Engine used in the extinct
Acura 3.0CL line, as well as the now-
obsolete sixth-generation
V6 Accords. Rated 200
HP, 195lbs/ft. of
torque. Utilizes
multiport programmed fuel injection (
PFI) and
SOHC VTEC.
Spark plugs are driven by
ignition coils rather than a
distributor in later models. Mileage: About 21 street, 26-28 on the highway. Can be mated to either an
automatic or
manual transmission and is usually (always?) installed in
transverse mount fashion, since the cars it is found in are all
FWD.
This engine is fairly large compared to other 3.0-liter V6es and takes up a lot of the compartment in the Accord and Acura CL engine bays. This makes it a little harder to work around, and especially mod. Nevertheless, there are plenty of mods available from GReddy, Aerospeed, and others.
One particularly interesting mod that will work with the J30A1 can be found here:
http://www.apexi-usa.com/electronics_vafc.asp
This mod does two things. One, it optimizes fuel flow. Two, it controls VTEC engagement points. It does these two things in concert, which results in a boost in performance. It also tells you whether VTEC is on or off, as well as the percentage of throttle and engine revs.
At the time of writing (7/20/2001), CompTechUSA (http://www.comptechusa.com) is about two months from releasing a supercharger for this engine. At a mere 6PSI, they claim it takes a stock Accord from 180HP to 230HP. (That's at the wheels, not the engine's BHP. Flywheel HP is generally 12-13% more than what you get at the wheels.)