I know the Accord is a family sedan, with 125 HP... What value (best bang for the buck) upgrades can I do?

I need a new exhaust system anyways, the OEM muffler fell off! And with tax refund coming soon, I am looking for whole system replacement/upgrade, headers & what not.

I think I should do the timing belt too, as I have about 218k miles and I don't know when the belt was replaced last, I just know it was replaced. Also the oil pan has a small leak, I lose about 1 qt every 3k when I do the oil change.

This winter I've noticed engine ticking/knocking in the cold mornings. Could this be the oil pump starting to go? I don't remember if it does that with full oil levels (small oil pan leak)

I am not looking to be a weekend Rice Racer, just abit more oomph

 

The best bang for the buck upgrade you can do is to save your money and do an H22 swap. I wouldn't do any upgrades to that current motor until you fix all the little problems that you explained above good luck.

 

So this is what I would need?: Prelude H22A 92-96 2.2L DOHC VTEC - Engine, MT Trans, ECU & Half Shaft

 

Pretty much but you should have a nice little sleeper there if you go that route.

 

how long have you had the car since the timing belt was replaced?

 

a little over 2 years or about 29k miles.

 

Yeah, but to me that's about the same as going all Rice Racer, IMHO. Is there much worth doing the the stock F22A? If I had another daily driver, and enuff $ to do the H22 swap and other mods..I would. I am looking for, I guess, bolt on upgrades, something I can do on weekends, or over some time.

 

belt should be replaced every 90,000 or less.

side from a full engine swap, mods wont make a huge difference

spend the money on getting stuff fixed

 

I know I need to get the stuff fixed..I am thinking what I can do when they are fixing it. I do need a new muffler, why not get Headers & custom/bolt on exhaust system?

What would you recommend for Headers? From Google/Froogle I can only these brands:

DC Sports Headers
Pacesetter Headers
Hedman Headers
Flowtech Headers
Spyder Headers

 

if you had 4000 dollars, do the H22.
otherwise, keep the same engine, fix it.
F22/F23 won't yield you any serious power with bolt-ons. i own an F23 2000 Accord, i can attest to that.
of course, i also run a 75 shot of nitrous and slowly gathering parts for a turbo.