My 2003 Accent - what next?
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Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
Ok, I'm looking to move the power output of my Accent to 125+whp. I am currently at 99whp.
I have:
4:2:1 header
custom exhaust 2.25" crush bent
short ram intake w/ K&N
phenolic spacer
TB coolant bypass mod
and I have a BBTB to install this weekend and I might do a bit of IM porting and polishing.
I also have almost everything necessary to run a nice wet shot of nitrous. all I need is a fuel solenoid and FPR.
I can get turbo parts for pretty cheap to go turbo if I want also.
I've considered an engine swap, I really want the Theta II from the 09 Sonata though so it will be a while before I can get a hold of one for a reasonable price so I don't think I can wait that long.
Any suggestions on a good path to go?
I have:
4:2:1 header
custom exhaust 2.25" crush bent
short ram intake w/ K&N
phenolic spacer
TB coolant bypass mod
and I have a BBTB to install this weekend and I might do a bit of IM porting and polishing.
I also have almost everything necessary to run a nice wet shot of nitrous. all I need is a fuel solenoid and FPR.
I can get turbo parts for pretty cheap to go turbo if I want also.
I've considered an engine swap, I really want the Theta II from the 09 Sonata though so it will be a while before I can get a hold of one for a reasonable price so I don't think I can wait that long.
Any suggestions on a good path to go?
You're on the right track with a engine swap. You can get Beta engine, tranny's, and ECU's pretty cheap these days. That alone would bring you up to 125 hp (or more). Then if you add mods and the nitrous, you could get pretty wild with it.
But if you want to stick with just Accent engine, then the best bang for the buck would be nitrous. That will get you to 125+ very easily. You just wont have it as constant power, and depending on how trigger happy you are, it could get a little pricey with bottle refills.
What about a better clutch and flywheel? That will help a bit. Do they offer better cams for the accent? What about under drive pulleys? I wold get rid of that short ram also and go for a true CAI.
You pretty much already know these things, so Im probably deadhorse.gif but good luck in hitting your HP goal. smile.gif
But if you want to stick with just Accent engine, then the best bang for the buck would be nitrous. That will get you to 125+ very easily. You just wont have it as constant power, and depending on how trigger happy you are, it could get a little pricey with bottle refills.
What about a better clutch and flywheel? That will help a bit. Do they offer better cams for the accent? What about under drive pulleys? I wold get rid of that short ram also and go for a true CAI.
You pretty much already know these things, so Im probably deadhorse.gif but good luck in hitting your HP goal. smile.gif
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
Likes: 2
From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Visionz @ Apr 2 2008, 03:24 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'>You're on the right track with a engine swap. You can get Beta engine, tranny's, and ECU's pretty cheap these days. That alone would bring you up to 125 hp (or more). Then if you add mods and the nitrous, you could get pretty wild with it.</div>
Yeah. I would swap to the Beta but I just don't know. If I do I'll probably build it up and go turbo too. The same day I hit 99whp Betas were hitting anywhere from 104whp to 125whp. Average was about 112whp. If I only got say 112whp it seems hardly worth the effort unless I go turbo too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Visionz @ Apr 2 2008, 03:24 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'>But if you want to stick with just Accent engine, then the best bang for the buck would be nitrous. That will get you to 125+ very easily. You just wont have it as constant power, and depending on how trigger happy you are, it could get a little pricey with bottle refills.</div>
Yeah, I think nitrous might be the right answer for me. If I burn a valve I can swap in a Beta. lol. I would probably build a direct port nitrous intake manifold if I do it or worst case adapt my stocker to run a direct port setup. I'm having trouble finding nitrous and fuel jets small enough. I think I might actually need to run pocket bike nitrous jets. lol.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Visionz @ Apr 2 2008, 03:24 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'>What about a better clutch and flywheel? That will help a bit. Do they offer better cams for the accent? What about under drive pulleys? I wold get rid of that short ram also and go for a true CAI.</div>
I've considered putting in a better clutch but mine doesn't appear to slip and with a performance clutch costing at least $500 for the Accent I've been putting it off. As far as I know there are no lightweight flywheels made for the Alpha so I would have to get mine machined or something. There is a rumor that 1.5l DOHC cams fit into the 1.6l but I am awaiting confirmation on that. There's a guy on HP with a set but he hasn't reported back whether they fit correctly or not. They probably do though but they're something like $1000 by the time you get them shipped here from Australia. I'll look to see if UD pulleys are back on the market. There were none for a while but someone might be making them again now. Cosmo racing makes a CAI for my car and I've considered buying it. Urban legend or not a SRI supposedly makes more power on an Accent than a CAI. I find that hard to believe though and for $80 I'll probably get one and do a comparison.
I'm going to get a wideband also to check my AFR and if necessary I'll go with a SAFC II to bring things back to where I want them. If it's way out of whack I might go with a Megasquirt since that'll work with any of my future upgrades pretty much so it would be a good investment.
Yeah. I would swap to the Beta but I just don't know. If I do I'll probably build it up and go turbo too. The same day I hit 99whp Betas were hitting anywhere from 104whp to 125whp. Average was about 112whp. If I only got say 112whp it seems hardly worth the effort unless I go turbo too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Visionz @ Apr 2 2008, 03:24 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'>But if you want to stick with just Accent engine, then the best bang for the buck would be nitrous. That will get you to 125+ very easily. You just wont have it as constant power, and depending on how trigger happy you are, it could get a little pricey with bottle refills.</div>
Yeah, I think nitrous might be the right answer for me. If I burn a valve I can swap in a Beta. lol. I would probably build a direct port nitrous intake manifold if I do it or worst case adapt my stocker to run a direct port setup. I'm having trouble finding nitrous and fuel jets small enough. I think I might actually need to run pocket bike nitrous jets. lol.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Visionz @ Apr 2 2008, 03:24 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'>What about a better clutch and flywheel? That will help a bit. Do they offer better cams for the accent? What about under drive pulleys? I wold get rid of that short ram also and go for a true CAI.</div>
I've considered putting in a better clutch but mine doesn't appear to slip and with a performance clutch costing at least $500 for the Accent I've been putting it off. As far as I know there are no lightweight flywheels made for the Alpha so I would have to get mine machined or something. There is a rumor that 1.5l DOHC cams fit into the 1.6l but I am awaiting confirmation on that. There's a guy on HP with a set but he hasn't reported back whether they fit correctly or not. They probably do though but they're something like $1000 by the time you get them shipped here from Australia. I'll look to see if UD pulleys are back on the market. There were none for a while but someone might be making them again now. Cosmo racing makes a CAI for my car and I've considered buying it. Urban legend or not a SRI supposedly makes more power on an Accent than a CAI. I find that hard to believe though and for $80 I'll probably get one and do a comparison.
I'm going to get a wideband also to check my AFR and if necessary I'll go with a SAFC II to bring things back to where I want them. If it's way out of whack I might go with a Megasquirt since that'll work with any of my future upgrades pretty much so it would be a good investment.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
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From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
After some more thought I think I'm going to run with a Beta and Beta tranny combo and if that works out okay add a turbo. I chose this due to bang for the buck being higher than the cool points for being the first Theta Accent in my eyes. I'll be locating a nice Beta II non CVVT and buying some new internals as budget allows. Maybe a LSD if I can stomach the cost. I want to convert my harness to run on the Beta II Ecu and hopefully come up with a fairly simple way to get the ECU conversion done for others. Once that is up and running I think I'll convert to a Megasquirt and get that running on a conservative tune. Then I'll start fabbing up the turbo bits and get that all set up and tuned as time passes.
Step one is a wideband sensor and gauge combo. I think I'm going with:
PLX SM-AFR Wideband O2 sensor module
PLX DM-5 AFR Gauge
or if I'm feeling like blowing my money on something cool maybe:
PLX DM-200 OLED Multifunction Gauge
Step one is a wideband sensor and gauge combo. I think I'm going with:
PLX SM-AFR Wideband O2 sensor module
PLX DM-5 AFR Gauge
or if I'm feeling like blowing my money on something cool maybe:
PLX DM-200 OLED Multifunction Gauge
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
Likes: 2
From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
No, I haven't advanced the timing yet. I've considered an adjustable cam gear but haven't taken the leap. The odds are pretty good that I'll go ahead and move to the Beta soon so I won't buy an adjustable cam gear unless those plans fall through at this time.
If you know of another way to advance my timing, I'm all ears.
If you know of another way to advance my timing, I'm all ears.
On my J1 there is a connector on the firewall back by the coil pack you need to run a ground wire to the frame. When thats done it disables the computer advancement. Then put your gun on the car and look at the mark on the pulley and adjust the CAS appropriately towards the firewall (retard )towards the front (advance). I'm not really sure if this is possible with the 1.5L though.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
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From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
If it's possible I don't think anyone has done it. Having a cam and crankshaft position sensor I think screws me. But maybe it's possible? I'll have to check the Elantra forums to see if people are doing this on the Beta II. The electronics are almost identical.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
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From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
Got my BBTB on. That was a pretty big job considering that the IM needed ported to match because it's WAY bigger than the stock one. It went well and looks slick though. It seems like my acceleration is more linear but I can't say it feels any quicker really. Oh well it was cheap. lol.



