ok.. i just wanted to ask some questions.. i have a 97 prelude and i raced my friend with a 2000 mercedes C230 kompressor sport.. during the first race, we took off at the same time and we were going about the same and it was hard to tell who won the race (i couldn't pass him tho).. second time, he took off a tad bit faster but he was about a car length ahead of me and i couldn't catch up.. we both have auto.. my car is bone stock and has 195 hp according to honda, and his car comes with a supercharger and has 185 hp according to mercedes.. and i believe his car is heavier than my car.. then what makes it so difficult for me to beat him? i shifted at 7400 rpm (right before the redline) in sportshift mode.. the only mods he has is springs and 17 inch rims.. he said he's smoked s2000, accord v6, and RSX type S.. (he was serious) what would be the best way for me to beat him without gettin nitrous? i haven't tuned up my car in a while.. do you guys think my car will be faster if i tune up? (timing belt change, ATF change, powersteering flush, etc)

http://www.internetautoguide.com/Rev...z_C-Class.html

the link above is the info of his car.. his car has a 2.3 L engine and mine has a 2.2 L engine.. but that can't be a reason why i can't beat him right?

 

everything will run smoother if you get a tune-up, but you need a whole new swapped manual transmission... i have a red '97 Prelude SS tranny... no mods or anything yet.. dont worry too much about your engine, just because its an auto, you can get the basic bolt-ons, i/h/e, some laughing gas would also do the trick, but if your friend is saying he "smoked" a RSX Type-S and an S2000 and your keeping up with him? You have got a special lude my friend, b/c i can barely keep up w/ my friends RSX Type-S.. the RSX your friend raced, the driver probably cant drive a stick too well or it was a base RSX 4spd auto... Ive seen the Type-S beat a Mustang GT and many other v8's... Anywho.. try and stick to the basic bolt-ons and a few other little things.. stick to looks mainly... what can i say? i would much rather a 5spd, but.. i love my lude to much to give it away for any other car with a 5spd...

later..

 

ooh.. and another thing... dont drive too hard too often, your tranny WILL go out.. mine is in the shop at the moment because of the transmission.. shit happens

 

its basically all about the driver... my freinds rsx type s wif greddy exhaust, and aem intake, and mines bone stock except for a jdm intake, type s cams and pistons, and i can basically keep up wif em side to side.... shifting about the same

preludes and rsx's were made about the same, weight difference is also bout da same, but i think da rsx is a few hundred pounds less...

 

you cant "smoke" him because he is putting out way more torque than your lude is. his car weighs 3250, yours' is probably 3000 lbs. 40 more ft lbs of torque is a big difference.

 

How good is your manual shifting? I'm pretty good, but when it comes to someone stepping on an automatic, they'll most likely get a better start.

And also the Torgue on the SLK pulls stronger at lower RPM than the lude. It takes time for the lude to hit vtec, but when it does it pulls strong ...

 

but his is an AUTO.. sport shift... and i know how slow they are.. haha.. i own one, regretfully

 

Let Calista Flockhart do the driving next time.

 

if you had a 5spd you'd beat him. your transmission is robbing you of extra power, and torque. he might beat you off the line, but in the end if you had a 5spd you'd pull and pass. Even if he putting down more power earlier in the powerband, once you hit vtec, and shift correctly it shouldn't be all that close. i'm not sure about the gear ratios and FD on the MBZ and how many gears it has, but that's what's separating you and him.

also, on a stock tach, it underpegs the RPM's by around 400 rpm, so truly shifting at redline would be shifting @ 8000 rpm.

there's no way he's beating RSX-S and S2000's unless grandmas are driving the other cars.

 

Mercedes aren't all they used to be cracked up to be. Up untill the late 80's, MB had almost the same attention to performance that BMW has. But in the early 90's, their focus shifted toward luxury. So out went the manuals, tight suspensions, and torquey V6's and V8's. In came turboed and SC'd I4's and V6's were tuned for higher hp and less torque. Then of course, they threw out the true manuals. So now the only cars in MB's line with real balls are all over 60k. And even at that you can't row your own gears. MB's don't impress me one bit, unless they offer the C430 AMG with a real manual..... hehe. Only in dreams, I guess.