well i drive a del sol dohc vtec my friend was wanting to know about the ludes he drives 93 civic sohc vtec ex now and was gonna get the two ludes one is an auto one is a manual he can get both of them together for only 600 theres something wrong with them both abviously the manual has the dohc non vtec with a new paintjob and some neuspeed shocks i think...the auto is beat ta ****...we were gonna fix up the manual and just use it as a racer and sell the auto for around a grand, there both dohc non vtecs... we started up a group and plan on starting up a company called envious creations...go figure...lol the manual was gonna be a racer and be fixed up by our 3 peeps in our group...lol think its a good idea???? i would much rather fix up a newer/better/faster car but he wants these i dont know if we will or not but what do ya think?

 

civic924dr, since you're so passionate about 3rd gen preludes, and rightfully so, I might add, I just thought I'd add a few more thoughts.

I agree. Too many people are dismissing the 4ws system probably without much experience with it. It does take a little getting used though. About the aftermarket, you're right. For some reason, I forgot about Ludespeed. I even talked to Tom Coleman on the phone when I organized a camber kit group buy a few years ago. It's a great kit that I'd argue is better than a lot of the ones out for Civics and Integras... There is a lot more out there than I gave it credit for but unfortunately, the number of manufacturers pales in comparison to the civic's. [EDIT] I should mention that my brother's car's bushings are shot but no company makes urethane bushings for it. Kind of a bummer. Also, ST stopped making swaybars for that prelude.[/EDIT] I used to think that having a car with limited support made it unique but when I switched to a car with more support, I didn't complain at all. Thanks for the links btw. I haven't paid any attention since hondaprelude.com, ed sawyers board, and joe narvaez's (sp?) 3rd gen site waaay before that. (Anyone here remember Chris Brinson's attempt to get Chris Webmaster riled up? )
How long have you owned each of your preludes? We've had the S from 96-00 and the Si 4WS from 97-current. I'd say the maintance for each when spread over the years is actually quite reasonable but my point of view is skewed because my brother's car now grinds when you shift into 1st or 3rd without revmatching. I did get better gas mileage in the S and my brother has gotten better but neither car can tough my civic's current gas mileage. 30mpg in the civic is pretty much a minimum. I've gotten up to 37mpg on several occasions. You're right, the 4WS system isn't all that heavy but all the options added to that trim level make it feel noticeably heavier than my S felt. And whaddya know.... my civic has more mechanical problems than my brother's prelude. BUT, my civic was abused and neglected by it's previous owners and I have done little to it while I save up for an engine swap, which is another point to bring up (below).
The b20a is a pretty decent engine but to me, it's likened to a b18a/b18b with more torque. Unfortunately, you can't simply drop in a better engine with little fuss like you can with a civic (esp. 92-95). But I know that some people have put in H22 motors in and if I'm not mistaken, kits are out there.
I agree that the bashing isn't fair because the prelude really is a good, fun car. But it is a civic board so it's to be expected. I guess it really comes down to what Nvious_Creation really wants from the car.

 

Depending on what's wrong with the cars, I'd say that it sounds like a good deal. It also depends on what kind of racing you're planning on doing. If you just want it to promote the shop at the local dragstrip, it would be nice to just put on the Ludespeed turbo kit and possibly the Online Performance body kit as a quick eye catcher.

 

".....sigh.....this house......is clean....."

 

i did get kinda crazy. im a die hard prelude fanatic to tell you the truth. i think with have a small aftermarket support makes it that much more fun to fix up the ludes. b/c then when you go to a show, you are more than likely not going to see another prelude with your kit or whatever. when my girl got her civic i was thinking how easy it was going to be to work on it. i cant believe the support you guys have. but then again, you also have to worry about going to a show and seein a car that looks like yours. thats why im being real picky with her car. yeah, some people put h22 in the 3g ludes. they have a ton of problems but they do it. to me its not worth it. i just keep the b20a in there or put a jdm b20 in there. (thats my next mod). i understand that i am on a civic board and i do expect some bashing of the prelude. but when someone comes out bashing the prelude and completely getting their facts wrong about it, thats what makes me mad. i just had to prove them wrong. oh and STICKYHYDRO, anyday you wanna take it to the track son, i will race you in either my beater or my project car and waste you with either one. you wouldnt stand a chance. you can even pick which one i race you with. NVIOUS_CREATION: preludes are awesome cars. i totally agree with your friend on fixing one up for racing. its a perfect car to do so. yes its an old car but its still a very good and well respected car. let me know if you need anything for it. if i dont have it i can find it.

 

Aftermarket shmaftermarket. Pretty much any semi-modern Honda has plenty of aftermarket support, you just have to get a little more creative with your choices.

I hate car shows. Car shows are pointless. They're all about people standing in front of their cars and highlighting all the money they've spent on messing up the car and not necessarily with the goal of higher performance in mind.

Yes, the Prelude is a little heavier. Yes, the stock motor is crappy because Honda tried to make a 2.0 liter motor with an 81mm bore which necessitates a 95mm stroke. Yes, mount kits are available to put the newer B-series motors in the 3rd gen Prelude. Properly done, an Si 4WS would be one cool-as-hell car to drive. A GSR motor bored out to 84mm putting around 230 hp to the wheels would make it plenty quick, plus you'd get the favorable dimensions (wide track, low center of gravity) of the Prelude as compared to the Civic and Integra. Add a limited-slip, big brakes (which unfortunately have to be custom but who cares) and sticky tires and it's one hell of a package. Perhaps the only minor issue in making a "modern" car out of it would be finding one with ABS.

So yeah, it's a helluva lot easier to make the same sort of car out of a Civic. But if you have the time and money to invest in the Prelude you could make one really cool car. Whether it's worth it to invest that kind of time and money in any sort of front-wheel drive car is an entirely different question but whatever, it can be done.

 

A Buddy of mine has a an 88 Prelude 4WS. It has a custom red paint job. 17's and has factory leather. When my civic was SOHC and we both had bolt-ons, he could kill my car at will. There are plenty of tuning options for that car. You can get as crazy with that car as you can with any civic. Just because civic aftermarket support is easier to come by does not make it better to tune. It's really a matter of opinion and a matter of both cars condition. But, tight ass 3rd gen preludes are hard to come by and civic are a dime a dozen. With the import scene growing as fast as it is, I find myself growing apart from my civic everyday. I mean don't get me wrong, I have owned my civic for almost ten years and I would never sell her but there just is not much left to do without getting extreme and I would rather find another ride to tune. Oh, and I have seen a 3rd gen prelude with an H22 in it.

 

i know a guy who did an h22 in his 3g. it took him almost 3months to do the swap. thats not even working out all the quirks he had. he said it cost more that what its worth. he still to this day has problems with it. just not worth it to me.

 

Maybe he just did'nt know what the **** he was doing.

 

well, he had a tech from the local performance shop helping him so i imagine at least that guy knew what he was doing