whats up everybody.

I have posted a few times before but I am still very new to the board and the
prelude scene. I fell in love the lude a few years ago when a good friend of mine
owned one. A few months ago I had the opportunity to finally get my hands on one in real nice condition. 2001 auto. I know , I know....automatic , please keep the flaming to a minimum. Anyway , my ultimate goal is to not heavily mod the vehicle but instead keep the engine stock and as far as the body goes maybe a subtle lip kit like I have seen on some of your ludes and a set of classy rims. My question is this - where do I start as far as getting the engine in tip top shape running its best while not modding the engine. Down the road I would be open to maybe exhaust-header-intake type stuff but definetely not until I have a second vehicle. Right now the lude is my daily driver. I have read many posts about hesitation , power loss during hot weather etc...and I must say I have experienced the same thing. The early mornings here in NE PA are generally cool and I seem to have more power when the temp is cooler outside , or even when its hot out , more power for the first few miles until the engine warms up. Also in general it seems as though....how do I put this without sounding like a real novice , well I am so......seems like all the power is getting bottled up somewhere and not allowed to be released.

I know this is a technical forum and most of you probably dont want to hold someones hand through a lot of the basics but any help would be appreciated as
far as where to begin in getting this lude running at its best.

I live in the Wilkes-Barre , Scranton area. Any prelude owners in the area interested in takin her for a spin and giving me your opinions ?

Lastly , a friend of mine is helping me put new brake pads (possibly rotors) on the lude this weekend. Any suggestions on brand , type , where to buy ?

Thanks guys (possibly gals)

-JD

 

There are other forums on honda-tech to look at. Body and the misc sections on home page. Not to be an ******* but this is mainly a tuner fourm you want a ricer fourm.

 

Ricer Forum?? Acid, I think you need to re-read what he wrote..

This is how every newbie should post. It's readable, doesn't act like he knows more than everyone, and he's read some already, and he *knows* this is a Technical Forum.

With the attitude you have, I suspect no one will have a problem helping.

On the Brakes, if you keeping the car stock, then keep the brakes stock. Just buy some Rotors from Autozone (Eww, can't believe I just said that.) and get some OEM Honda Pads. There are guys here that like the OEM Honda Pads more than Aftermarket Pads.

 

thanks for the response.

"not to be an *******" but , define ricer ? As far as I know "ricer" seems to have a negative conentation describing some whacked out huge body kits and wings and exhausts that sound like a dying lawnmower. Am I way off base ? If not.....how does a subtle lip kit and rims = ricer ? I think the styling of the Prelude is classy and thats the way I intend to keep it.

Anyway.....my actual question in the original post is about general help on what type of maintenance / replacements or other work I should do to keep my engine stock but get it running its best .

 

My bad Im a read only up to the part where you were talking about No engine mods and only doing up your interior and exterior.

Didnt read the thread all the way and posted on impulse minus points on me.

A ricer is pretty much a name given to someone due to they only upgrade exterior and interior. As aposed to the motor.

 

Thanks MLB

Autozone is right down the road from me so its convenient , I guess for you vets out there thats almost a sin huh ?! As far as the pads go , there is a honda dealership in town , im guessing that is where id get them ?

As far as getting this car running its best I will assume timing belt and water pump should be first. Its got 93k on it and to the best of my knowledge neither have been changed.

Now , through my few months of reading everyones posts on hesitation and power loss , I have gathered that any of or all of the following should be changed.

o2 sensor , knock sensor , fuel injector , spark plugs , EGR , caps rotors plugs etc.


I ran a couple bottles of fuel injector cleaner last few tanks of gas - havent noticed any difference really in the hesitation and that feeling that all the power is being bottled up.

Also I think I have read before that some of those sinful places like Autozone , Pep boys etc. , can hook your car up to a cpu that will tell you if your having any problems. Is this free ? Worthwhile ? First thing I should do ?

 

they have ECU scanner tools, they only tell you that you have a problem if you have a check engine light.

oh and as far as modding the car for performance, I wouldn't even bother unless if you planned on doing the 5spd swap down the road. The performance gain is minimal first of all, second of all it'll tempt you to drive a bit harder and thatll put more stress on your already-doomed sportshift tranny.

 

yes your OEM pads can be picked up at the dealer

i would reccomend a fully synthetic oil. anyway goodluck.. preludes are fun..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JD43 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks MLB

Autozone is right down the road from me so its convenient , I guess for you vets out there thats almost a sin huh ?! As far as the pads go , there is a honda dealership in town , im guessing that is where id get them ?

As far as getting this car running its best I will assume timing belt and water pump should be first. Its got 93k on it and to the best of my knowledge neither have been changed.

Now , through my few months of reading everyones posts on hesitation and power loss , I have gathered that any of or all of the following should be changed.

o2 sensor , knock sensor , fuel injector , spark plugs , EGR , caps rotors plugs etc.


I ran a couple bottles of fuel injector cleaner last few tanks of gas - havent noticed any difference really in the hesitation and that feeling that all the power is being bottled up.

Also I think I have read before that some of those sinful places like Autozone , Pep boys etc. , can hook your car up to a cpu that will tell you if your having any problems. Is this free ? Worthwhile ? First thing I should do ?


</TD></TR></TABLE>

If what you are asking is " what issues should I look at to keep my motor running good over a long period of time? ", I would suggest the following:

1. good synthetic oil ( such as Royal Purple, Amsoil, Mobil 1 ) and high-efficiency oil filter ( such as the Mobil 1 or OEM Honda oil filters )
2. use high-quality Top-Tier rated gasoline in at least 91-octane; to my knowledge, Race Trac, Chevron, and Shell gasolines are all Top Tier rated
3. drive it responsibly; your engine will eventually act the way that you treat it
4. use Nippondenso or NGK spark plugs in the proper heat range
5. pay close attention to your transmission; SS Auto trannys are prone to problems, so maintenance is very important on them
6. pay close attention to your timing belt and timing belt tensioner; the auto-tensioners on H22A4s are also prone to failure

 

Welcome. As far as the lip kit goes, the best one you'll find is the OEM one sold by Honda. You should be able to purchase it through any honda parts dealer. A lot of people only get the front lip. The cheapest place you will find honda parts is hondaautomotiveparts.com .

Look through the 5th Gen Pictures Thread for more ideas. If you like something that you see, just pm the owner and I'm sure they'd be willing to tell you what's on their car.
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1794296

Power mods won't do you too much good with an auto, but the Prelude is a great car without mods, enjoy it for what it is. Imo, the most return on a mod you'll get on a mod is spending money on the suspension.

The biggest thing you can do for your car is to keep on top of maintenance items. At 93k miles here is what should be taken care of. Use OEM parts for all these items.


Timing belt and water pump
Valve Adjustment
Spark plug wires, spark plugs
Distributor cap and rotor
Fuel filter
Transmission fluid
Brake fluid
Coolant


I use Castrol GTX High Mileage. It's a very good oil. Stay away from synthetic oils at this point of your engine's life. They'll most likely do more harm than good if your engine hasn't been run on them up till now.

A big part of maintenance most owners overlook is using good quality gasoline. Make sure you always use Premium fuel (91+ octane). Not doing so will make a huge difference in power. Imo, Shell V-Power and Chevron Techron are hands down the best around. Good quality fuel will keep your fuel system clean.

Do the egr cleaning if you are comfortable doing the job. Here's a copy/paste of another post I made.

Dunno how I missed this thread. Anyway, here's how you do it. The info in the link is for Accords, but the idea is the same. With our cars/engine, you need to remove the fuel rail and iacv as said before.
http://home.comcast.net/~em-engineering/T2T013.pdf

Honda sells a EGR port plug kit which they charge $159 for. Screw that. This lists the kit contents. The main tool I had trouble finding, before finding this was a slide hammer that has small enough thread diameter for the plugs. The one Honda gives you in the kit is an OTC 898a. You can purchase it separately online for ~$30.
http://autorepair.about.com/li...h.htm

When all is said and done, you'll need 6 replacement port plugs which are very cheap. Honda part number 17199-PT3-AHM.

More info on egr cleaning procedure here: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2016969&page=1

 

Thanks for the responses

I actually just changed the oil last week with the Castrol GTX High Mileage.
My initial thought was yes , switch to Synthetic , but I have read and been told by a
few people thats a bad move at this point with 93k and it never having synthetic in it before.

As far as the gas goes , since i have purchased it i have used Sunoco premium , 93 octane i believe. Any word on Sunocos quality ? I dont even know of any Chevron or Shell stations nearby. Thats northeast PA for ya.

So i guess my first step will be changing those brakes tomorrow , then start looking for a place to get the timing belt , tensioner as well i guess and water pump changed. How much do you guys think im looking at to get them replaced ? And do you recommend getting it done at a Honda dealership ?

Thanks again for all your responses.

The noob is appreciative

On a more non-technical note.....I just love this damn car. I find myself looking back at it as least twice when i park and walk away. I also love the fact that , at least around here , you just dont see anyone else driving them. Such a classy , sleek looking car.

 

Yea.....over here in cali i see em but not as usual as before....i am also a noob i just bought a 97 prelude but i also bought it automatic...i know i messed up but i wanted one so bad so i decided 800 wasnt much for it so hey whatever. now i have a my motor out but i need my heater hoses replaced.....any special brand you guys reccomend?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MLBZ521 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


On the Brakes, if you keeping the car stock, then keep the brakes stock. Just buy some Rotors from Autozone (Eww, can't believe I just said that.) and get some OEM Honda Pads. There are guys here that like the OEM Honda Pads more than Aftermarket Pads.</TD></TR></TABLE>

for Cheap-Parts store rotors and OEM Honda Pads from the dealer.
All aftermarket pads are going to do is dust your wheels up and squeal like a stuck pig.-----For racing use I am all about COBALT Pads.

Welcome!

 

Ok , so i have made many phone calls today regarding the brake pads.

Both Honda dealerships in my area do not have them in stock until next week , but the friend that is helping me put them on can only help me tomorrow.

So....

Here is what i found in stock at autozone

Duralast Gold Ceramic - Front - 31.99
Duralast Gold Organic - Rear - 31.99

Any opinions as to the quality of these pads for my daily driver.

Also is it a big deal if i did ceramic on the fronts and organic in the rear ?

 

I use Nissin pads from importrp.com. They don't dust at all and imo provide superior braking to the OEM pads. If you decide to go with those, call and ask for Mike at importrp. He was extremely helpful. The Prelude pads aren't listed on their site, but are indeed available.

 

I'm not an official technician or mechanic or anything, but I don't see why the brake pads have to home from Honda. If you are not racing it I don't see what warrants the use of Honda pads only.

Also, using higher octane fuel will not give your engine more power. Using a higher octane prevents pre ignition or knocking or pinging. Because higher performance engines have either a high compression or run very hot.

 

EBC greenstuff pads are good.