Ahh the sweet signs of aging and realizing that modifying cars is a worse financial decision than buying a better standard OEM performance car for the same money :D I remember the good old days when you bought the car you wanted because you liked it and then spent as much money as it took to get it where you visioned it. I am at a point now that I dont know if I want to do anything to my Accord Euro, because I dont think any of it will be worth the energy and money. And that makes me sad because thats the reasoning of an old man trapped in a not that young body.
It’s a choice Yes, there’s probably better cars out there but I still have to find a gorgeous, practical and fun car to have for the same era as the accord euro (throw away thoso recaro sits, for a daily use they’re awful)
It's a beauty and a beast. When you sitting behind that wheel. The thought of the costs just disappear and yes coming from a 3 time bmw owner. I spent more on those 3 bmw's without adding any mods and still remember those cost heartbreakingly. The past 3 years with my accord is a bliss. The accord takes a beating any time, any day and will still get you to work everyday... not the best car yes but certainly a great car.
I absolutely love the CL9, it's reliable, it looks absolutely amazing inside and out, it has comfortable and sure handling, it's well featured and it's decently easy to work on. Sure it sucks to spend lots of money on your car and still know you can be smoked by the mum in the commodore next to you, but if you can enjoy your car for what it is and the work you've done to it, I think that means a lot.
This is why I left the Honda scene, after owning a modded CL9 myself, the total money you spend you end up wanting more and so many other cars do that better for overall cheaper. In summary, they are good cars stock but when you mod it for power it you still get walked all over by a mum in their V6 Camry. Focus on handling and suspension and enjoy it for what it is, a reliable daily
@@hondamanvtec2894 yes but his point is for the same money as you would have spent buying and turboing an accord, you could have just bought a tuned 135i and it'll be just as fast
Every car has it's pros and cons. You buy a car and modify it because you like the platform, you like to tinker, you like it to look a little different. It's what being a car enthusiast is all about imo. If it brings you joy then it's worth every dollar. I'm quite happy to drive a 20 year old Corolla because it's as reliable as the Sun and very practical.
I've bought my CL9 for $2500 USD. I repainted the car myself. I have the basic bolt on and did the work myself. Saved a lot of money on labor and you learn more about the car. I'm working on getting Hondata installed. Then changing cam shafts & gears, with valve springs and retainers. I've spent under 10k USD total.
I'm happy with my 06 TSX, it's auto but same bolt ons and tune like yours. I've managed to surprise a lot of cars, I knows it's not the fastest but it holds its own for a 4 banger. Parts are more affordable and the car looks amazing for it's age.
They aren't brilliant at any one particular thing but the sum of it's parts is what make the Gen7 Accord Euro great. (even it's size and aesthetics compare favourably to the Gen8) These cars do everything so well. Fuel economy is being left behind by two decades of advancement but is acceptable when the low purchase price and reliability is factored in.
Love the video man, always wanted a cheap euro r but you’re right about there being better options for your money. So surprised this is a kiwi car channel with the great production quality, detail and editing! Definitely subbed and keen for more videos :)
Love the k24 I’ve done budget frank build on standard ecu reflashed spent bout 8k the car and all the mods I haven’t changed gear ratios I bought fidanza flywheel with hybrid racing short shift really nice set up managed to get on dyno 247bhp 179torque which I’m happy with the numbers your car is lovely by the way
I understand your statements about the chord, I had the same and with a lot of money invested in it .. although I think the main problem today is that people do not know what they want, and there are no good car mechanics, it all leads to factors of disappointment and frustration. I also drove a lot of Hondas and other cars and I went back to Honda again. why? because in the end when I add it all up and subtract what those other cars provide for me, Honda is the best choice. of course, for that money. bmw, golf, audi, american v6 v8 v10 can be fast series but certainly not for maintenance like honda, I know first hand because I have in the family audi a6 we had bmw325, bmw 420, mazda mps3 turbo, renault multiple models and so on. I drove a Alfa Romeo, Audi, Mercedes, Golf GTI, etc. In the end, since I have friends who are in motorsport and I have some kind of experience around cars, I chose Honda for reasons of maintenance, after market, support and reliability. of course i love how he drives and how he behaves on the road. it's not the fastest or the best but it gives me a smile on my face and I'm satisfied, that's the point in the end.
My previous generation accord actually saved my life. It was so "heavy" that it saved my life when i crashed. The guy from the carsemetary said if i would have been in a more modern car of the same size- ligther cars- aluminium i would have not survived the impact... so long live honda accord '98,build like a tank
Good to hear you're ok, but cars being "built like tanks" or "heavy" is actually the reason why so many people still die in crashes. Sure, modern cars will look mangled after a decent smash, but they're designed to crumple in all the right places to protect you.
@@KiwiCarLife not at 100km/hour into a tree,then you are happy that the hood is 20kg. But okay,everybody there own opinion,the carcemetary had accidents at the same speed with more modern cars,he didn't say it for nothing. He had a lot of cars where people in the same way died. I know about krumple zones, but an accord of 98 had a decent krumple zone also,and airbags,its just that the materials used are heavier.if it wasn't so in my case the three would have been where i was sitting. The roof was bended and the rear bumper was totaled from the impact(fiberglass) just to give you an indication how hard the crash was
Great video, I love my CL9 accord. It’s one of the last great cars Honda made. I feel the accord may not be fast in the straight line. It’ll keep with those cars you listed on the backroads/track if set up right.
I know what you’re talking about, I’ve spent almost 6k in performance mods for my fn2 and i make 135wkw ! On the other hand my mates Mk7 gti makes like 200wkw with just a tune that cost 1.2k, we may not spend money on repairs like euro guys but they spend way less to make power.
Yeah it's easy when there's a turbo already stuck to the side from factory, take any N/A engine & start modifying it without going forced induction & the results are going to be expensive & disappointing compared to forced induction, if you like sporty N/A performance then you won't care about being walked by a twin turbo 3 liter BMW like he stated which has about 70hp & probably double the torque more than his Accord, i mean WTF do you expect!
Forced induction is the answer :) With a turbo you do not need to change gear box ratios for a start, as a turbo is happy to pull through gears and longer gears can be beneficial for it. With my car I am still deciding to turbo or not and have not touched the engine, I have only done an intake resonator delete and a K&N filter in the stock airbox, meanwhile I have done the suspension and wheels, with a little bit of stance, it looks stealthy and nice, car is grey with dark tint (I love it) probably wont do a body kit, maybe the front lip though, so if I did a turbo kit on it, that would be a really sweet sleeper and that in itself is interesting to me. 400hp in a euro, that would do what? low 12 to high 11 sec quarter miles? and decimate all the cars you mention. So saving money on all the not important stuff such as headers, an expensive exhaust (as turbos are quieter anyway), cold air intake kit, cams and cam gears, intake manifolds, porting, throttle body and all that stuff you do to N/A cars for, lets face it, not a lot of extra power for the money spent. Turbo is still a big expense and will need LSD and a better clutch but I feel it is far more worth it for the gains you get and a stock K24 in good nic can make up to 500hp. See Humble Performance RU-vid channel for inspiration on how they do their customer cars turbo kits. A lot of these European cars you mention are great but hey man, if you have a problem with an Audi, that will be big bucks to fix, sensors alone are absurdly expensive and them cars will have problems at some point. Honda ultimate reliability, cheap to run. With all that being said, I am considering saving up to get the new Nissan Z if it turns out to be good enough... lol. keep up the good work bruh! I enjoy your vids :)
Yeah for sure a turbo would be great, but you're talking 10k for that setup here in NZ, plus the car, plus all the supporting mods. So basically it'll probably cost upwards of $25k. And I'd be confident I could make an M135i faster than a turbo K24 for less.
@@KiwiCarLife Bro, turbo noises from an accord.... PRICELESS :) I got a bit excited in my post and failed to mention the main reason I have not turbo my car yet and that is, finding a good tuner you can trust and knows k series engines really well, I don't think I can find anyone here in South Straya that I can trust but if I get serious I will make some inquiries, also there is legality and Insurance. If you have a Euro and want to keep and love it, then instead of spending $1000's on all the bolt on mods and junk, go turbo was my idea. I also absolutely adore the 1 series coupes but I would never buy one unless I had money to burn. Didn't realise the prices in NZ for a Euro had jumped up so much, here in Straya they are still pretty much unloved and can pick them up cheap. I have had mine for 3 years and went all the way to Tasmania to get it and drove it back, car was 140k km almost mint condition and I paid 6.2k In the end it comes down to what you want out of a car really, I have always preferred custom unique cars.
I suppose if you managed to get it in that $4000-6000 price point; MT/AT and pop the classic relflash/springs/wheels/ etc you'll still have a very decent comfortable car fpr well under 10k. I guess to achieve that Stage 1 and it usually is far better than the competition; like you said. The stage you've brought it has climbed the ranks and you've pretty much pushed it to like a stage 3/final stage spec where it's faster than a EuroR. Too be beating some of the cars you're beating is crazy but like you've send you've really gone to extreme financial lengths to achieve it. So that happy medium imo is keeping you're euro under 10k spent.
For beat any NA type R you only need reflash, intake and headers in a cl9... that are 1k, is not that much. Then spend another 2k in coilovers, stability bar, light wheels, good tires, polyurethane silentblocks and a good alignment and you even have a better handling car than a type R atleast for the streets. It's a very grateful cat with mods, that's the good thing of this model.
The real issue with euro R models nowadays isn't the price so much as the condition. I've shopped around for a few and most are knackered. At $20k it's getting silly. You can now get a golf R 2015 for $30k...
got my 04 prefacelift manual for 4700 :) garaged all its life, one owner, nz new. serge bo tune 450$, lowering springs and install ~1000$, euro R wheels $300, tints $325.. pretty happy for money invested so far
I guess I got lucky I bought my 2006 JDM Type S badged accord for only 2700NZD, spent 300 for a new windscreen and less than 100 on random bits and pieces that were missing. All it needs now is a new o2 sensor and a panel repair (or another door) and ill have a good condition Type S all for less than $4500. Crazy how only a couple months after I bought mine in early 2021 the prices have skyrocketed to well over 6-7k for an OK condition one and 8-11k for a good condition!
Great video mate. As a Euro owner, I would have to say that they are not "reasonably reliable", they are absolute tanks. I have driven mine like I stole it for the last 10 years and it hasn't missed a beat!
@@williamgrounds6911 My Luxury model's been reliable like yours and driven pretty hard as well. Had it for nearly 6 years now and around 140,000 km. Lots of people bought the same car at my old work and they were turds though. Major oil leaks, messed up tints, slipping auto transmissions. Basically if they've been neglected at some stage they don't bounce back as well as some other makes.
I'm in South Africa and I started following u accord build as I am really interested in purchasing 1. I think it is a well all rounded car. The reason why I would like to own 1 is that I have a family and I need space and I don't want to compromise having fun in the car and. I still want to pull up and car shows with my daddy mobile and since all my friends race at least I will be able to keep up
Full Turbo kit will supporting mods and tuned on your accord, then that will be fair comparison to more powerful sports cars , c.a.i - exhaust and reflash ECU , gearbox ect not a fair comparison to this other cars , keep the positive vibes . haters gone hate , you can build a super honda accord turbo and blast the doors off a super car people still going to cry about something.
Yeah exactly, but the problem is it costs a lot of money to get an accord to that point... And are you better off just buying a GTI or 335i or something else factory turbo?
@@KiwiCarLife yeah I get it , but I think it's worth it cause majority of people in those types of sports cars expect to blizt most cars when modified especially a honda, so it's gold to see the look on their face when they get blizted by a honda and start making excuses 😂.
The MPS 3 is probably the best bang for buck JDM performance car you could probably get especially with the aftermarket mods it has and the value there getting upto.... I've had 2 MPSs (brought my 2nd one after my 1st was stolen)
@@KiwiCarLife I mean what else is there that is less than 10-15years old, factory turbo manual and cost under 15k...... Everyone shits on them alot but I could put 10-12k into forging my motor, bigger turbo, tune etc and put out 350-400whp for half the price of a Evo/sti.
Great video.. given the current prices in Aus (Tassie in particular) I have been contemplating modyifing my CL9 6spd manual... and Can honestly say... your video was no help lol just made me more confused haha. jokes aside.. good content mate!
Yeah I guess I'd say treat it as a stepping stone car, with an idea in mind to do what you want to have fun with the car, but have another upgrade in mind for the future. I am so stoked with how my car has turned out, but I definitely don't plan to keep it forever put it that way. There are other cars out there that are also excellent
the manuals are generally more of the base model cars. the lux version are kitted out nicely, facelift a bit moreso. heater leather seats, sunroof, HID lights, sport rims, foglights. sat nav maybe. but they are generally auto if you want to manual swap that.
If your ever needing a clutch replacement, have you ever considered copping a lightweight flywheel? Could help with rev hangs, but I'm not sure how it would impact daily driving in traffic etc.
The rest of the world got super unlucky with the CL9's gearing but at least you have no sunroof! Some of the serious guys spend a bit of money and time swapping non-sunroof roof skins over on their TSXs Like most good and loved hondas, the CL9 is a fun car but not the fastest in it's class. A well sorted naturally aspirated E90 3-series in manual is worth a serious look if you're looking at a CL9, but comes with it's own set of drawbacks. What engine is in your Z4?
Nice twist. Couldn't agree more, yet I'm enjoying mine too much to listen to the voice of reason here, hah. I'll finish building mine for commutes to work and look for a 'proper' sports car like the DC5 Integra or an 86 later on.
Lol, the cheapest part of my cu2 was the car, brought timing chain, windscreen, and tires, and it runs like a top.......you have guessed it was cheap, but to be honest, it's the nicest car I have owned, and is seriously fun to drive
Ahh I got a Euro R with bolt-ons and tunes for 10k three months ago, you can still find them at lower prices, people listing for 20k are definitely not selling at those prices.
Yeah this is why i went with the cm2 instead. Bit heavier but THE BOOT SPACE. Buying those euro cars used might look appealing on value. But they are so unreliable..
@@KiwiCarLife Lot more so than modern wagons, because of the boxy-shape. You can stack stuff up to the lid, cause the roof doesn't taper. Cost me 5K for initial purchase and another 5K for repairs and mods. (PLM headers, Injen CIA, brakes, tires, rust/body work). The previous owner neglected it pretty bad, i must say. I had to spend more on it than I originally wanted.. :(
Thats the thing isnt it, you keep going until you realised you've overcaptialised. For a lot of countries once you go beyond basic bolt on's (or even bolt on's) insurance became a big problem, especially for the younger people who's insurance rates are bad to start with. One might find it's cheaper to insure a WRX/GTi/S4 than a Honda (thanks to young un's crashing those, premium skyrocketed)
Hey Liam, great indepth video as always... Im 17 and i have my restricted license with conditions for only driving auto cars. I have always loved the accord and have found one with the k24 and auto transmission. How is the 5sp auto transmission in the euro accord if you have driven one?
Up to you man, not sure there's much aftermarket support and it'll always be held back by the suspension design and gearbox but it could make for a bit of a mean machine!
Mate, the cars you mentioned are not faster than cl9 modified with bolt ons. Only the 335i and not every 335i because most of them are dead meat. I drive cl9 with k20/k24 setup, fn2 head + intake and hondata + all bolt ons and ep3 gears. 6k euro total for parts. Is it worth? Yes ofc, in a world of turbocharged cars, driving 8k banger n/a is somethin else.
Yes absolutely, and parts are naturally cheaper overseas than here... but in NZ, making enough power in an accord to beat anything factory turbo will end up costing way more. Now I've always maintained that the Accord is not about speed and power, but there are a lot of great, affordable cars out there these days...
Been competily sincerely bro, you have spend a huuuge amount of money and not even have a great thing in terms of preparation... First of all, here in Europe we don't have the accord euro R or civic FD2 either. Here we have cl9 and EP3 and FN2, which are around 10k euros. Cl9's are around 2-5k 03-05 models and 5-8k 06-07 models. You can just buy one of this for around 4k, spend around 5-6k and have a very muuuch competent and fast car than a NA type R and every car you can buy for 10k. I mean, the fact that you have spend 20k in that accord is blowminding, and at end of the day, only have reflash, intake, headers+exhaust and type R gears
Yes agree, part of the issues and counterarguments I seem to be getting on this video is that these cars are a lot cheaper to buy and modify overseas...
I just got a stock 2008 Acura TSX I want to add the euro r conversion body kit but I can’t seem to find an already painted parts is there anywhere you recommend to go look or do you have somewhere in mind
@@KiwiCarLife Not V6 one , I have Honda accord cl9 2002 2.4TL and transmission failure after 150000km and need to replace gearbox and it costs me around 500 bucks to replace used one. And most of the car manufacturered from 2002-2004 models have a failure.
but if you bought a let's say reliable 335i for 20k, you'd probably end up spending 10k modifying it also, maybe 20k swapping bigger turbos😂. then you would have a 20k car that cost 30 to 40k. Moding any car is always like that, unless you're happy with a simple stage 1 tune and not swapping any parts(which does quite a bit on a turbo or supercharger). So you've really got to only do that to cars you're keeping forever.
I have an American Honda Accord Hybrid with 200 hp.. 0-100 in 6.1 sec… faster than any car in its class and higher classes, not to mention the impeccable reliability…
Honestly it just doesn't make enough power and I don't drive it hard enough to need it. Would've cost an extra $1000 for a used LSD (if I could even find one...) Only time I ever notice one wheel peel is when its wet, otherwise it's all good
Why shouldnt buy it....? Cause gasoline too expensive for an even economic 2.4 engine, i am oldschool i love my cl9 and dont care if a 335 BMW let me 3 or even 4 cars behind, Accord has character its not just a random car. I bought 3 accords last 4-5 years, first one was a cl7 2.0l non vtec and got so dissapointed and had to get one with VTEC so i sold it and bought a cl9 which unfortunately was just abused and the owner didnt took care of it, he sold it to me with head gasket damaged and warped cyl head and block, it was a money pit, so i took the parts from it and bought my 3rd accord from a Grandma and now i am at last satisfied :)
In my opinion, its definitely way above average, urs is like 150 kw on the wheels and it can keep up with 330i legacy blade etc even though it has like 50 less hp But yea all oldish and old hondas are just overpriced af coz people have noticed how crazy good they are for their previous values.
Guys, if you want a FWD 4 door saloon that can surprise people... buy yourself (don't laugh) a 2005-2009 Volvo S60 T5 with 6 speed manual box. Why the Volvo? It's simple: - the 2.4 T5 engine came with 260bhp /350nm STOCK & limited to 155mph - A Stage 1 remap will give 320bhp, with room for more mods, block can handle it. - 5 cylinder snarl - The best seats ever - Much better,plusher solid interior than the Honda, - Extremely good stereo (13 speaker Dolby) - Doesnt rust like the Honda - Engine will do very high mileages - Flying under the radar because it's a Volvo. - With a stage 1 tune, these cars are VERY quick, go look on youtube!! Volvo S60 T5 "BSR" remap.
I get it You’re bored You’ve already done all that was do do on your car (performance wise while keeping it original) But damn, don’t say something like that That’s an outstanding car and I saw one on Twitter that managed to keep they accord to almost to a million miles If I could keep mine to keep half that much while modified as you did yours ( yes, the gear ratio can be annoying sometimes, and that’s much all I could change) I don’t think I’d feel the need to buy another car Drive others, for curiosity and even have others for praticar use, yes, but as a daily user I love this car Sound ✅ Looks ✅ Quality ✅ And most important of all Ya it’s a 2003 design That’s insane
I have k20z2 and would like to drive it whole life, there is faster, better but there is no other car that can make smile on my face like my Accord. If you sell this ,,beauty and the beast" I going to unsubscribe from this channel (ofc i'm kidding)
