which do you prefer??? and why???? i've driven a couple 5th gen ludes (both sh and base) but i only drove a base 4th gen...thanks

 

My 4th gen S feels sooo much lighter than the 5th's Ive driven, almost like a civic in comparison. Now that I have a limited slip diff and a little bit of power, there's no way in hell a I'd want a 5th gen. ( no offence 5th gen guys, your cars are still cool!)

 

you gotta be kidding me.
you would take a 4th gen S over a 5th gen?
I would take the 200hp over a 135hp ANY day.
And the Prelude SH will outhandle the 4th gen too.
The SH is the best handling car under $40k according to C&D.

 

I didn't say I'd want a stock S over a 5th gen.. I said I want MY S over a 5th gen.

As for the SH out-handling my S, who wants to lend me their SH so I can do some back to back track testing? I honestly think with the same driver, my car would beat an SH around a racetrack.



[Modified by kevie88, 3:08 AM 4/14/2002]

 

With an LSD, I wouldn't bet against you. Drop a Quaife into a base 5th gen, then I'd put money down.

 

The G5 has less body flex, contributing to more stable tracking thru turns with less bump-induced deflection. It weighs more because of the structural reinforcements at the suspension attachment points, making the car less tossable.

It mostly depends on your cornering style, as far as which one is better. I had to re-learn how to corner when I got rid of my GS-R for the Lude.

 

I hate when people act like the 5g is so much heavier than the 4G, its about 40lbs heavier, thats nothing. My 97Lude base handles extremely well, I would love to drive an SH to see how much better it is. The only reason the 4G tends to be a bit quicker is because it is geared closer together.

 

get off your soap box. no one said the 5th gen was so much heavier than the 4th. the guy merely gave facts as to the weight differences in a very objective point of view. i hate when 5th gen owners feel the need to defend the weight of their car whenever possible.


[Modified by illusion, 11:12 PM 4/15/2002]

 

[QUOTE]you gotta be kidding me.
you would take a 4th gen S over a 5th gen?
I would take the 200hp over a 135hp ANY day.
QUOTE]

Well sure that's true.... but would you take HIS (kevie88) S over a 5th gen? I wouldn't, at least not with the JDM H22a and the LSD. YUM.... ah...LSD...droool.

 

well for some reason i can notice the lighter weightl of the 4th gen. but i just feel in more control with my SH when taking turns hard. it just feels like i can push it farther and harder through corners and able to accelerate faster coming out of turns than in the 4th gen. chassis flex is nonexistent in the 5th gen after driving a 4th gen. this is just my experience. i mean both handle incredibly well. maybe it's just coz i have more experience in my SH than i have with a 4th gen. but nonetheless the SH is easily the best handling prelude ever made in my opinion. car critics seem to agree as well. but preludes in general have always been known for being very capable handlers; so either way you're gonna get a car that outhandles a lot of cars out there.


[Modified by el_Presidente, 7:31 AM 4/16/2002]

 

I hate 5th vs 4th gen anything, it always turns into a war, I can see it developing.....

 

i have driven an sh and that thing handles way better then a base lude....its like ur on rails!!

 

i've had the pleasure of driving both sh and base models. also my 4th gen. vtec and a friend's 96 model year vtec.

though the weight difference isn't much the 4th gen. definitely feels lighter. possibly the weight distribution, who knows?

however, the 4th gen. does seem to have more body roll compared to the 5th gen.

in my opinion the sh handles like a dream. but it's only really noticeable when really pushed so it's hard to differentiate the feels everyday.
but the sh does outhandle the 4th gen. as for the base model and 4th gen. handling i'd say it's pretty even. pros and cons to both which equal out the equation.

 

you guys are all completly ridiculous..
lol


first of.. there is no weight advantage between the 4th and the 5th
( beeing only like 50lbs less on a 2900lbs car doesn't give you a big advatage )
and oyu can't humanly feel that difference neway ..

then, 5th gen frame is a lot stiffer wich helps a lot on ahndling

and NO an SH prelude is not the best handling car under 40$
definitly not under 40K USD money wich i think u can get S2k and Itr pretty easily with that money nah ?

and NO SH doesn't feel like you are on RAILS
cause it only provides a slight advantage over slip angles wich permits you to go a littler farther ( .84G to .89 i beilieve?? )
when u will be doing over 1G in a car ( stable cornering) then u'll be able to say that it feels like on rail!

so please..this kind of stuff has been said 100000times

4th gen DOES NOT handle better than 5th GEN
even IF YOU HAVE a 4TH GEN
eheh


then if you start comparing stock car VS car with mods..bah ..
just try and learn to drive and or how suspension geometry and weight transfer and roll works...then u can compare 2 cars more easier and with greater accuracy..

 

You do not feel the differenc in weight
and weight distribution is almost identical

what you can feel as a differences are steering power differences, springs and damners differences, bushings, tires, wheels weight perhaps
sway bars too

neway

 

not arguing that you can actually feel the difference in weight. definitely due to different set-ups. possibly because the 5th gen.'s are more composed that's why the 4th gen.'s feel lighter. it's not a huge difference, barely actually.

as for the post above, i believe the best handling car under $40k was done in 97-98. so the s2000 wasn't considered yet and i don't believe they had an itr for testing. so the results of their findings is a bit off. but everyone also has to remember that these findings are also very subjective.

both in c&d and this post. no one is right or wrong.

 

true..and not so true

"FEELING" is subjective

HANDLING is not ..

 

not necessarily. also, don't forget that most of the tests done in mags are done during perfect conditions. basically track like conditions.

that always doesn't hold well on the streets.

a very minor difference in actual statistics is hardly felt on street driven car which is why feeling is subjective.

 

at high speeds the ATTS system is dangerous & slow to respond. I have test driven one.... sweeping runs at 100mph leave you with a feeling that you are along for the ride, and the ECU is picking the line for you. you can acutally feel it turn on and off, and the front wanders back and forth with it. the ATTS is awesome for autocross but downright SCARY at triple digit speeds.

There was a story of a guy that did an emergency lane change, and when he came back the other way, he had to physically fight the car for nearly a full second as the ATTS system kept trying to push him further.

AS FAR AS THE ARGUMENTS BETWEEN WEIGHT, POWER, GEARING, ETC:

FACT: the published weight of the 5th gen is hardly higher then the 4th gen
FACT: the published gearing of the 5th gen is nearly identical to the 4th gen.
FACT: the published power in the 5th gen is more then the 4th gen.
FACT: the 4th gen is several car lengths faster in a straight line! (assuming that 0.1 seconds = 1 car length)

now I understand that this is about handling, but if all the above are true, then honda must be skimping out on SOMETHING - be it the weight, gearing, or power.

My friend weighed his 1995 prelude VTEC with full leather interior, strut bars, 18" rims, and custom fiberglass 12" sub in the back. With no gas his car weighs 2900lbs exactly.

the frame of the 5th gen is stiffer. the spring rates on the 4th gen are stiffer. (put 4th gen springs on a 5th gen, you'll sit about 3" higher).

when it comes to real world racing however, the 4th gen prelude has always been classed ahead of the 5th gen (with the exception of the NASA honda-challenge, where both cars are placed in H2). taken from http://www.VTEC.net:

FIREHAWK SERIES
The fourth generation Prelude has had a great racing history. It was campaigned quite successfully in the IMSA Firestone Firehawk series. The VTEC won the manufacturers championship for Honda in the Sports Class in 1993, 1994, and 1995 (the last year of the series). In addition, by winning every race that season, the Prelude VTEC was the IMSA Street Stock Endurance Championship Car of the Year in 1995 for the second consecutive year. The Si helped Honda win the championship in the Touring class for six consecutive years



MOTOROLLA CUP
Prelude VTEC's are in the Motorola Cup Touring class. In 1998, codrivers Paola Dal Cin and Dave Diedrick (a drivers change in mandatory) won the driver's championship in their 94 Prelude SRV (Canadian for "VTEC"), and by doing so, clinched the manufacturers championship for Honda as well. They beat drivers in Integra Type R's, MX-6, and G5 Preludes.

(nice one of the trailing F-body, I might add )

SCCA CLUB RACING
For the1997 SCCA Club Racing season, the VTEC was classified in the Touring 1 category which includes Pontiac Formulas, Ford Mustang Cobras, Chevy Z28's, and BMW M3's. The S and Si went to Showroom Stock A, along with BMW 325's and 328's, VW Corrados, and the G5 Preludes. At the 1997 Valvoline Run-offs, the SCCA Club Racing national championships, Bob Endicott put his T1-class 93 Prelude VTEC on the pole, set fastest lap, and was the third to cross the line (an M3 won). However, Endicott ended up finished in last place because he was disqualified for punting another car. In SSA, an Si driven by Kjell Skavnes finished fourth after the winning 328 and a pair of Corrados (the highest G5 Prelude finished fifth).

In 1998, the G4 Preludes didn't see much action. Most of the Prelude Club racers switched to the ITR (having a limited-slip diff as standard equipment helps, as does a hand-built engine). The Ludes and Integras were in the Touring 2 class (T1 is now for Saleen Mustangs, Supra Turbos, Vipers).



well there you have it. no bench racing there.




[Modified by JDM LUDE, 8:42 PM 4/17/2002]

 

man....i love that prelude 59 picture....being the prelude in front of the domestics....makes me proud on owning one...eventhough its not the vtec model...still love my Si....

dennis

 

i think he meant best handling FWD car under $30K. car and driver magazine agrees. the S2K is RWD, big difference. and the only comparably priced FWD car that i think comes close or is even with the SH is the ITR, though i think in autocrossing the ITR feels more nimble and agile through tight turns. on long-winded stretched curves is where the SH shines above other FWD cars in its class.

 

Also, the 4th gen Prelude VTEC was what RealTime Racing raced before they switched to the ITR in SpeedVision Touring Car. Michael Galati won Driver of the Year and Rookie of the year in his RealTime Prelude VTEC in '96. But The 4th gen only has a better racing pedigree because it was superior to competitors in its class at the time...

I used to own a 1993 4th gen VTEC for 3 years. Now I own a 2000 Base Prelude. I gotta say that stock for stock, there is little noticable difference in handling characteristics. But I will say that the 4th gen speed sensitive power steering system is 10x better than the 5th gen rpm sensitive power steering. The 4th gen steering gave much better feel and feedback IMHO... Which in turn inspires more driver confidence and sense of vehicle control...

Andrew