28, calls for premium...It makes a difference, don't knock it till you try it...

Give it 2-3 tank fulls, and go back, you'll notice the difference...
 
#69 ·
if 93 makes your car run better than somthing is wrong with it, engine temp too hot, timing advanced ect.. the higher the octane the harder it is for the fuel to burn. the only time you need higher octane is if the heat of the combustion chamber alone is hot enough to light the fuel so it burns before the spark happens and then it causes knocking and pinging and rare occasions backfiring. so if you need higher octane fuel then your car is getting too hot
 
#70 ·
cigarettcancerman said:
if 93 makes your car run better than somthing is wrong with it, engine temp too hot, timing advanced ect.. the higher the octane the harder it is for the fuel to burn. the only time you need higher octane is if the heat of the combustion chamber alone is hot enough to light the fuel so it burns before the spark happens and then it causes knocking and pinging and rare occasions backfiring. so if you need higher octane fuel then your car is getting too hot
my manual states that the ecu is programmed for 91 octane. warns that pinging will occur with anything less. i really notice a difference between 87 and 91 too... night and day... 94 octane doesnt feel any better though.
my car is a 1990 canadian car... ive heard other people quoting there manual at 86-87 octane but not mine.
maytag
 
#71 ·
cigarettcancerman said:
if 93 makes your car run better than somthing is wrong with it, engine temp too hot, timing advanced ect.. the higher the octane the harder it is for the fuel to burn. the only time you need higher octane is if the heat of the combustion chamber alone is hot enough to light the fuel so it burns before the spark happens and then it causes knocking and pinging and rare occasions backfiring. so if you need higher octane fuel then your car is getting too hot
STOP TALKING WHEN YOU KNOW NOT OF WHAT YOU ARE SPEAKING!

your pointless babling all the time is getting to me, you are wrong again!
 
#75 ·
pyros88legendcoupe said:
-ALB light come on check the brake fluid ( both of them) same for brake light.
Both of mine are on.....Just add Honda Brake fluid and Ill be fine? (It would make sense if the douches at the shop didnt add more after doing my pads lol)

_deleted
 
#76 · (Edited)
Is there a difference between '89 an '90 sedan rear brakes? I'm having trouble finding '90 rear pads or brake lines, whereas '89 are easier. Front parts are interchangeable.