Owners / Drivers Diary 11.21.98 Today was the big day.  We brought our 1994 Honda Accord Wagon home.  This is the first Honda that I have ever owned, but my wife had previously owned a 1991 Honda Prelude before we were married.  Won't tell ya what happened to it.  One of the main reasons me and my wife decided to buy the wagon was because she would not settle for a van.  I wanted to get Honda's infamous S-MX mini van that is only available here in Japan, but she would not have it. The wagon was as close as she would get to a family type car without losing performance and the sport car look.  We had originally picked out a wagon that we wanted to buy but it was sold out form under us so we had to search for another one.  We looked at all three generations of wagons before purchasing this one and found that we liked the all around look of the 5th.  Coming back to the same dealer that had the wagon we originally wanted, he helped us find the wagon of our dreams. 12.28.98 The wagon we originally wanted to buy had clear taillights, so we wanted to get a set of clear taillights for our wagon.  After searching the net we finally found a place that had clear taillights.  SUMMIT RACING was the place.  So I ordered them. 01.20.99 Our clear tail lights have arrived.  As I had stated before, I have never owned a Honda before and didn't know the differences between the sedan/coupe and the wagon.  I opened the box to find that they were not the right ones.  After doing some more research and contacting SUMMIT RACING, I found out that the tail lights were for a '96 - '97 Honda Accord sedan/coupe.  Now that sucks.  So back went the lights.  They then told me that they do not sell clear tail lights that fit the wagon. I then commenced to searching the local economy here in Japan and started at my favorite place AUTOBACS, and low and behold there they were, my new clear taillights.  I purchased the lights and headed home to install them.  Click here to learn how to install your new taillights 10.26.99 After almost a year of driving the wagon, I decided that it was time to start upgrading.  So I began to plan my upgrades and came up with a plan for my wagon.  I did some research on setting up a project car and with all of that info I came up with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that allowed me to track everything dealing with upgrades on the wagon.  I first decided that the stock intake had to go.  Now keep in mind that this is my first sport compact / import that I have ever owned so I am new to the import market and the availability of parts. Since I have always been a muscle car fan I was very familiar with the shops that dealt with V8 performance so my first stop was SUMMIT RACING.  After searching through their web site and a couple catalogs I had, I found a decent intake that did not cost an arm and a leg but would hopefully perform well.  I purchased a Matrix Intake, Matrix Racing pedals, Matrix Shift knob, Matrix E-Brake handle, and "Powered by Honda" blue seat belt pads. 11.12.99 My intake has arrived.  Today is the day of more power for the wagon.  After getting the package home I dove right into opening it and seeing what the intake was all about and what it consisted of.  Well, to my surprise it was nothing more than an aluminum tube with an air filter on one end and a silicon coupling on the other and some hose clamps.  Now thinking that this was for an import I was assuming there would be more to it.  Well, I learned quickly that just because the car was an import it didn't have to be difficult to work on.  After further searching of the box, no instructions were to be found.  Another surprise of the import world. Anyhow on with the install.  It took me no more than 20 minutes to install the intake and this was my first time. Of course I have a mechanics background but this was like a joke.  I was really thinking that this was going to be some really tough effort and I would have to rework the ECU to accommodate the new intake but it was simple.  Anyone with any type of mechanical knowledge can do this.  For only what is called a "Bolt-on" item, it made a big difference in performance. 11.17.99 My son was born today at 0630.  He is a beautiful blond haired baby boy.  Great gift from god. 12.15.99 Well, we had a flat tire today.  After looking at all of the tires on the wagon, we decided that the wagon was due for some new shoes.  So on with the spare and off to AUTOBACS we went.  After browsing their selection of tires, and believe me they have a huge selection, me and the wife decided that we should just go for it and get all new wheels and tires.  So my wife used the local lingo and ask the salesman to show us all of the pre-mounted wheel and tire sets that they had that would fit the Accord Wagon.  After viewing our options, we settled for the wheels and tires that are now on the wagon, 17x7.5 HUNTER WILCOX with 205/45 FALKEN Ziex rubber.  Now the wagon was riding nice on it's new shoes. 12.28.99 Now I have my power, and new shoes on the wagon, it is time to look at the suspension.  I am not in too much of a hurry to lower the wagon until we get a car for my wife.  Right now she uses the wagon to go back and forth to work and take my son to Day Care.  Well after some more research and thought I decided to go with a set of strut tower bars to help improve the handling.  Again I made the return trip on the net to SUMMIT RACING.  After searching their site I came up with a set is Chikara Carbon Fiber front and rear strut tower bars.  I am a big carbon fan so if it has carbon fiber then I want it.  So I ordered them. 01.08.00 The ship deploys.  A little over 1 and a half after the birth of my little boy and daddy has to leave for about 4 months.  Take care. 04.15.00 Return home after 4 grueling months underway and working hard.  Time for some relaxation. My new strut tower bars arrive while I was gone.  I got them home and opened the box to find to beautiful carbon fiber strut tower bars.  I then commenced to go to work.  The front bar was simple.  Remove three nuts on each side, drop the bar on and tighten everything down to specs.  The rear bar on the other hand was a little more difficult.  After getting everything out of the way to install the bar I found that the bar would not reach across the wagon's width to the other strut tower. I just discovered another difference between the wagon and the sedan/coupe.  the wagon's rear struts are angled up further than the sedan/coupe so rear bars that fit the sedan/coupe will not work in the wagon.  This time I didn't return them.  I kept the front one installed and didn't bother with the rear bar for now. 10.31.00 Well today was a bad day and it just so happened to be Halloween.  I got in an argument with the better half and was pissed.  I left work and backed in to what is called a bolster.  They used to use them to moor ships when inport but since they built new piers they are no longer used.  Well they are yellow so you can see them but I felt the back of the car shifted a little and I knew right then and there what had happened.  I got out and looked to find a big yellow mark in the rear quarter of the rear bumper.  DAMN!!! What a day. 11.17.01 Today is my son's 1st birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!!! 02.15.01 Found the right strut tower bars.  After doing lots and lots of research for the wagon and taking over as webmaster of the ACCORD WAGON CLUB site, I came across this site that sold Cusco strut tower bars for the Accord Wagon.  Now if you are not familiar with Cusco, they are a big Japanese company that produces some serious aftermarket parts for sport compact cars. I talked to the site and they were able to order the bars for me.  Boy was I excited.  Finally bars that will fit the front and rear without any modifications. 02.20.01 Ship deploys again.  See you when I get back. 04.29.01 I return from 2 months of no family and lots of ocean to find that my son is getting bigger and that my wife has gotten bigger because she got pregnant just before I had left for deployment.  My new Cusco strut tower bars arrived also so I commenced to installing them. Unlike the bars I had originally gotten,  the Cusco bars came with installation instructions and some extra stuff.  The only problem was the instructions were in Japanese so I had to have my wife do a little translating for me and at the same time I looked at the pictures really close to make sure I installed them right. Well they are on and look good.  The front fit beautifully and the rear fit right in as if it belonged there originally. 09.11.01 It happened.  The World Trade Center gets hit by terrorists. 10.01.01 Ship deploys for ENDURING FREEDOM... See ya when I get back. 10.30.01 I make a hellashius trip from ENDURING FREEDOM home to see my family and the birth of my new baby girl. 11.09.01 My daughter is born.  Another wonderful gift from god.  Now I have two new angels in my household that are great. 11.17.01 Today is my son's 2nd birthday.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DREW!!! 11.25.01 I was online and found the a new intake that I just had to have.  I knew of AEM and others but this stood out.  The INJEN TECHNOLOGIES cold air intake.  So I order one. 12.05.01 My new CAI arrives.  Good thing it was a pretty day to work on the ride so I went installing my new CAI.  Just like everything else there were no instructions so I grabbed my Helms manual and off came the front of the car.  After about and hour  and a half I was finished and my new CAI was installed.  I got a blue on if you were wondering.  I think the one thing that turned me on to the INJEN intake is the fact that in about 5 minutes I can take the CAI extension off and not have to worry about water getting into my engine. 03.23.02 Finally bring the wagon down to earth.  Well today is finally the day that.  I got my new Apexi N1 World Sport coilovers finally and I will be installing them today.