So I love my prelude but it weighs too frickin' much. Im not a rich guy and on top of that I'm married. So I'm looking for a better investment and am torn between 2 other cars. A 93 civic hb cx and a 93 mr2 non-t. Either way I'm swapping the engine of either 3 cars. A jdm b18, jdm 3sgte, or jdm h22. I want to run 12s. That's my goal. With the 'lude I would need to swap+turbo+headwork. The hb run high 13s w/ b18s and 12s with turbo. And the mr2 will run mid to low 13's after swap and possible 12s w/ I/H/E and turnning up the boost. I like all three. I believe the mr2 handles the best(by believe I mean I know) and the hb would weigh the least. It will be a daily driver as well as weekend strip runner. The hb is $2900with 130k. The mr2 non t is $4999 with 130k and my lude I would try to sell for about $6000 in perfect condition. I would buy one of the two cars then sell my lude.I'm honestly leanning more twards the mr2 because I've liked them for a long long time but would like to get some input, advice, criticism, or remarks(w/in reason) from everyone about this all.

What car do you like best & why? Do my numbers seem correct? And what do you believe to be the best investment?

 

I like the MR2 because they aren't as common as Civics, they aren't FWD , handle nicely, and look great. Now where are you getting low to mid 13's with the 3SGTE swap? Which 3SGTE are you talking about the 2nd Gen one or the 3rd Gen one?

The civic would allow you to get into the 12's easier and cheaper, but I'd rather go fast in style =P

MR2 4TW

 

3G jdm. They put out 245 hp and 225lbs tq. Maybe not low 13's.May have gto too excited.I might take that back. Plus the compression is at 8.5:1 if I remember right. great for boosting.

 

You could probably find a non-t mr2 for cheaper. Since you are going to swap an engine anyways the mileage doesnt really matter.

 

my friend has a mr2-t i love it. but he said its either just about the same weight as my lude, or maybe heavier? forget. but yeah.. all depends on your goal. i would go with hb since your goal is easier to reach with a lighter car.

 

Well, I would keep the Prelude.

But, if not, I would go with the hatch, just because I hate MR2s.

 

The mr2 I'm lookin' at IS a non-t. Thats why I'd toss the jdm 3S in it.

And I like the lude as well. Ill like it even more after I put these parts listed in my sig' on it. The 'lude had a bit of a fender bender so I'm playing with insurance money.

Yeah, the curb weight on a turbo is 2880. Same as 4G 'lude. But the mr2 gets much better traction. But I like the way my prelude looks too.

Yep. The miles really dont matter. But I thought it was funny that all 3 cars had about the same miles. Makes for a good comparison ya know?

There are alot of civics around, I agree. That can be good or bad. I wouldn't be original but then again it would help my sleeper look considering most civics are driven by coke cans and publess children. Plus insurance would be lower on an mr2 non-t or 93 base base model civic.

 

you say you dont get traction in the lude, but you have kumho ecsta supras on it, so i think you need to be running some different tires before you can honestly say that, I have the 215 ecsta supras on my lude to and they dont grab at all, i would agree with you that the mr2 would handle the best also, although the preludes can also handle pretty well if you make the right mods, however the mr2 is a little narrower so it would always autoX better on tight courses if thats what you're looking for, in terms of drag racing the swapped civic would definitely have the most potential there, ive got a h22 in my civic and it was running 13.6 with only intake, exhaust, and a flywheel making 171whp, ive seen alot of guys running around with the b-series in their hbs and still competeting in autoX competitively, i think all 3 cars are great but damn, somethings on those mr2s are a pain in the *** to work on....

 

In my opinion, the MR2 would be the easiest to make fast, as long as you swap the engine. However depending on where you live, the MR2 is one of the worst cars to drive in the winter, or even just rain. Civics are cheap to make fast but are very common, and are stolen often. Keep the lude put in a JDM H22 and you will be happy.

 

easiest and cheapest thing to do would be to turbo your h23. You already have the car and if you wanna run 12 you can strip it. A question I have is will this be your daily driver?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Boost Addict &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, I would keep the Prelude.

But, if not, I would go with the hatch, just because I hate MR2s.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha....deff would do the same

 

Yeah. It would still be my daily driver. I didn't really think about the chances of my car getting stolen though. I want a full interior car w/o a sub box that still has the ac converter. So it's definitely gonna be a street car.

If I turbo my lude I won't be able to safely hit the 12 sec mark w/o working on the engine itself. Im trying to save money. The mr2 can take up to about 400hp with stock internals and 320-350 on the stock turbo but still weighs a bit. And there's not much to strip down. But then everyone seems to swap the h and b series so the 3s I can get for like 1600-1800 with tranny and ecu at 245 hp unlike the b18 or b16 costing around 2500 for everything. Don't get me wrong though, Im not broke I'm just not rich. If a b18 suites me better I'm not going to get fussy over 900 bucks. especially on the heart of my car.

I'm just looking for a daily driver that I can take to the strip. No autocross no drifting, unless I do get the mr2. Then I have to have some fun Not on public roads or parking lots though.

And my tires do suck but I was thinking about traction being naturally better on an MR opposed to a FF.

That's very true as well. How the mr2 would be worse to have during rain or snow. Especially being in the Army and moving around alot. Who knows where I'll be or what weather will be waiting for me. But then again it can't be much worse than driving any other rwd car.


Modified by h23sleeper at 7:41 PM 11/25/2004

 

i love my prelude, but i wouldn't even think twice between it and a 3sgte mr2. that thing will hit 12s without horrendous traction issues, and better streetability. plus the Mid-Engine Rear-Drive configuration will give it better balance and handling. And to top it off, 11ty billion people aren't driving around in them. Don't get me wrong, I'm a honda fan. but b18 civics are a little too played out for my taste...The only thing that might change my mind is if I were gonna throw a k20 or a k24 in that civic. but b-series? not for me

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by monalisa overdrive &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but b18 civics are a little too played out for my taste...</TD></TR></TABLE>

just a little bit of an understatement?

 

Don't get the Civic hatch. Everyone has them, prices for parts for Hondas can be ridiculous, and the rate of them getting stolen is absurd.

Get the MR2. Swap in a GenIII 3S-GTE, but buy the rear clip instead of just a swap.

The MR2 turbo is much easier to make fast; it was designed with the sports car layout in mind (mid engine, RWD, turbo, etc.) A FWD car is a PAIN to make fast!

I own a Prelude and an MR2. I got the Prelude and loved it, but always wanted an MR2. I love the MR2, but I like driving my Prelude more simply because I have it set up just the way I like it. But as far as speed goes, the MR2 just can't be beat.

 

So I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon working some my guys at the shop on my lude. I kept staring at it just thinking about the possiblities. After seeing the cf invader hood mounted oh so perfectly, my shinny new cross drill and slotted rotors peeking out from behind the wheels, and the feel of the new clutchmaster clutch, I can't help but want to keep my lude. I need a daily driver anywho. That way I could still get a weekend/nice day car to work on. But that would mean no swap right away and therefore more patience. Grrr. I'm an impatient person but some things I don't want to rush, ya know?

 

I bought my 2 as a daily driver