I recently received and email from a guy named Savinski who was a big fan of the site, asking if I would be interested in featuring his Accord. I was interested to see his Accord, thinking it was a new style Accord Euro, and when he sent some pics through I was surprised that it was a 96 model, and a hard-slammed one at that. But then I noticed the number plates… they were American. So obviously I couldn’t do a photoshoot of the car myself, but Savinski had some decent shots that he sent through and I wasn’t exactly going to pass up the opportunity to feature this Midori-fresh Accord.
Savinski told me that it is pretty rare to see a fifth generation accord feature in a print or web magazine; it just seems that no one pays much attention to the shape. A pity really, because looking over Savinski’s car it is hard to see how a magazine would pass up the opportunity to feature it, especially the route Savinski has taken with it. It’s definitely the favoured approach to car modding these days: badass wheels, slammed ride height and proper engine work. However with what seems to be a reoccurring theme with American builds in this day and age, the biggest problem Savinski came across during his build was that in 2008 his Accord was stolen. He was one of the lucky ones and got the car back a few days later, abandoned some miles away after it ran out of gas. They didn’t leave empty handed though as they got away with his JDM front bumper which included JDM fogs, indicators, intersection lights, OEM Si-R lip and bumper pole. Savinski said “when I got it back I felt like someone had destroyed a part of me, I wanted so bad to just get rid of the car but my heart told me no, so I begun the hard task of tracking all the parts down again”. Dedication. He decided to respray the car as he believes one of the main reasons it was pinched was because it used to be painted in E46 M3 Laguna Seca Blue, which turned heads like crazy and was completely unsubtle. But as the saying goes ‘Bigger and Better’ and that is exactly what Savinski did.
After getting the car sprayed in a custom dark blue hue, he decided to swap in his 95 Prelude H22a engine which is now making a super respectable 203fwhp thanks to a myriad of mods that he has bolted onto it. The H22 is now supported by some Skunk2 pro series camgears as well as Skunk2 valve springs and retainers. Savinski also bolted on some killer Hytek headers which lead to a 2.5″ straight through then ending with the APEX’i muffler. With a tonne of other work done, he finished the bay up by spraying his rocker cover in Midori Green, in anticipation for his wheels to come back from the painting booth.
Next on the agenda was the exterior and this is where Savinski really decided to step things up. The first thing that smacks you in the face are the Midori Green Work VS-XXs, matching the rocker cover. The VS-XXs up front are 17×9+30 wrapped in 215/45/17 and 17×8+30 in 215/40/17 on the rear. The wheels sit super well on the car and the Midori Green is a flawless colour alongside the dark blue. Savinski then got a hold of a Mugen grille, VIS carbon front lip, JDM Si-R spoiler, as well as shaving the mouldings and of course tracking down all the JDM goodies that were originally taken from him. The result is one ridiculously clean looking Accord. Over here in Australia I have honestly never even seen the fifth generation accords modified, let alone to the extent that Savinski’s has been. It is always good to see someone have a stab at a chassis that no one else has. For that you really do have to give the man props, as well as staying true to his passion even after some lowlifes tried to take it from him. Just goes to show how much passion runs deep in Savinski’s blood, the same passion that we all share, it is what makes the car scene so amazing.
ENGINE
95 JDM H22 engine with t2t4 lsd manual transmission
skunk2 pro series camgear (+3*,-1*1)
skunk2 valve springs and spring base kit
skunk2 retainers
Hasport motor mount driver nd passenger side
HyTech header
H23 manual tensioner conversion
NGK iridium spark plug
MSD 8.5mm spark plug wire
Magnaflow 2.5 cat converter
Custom 2.5 exhaust piping
APEX’i muffler
Walbro 190 lph
Samco hose upper and lower radiator hose
K&N air filter
Carbon fiber spark plug cover
Mild wire tuck(cruise control deleted,power steering pump,power steering reservoir,abs deleted,battery relocated)
Midori green valve cover
DRIVE TRAIN
Eclutch master 6 puck stage 2
11 lbs Fidanza flywheel
EXTERIOR
2 months old custom paint job
Shave moldings
JDM rear garnish
JDM sir headlight
JDM yellow foglight
JDM bumper signal
JDM Si-R lip
VIS carbon fiber lip
JDM Si-R spoiler
Work rear lip
Work VS-XX 17×9+30 wrapped with 215/45/17 neo gen(rear) painted Midori green
Work VS-XX 17×8+30 wrapped with 215/40/17 neo gen(front) painted Midori green
Wiper arms deleted
Mugen grill
JDM side markers
Prelude 5th gen rear bumper light
EDM rear fog
OEM side skirts
INTERIOR
RSX seat color match
S2000 steering wheel
JDM center console
Carbon fiber shift knob
SUSPENSION
Function Form Type 2
Suspension Technique rear sway bar
Suspension Tecnique front sway bar
Cusco front strut bar
Cusco rear strut bar
Kozera lower control arm
95 Odyssey front knuckle with Legend rotor and Legend caliper (5 lug swap) front
5th gen Prelude rear assembly with 6th gen Accord V6 rotor using stock ex Accord caliper (5 lug swap) rear
Energy Master kit red bushing
Savinski would like to thank “Felipe Diaz, Jason Marshall, Freddy from Auto Tech, Gustavo Quesada with the swap and my best friend Giancarlo Kozera for his hard work making some custom made lower control arms for me”.
I myself would like to thank Savinski for reaching out and contacting me. Featuring his car was really an honour, and I am thoroughly stoked that he wanted to have it on Downshift. So anyone else out there, whether you are Australian or not, shoot me an email if you think your car or a friend’s car deserves a feature – here at Downshift we love hearing from you guys and it means a lot when you contact us asking for features, especially when otherwise we would never even know your car existed.