Hey guys...I have a H22 in my Prelude....the only thing that is not stock is an AEM Cold Air Intake.

I want to make my car faster, without dumping in too much money, which basically means I can't turbo at the moment (unless the price was right). What modifications do you recommend besides headers and exhaust that can make a noticable different in HP/Torque?

 

Read both of these:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-prelude-4/faq-faq-faq-99%25-your-answers-here-2168311/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-prelude-4/im-new-what-can-i-do-more-power-thread-1029795/

 

sorry preludes are slow man live with it, you are not goin to see any significant gains without spending some cash.

 

Well I do appreciate the honesty...and I can definitely understand where you're coming from because I think your statement is pretty true.

And since you're saying small mods basically won't help, do you find it worthwhile to turbo/supercharge an H22? Would it be better to do an engine swap, with say a boosted K20? Or is the prelude just that heavy, in the long run it's not worth doing any mods to try to make it faster?

 

DUDE! Read the damn threads.

 

I missed the part where not only did boosting become cheap, but also swapping in a smaller displacement engine either made sense or was cheap.

You're not going to get big gains without money; it just doesn't happen on the H. Yes, do i/h/e. Final drive will give you better accel; lightweight flywheel and pulleys will free up a few; lighter wheels will improve accel and braking; then get the whole thing tuned and call it a day if you don't want to spend more.

 

hmm.

 

I don't see why everyone is getting so angry with me. I'm new to these forums and I'm a genuine "noob" when it comes to cars, even the Prelude I own.

I'll look into the smaller mods, but eventually I'm going to want to do a lot more with my car. That's why I asked if it was worthwhile to eventually boost my H22.

...One of my good friends who knows a lot more than me says that my motor is "high compression" and that it is not a good decision to boost my engine, in a addition to the fact that I have VTEC.
...he claims that, in his opinion, the K20's are the best Honda motor and best to boost. I was just looking for some ideas guys, I don't have the money right now, but when I work in the summer I will be able to put a lot more into my car.

I was looking into the smaller mods first, and then getting into the hard hitting stuff, I was just looking for some general advice on which direction I should go with my car because I'll be the first to admit, I don't know the first thing about my engine.

 

gday mate, its good to see that you have taken an interest in your car and modifications

i suggest you read through those links, i have spent hours/months/years even reading and reading about cars, i started with hondas - learnt almost everything i could about the general way an engine + drivetrain + suspension etc works than moved on to learning about subaru boxer engines, V8s and moved away to N/A to learn how turbo engines work as well

my advice is RESEARCH, u can never do enough! i spent alot of time on www.ozhonda.com when i had my Integra Type-R but have moved to honda tech as there is more support for bigger displacement cars on here like the prelude, over here in australia more people are into civics and integras, B-series and K-series engines, there isnt as mutch support for the H as there is on this site

learning the difference between the engines is a good start, B H K and D, hondas are primarily designed as N/A cars and excel greatly in this, DOHC vtec engines are generally screamers and fairly torquey for an N/A engine, the H engine doesnt have as mutch 'kik' or agressive vtec crossover as the B or K but it has displacement on its side

hondas are a very good handelling car, although the 5th gen isnt as light as say a DC2 integra, i found its centre of gravity lower and its handelling a tad sharper as well, if u want to drift or drive with RW sliding out or want brute power from a turbo, i suggest getting a nissan as a beginner platform, hondas will always be more comfortable and have a nicer interior, features and better handeling tho - stock for stock

i completly understand that you need a nudge in the right direction, but i think u will find with alot of reading on this site, alot of youtube vids, and talking to alot of honda nuts you will find your way

it will be easier and cheaper to start with N/A - VTEC orientated modifications, i would do your intake 1st (AEM, INJEN, FUJITA) – there is also SRI and CAI (short ram intake, cold air intake) the short ram is generally used for high end applications where air availability is placed over heat soak, but i prefer CAI for all applications – cold air is better
than move on to your headers and exhaust (i dont know what brands you have in USA - over here its 5zigen, Toda, Mugen, X-force)
4-2-1 headers will give you mid-range > high gains wer a 4-1 header will give you mostly high gain, if you drive the car on the street or do time-trials on a track than i would suggest 4-2-1, if you want to drag race or be on redline all the time get 4-1 headers - my suggestion is 4-2-1 for all round gain

a twinloop catback is a good choice for honda, they are quiet as a stock exhaust at idle than get nice a roary like a race car in vtec, 2.25 is ideal - i wouldnt go over 2.5" for N/A applications

you will now need to tune your car, the best way to do this without breaking the budget will be a Apexi Neo or the cheaper Apexi VAFC2, these are a piggy back device that gives u fuel and air tuning and with the light mods mentioned above will bring everything together - i would also recommend going to a honda dealer and getting a genuine service as well - Honda FEO 10w30 oil and Honda Hamp oil filter, honda fuel filter etc - made a world of difference in my type-r

now that u have your engine puuurring nicely (screaming in the instance of vtec lol) u will want to turn to other aspects of the car - wheels, brakes, suspension, bracing

i would start with gettin some slotted brake rotors (RDA and DBA in oz, not sure about brands in USA) some people like crossdrilled or dimpled rotors but i have seen them crack if the supplier is unreliable and i beleive slotted is enough to help stop an N/A car - would get some good quality brake pads as well (again help me out USA guys lol)

next you will want to put in a front strut brace (cusco, whiteline?) and maybe a rear, dont touch the swaybars until you really know what you are doing, at this point i would get some good springs and maybe even some shocks (Tein) or if u want it stiffer some quality coilovers (Tein super street - i found the flex too stiff for road use)

some light weight quality wheels will help your car accelerate and brake better and will help trim some weight off the heavy prelude, if you can afford it get real Japanese wheels (Work, Rays/Volks, 5zigen, Buddyclub etc) if not than research a desent replica - dont get chrome - its heavy =(

there are a few last things u will want to consider before moving onto bigger things like cams and turbo - you can upgrade your clutch + flywheel (Exedy) and maybe drop in a short shifter and shift **** as well

from here on the only move would be turbo or cams ... i think you are a long way off before you consider these and i think you should play with the above mentioned points to learn your way around engines and modifications - try to do some of the easier stuff yourself or get a mate to teach you - and remember a car wont drive itself, practice your driving - goto open track days, do defensive driving coarses, a crap driver in a nice car can make a bad combination - learn how vtec works and how to make it work for you, learn to feel your engine and car, learn its weak points and its strong points

oh and 1 more thing - always let your car warm up for 15-20min before trying to get it up into vtec, vtec works on oil pressure and temperature - it will drive better, sound nices and be better for the car if you let it warm up 1st

if you want to know more info never hesitate to ask me

hope i havnt ranted on too mutch im a tab bored 2day rofl
waves from australia

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to type all of that out. That has been the most help I've got in a long while. :]

I already have an AEM CAI and slotted rotors so I guess I'm ahead of the game in those aspects. :]

I also put on 16 inch ICW Racing Wheels, so I'm guessing they are pretty good, although I was considering going with 17's or 18's because they look better.

And I apologize if I gave the impression that I like to race my car, in the hardcore manner. I don't really plan on going to a drag strip or racing my car on a track, this is just something I will be doing for fun. However, I am very interested in becoming a better driver, so I can understand what you mean as I try to find what "works for me," in my car.

...in conclusion, I think my next investment is going to be headers/exhaust, probably Skunk 2 or Greddy. Not sure how much longer my clutch is going to last (I bought the car used so I don't really have an idea on when it's going to go), but when it does go, I will throw in an upgraded cluch.

After I get my headers and exhaust, I think I'll look into getting all cammed up. :] Upgraded cams...do they require a built engine, like a stronger sleeve, or can they just be replaced directly?

...and this is going to sound very bad...but what does it mean to get your car "tuned?" I hear the saying all the time...but I don't know what it means. My one buddy tells me I need to get a "VTEC Controller" and he also says I need to get my "computer chip" reprogrammed or something to make my car faster. If someone could elaborate for me that'd be great...

 

ill tackle ur post 1 step at a time

regarding wheels - the bigger they are the heavier they are, for a car with the power and weight of the prelude i wouldnt go over 17" - anything larger and u will sacrifice handeling, braking and acceleration, a light weight 16 or 17" wheel will do the trick, tyres can make a HUGE diffference as well, if you can afford good tyres (again u will have to do ur own research as i am from Oz lol) than u will get better handeling, better tyre wear, safer and even get better fuel economy as well, always keep your tyre pressure in check too

for the clutch - if you are un-sure of what was happening with the car before you bought it than i would definatly get a good thorough Honda service - Honda make parts better than aftermarket in almost every case (oil, filters, etc) i would research and get yourself a good clutch (exedy make great clutches) and money willing lighter/better flywheel (im not sure who makes these for the prelude) as well, dont go too heavy on the clutch - i would get a sports clutch - not a heavy clutch, and the flywheel will make your car rev 'free'er'/faster but it will make up hills harder

now as for cams ... i would probably leave this alone for a while, especially if you are only a casual driver, spend some time getting the basics down - I/H/E - is the primary base for which you should stem your other modifications (I ntake, H eaders, E xhaust) than if you do make more power or change the output of the engine, you must change the rest of the car to handle this difference in output - brakes, clutch, suspension, bracing etc

my years of experience have just landed me at cams/turbo now, i have spent along time playing around with engines and learning them, doing the above mentioned modifications, and i am only now beginning to get into things that involve dramatic change, remember that once you go to cams/turbo things can go VERY wrong and you will never see that money (or the car for that matter) ever again - so i would clue up alot more before heading in that direction

some advice on cams if you do go down that path - assuming u have sufficient I/H/E for the engine to breathe - Skunk2 Tuner Stage1 and JDM Prelude Type-S cams (maybe others that i dont know off the top of my head) can be used with a stock engine, but if you go to a Pro1 or Stage2 or higher (equivilence across brands) than it is vital that you upgrade to stiffer valve springs, stronger valves and stronger retainers (upgrade the valvetrain) - personally i would ugrade these points with any modification to the cams - u will also need an adjustable cam gear to tune the car with, anything above the mentioned points and you are heading into hardcore race territory

i would suggest you learn to break down a vtec engine on paper, in your head - learn how it all works and what everything does before attempting anything other than 'bolt-on' modifications - in short - forget cams for now (vtec is awsome stock anyhow lol essentially your car already has mild cams over other cars like lancers etc)

onto tuning - a tune/dyno refers to the process of balancing/fine tuning all your modifications to work in harmony with eachother and your car - you cant expect to bolt on all these big exhausts and intakes without having adverse effects - the car gets confused about what to do about it all, with I/H/E done all you need is a Apexi VAFC2 or an Apexi NEO, these will piggy back plug onto you cars computer (ECU) - for you will act as a digital rev/speed meter, engine monitoring screen, and for the person tuning your car a vtec controller and air fuel tuning device (u done want to mess with the settings once it is tuned) this will smooth out you power curve and providing its a good tuner and dyno device than squeeze some more power out of your car (treat your tuner like you would your doctor lol)

chipping/changing you ECU (cars computer chip) can be very expensive (Apexi Power FC - Hondata) and i wouldnt worry about it until you have fully setup cams or a turbo

and lastly - a parting gift
i havnt even purchased my 5th gen prelude yet, but i am researching at the moment, i have owned a few civics with various engines, an integra vti-r and an integra type-r (and various subarus lol) - this is the list i am formulating at the moment, i intend initially only to make it to stage-1 but stage-2 and 3 are on the cards for upcoming years, my main goal is to keep the stock off-vtec cam for smooth low rev and have a wild vtec-kik in with a nice induction roar - i found my intake to produce a better sound than exhaust on the DOHC VTEC engines =p

Prelude Shopping List
STAGE 1
- Fujita/Injen Cold Air Intake (Fujita has better pod design)
- Mugen/X-Force Twin Loop Catback
- Mugen/X-Force Try-Y 4-2-1 Headers
- Toda/X-Force Hi-Flo Cat
- DBA Slotted rotors
- Tein S-Tech Springs
- Whiteline Front strut brace
- Vafc2/Neo – TUNE

STAGE 2
- Skunk2 Intake Manifold
- Skunk2 66mm Throttle Body
- Skunk2 Tuner Stage-1 Cam
- Skunk2/Toda Ti Pro Cam Gear/Dial
- Exedy Sports Clutch
- C-Piller brace
- Re-Tune

STAGE 3
- Skunk2 Tuner Stage-2or3 Cam / JUN Cam / Toda Cam
- Skunk2/Toda Ti Valves
- Skunk2/Toda Valve Springs
- Skunk2/Toda Valve Spring Retainers
- JDM Honda Prelude Type-S Rocker Cover
- Cusco Oil cooling kit
- HD brake lines
- HD battery tie down
- Light weight radiator + HD radiator hoses
- PowerFC/Hondata ECU – Re-Tune

ASTHETIC
- Powerfolding mirrors
- Windows and mirrors wired to alarm/central locking
- Type-S front grill with badge
- Type-S front lip
- ITR Recaro Seats – Black with red stitching
- Advan RG 17” wheels
- Bonnet struts
- Spoon Reservoir covers
- Skunk2 Lug Nuts

 

from what I've experienced:

speed - you wont gain alot unless you do drastic changes :-p
suspension - this will make your car feel better on turns, front struts, lowering springs/coilover set, good tires

just make your car look good. Preludes imho aren't the slowest, are fairly fast, but not the fastest.

JUST make it look good ;-) doesnt take much work ahaha sexy cars

 

Thanks also, I'm a big fan of the H series motor, and this is my 3rd Lude. Your write up was very helpful, especially the exhaust and header combo. Thanks again.