I just recently bought a 94' vtec and it's bone stock, i'm really not wanting to get to carried away considering i'm a poor college kid lol and it has ~160k as is. From my past experience installing bolt on's for friends i felt like the CAI seemed to produce the best gains for the $, but i'm unsure. I've never owned a Honda to be honest, i've owned 2 RX7's (turbo) and 2 Eagle Talon AWD's (lemons lol) so i'm not as familiar with naturally aspirated motor responses to upgrades. Also, is it worth gettting an AEM or high dollar CAI or will a cheaper one with some heat wrap do essentially the same? Thanks for any input, i'm a n00b so i'm sure you've seen this question a thousand times sorry bout that.


Modified by Cosa Nostra at 5:57 PM 3/29/2008

 

leave it stock til you have a clue.

read the faq and gather information.

 

go for an m2f4 transmission with an lsd and a 4.71 final drive ratio.

just so happens I have one for sale.

No joke though, re-gearing was the hands down best mod I ever did.

 

Really not a terrible question. Honestly, considering this community's knowledge grows with information and technology advancement, the answer may very well change over time. To get an updated answer from (albeit forum) professionals in an ever growing industry is not always a bad thing.

That doesn't change the fact that I think the OP is either a true noob or just lazy, but I would like to hear peoples opinion on this one.

 

... ninja edit caught by 3 of you

 

1. Some good suspension like Koni shocks and Ground Control coilovers
2. Aftermarket final-drive for the trans

 

weight reduction.
for the most part.. it doesnt cost you a dime.
just your convenience.

 

To answer your question per se yes, i'm a "true" n00b on 'this' forum. I'm not lazy, i was unaware of the "search you idiot" criteria here. Anyway, the point of the thread was asking for people's opinions <----, not to ask a retarded question that i could have searched to find one person's opinion. I dunno how i'm going to get much out of weight reduction, it's certainly not worth losing my A/C for 15 pounds lol. What things can i remove that will be beneficial weight wise? Thanks for the responses....

 

Imo, there's nothing worth removing from the car (if it's street driven) in the interest of weight savings. The performance gain will be marginal while the discomfort/inconvenience will be much larger.

Changing the final drive of the trans will cost you about $700. It is imo, the hands down greatest mod for the $ you can spend on. If your car has greater than 80k miles and is on the stock shocks, I'd replace those first.

 

Yeah, it has 160k on it. Good thing is, i have ~35 receipts but most are just reccomended maintenence check ups where the stealership charged an arm and leg for stupid stuff. Another question i have is, is there a way i can search online for service records (timing belt) since the original owner had work done at the dealership? The number on the receipts is no longer active so i'm unsure how i can find out when the timing belt was changed.

 

NOS!

Its easy, and when you want to use the power its there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosa Nostra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, it has 160k on it. Good thing is, i have ~35 receipts but most are just reccomended maintenence check ups where the stealership charged an arm and leg for stupid stuff. Another question i have is, is there a way i can search online for service records (timing belt) since the original owner had work done at the dealership? The number on the receipts is no longer active so i'm unsure how i can find out when the timing belt was changed. </TD></TR></TABLE>

There's no place online. But if the owner used one dealer for service, ask them and they cam print out all the service records for the car. Only the dealer that serviced the vehicle will have those records.

 

Testpipes. Cheap, easy to install

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by movenu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Testpipes. Cheap, easy to install</TD></TR></TABLE>

And they dont do anything other make the exhaust sound like crap.

 

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

And they dont do anything other make the exhaust sound like crap.</TD></TR></TABLE>

....not to mention they ruin the environment

 

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

....not to mention they ruin the environment</TD></TR></TABLE>

that probably is more important

 

Are Honda dealerships tied together? Meaning, would my local dealership have info from the Honda dealership the original owner got the car serviced at? Or would i have to contact that specific dealership, only reason i ask is because their # is out of order (# from the receipts) and my last vehicle threw the timing belt and bye bye it went. I'm a bit paranoid, but also a poor college student lol so i wouldn't mind knowing if i really need to spend $600+ or not.

 

Only the dealer that serviced the vehicle would have those records.

If you have a receipt saying that the belts were changed, what's the problem?

 

You may as well go ahead and get your car repaired and keep track of what you have done to your car yourself. As far as mods go, just try basic mods (air Filter, exhaust, minor tune up, etc) and see for yourself how your car repsonds. It sucks for things to go wrong with your car but that's life. I have mostly owned RX7's (turbo) but I bought my 95 Si Prelude a year ago and I have done a few minor mods to it. It can't compare to the RX7 but's it's still a fun car to drive! Good Luck!

 

I never said i have a receipt stating the belts were changed. I said i have ~35 receipts, mostly consisting of the rec'd checkups where they replaced seals, added fuel cleaner, and other money wasting app's. I went through them all and didn't find anything informative other than the reassurance that the doctor who owned the car from day one up to 148,000 miles did keep up on his oil changes and rec'd maintenence. I wouldn't be asking this question if i had a receipt stating mileage w/ the timing belt. Heck, the car still has the original clutch w/ 160k so i know it's been babied, but i'm really wanting to know the timing belt info.

 

I dunno what gen RX7 you had, but i had second gen's and they're an engineer's nightmare. The apec seals were trash, where i live it's nearly impossible to find anyone to even exemplify enough knowledge about their motors to even trust leaving on their lot, and they're gas hogs. I only like the 3rd gens, of course 2nd gens were cool cars, but man they were slow and you really can't do squat to them w/o apec seal upgrades, piggy back, ect. I'd take a lude over those anyday, though i honestly see SO many similarities maybe due to how close they are in age? Hands down, the lude handles 100x better stock than the 2nd gen, doesn't eat gas like a hog, and isn't a sub par lemon either. 2nd gens had terrible synchro issues too, sucked cuz their tranny's were basically ford probe tranny's, but the turbo model wasn't so it cost an arm and a hip to replace. I'll post a pic when i get a chance, she was a beaut, but i'm happy to have moved onto a reliable vehicle for once that doesn't require internal upgrades as a prereq. I don't see many pics posted around here so i hope i'm not breaking any rules lol, i'll post up my 88' in a few... BTW, why did honda name one of the lowest performing motored cars the "Si" when the Vtec is what, 30+ more hp? I don't get that?

BTW, thank you for the good luck, i'll need it lol! I'm literally ----&gt; Until i find out the info on the timing belt....

EDIT: To the poster below, i can only make 5 posts so i have to answer you this way i guess. I don't have a receipt stating timing belt change, none, so i'm unsure what you're trying to get at. I DO NOT HAVE PROOF it was done, i wish i did though i'm assuming he did it at 90k and probably needs done again though, who knows?

PICS of RX7:







My Prelude i picked up a few weeks ago:





Modified by Cosa Nostra at 6:50 PM 3/30/2008


Modified by Cosa Nostra at 7:03 PM 3/30/2008


Modified by Cosa Nostra at 7:05 PM 3/30/2008


Modified by Cosa Nostra at 7:08 PM 3/30/2008


Modified by Cosa Nostra at 7:13 PM 3/30/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cosa Nostra &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I never said i have a receipt stating the belts were changed. I said i have ~35 receipts, mostly consisting of the rec'd checkups where they replaced seals, added fuel cleaner, and other money wasting app's. I went through them all and didn't find anything informative other than the reassurance that the doctor who owned the car from day one up to 148,000 miles did keep up on his oil changes and rec'd maintenence. I wouldn't be asking this question if i had a receipt stating mileage w/ the timing belt. Heck, the car still has the original clutch w/ 160k so i know it's been babied, but i'm really wanting to know the timing belt info. </TD></TR></TABLE>

was a 90k mile service done

 

man i love those FC's better then any old prelude any day

 

It's my understanding that getting a good tune should also be high on the priority list. Not only will you squeeze extra ponies out of the stock setup, but it should help your bolt-ons respond better too. But, regular maintenance stuff (like t-belt change if necessary) should definitely be taken care of first before delving into any mods.

 

BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK.....easy its nitrous,plain and simple.You can get a wet kit online...ie ebay for 250-500$,get a new set of plugs and run a 50-75 shot safely.And you wont touch any kind of power upgrade for that kind of cash anywhere else(bolt ons,turbo,etc)