Bought a brand new 2015 Accord coupe v6

[dan_erickson]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Good looking car!

Is that Grand Prix under the cover?
I know this about the Accord but what are the details on that?


Yes that is my Grand Prix under the cover. It is a 2001 GTX that I have had since 2005, I bought the car when I was 18 from a local seller. Through the years it went under so major changes and everything was always done with the best of the best and nothing was skipped. Now it has some of these major mods.

Dynotech level III race trans with Pro Torque 3000 stall converter
L26 stock bottom end
XP cam
Ported and polished heads with LS valves
ZZP intercooler
Gen V Super charger
North Star throttle body with Corvette MAF
DHP Powertuner, tuned by myself
TOG Extreme headers
E85 fuel
65 lb injectors
Walbro 255 pump with rewire
Wideband A/F

2006 GXP wheels
2006 GXP brakes
GMPP sway bars and trailing arms
GMPP Koni struts and lowering springs
SLP 3" exhaust

2006 GXP black leather and suede seats
Double Din Pioneer navigation radio
SLP GTX hood and spoiler
When I was installing the heads I stripped the engine compartment down and repainted it. Sand blasted all the brackets and braces and painted them gloss black. Painted the heads, lower intake, super charger ect and then had the headers high polished ceramic coated. I also repainted the engine bay white with clear coat. Everything was done in PPG at the shop I was working for at the time.

Its been stored winters since 2007 and you can eat off this car. It truly one of the last few clean Grand Prix's.
I need to go back to the 1/4 mile some times because that 12.2 @ 115 mph was before heads, E85, and more boost

She pulls like a monster.

 

[ls1mike]

HOLY COW. That thing is awesome. Look at how small that pulley is! That thing is a monster and about the cleanest one I have seen.

Who did your head work?

I had an 01 with very similar mods. I don't think I will do much more to my 04 as I have the Trans Am.

 

[hpb]

That Honda is a very nice looking car. As Shannow mentioned, we don't get that one in Oz. Please post more pics once it's lowered over the 20's! And...tinting the windscreen? How much of it are you allowed to tint?

The GTX is also very nice. Looks odd seeing that engine in FWD format, we had it for 15 years or so in the Holden Commodore but in RWD.

 

[hpb]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Well it is an automated manual. ..

Not sure what you mean.


Honda automatics are closer to a manual transmission than an automatic. Instead on you moving a shifter , which engages the synchronizers, there are clutch packs for each gear and it engages as needed.


I thought Honda auto's were a normal torque converter automatic? Are you saying they're a dual clutch transmission, like a VW?

 

[oilpsi2high]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Well it is an automated manual. ..

Not sure what you mean.


Honda automatics are closer to a manual transmission than an automatic. Instead on you moving a shifter , which engages the synchronizers, there are clutch packs for each gear and it engages as needed.


This is not true. VW's DSG is more like a real manual, the Honda is just a conventional automatic.

 

[dan_erickson]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
HOLY COW. That thing is awesome. Look at how small that pulley is! That thing is a monster and about the cleanest one I have seen.

Who did your head work?

I had an 01 with very similar mods. I don't think I will do much more to my 04 as I have the Trans Am.


I good friend of mine from Springfield, IL did the head himself and he had them on his budget build mid 11 second Regal GS. That is a 2.8 pulley on a Gen V lol

 

[dan_erickson]

Originally Posted By: hpb
That Honda is a very nice looking car. As Shannow mentioned, we don't get that one in Oz. Please post more pics once it's lowered over the 20's! And...tinting the windscreen? How much of it are you allowed to tint?

The GTX is also very nice. Looks odd seeing that engine in FWD format, we had it for 15 years or so in the Holden Commodore but in RWD.


Having the windshield tinted is totally illegal. I think Indiana law it to only allow the top 6 inches on the windshield to have tint.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: montero1
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Please tell me you didn't get an automatic....


Go easy on him, maybe it has paddle shifters.


Lol. Suck.

Beautiful car though. Can't imagine mt driving is that bad in IN, I daily drive MTs between DC and NYC without issues. Honda makes smooth shifters.

Anyway, good luck!


I don't get the hate on paddle shifters. My truck has a rocker switch and it does the job just fine. [Or maybe that's a completely different application, lol.]

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Well it is an automated manual. ..

Not sure what you mean.


Honda automatics are closer to a manual transmission than an automatic. Instead on you moving a shifter , which engages the synchronizers, there are clutch packs for each gear and it engages as needed.


This is not true. VW's DSG is more like a real manual, the Honda is just a conventional automatic.


My understanding is that Honda has long used a torque convertor followed by conventional gears (not planetaries). VW DSG has a wet clutch and conventional gears also.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
HOLY COW. That thing is awesome. Look at how small that pulley is! That thing is a monster and about the cleanest one I have seen.

Who did your head work?

I had an 01 with very similar mods. I don't think I will do much more to my 04 as I have the Trans Am.


I good friend of mine from Springfield, IL did the head himself and he had them on his budget build mid 11 second Regal GS. That is a 2.8 pulley on a Gen V lol


Nice. Good to have friends that can do that stuff.
Does the pulley go right over the snout without machining? Just looks so small in the picture.

My 01 GTP ran mid 12's. I miss that car. I had 98 Regal GS it was real mild mid 13's. That is what I should be able to get out of the 04 Grand Prix I have now. It is my daily so I don't want to mess with it too much. I have the Trans Am for my 11 second passes.

 

[dan_erickson]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
HOLY COW. That thing is awesome. Look at how small that pulley is! That thing is a monster and about the cleanest one I have seen.

Who did your head work?

I had an 01 with very similar mods. I don't think I will do much more to my 04 as I have the Trans Am.


I good friend of mine from Springfield, IL did the head himself and he had them on his budget build mid 11 second Regal GS. That is a 2.8 pulley on a Gen V lol


Nice. Good to have friends that can do that stuff.
Does the pulley go right over the snout without machining? Just looks so small in the picture.

My 01 GTP ran mid 12's. I miss that car. I had 98 Regal GS it was real mild mid 13's. That is what I should be able to get out of the 04 Grand Prix I have now. It is my daily so I don't want to mess with it too much. I have the Trans Am for my 11 second passes.


I just went and looked at the pulley and it is in fact a 2.6, I forgot I even had that pulley. The snout is machined for the 2.6... I think the 2.8 goes on with out machining.

 

[JTK]

Super nice! Hard to believe it's no power house though. I thought our 2008 Honda Odyssey with the non-VCM 3.5L was pretty bawlzy for sure.

 

[kkreit01]

Looks very nice. Forget about the manual-lovers. I've had them, and they suck as daily drivers (in traffic). A lot modern autos are as quick as (or quicker) than their manual counterparts.

 

[mikefxu]

Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
Originally Posted By: hpb
That Honda is a very nice looking car. As Shannow mentioned, we don't get that one in Oz. Please post more pics once it's lowered over the 20's! And...tinting the windscreen? How much of it are you allowed to tint?

The GTX is also very nice. Looks odd seeing that engine in FWD format, we had it for 15 years or so in the Holden Commodore but in RWD.


Having the windshield tinted is totally illegal. I think Indiana law it to only allow the top 6 inches on the windshield to have tint.


Varies by state. I am in FL and you allowed to go to the AS1 line. You can do a full window tint if have a doctors prescription. I have full windshield tint, do not have prescription, but it LLumar Air Blue 80 so it is not visible. I had to find the edge of the film to know that they actually tinted the car. I don't care for darkening tint, hence the LLumar Air Blue 80.

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: mikefxu
I am cool with an auto if its faster than a stick (dual-clutch, PDK, etc).

99.9% of drivers wouldn't be able to shift a manual faster than even a regular slushbox.

To me, manual is not about speed at all. It is about connecting with the car on another level.

I love driving a auto that is normally driven easy and then you step on it and its waits a few seconds to decide that hey I am use to driving like Miss Daisy let me think about what full throttle means...the wonders of learning transmissions.

 

[mikefxu]

[censored] edit time limit....
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: mikefxu
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Please tell me you didn't get an automatic....

What a waste. I miss my 2004 Accord Sedan 4 cylinder manual.


Kind of a rude post, don't you think?


Yes it is.

Originally Posted By: mikefxu
No, coupe is about looks not practicality, coupe weights 3554, sedan 3528, the sedan weights less. Looking at the specs it looks like they don't make a v6 coupe manual but only a v6 sedan manual, at least for 2015. The 4 auto makes a pretty boring vehicle and the 4 manual makes it a little more livable, if I were to opt for the 6 it would have to have a manual. We currently have a 2012 Civic auto and 2013 Prius only comes in auto....boring. My wife can't drive a manual and with her disability I doubt I could trainer her enough to be able to handle a manual in the event of an emergency and I cannot drive, hence why I have a auto now. One day I will get a toy that will be a manual but right now its not in the budget, right now its about practicality.

For what you have wrapped up in v6 Accord auto with beauty mods you can get a CLA to impress people.

Too each their own. I am cool with an auto if its faster than a stick (dual-clutch, PDK, etc).


So - you've got two "automatics" but you're bagging on the guy with the new automatic car, have I got that right.

BTW - You're clueless about manual transmission availability in current Accords.

OP nice looking car - congratulations!

My previous vehicles were based on being a single man and buying what ever made me happy. Now I am a married man with a child on the way and my wife could probably never be trained to drive a manual in the even I was incapacitated, she reacts poorly in stressful situations and has a physical disabilty. My current vehicles are based on practicality not want. V6, auto, heavy 20s, just seems like a waste. I have always opted for 4 cylinder Hondas for the lifetime timing chain. I don't think there is enough benefit to justify the additional cost of the v6 (purchase, timing belt and lower general reliability both in engine and transmission) especially in paired with a auto. Based on want I would take a 4 manual over a 6 auto.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: mikefxu

My previous vehicles were based on being a single man and buying what ever made me happy.


I am so blessed that my bride has never curtailed my automotive or motorcycling pursuits. I did take a long hiatus from HPDE instructing while my son was growing up-, but that was because I didn't want to be an absentee father. Now he's 20 and after serving as my pit crew since his mid teens, he's ready to the track himself.
Now the fun REALLY begins!

 

[Indydriver]

If you test drive the Accord 4 vs 6 back to back, you will discover the noticeable improvement in handling (less understeer) brought about by the reduction in weight on the front end. OTOH, I just serviced my daughter's V6 yesterday which afforded me another opportunity to drive it and the torque off the line is impressive.

One of the easier DIY oil changes BTW.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: dan_erickson
This is not a race car and there is no curvy mountain road to have a blast on.
I see your race car is an auto-tragic too though

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Looks very nice. Forget about the manual-lovers. I've had them, and they suck as daily drivers (in traffic). A lot modern autos are as quick as (or quicker) than their manual counterparts.


Funny that this is coming from KS. I drive the heavily populated east coast between NYC and DC constantly, and MT isnt a hassle at all, at least if it is designed and geared well. If anything, it helps one drive more efficiently and smartly in traffic, by conserving momentum better.

 

[supton]

I once drove an Accent(?) rental in Boston traffic, and my right foot got tired from pushing the brake. Usually the stick in my cars is just fine, but creeping at less than 5mph does get old--to go that slow means heavy slippage.

I think it's more fair to say that traffic sucks period, regardless of transmission.

Something that dawned on me recently is that my torquey diesel spends it's time in top gear for almost all of my commute. How is the trans helping the commute if I never shift? Granted the trans never does stupid things, but it's not like I'm rowing thro the gears to maximize the fun--it's more like 40 min of varying speed but without shifting.

My brakes rust out, and probably ought to be replaced more often than I do them. I might as well use 'em up on an auto.