spoon805

My friend is about to sell his 98 ITR and become a proud owner of a used Supra Turbo. Essentially, I'm first in line to buy his ITR. My dilemma is whether to stick with my current 97 prelude or sell it and buy my friend's ITR.

Here's the line up

My prelude:
1997 Eucalyptus Green
45,000 miles
Auto Tranny (2 re builds, don't ask)
OEM rear and side body kit and spoiler
VIS Mugen front bumper with inserts painted silver
OEM non-SH rims on some Toyos
AEM CAI with Bypass valve with recall fix
Neuspeed front upper strut bar
Tanabe super-H springs
Tokico Non-adjustable shocks
Tanabe exahust
Field Controller
JVC El Kameleon LX-30 deck
Clifford Alarm (moded)
Light dings and dents randomly on the car, not serious

The ITR:
98 Championship White
30,000 miles
OEM Gunmetal 2000 ITR rims on some bald Dunlops
Tanabe Super H springs
Spoon rear strut bar and front (both upper)
Viper Alarm
Autometer Monster tach
AEM CAI (no bypass valve)
4-1 jdm headers
port and polish done by PYR
titanium retainers
CTR intake cam
OBD I ECU swap (not sure)
test pipe (soon to be high flow cat)
some racing clutch
Very Light dings and dents only on doors, very unnoticeable
low 14's, high 13's - all motor


I would want to keep my car because of the following: It has sentimental value, built it up from stock. Put my blood and sweat in the car. It looks better IMO than the ITR in its own way. Sometimes, automatic is a blessing in disguise. The ITR is one noisy car now with all those mods. That clutch is a work out in itself. It's my friend's car, not mine - and everyone knows it too. (What i mean is that everyone will know that I'm driving HIS car not MY car? get what i mean?..and worst, I'll know it too) Prelude interior is more comfortable and looks better. Prelude has cruise and sunroof. I don't get to enjoy building the ITR from stock. I'm still getting compliments for my car from people not into imports. ITR is a theft-risk.

I would want the ITR because: Damn, its a lot faster than what I have now. The mods are excellent IMO. Prelude Auto tranny just does not cut it sometimes. During my life, I want to drive real sports car (meaning one with a manual).. so I might as well get it out of my system now, before trying to turn a luxury car into a racer (next "new" car would be luxo). ITR condition is excellent. My friend and I built up our setups together and know each other's vehicles very well. Considering that if I sell my car privately I could get around 14,000 and he would sell me that car near 18,000, its not a bad upgrade for 4,000. and lastly,... I just like the damn ITR.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Hope it made sense (doubtful, but oh well - it's late).

Share any thought, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Lewd Lude

I would stick with the prelude...as you said, it is your car, and the ITR is connected with your friend....I agree that the SS sucks, but it is also a good thing to have sometimes. As far as doing up a luxo, what is the problem? My brother bought a 540 BMW and it runs 11s, AND he drives his kids in it...THE ULTIMATE SLEEPER!

Storm Shadow

I agree with Lewd. It is a bad *** car to have, but it is your friends car and you would think about that every time you raced someone. Stick with your car and make it tear sh*t up. If anything, save up the $4k price difference and get a turbo for the lude. Luxo cars can be bad *** too, sometimes better than more common cars.

2.2

I am going to have to disagree with the other guys on this one. Not only have I driven both, but I also bought my first car from a good friend. It was a '93 Prelude Si w/4ws. I loved the car and so did he. It was actually quite nice for him to be able to see it every once in a while. There were no problems there.

The ITR is just a way better car though. I am sorry to say it, but I would give up my lude for an ITR anyday. Sure I like the smoother ride and quietness of the lude (and lets not forget the sunroof) but the ITR is just a performer. Tkae sturns with the best of them and is faster than my '96 VTEC too. I can only imagine how much of a difference in drivability that you would get going from an SS lude to an ITR 5 speed.

Go with the ITR.

Storm Shadow

I can't say I don't get the itch for an ITR, because I have been seeing a whole lot of them lately. It without a doubt is a superior performance car. You need to decide whether you want it to be yours from the ground up or if you want to finish what your friend started. You have already got my opinion. Your friend has already done a lot of mods, but it's ultimately a question of what you'd rather drive.

0Mike95lude

take your friends ITR.

JG Luder

errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........ ITR.... they're just too cool.

Damn, I can't believe I said that...

spoon805

Somehow, I wish I had made this thread into a Poll. Could any of the moderators do that for me... if not, its cool.

Thanks for the opinions, its 2 vs 3... but so far the prelude group is winning with better reasons... but hey, I'm biased admittedly. Need more opinions please!

(btw, the performance upgrade on the Prelude SS will stop regardless of this transaction... a level ten tranny/converter and a turbo is the only thing worth it, and that little deal will be near $6k - $7K, something I won't be able to save up for a while. By the time that kind of money will have been saved for something as non-essential as tuning my auto-prelude, I'll most likely be in the market for something new.)

Note: Little side story - My friend's ITR was suppose to be mine from the very first mile off the lot. About a month before he bought it, my good ole dad was looking a for an integra for himself. At the acura dealer was the ITR. I made a deal with my dad, giving him my prelude in exchange for him buying the ITR and then handing the car to me. He agreed, but then for some personal reasons we never got the ITR, but an LS. Anyways, my friend rolls up to me later with his new ITR, and low and behold, its the same production number, VIN, etc. Perhaps if I buy it, it is returning to its true destined owner!



[Modified by spoon805, 5:49 PM 5/23/2001]


[Modified by spoon805, 5:49 PM 5/23/2001]

Honda318dx

Get the R!

Digital-R

Get the R;
I traded my 98 Lude 5Spd which had a lot of work done to it for an ITR, and have not regretted it for a second. Also it is a good thing that you are buying a used car from your friend, who cares if he built it, it is better than buying it from a stranger and have no clue on how he treated and maintained her.


[Modified by Digital-R, 11:54 AM 5/23/2001]

wuhungsixxx

get the itr no doubt...faster and it will hold more value later down the road because its a R!...u will forget about ur prelude after u smoke a few v8...hehe

23109VC

do you want performance more or luxury more.

Both the ITR and the Prelude are not too far off one another. Each is a four cylinder, economical, and relatively reliable car.

the Prelude is that recipe with a little mroe "class", refinement, luxury.

the ITR is a bit more hard core race car, less luxury.

both cars will be fun, both look good in their own way.

I chose to buy a PRelude over the ITR, could have bought either one, but I wanted something with a bit of luxury/refinement. I think no one would argue the Prelude is a bigger car, feels more sturdy, and has a far nicer interior. I wanted that. I sacrificed some performance, but I"m happy with my car and what it can do.

do you want to spend $4000 more dollars for the increase in power and loss in comfort??? I wouldn't.

I vote keep teh lude unless you know you'll be happier driving the ITR.

84RHONDA

Keep the lude. I will always love and respect the ITR, but the design is getting to be an eye sore. The lude(5th gen) has only been around since 1997, so it's still relatively fresh, plus the design is way beyond its' time. With an R, comes a lot of paranoia. My friend sold his 98 ITR in 2000 after 4 attempted robberies on his own parking lot. He now drives a CL, and lives "a normal life" hahaha

But in the end it's all up to you. Good luck with your decision.

I was also up to buy a 2001 ITR, but didn't wanna deal with a massive case of paranoia, so opted for a used lude.

Honda318dx

Oh yea, if you get the R, take that damn Tach out! I hate them things..

spoon805

Man guys, i'm freaking torn now... however, I'm leaning more towards sticking with my lude ...why? well, i just hand a conversation witha friend that went like this:

Friend: i say
Friend: stick w/ ur car
Friend: it's urs
Friend: it's ur love
Friend: like i don't think i'd wanna another car, even though i'm always bitchin
Friend: it's my car, when ppl stare and compliment, you get that feeling, **** I DID THAT
Me: that's so true
Friend: even though john consulted you on it, to me it would always be his
Friend: b/c i know how you feel when someone looks at ur car
Friend: ur like ha, yeah ****, that's MY car


oh well, the internal struggle continues. Thanks for all the opinions, keep them coming...

Jarrad_r6

my vote would be to keep the lude. But that is based on my preference for autocross to 1/4 mile. I find that driver skill plays a bigger role in best time than the car does. Not that the ITR isn't one bad 4 banger! I just figure the daily driving pleasure out weighs the track advantage.

J