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-   -   civic or prelude? (https://www.revscene.net/forums/608215-civic-prelude.html)

toehead 03-09-2010 03:56 PM

civic or prelude?
 
I'm pretty new to the whole car modding thing but i've been doing my research for a while and i'd like some advice. Without having a clue what i was doing i bought a 99 civic si in white rock about a year and a half ago thinking that it would be the same motor as the one that was offered in the usdm si model. so after that big letdown i started researching the d16y8 and bought a few bolt ons. i'm at the point now where the next step performance wise is to either boost or do a swap. i'm not a huge fan of swapping cause why not just buy a better car, that is unless you've invested tonnes into the body etc.
so on that note i was thinking about buying a prelude cause i think they look like sex on wheels and i've heard promising things about h22/f22 frankenmotors. I also absolutely love boost, turbos in particular, so after buying said prelude the plan would be to boost it.
I know the two favored options aren't even close to equal in price but if any of you have tried either option how would you rate the satisfaction. I'm not looking to shatter any records with these cars, just knock my socks off every once in a while.

boibuddha 03-10-2010 05:14 PM

Switching to the prelude of a similar year, you're gaining close to 100 more horses than the civic. That would be a decent kick in the pants for a while. You might even be content with that power.

Picking between the two, it really depends on your attachment to your car. If you cannot leave her, then boost her up as parts are cheap. Without changing internals, the limits of a boosted D16 are similar to the N/A H22, power-wise.

Lowered_Klass 03-11-2010 04:27 PM

It already sounds like you've made up your mind. You obviously would rather a Prelude, so why not get one? What's stopping you? With a 'lude, you might be content with the power after simple bolt ons, header/exhaust/intake. Even going a bit further and upgrading to more aggressive cams, and a good tune with Hondata or something like that.

But if your happy with the Civic, swaps are not tons of money. They CAN be, but a half decent B series motor isn't all that pricey. Especially if you can score a nice JDM motor. After doing a swap, I bet you'd love your Civic all over again...

The possibilities are endless really. First you need to figure out what (car) you REALLY want. You can make both very fast, so it comes down to styling, etc.

civic_rice 03-11-2010 07:50 PM

my opinion is civic owning a few in the last bit. i love the power to weight ratio you get. preludes are very heavy. but sooo many civics around even compared to a prelude. i think a boost d would be far cheaper then a h series. but like previously stated it looks like u made up ur mind

Mr.Jay 03-11-2010 08:29 PM

you could always try to get the best of both worlds and go

eg/ek with H22 power

However if you wanna do a frankenmotor I would say look up B20vtec

YK86 03-11-2010 11:44 PM

Good points posted so far. I'd also like to throw in Preludes are ridiculously expensive to insure. If I remember right, a 97 Civic was $1400 a year full coverage and -15 (43% or whatever it was) discount for me. A 97 Prelude was $2200 a year, same coverage, same discount. My 99 Mustang GT convertible was roughly $300 a year cheaper to insure than the Prelude.

Nicely modded Preludes seem to be a dying breed especially after it got discontinued. I used to see so many with nice OEM lip kits, OEM JDM fogs, etc and now, not so much.

In the end, it comes down to what you want in a car. Preludes are fairly fast from the start, look great, and the seats and layout of the car is comfortable. But if you always carry more than 2 people, the backseat area is very small and cramped, and having only 2 doors can get annoying at times.

Civics are simple family cars that are great on gas and just generally cheap to own. Aftermarket support is huge and there are always used parts and stuff for sale. Lots of options for motors/swaps as well. The sedans are comfortable for 4 and also for carrying stuff like I do for work or when I go snowboarding. Down side is they are a dime a dozen and interior design does feel cheap compared to a Prelude.

XtC-604 03-11-2010 11:47 PM

Well if you're going to mod you might as well as get something with more potential. No replacement for displacement. 2.2L H22A = more power than that crappy D series will ever make.

Mugen EvOlutioN 03-12-2010 10:19 AM

prelude dude


cleaner, better power , more comfortable.


heavier by 200kg yes, power is double than the shitty D series. Ever thought about that?

prelude has about 150 torque, the D series? it has none

Qmx323 03-12-2010 10:32 AM

You can get a lot of power from a H22 motor as well, not just from boosting too.

But if thats the path you want to take (as in boosting), boosted Preludes have a lot potential as well.

Hustler604 03-12-2010 11:38 AM

hey man, i had a 2000 prelude which i got bone stock and ended up putting in a greddy turbo kit. Let me tell you, it is a NEW beast with a turbo. Bottom line is this, any turbo car requires maintainece and a great tune. Without those things you are setting yourself up for failure. Also, DO NOT cheap out on parts and make sure you are ready to dump around 10k into the car. You need to buy the turbo and all the fittings, but also gauges, brake setup, clutch/flywheel and other things like dyno tune, injectors, feul pump/rail wow i spent a lot of money on that car lol

do it for the right reasons if you are going to do it. do your homework and ask questions. DO NOT BUY A PRELUDE SH OR YOU CANNOT TURBO WITH A BOLT ON KIT!

also, the guy who bought my car off me said he is moving to edmonton and wants to sell, let me know if you are interested and i can get you both in touch!

ask me ify ou have any questions

civic_rice 03-12-2010 10:22 PM

buy my civic lmao. its got a b series, just slap a vtec head on there and a gocart on wheels.

Lowered_Klass 03-13-2010 09:04 AM

I bought a '98 Prelude back in the day, and it was a fun car. It was quick-ish, and with a few mods, it looked killer (I'm one who loves the look of the 5th gen ludes, but I know the styling is a love/hate thing).

Honestly? After selling it to start a new project, I don't really miss it, and I don't regret selling it. Like YK86 said, the insurance on these cars is nuts. So if you don't have a decent discount, you might want to call an insurance place and get a ballpark on how much you'll be paying.

It's really tough to beat the fun factor of a swapped Civic. Makes it feel completely different, and a ton more fun to drive.

The one car I do regret selling was my old DA (which is what I sold to get the lude) :(

toehead 03-15-2010 04:40 PM

thanks for all the input. i threw this around to all my friends and we talked alot about the options. I'm proud to say i'm a bit of a honda whore, so my buddy told me to check out s2k's which are another ball park altogether but i think thats the ticket. with a hardtop on they look as good or better than lude's and they're rear wheel drive with more power and torque. the price tag is kinda high but it's not too hard to come up with money as a pressure welder. for now though i've been told to play with boost on the cheaper d series and drive the s2k n/a when i get it to see if i still want to do it. has anyone here owned an s2k. they look like honda's best attempt at a sports car so far to me

Leopold Stotch 03-15-2010 08:56 PM

^ keep the soft top!!!

Energy 03-15-2010 10:28 PM

The s2k is not an attempted sports car. It is one plain and simple.

Its not the fastest car out there but it can out handle most cars in the corners and is just a joy to drive.

Problem is it gets uncomfortable on long trips and two seats is a drawback sometimes. It also takes more gas than most hondas and drinks a lot of oil.

Sometimes I wish for a good old auto civic for day to day commuting esp in heavy traffic... but whenever I get in I don't ever want to be in another car because very few cars out there can put a smile on my face and drive as nicely as an s2k. You should try it sometime lol.

toehead 03-16-2010 04:13 PM

nickg: ya i'd love to test drive one. one day i suppose. the whole two seater convertible thing is pretty cool but it's not the most practical format for a car. i had no intentions of making it my only car though. the girlfriend really wants a jetta and i'm sure she'll share if i ask nice. this is kinda unrelated but you mentioned also that it burns a bunch of oil and i've been having some issues with my bike. Its a honda VTR 1000 firestorm. twin cylinder sport bike and it's going through what seems like an unreasonable amount of oil but it doesnt make a tonne of smoke and compression is up, the crankcase ventilation is working pretty good. so i'm kinda at my wits end. i was going to check valve clearances and timing but it doesnt make smoke so whats the deal.
also what year is your s2k and do you have any pics

leoplold: i looked into it and you don't have to ditch the soft top to get a hardtop, and i'm not a racer so the extra weight isn't a big deal:D


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