The Vanity of an Ancient King

I own what used to be a 1997 Honda Accord. I've had this car for just under 10 years (it'll be 10 in November), but with all the work I've done to it, and all the stress I've put it through, it's getting a bit long in the tooth. I say it "used to be" a Honda Accord, as I've altered it quite a bit. It started out as a black 4 door EX-L (that's with leather…would you expect anything else??) 5spd manual transmission. Then I got to working on it.

About 2 years after I took possession, I decided to add new wheels. Out when the heavy 15" steel rims, and giant marshmallow tyres, and on went the OZ Racing forged aluminium 17" rims with low-profile Yokohamas. They weren't lightweight rims, but they were lighter than the stocks, so I saved about 14 lbs in unsprung weight.

Of course, now that I had new wheels, I really needed to change the suspension. I needed it for two reasons: 1) the fender gap looked *really* silly with the new wheels. Technically they were the same total diameter, but the larger rim and smaller sidewall gave the illusion of more space between the fender and the wheel. The second reason was the stock struts and springs *sucked* in relation to The Gothmobile (my prior black BMW 325e 2dr). The Gothmobile was on rails. I wanted that feeling back. I didn't want to invest in some ungodly sum for real coil-overs, and I also knew that this car would be my daily driver, so I decided on going the next-best route. Eibach springs matched to Koni Yellows. I also added a strut tower brace for the front and rear. I could now push *serious* Gs on the skidpad. I may not outrace most cars in a straight line, but I can *KILL* them in the curves.

With the suspension in place, I decided to help my baby breathe. First up was to ditch the stock airbox, and replace it with a cold-air intake. There is more oxygen in colder air, so if you can suck air form outside the engine bay, you can make more power. The AEM CAI system worked like a charm. The header on the EX was actually pretty good, so I left it stock. The exhaust however, needed to go. In popped the Thermodynamics cat-back exhaust. I had this system for awhile, but I wanted more.

"More" came in the form of a Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) H22B engine and transmission from a Japanese Prelude. For those that don't know, the Prelude and Accord share the same platform. This makes swapping major things like the engine possible without gigantic amounts of custom work. I was able to score the engine from a dealer that specialises in such things, and it was crated and shipped to my installer (it was the only thing I didn't install myself). Two days later, I was back on the air. On the outside, the car looks pretty normal. On the inside, I make about 210HP at the wheels, about 60HP more than stock. Sure, there are countless faster cars, but this one is mine!

With this car, I've been able to enter many races. I'd win a few, lose many more (the car is a heavy beast, and can't keep up with the smaller civics with B18As transplanted in them), but I had a hell of a good time with it. Now it is time to move on.

So I say goodbye to the Accord (no, it never had a name, unlike The Gothmobile, so dubbed by my friend Evan). It's been a good companion all these years, but now I must say "hello" to my future, the Acura TSX.

I'm going to get a 2006 Acura TSX (actually, it's an Accord in Europe –the US Accord is now *much* larger). It comes with a 6spd manual, navigation system, and 205HP from a 2.4L engine (30MPG). I'm getting it in Carbon Grey Perl, with a Quartz leather interior. This will be my first non-black car. I'm totally freaking out.

So, knowing what you now know about what I do to cars, what should I do first? I'm looking at a lot of things:

Wheels: 18" OZ Racing O.Z. Superturismo GT
Suspension: This time, I've got to do coil-overs. I have to do research.
Intake: I have to kill that stock airbox and go CAI again.
Exhaust: I'll keep it as-is for now.
Chip: Hell Yes! Now engine management can be tuned through a freaking GAME BOY! Hondata has to have something by now.

Anyone out there who wants to chime in? Cheer me on? What would *you* do?

For those that don't know, I race my daily driver (I also used to race a vintage Jaguar MkII, but I sold it about 2 years ago –and regretted it e'er since). Racing puts some serious stress on your car, and within the last couple of months, my front axles developed a horrible clicking noise whenever I turned the wheel, and applied the accelerator. I *also* needed to adjust the camber of my wheels, as they were seriously out of whack, since the new springs have settled.

Well, all of that got fixed this morning. New axles, A-arms, and camber kit, with poly bushings!. Life is so much better. I can't wait to abuse the new kit on the twisties!