PottersField's CD5 thread

I figured I'd start a log for my Accord. I haven't done a whole lot with the car, mainly suspension and audio up to this point. I'd love to eventually boost or swap but being this is my daily driver I have my attention directed elsewhere for the time being.

1996 Accord LX
Sage Green Metallic
Slush-o-matic

Current mods list:

Suspension/wheels/tires:
Megan Racing coilovers
MOOG bushings
Painted OEM steelies (for now)
Kumho 195/60/15 tires

Exterior:
De-badged deck lid
De-badged/shaved OEM grill
28% window tint

Interior:
Pioneer DEH-6300UB head unit
MiniDSP active processor
Polk Audio PA660 amplifier 75x4
Polk Audio PA880 amplifier 300x1/500x1
MB Quart Premium 6.5" component set
Pioneer Champion Series 12" (2)
Custom slot-vented sub enclosure, 35Hz tuned
Sealed front doors
Stinger Roadkill Pro throughout
Scosche EFX wiring

Glove box-mounted GPS
Hidden power supply
Shortened shifter
Leather shift knob and boot
Leather e-brake boot

Future Mods List:
17" wheels and tires
Engine upgrades (possibly swap or boost)
Black interior
More changes to audio (I'm seldom satisfied)
Window visors
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Possible front seat swap

Pics will follow in the coming posts.

I bought the car sight unseen from the dealership my brother-in-law works at. The car was traded in by its original owner; I paid the trade-in value plus TTL without the used car department even knowing the car was ever there. For $2500 I got a bone-stock car, completely unmolested with just shy of 68K miles. Aside from a small spot on the rear driver's side wheel well and one on the driver's door (presumably from one of those rubber bumper things being ripped off), the car was and still is completely rust free. The paint needs redone as it has the typical clear coat issues Hondas suffer from, but it's relatively clean for its age.

The night I picked up the car:





A few days later I got some shots of the car after a bath. Took the wheel covers off as the paint was all chipped off and the bare plastic had badly oxidized and pitted. Lots of staining and what almost looked like mildew had gotten into the plastic so they just looked like shit. I also replaced the muffler since it had a giant hole in the side of it. The rest of the exhaust was okay so I left it alone.

Low miles!!!:









After putting the car on a lift and giving the whole thing a once-over, these were the ONLY two spots of rust I found on the body or underbody:

I couldn't live with the 4x4 status so I ordered myself up a set of coilovers from Megan Racing. I hadn't heard much from the Honda community regarding Megan's suspension but after learning they're made by BC, I decided to give them a shot.









The install was quick and painless for the front. Took about an hour with hand tools to do both sides. The rear end on the other hand, well that was a bitch. The lower mounts had completely seized and after three solid hours with a propane torch, a breaker bar, and a couple cans of PB Blaster, all I had managed to do was waste some propane and bust up some knuckles. So I drove over to a buddy's shop and attacked the rear suspension with a cutoff wheel and an acetylene torch. Took less than an hour with the proper tools. A couple new bushings and grade-8 hardware, and no more 4x4 status!





Once the car had settled the rear was actually tucking a tiny bit. I opted to raise the rear to even things out. The car has an ever-so-slight rake to it, with just about a finger wheel gap front and rear.

This is how the car currently sits. I'm far from finished.

Painted the steelies just so they looked presentable. I'll be putting new wheels on in the spring but it didn't make sense to do it now since it's already snowed here. Steelies aren't the hottest look around but they look okay for now, and I don't have to stare at rusty wheels.



No more trunk badges! I'd have removed the Honda emblem but I don't mind it being there and I didn't want to go through the effort of filling the mounting holes.



I'm all about attention to detail. I'm also all about getting rid of glare from shiny bits in front of me when I'm driving. So I painted my wiper arms. Looks much better than the bare metal they were before.



Polished the headlight lenses, mounted a set of fogs. The light output at night is so much better without yellowed, dingy lenses.



Shaved the factory grill. I've only seen one other 96/97 Accord with the OEM grill done this way and that was on the internet. I'm sure there are others but I like the unique look compared to other grill mods people do. Almost comes off kind of factory.

is the ride bouncy? and how much did u pay for the megans? cus fnf is doing it right for $600 lol

xjoshx wrote:

is the ride bouncy? and how much did u pay for the megans? cus fnf is doing it right for $600 lol

Not bouncy at all. I paid a bit over $600 for them and I've been very happy. I was originally going to go with Tein or Ground Control but I like that the Megan coilovers use fully threaded shock bodies so ride height adjustment is done independent of spring preload. Lowering or raising ride height doesn't affect shock travel. Does it ride like stock? No, but it's closer to a stock feel than a lot of products I've tried on other cars. It's tighter feeling, but still a quite smooth and comfortable ride. I blew my back out a few years ago so comfort is important to me. I can drive for hours without any fatigue or pain. My wife even falls asleep when we go on road trips, something she never could do in my old car.

Here are some shots of the interior and stereo. I still have a lot of work to do but I've been happy with the progress so far.

Here's the layout for the upcoming audio install. I'll be replacing all the speakers and keeping the head unit, amps, and signal processing. I like the subs I have now but they require a lot of air space which means I have almost no use of my trunk. Being a daily driver and trying to reclaim my trunk space, I opted to go ultra compact with a set of shallow drivers. It was that or IB but that poses other issues I'd rather not deal with.

nice trunk insulation. I'd love to put that in mine, simply to quiet down road noise. I have stock audio though, don't plan on changing it.

I really need to come up with some sort of trim panel to cover it up, or at least trim out the edges. You oughtta see the rest of the trunk though, everything has a layer of Roadkill. Even the carpeted panels.