Well I have about a grand left over, when I bought my prelude('95 / non vtec), and I was thinking of buying a short ram intake(AEM)...

But I have been reading (don't flame me) a old thread, saying that they lost power with a short ram intake vs the stock one... Now I what I want to know, if this is true? I want to put some money in the car, but before you say "just buy a cold air", I also want to get some headers, and a exhaust.

I know that it's a little more than a grand, but I don't want to spend it all at once. Maybe headers and a short ram first?

thanks for the help.

 

From your other thread.
Save your money. Get a job and then start modding your car. Nothing sucks more than spending $200 on an AEM intake and then finding out your alternator is bad and you have no money left over.

When you do have the funds, I'd look into upgrading suspension over intake, header & exhaust. More bang for your buck in my opinion. As for your question about the loss of HP between a short ram and cold air intake - the gains are minimal from either or. More reason to replace worn bushings throughout your suspension and going all out with a full coil over setup or lowering springs & shocks.

 

"From your other thread.
Save your money. Get a job and then start modding your car. Nothing sucks more than spending $200 on an AEM intake and then finding out your alternator is bad and you have no money left over."

Yea, thanks for the advice, I kinda wanted to make the thread, so I can get ideas now... Since I start work next week (hopefully). That way, I can just go back, and look at the thread at a later time, with posts on it.

"I'd look into upgrading suspension over intake, header & exhaust. More bang for your buck in my opinion. As for your question about the loss of HP between a short ram and cold air intake - the gains are minimal from either or. More reason to replace worn bushings throughout your suspension and going all out with a full coil over setup or lowering springs & shocks. "
As for suspension, what would be a good brand? I like how the greddy evo 2, exhaust sounds... I don't know if they make it for the prelude. (newb)

 

eBay pipe with a velocity stack or do the k&n filter in your oem box. Don't waste your money on a header until you are ready to spend some decent $$ on it. Catback exhaust will be good for a couple hp and sound.

 

Buy the intake off ebay, throw out the filter it comes with and buy a K&N and your golden. (and you'll have plenty left over for other stuff)

 

I read a thread made by Blake (I think) a while ago comparing different intakes... The only intakes that made HP gains over the stock were the JDM type S intake (twin chamber) and the AEM V2 intake... Another popular setup is a short ram with a BPI flowstack at the end... I've heard it makes power over stock but never seen a dyno sheet on it.

as for exhaust, you can go with a greddy evo2 since they do make them for the prelude but i heard they restrict more than other exhausts since they have 2 resonators... I have an apexi N1 and the restriction on it is very minimum.... Do your research on a header and go with a RMF, BISIMOTO, HYTECH, or some other high dollar setup because everything else is near stock.

you will start to learn more through reading build threads so be smart about investing in parts for the lude!

 

A buddy and I made an intake for my 95 vtec, and we actually made power. We built it as a short ram intake. Built it out of 3 inch aluminum pipe with a big ol' k&n filter on it. We made 8hp, and 6 tq over the stock intake system. Runs for both stock and the custom made were done within 15 min of each other.

 

Save money for H22 swap, call it a day.

my .02 cents....

 

^This, I wish someone told me that when I first got my prelude, best purchase ever.

 

I went to a performance store today, down the street from my house... And the guy said he can get a h22 vtec, head... Can you just swap that, and it's a vtec? I don't remember exactly, if that's what he said.

Thanks for all the help guys, much love.

 

yeah, it can be swapped...but a lot more than just bolt on. Search for H23VTEC, frankenstein, H22/H23 and have fun reading, it can be done, it has been done...is it worth it? well, you can decide.

 

"yeah, it can be swapped...but a lot more than just bolt on. Search for H23VTEC, frankenstein, H22/H23 and have fun reading, it can be done, it has been done...is it worth it? well, you can decide."

Thanks for the help, one thing, I can't find the thread... Maybe I am looking in the wrong area?

"I read a thread made by Blake (I think) a while ago comparing different intakes... The only intakes that made HP gains over the stock were the JDM type S intake (twin chamber) and the AEM V2 intake... Another popular setup is a short ram with a BPI flowstack at the end... I've heard it makes power over stock but never seen a dyno sheet on it.

as for exhaust, you can go with a greddy evo2 since they do make them for the prelude but i heard they restrict more than other exhausts since they have 2 resonators... I have an apexi N1 and the restriction on it is very minimum.... Do your research on a header and go with a RMF, BISIMOTO, HYTECH, or some other high dollar setup because everything else is near stock.

you will start to learn more through reading build threads so be smart about investing in parts for the lude! "

I just don't want the exhaust to sound like a dying animal, I want something that is loud and deep (no homo). (sorta off topic) One of the main reasons I started coming here, is to learn about builds and what not, so sorry for all the newb questions.

 

most of your questions can be answered in the FAQ thread...here's the first link i found in the FAQ section that deals with the h23vtec:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-prelude-4/how-h23vtec-h23-vtec-h23-vtec-search-friendly-510617/

if you want hp performance, don't listen to people telling you that you need suspension or a new seat or a new radio. go with the upgrades that are going to make you happy. there are plenty of threads on here that will inform you and help you decide what you want.

but all that being said, i agree with mafia and minilogoguy18. unless you are partial to the H23, you should do the swap.

 

Thanks a lot man, I was reading that thread at first, but I wasn't too sure if it was the right one.
Also, what's the difference between adding hp and tq? I know some of these questions seem really dumb, but I just want to have things clarified. Also, if I do get headers, what's the difference between cheaper ones and high end ones? Bigger piping?

 

In this order
1. H22A swap
2. EMS
3. While you're saving for all of that research research research until you decide on what parts you want to run.

 

What exactly does EMS stand for? Also, as I read on the frankenstein build, some say it's worth it, and some say it's not... That the engine can go out, etc... This is my daily driver.

 

EMS stands for Engine Management System

 

hp and tq almost go hand in hand...most of the time, if you add tq, you'll add hp and vice versa.

you really need to do some searching in the FAQ section. they cover headers. go to the prelude main page and look at the link near the top that says, "Sticky: ►►►►►►►►►FAQ FAQ FAQ - 99% of your ANSWERS are HERE◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄◄"

read everything in there that you think may possibly ever be a question you could have

 

^^^ that is true, the FAQ section will help you with a lot of quetions...

as for not wanting exhaust that sounds like a dying animal, there are plenty different setups you can go with that don't sound bad... youtube some exhaust sound clips.

Higher end headers don't always have just bigger piping. They are more beneficial due to the amount of research and development they put into the product... cheaper headers like DC or Megan have the same design as the stock exhaust, whereas bisimoto, RMF, Hytech have tested different bends to get the optimal air flow for the car... it's physics really

as for the post about making your own intake, I did the same when i was younger. I made a 3" diameter intake with a K&N filter and it made about 9hp over the stock... just make sure you do the right type of bending (mandrel) so you don't get baffles in the intake and the right kind of welding so you don't get any slag on the inside of the intake.

 

Thanks for all the help guys... I drove my friends lude, his is tuned and what not, and he has a injen intake on it;we put the intake on mine, and it felt way better... What do you guys think about the injen intake?

Thanks for all the help guys! much love.

 

We built it out of 3 inch aluminum tube, using pie cuts and TIG welded it. We also put exhaust wrap on the outside to help keep ambient heat out.

 

I did some research on the bisimoto headers.... Man, those things look awesome! Kinda pricey tho, I'm sure there well worth the price.

I want to save money up for that, maybe get something cheap, then get those later? I was wondering, I saw some smaller radiators on some cars... Are they high performance? And how so?

 

not exactly.
integras came with dual core radiators, while civics came with single core...so yeahh

 

Are you sure your not talking half size vs full size radiator?

 

honestly, no i'm not sure.