[Guufi]

I'm brand new to this forum as I've just recently purchased a 2005. I'm not mechanically trained or inclined however I am interested in making some quality of life improvements to the vehicle, as this will be dailied.

My engine has 99k miles on it and I was wondering what some good non-intrusive improvements would be good to make to ensure the engine runs more smoothly and reliably for an (relatively) older vehicle.

I've done some minimal digging so far and read up on possibly reflashing the VTEC to a lower engagement point, but due to my lack of mechanical experience am unaware all that would entail.

Any suggestions about possible non-instrusive mods would be appreciated.

Thanks, Guufi.

 

[TSXXXX]

The Serge-Bo reflash is probably the best bang for the buck for this car in terms of improvements in power, both peak and under the curve, driveability, throttle response, fixing the annoying DBW issues, and just a more pleasant overall driving experience.

Check him on Facebook on any of the TSX groups. Keep in mind any reflash is going to have somewhat of an impact on the longevity of the motor. Honda designed/tuned this and all vehicles to 1) avoid warranty work 2) be as emissions friendly (both noise and tailpipe) as possible and 3) be safe and idiot proof aka you can beat on it and it'll be fine. Any flash/tune is going to come with a trade off. You'll likely never own the car to see that trade off actually pan out. I have a re-flashed Serge-Bo ECU and i've been trashing for about 20k miles now with no issues. Any that was on an engine with 320k miles on it. Daily trips to 7,800 RPM now and running strong as ever.

If you don't want more noise then avoid most aftermarket intakes/exhausts as most of them provide more noise than actual power.

First things first though. Change all the fluids on the car. Do a full oil change (k24 really needs synthetic if it's not already using it), trans fluid change (MTF - look at OEM Honda or GM Synchromesh or even Redline - ATF - OEM Honda ATF fluid ONLY!!! - do not flush if you have an auto - drain, fill, drive 25 miles, repeat) Flush the coolant out, I'd bleed the brakes if they haven't been done, bleed the clutch if applicable. Beyond that I'd look at replacing the spark plugs, the air filter, the PCV valve, and the cabin air filter (just because). That's a pretty good start.

 

[Guufi]

As I'm on a bit of a budget, I'll mostly start off with things like the plugs and filters. The flash is just a possibility to make the VTEC usefull in my commute xD. Not sure how much replacing all of the fluids would be... But I do want to take good care of this vehicle.

Thanks for the tips, Guufi.

 

[TSXXXX]

The flash is only $300, he sends the cable to you and does it remotely from his computer, or you can opt to do what I did and buy an already flashed ECU. That way I can sell this flashed one if I want and revert back to stock if I ever wanted to part with the car.

Fluids aren't overly expensive and are a MUST do on a newly acquired used vehicle in my opinion. Cheap insurance. Is your car an auto or a 6MT?

 

[Guufi]

The flash is only $300, he sends the cable to you and does it remotely from his computer, or you can opt to do what I did and buy an already flashed ECU. That way I can sell this flashed one if I want and revert back to stock if I ever wanted to part with the car.

Fluids aren't overly expensive and are a MUST do on a newly acquired used vehicle in my opinion. Cheap insurance. Is your car an auto or a 6MT?

It is the 5A.
Will look into pricings for fluids.

Thanks, Guufi.

 

[shandalo]

Also, after that first oil change I would check the oil every 100-200 miles, or at least every gas fill up, until you know if it burns oil, and if so, how much. The early engines had oil ring problems, usually not worth the cost to fix. My first engine was pretty bad and burned a quart every 1000mi or so. I'd add about half a quart every gas stop. Never got any better, or any worse. It was just a fact if life until I retired that engine. Current engine burns a quart in maybe 3000 miles.

 

[CalgaryTSX]

With a newly purchased 15 year old car with 100, 000miles, "quality of life improvements" are going to be the least of your issues.

It's an old, used car and it's going to have issues. Address those 1st, plus a full top to bottom check plus all the maintenance items.

Since it's an automatic TSX, don't put a lot of money into mods.

 

[K24_Soon]

would love to do the reflash. How would I get a hold of him?

 

[Stevenz]

The Serge-Bo reflash is probably the best bang for the buck for this car in terms of improvements in power, both peak and under the curve, driveability, throttle response, fixing the annoying DBW issues, and just a more pleasant overall driving experience.

Check him on Facebook on any of the TSX groups. Keep in mind any reflash is going to have somewhat of an impact on the longevity of the motor. Honda designed/tuned this and all vehicles to 1) avoid warranty work 2) be as emissions friendly (both noise and tailpipe) as possible and 3) be safe and idiot proof aka you can beat on it and it'll be fine. Any flash/tune is going to come with a trade off. You'll likely never own the car to see that trade off actually pan out. I have a re-flashed Serge-Bo ECU and i've been trashing for about 20k miles now with no issues. Any that was on an engine with 320k miles on it. Daily trips to 7,800 RPM now and running strong as ever.

If you don't want more noise then avoid most aftermarket intakes/exhausts as most of them provide more noise than actual power.

First things first though. Change all the fluids on the car. Do a full oil change (k24 really needs synthetic if it's not already using it), trans fluid change (MTF - look at OEM Honda or GM Synchromesh or even Redline - ATF - OEM Honda ATF fluid ONLY!!! - do not flush if you have an auto - drain, fill, drive 25 miles, repeat) Flush the coolant out, I'd bleed the brakes if they haven't been done, bleed the clutch if applicable. Beyond that I'd look at replacing the spark plugs, the air filter, the PCV valve, and the cabin air filter (just because). That's a pretty good start.

Do you drain the atf fluid 2x??