On the Accord, the flat bottom bumper and fairing stops right after the front crossmember. There is noticeably less attention paid to aero details than on the TSX. On the Accord, the money seems to be spent more on the engine rather than on details like underbody fairing.

Looking at the exhaust system, we immediately see room for improvement. The headpipes come down together in a very restrictive fashion. It's bent, flattened and crimped together to merge into a flex coupling. All this is done for space, ground clearance, and emissions, but it causes restriction in the airflow especially for an engine like the J30. We predict that with better designed head pipes, there can be signficant gains. There are lots more potential in this engine.

We notice that the Accord uses a close coupled cast-in exhaust manifold. The cast-in exhaust manifold gives you quicker catalytic converter light off and better control of the air flow transition between the cylinder head and exhaust manifold..

We feel the exhaust system is too narrow for an engine that can pump as much air as the J30.

The rear anti-sway bar is very tiny and can easily be replaced to improve the handling characteristics of the car.

The mufflers are relatively large, but use low profile designs to keep out of the airstream.

Accord Coupe 6MT Undercar Review Video
2.74MB Real V9 file
16.0MB MPEG1 file