Mike doesn't know shit about autocrossing... h:













:hugglez:

 

Also depends on where you use your suspension to compare each other.

On your typical Philly roads an aftermarket suspension on a Civic will not handle as well as a stock suspenion on a Prelude. The Civic will just skitter and skip across the pavement in Philly, which can lead to poor handling. Aftermarket suspensions can be TOO stiff and cause the tires to skip across the pavement which looses traction, whereas a softer suspension will be able to handle the road better.

For instance at the Autocrossers Incorporated autocross at Ripken Stadium last weekend I was up against my old 00 Civic Si with a very well tuned suspension versus my 1993 Civic Si with stock shocks and ebay coilovers. That lot there is super slick and in my testing I did with my 91 Civic Si always kept the suspension soft cause that car got sideways if you didn't.

With my 93 Civic Si I was able to beat my old 00 Civic Si by about 1.5 seconds.

But at a track like Summit Point my 00 Civic Si should blow away my 93 Civic Si with it's stiffer suspension.

And it's not what I know either I'm speaking from experience too.

 

Really? And what do you know RICO? U are a typical FOOL...

RicoD doesn't know shit about LIFE, period.

 

Amen to that, I wasn't trying to be cocky...
I totally agree with you, and obviously you have experience...

I simply addressed the original question in this post as to what cars handle well, and I added my opinions on my Prelude...
I have not driven my lude in an autocross event yet, but from what I can tell driving it on regular roads, it handles very well, and is comparable to the civic, ON THE STREET...

On the track it is a whole different story...

 

Way to go, get em all agitated.

Autocrossers vs. real world

Hey coneheads, ever stop to think about how some cars just feel fast?

When a stopwatch and a grocery store parking lot are all that matters I would want a heavily customized setup.

For every day the Prelude is awesome. Nothing against the Integra, I've got one. Del Sol is probably comparable to Teg. Civic is toward the bottom of the heap.

 

I love the handling of my del Sol (lowered 2.5"). It's better than my Civic Hatch. If I had to chose a car for any kind of road racing, I'd pick the del Sol. Just b/c it just grabs so hard around corners.

 

I found some info about a Car and Driver test at this site

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...=505607&page=2

Here's what Car and Driver said:

Car and Driver basically did when they compared these two in their Best Handling article back in '97. The Prelude even did better than the M3 in their skid pad tests.

"So, what's the best-handling car at any price? Is it the less-than-$30,000 handling winner, the Prelude SH, or the more-than-$ 30,000 M3? Bringing the Prelude along allowed a back-to-back comparison.
....The M3 also has larger tires than the Honda, with a larger foot-print....
....The M3 was faster, though, in all of those tests. With 0.86 g of grip, the Honda pulled ahead of the BMW's 0.85 g on the bumpy skidpad, and it matched the BMW s 0.89 g when the pavement was smooth. With only 195 horsepower, we weren t surprised when the Prelude lapped Nelson Ledges the slowest of all. Its 84.7-mph average speed was 3.5 mph slower than the BMW. At least the Prelude's torque-transfer system was working on the track this time."

So, with the Car and Driver article as my "online" proof, the Prelude can be considered to have pretty good handling if it beat an M3, case closed...

 

Anymore info on that test? There are too many other variables that could have affected the test like tire choice on both cars (all seasons versus summer), how old the suspension were on both cars (newer suspension would be faster than older). Blah blah blah.

If you have ever driven an M3 and then a Prelude there is no comparison. The M3 is much faster even at an autocross.

 

Only problem is that a rollbar is next to impossible to fit in a Del Sol unless you gut the interior.

 

Nah, I happened to come across that test searching the net for something else.
Too many variables? They listed the fact that the M3 had wider tires, and this will certainly help in the handling department.
I'm not sure of the other "variables" but for them to state that the prelude has better handling, even better than an M3, is sure to awaken all of the die-hard BMW fans and all of the arguments they will try to make. Older suspension? They were both "new" cars, so how would the "oldness" of the suspension come into play?

Take it from them, they say it handles better, backed it up in testing, and then even pointed out that the BMW has an advantage in having wider tires and rear-wheel drive, and yet there are still people who will try and argue that Car and Driver is wrong, the testing evidence is wrong, and that their conclusion is wrong... Is it because these people drive BMW's and think they are better than everyone else, YES...

I've driven an 02 M3 and, (not on the track), it did not impress me.
You say the M3 is faster overall, I don't disagree with you, but then it costs almost twice as much, has more Torque (at least 100+ more) and more HP...

So I agree with the results that they got, and from my experience, I can say that the Prelude does INDEED have good, if not great handling from the factory... Better than the M3, apparently