Hi, Im jhay, Im new here to the site so if i say somehing wrong or offend anyone i apolize in advance. i recently just bought a 99 prelude SH white. It has 140k miles on it. I saved up exactly 6,000$ to spend on this car . I want to fully built this car but i dont know where to start. (I read MOST of the faq already but didnt really hit the spot)
i have few goals for the car
1. Staying NA because i live in San diego CA... dont want to mess with the cops.
2. To be able to take out 350z STI and EVOs (NOT bench racing but at the track and safe freeway runs occasionally lol... because im just tired of friends taking crap about my newly bought car... ragging and BAGGING on it saying its slow etc...)
3. RELIABLE!! from the day i could drive til 2day.... I NEVER had a reliable car... I want to have a fast car but reliable also.

I understand that i said i have 6k saved for this car, but if it still isnt enuff to Im willing to add to that budget. This is my dream car... i finally got it. THANKS guys

 

Spend most of that on suspension stuff and traction stuff first or the power won't be worth anything..

 

WOW i wish i have 6k to spend on my car right now.. I wonder the same, wut does it takes to take out those powerful cars?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dohcteg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> wut does it takes to take out those powerful cars? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Power/weight ratio and traction...plus driving skill.

Also, wut is not a word.

 

dude.. STi is boosted already so you're way behind.. EVO too.. 350Z is 3.5liter's i believe.. you're working with 2.2L.. if you want to be able to beat them consistently I really think there's no way besides turbo. (maybe a good JRSC setup too..) oh and AWD gets the power out pretty quick.

6k i'd say start over when you're ready for it.. just drive until ur SH motor gives out, then convert to base. ATTS is 70pounds of deadweight after a good 250-300whp maybe.

for now.. just map out your moves for the future
JDM h22+LSD tranny- 3k down
suspension- shock/spring or full coilover, bars- good 1k
intake-50bucks
exhaust 3" custom- 400$

turbo setup- look at your target WHP numbers and match it with a turbo 1-2k probably
building your motor/headwork- can range pretty wide..
hondata/tuning device- 1k
dyno/tuning to hone the power- put away 1k

im not sure if thats 100% accurate, but thats what I got from doing my searches

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dagle &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dude.. STi is boosted already so you're way behind.. EVO too.. 350Z is 3.5liter's i believe.. you're working with 2.2L.. if you want to be able to beat them consistently I really think there's no way besides turbo. (maybe a good JRSC setup too..) oh and AWD gets the power out pretty quick.

6k i'd say start over when you're ready for it.. just drive until ur SH motor gives out, then convert to base. ATTS is 70pounds of deadweight after a good 250-300whp maybe.

for now.. just map out your moves for the future
JDM h22+LSD tranny- 3k down
suspension- shock/spring or full coilover, bars- good 1k
intake-50bucks
exhaust 3" custom- 400$

turbo setup- look at your target WHP numbers and match it with a turbo 1-2k probably
building your motor/headwork- can range pretty wide..
hondata/tuning device- 1k
dyno/tuning to hone the power- put away 1k

im not sure if thats 100% accurate, but thats what I got from doing my searches</TD></TR></TABLE>

Dagle, you have a lot to learn.

I was smoking G35s in my prelude before you knew how to drive

You can make an NA 5th gen that will beat those cars, but a 4g is easier.

With $6k to throw into a stock SH:

Type-S pistons, some forged rod, arp hardware, h23 crank (which WILL fit because you have a 97 block).
Have the head ported (Alaniz, portflow, etc), valvetrain and skunk pro2s and some adjustable gears to tune with
440cc Injectors
SSR or Hytech Header, 2.5" full exhaust, high flow cat
Euro R intake manifold matched to 70mm tb
3" cai
8lb flywheel and an exedy stage3 clutch
M2b4 transmission with an MFactory 4.7 or w/e they make final drive
A p28 and neptune or similary to tune it on

Then go for a nice set of wheels, grippy tires, a koni/gc suspension setup.

That should about cover $6k

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Dagle, you have a lot to learn.

I was smoking G35s in my prelude before you knew how to drive

You can make an NA 5th gen that will beat those cars, but a 4g is easier.

With $6k to throw into a stock SH:

Type-S pistons, some forged rod, arp hardware, h23 crank (which WILL fit because you have a 97 block).
Have the head ported (Alaniz, portflow, etc), valvetrain and skunk pro2s and some adjustable gears to tune with
440cc Injectors
SSR or Hytech Header, 2.5" full exhaust, high flow cat
Euro R intake manifold matched to 70mm tb
3" cai
8lb flywheel and an exedy stage3 clutch
M2b4 transmission with an MFactory 4.7 or w/e they make final drive
A p28 and neptune or similary to tune it on

Then go for a nice set of wheels, grippy tires, a koni/gc suspension setup.

That should about cover $6k </TD></TR></TABLE>

Mgags7 got the idea on those rims stay 16x7 and get some forge wheels like track lite they weigh in at 12 pounds a piece i got a set and deffently different over stockers

 

OPTION A- put the 6k to pay the car off.....if it's already paid off, put the money in the stock market, perhaps an aggressive growth mutual fund. wait it out for about 5 years or so (while making monthly deposits into the account, thus adding to the principal), and then when the market is at a seemingly high, pull it all out and put it down on a nice supra. you should have quite a substancial sum of money over the 6k that you originally invested. if the growth is on average 10%/year (conservative for growth stock), and you deposit $100/month for 5 years, then at the end you'll have around between 17 and 18 g's by then.

Or, OPTION B- you could sink it into a car that isn't worth anything, and you will most likely devalue the already unvaluable car in the process of modifying it, as well as making it less reliable. Then, when it craps out, you can sell all of the parts (6k worth) for about half of what you paid for them (3k), and then at the end of the 5 years you'll have a car that doesn't drive (and if it did it wouldn't be worth much), and you'll have $3,000.

So, it's your choice.....


OPTION A- Stock reliable prelude & 17k+

~OR~

OPTION B- Prelude that you've sunk all your money into and still isn't that fast, at least as long as it runs.


-- I know all this sounds crazy, but take it from me- I've sunk about 15k into my prelude, and have barely nothing to show for it. i'm on my 4th motor right now, still paying notes on this thing (could have been paid off long ago with all the money i've sunk into it). i still owe on loans that i made to hot rod this thing, and now its worth close to nothing.

Looking back, I would have taken "OPTION A" hands down. I just want my Supra now, but I am stuck with notes, and a POS that isn't worth anything.

BTW- smoking a G35 (350z) isn't saying much. those things are slow.

 

Chris I agree with you, but this guy wants to sink money into his prelude, so lets at least help him do it the right way.

I regret ever having spent so much on my prelude as well. It was definitely fun at the time though.

If I had another DD car it would be different.

 

yea, if i had a supra i'd be sinking way more than 6k (or even 15k) into it....and some guy with millions would look down upon me as though i were an idiot. but, there's a rush that can be gained from these damn cars.....they're like crack. those bastards. financial drains, just like crack.

 

save your 6k and read, just like everyone else. THE ANSWERS ARE HERE.