Hey, we've been happy with the good advice given to us so far, so my son asked me to ask a few new questions.

He has a base model 97 with the manual trans. it came to us with the following mods:
17 inch black ADR wheels with New Falken Ziex Tires
-Greddy SP2 full exhaust system
-AEM V2 Cold Air Intake system

When I tried to search the manufacturer's sites to find out more about these two, I couldn't find much info on what benefits they give and what difference either can make for horsepower or gas mileage.

I'm guessing the Greddy is a cat-back system....

I'm new to Honda fours, but have a lot of American V-8 hop up experience. So my thoughts start with what I know there, and I want to see what things will work and what won't...

For a V-8 one of the most cost effective mods is removing the cast factory exhaust manifold and installing either tubular headers or a factory cast header. You get an increase in BOTH power and gas mileage. A similar case is replacing the restrictive paper filter with a K&N filter. I've put K&N in all my cars with good results. Supposedly the AEM is even better than the K&N, so now we need to know what does the VTEC engine respond best to?

For now he wanted to know what he can do to increase his gas mileage. He's a student and premium itself is costly and the 'lude uses more gas than the econobox he was using. He hoped he could make it more affordable to drive.

After we figure this out, we wondered where to go from there to boost performance. By summer he hopes to have earned about $1000. He wanted to know what the best "bang for the (limited) bucks he can do with it.

Thanks in advance everyone! I have to say we've been very pleased with how supportive folks here are!

 

a good name brand header would be the next best/cheapest upgrade. Being a lude, they are heavy and gas milage isn't going to be the greatest.

One other thing, get rid of those 17" rims, they are too big and most likely very heavy. Get something no bigger than 16"

 

It really depends what the wheels are made from. You can get 17" wheels that are lighter than 16" wheels.

 

Agreed.

But your 37 mpg drive was all highway and cruising on a constant speed of 73 mph with no variation or wide-open throttle. That is more of the "ideal" drive as opposed to the "typical" drive.

 

As good as it gets......
This is a simple used VAFC and a handful of dyno runs. Total investment, about $400.(In addition to the AEM CAI and Custom 2.5" exhaust with Magnaflow muffler) Stock H22s make ~145-150whp on this dyno, mine made 198.
Needless to say, owner is Super Happy!!! Obd1 swap+Hondata/Neptune NOT an option b/c of IL emissions standards.

 

Preludes run pig rich from the factory, I would go with a cold air intake, quality header, and if you can get away with an OBD1 swap, Hondata and a tune.

Most of the parts you would be interested in, you should be able to pick up used from members here.

The H22 has a dual stage intake manifold with a set of butterfly valves that open at higher RPMS to increase air flow. You can remove these butterfly valves by opening the intake manifold and taking them out, you can see the intake manifold is actually three pieces.

If you get a Hondata and want to keep the butterfly valves in the intake manifold, get a P72 ECU [Integra GSR ECU]. If you pull the butterflies, get a P28 ECU [Civic Ex ECU].

Be warned, once you tune, that mmmmmmmmmBWAAAAH at VTEC crossover will be toned down, you may not even notice it anymore.

 

lol

I like that

 

^^

Like I already stated, I agree with you...

I was just pointing out that getting 37 mpg while daily driving in city traffic isn't a realistic goal. That's all.

 

^^ this

 

Frickin scripture right there....

 

It depends on the specific model. The typical 5 spoke 17" ADR rims weigh about 2lbs max each over stock - but they are basically one step below owning forged rims. They are very well built so no worries of bending one.



OP: As mentioned, a tuneup is the best thing to start with -

make sure that the proper spark plugs are installed and the wires are good. Stock wires are just as good if not better than most of the aftermarket ones out there

Make sure the timing belt/water pump/tensioner were replaced around the proper mileage and if it's nearing that time again get it done. The auto tensioners are known to fail, so it's good to have them replaced when the timing belt is done. Consider having the fuel filter changed if it's been on there for a good while, and do a seafoam.

Filters - i've had an AEM and a K&N filter, i prefer the K&N because after awhile the AEM's fall apart and are a waste of time to clean. The intake your son currently has is the best (and most expensive) one on the market. The only one to compete is a type S (jdm factory intake) with a drop in K&N filter. (stick with what he's got currently)

Header - yes as mentioned, our stock header is pathetic. Most aftermarket headers out there are nothing but marketing lies. The best bang for your buck is called a "hytech replica" they go for an average of $400. there are quite a few places that sell these online along with members here that can get you a good deal. If you were to go with an actual named header - you're looking to spend an easy $800+ (which is worth it to me, but your'e on a budget)

If the car is around 115k miles, take it to a mechanic or the stealership and have the EGR ports removed/replace and the runners cleaned of the carbon buildup.


For some extra power - go with a 3" custom exhaust with any muffler he choses. The 2.5" Greddy exhaust may sound "ok" and give minimal performance gain, but our cars (if n/a and not boosted) gain the most out of a 3". Greddy is known to have a smaller diameter pipe than what's advertised (not by a large amount, i believe it's around 2.35" and not 2.5" but not 100% sure)


Using a VAFC as mentioned will give some gains, but for the money (unless you find one for a good deal used) it's really not worth it just to change your vtec engagement. However having a lower engagement does give an overall better powerband curve. Consider a piggyback system in the future that would give a tuner more options, like a Greddy E-manage Ultimate.


For overall "cheapest" method of gaining gas mileage and a little extra feel for the power the car has stock; Weight reduction. A base model weighs just over 2,950 lbs. For the size and power of the car stock - that's quite a bit. Anything from a carbon fiber hood to a lighter set of rims (but will cost much more than running the current ADR's) will decrease the weight and help in the MPG's area.


otherwise just keep up on the maintenance and it'll do fine. I average about 26mpg city on 91. I have a bit in weight reduction, run "heavy" ADR 17" wheels, AEM intake, Greddy exhaust and have a stock header without any form of tune. Yeah i'm lacking in the power department but i rarely engage vtec or get on the car so it works fine for me - just to give an example.

 

Yeah....crappy build quality with OK power as opposed to buying say a Vibrant 2.5"?? C'mon man.....$550, and won't fall apart after a couple years......and WILL make more power as was proven already.

 

FD is hands down one of the best "bang-for-your-buck" mods you can buy. Just saying.....

 

Crappy build quality doesn't begin to describe all of the companies producing the replicas and each one basing their replica off another replica... If I had to purchase one than it would be from a company that i know has been doing them for awhile.


But you are right, I had actually completely forgotten that Vibrant had brought back their H22 header.
(i've had my eye on a true Hy-tech or to somehow get an RMF...)

OP: forget what i said about the replica, go Vibrant lol.

i would edit my previous post..but eh

 

Double scipture in 1 post! OMG!!! While true, maybe NOT ideal for you average user. Not excatly cheap either when you factor in the labor, unless DIY. The car will rip for sure with it though......MPGs go bye-bye.......

And I wasn't trying to be a jerk.....I just hate this shitbox companies profiting from their crappy work and others R&D. The Vibrant did a stout job against a 2.5" replica type header.
I have had my OG Vibrants for 6yrs now. The flex pipe finally let go on my DD. And thats 6yrs of Chicago winters with no garage.....

 

lol it's np man -I agree 100%, that's why i'm dead set on a real Hy-tech or a used RMF. Most people get scared when they hear of those prices... up until the re-release of the Vibrant, the replica's are all that have been available with a gain for a reasonable price. I've lost track as to how many people say they hate replica's but own one So far no issues with anyone that's purchased from Kronn.... yet....

 

The old Vibrant did a great job.....But they were discontinued before people could even get on board. Made 9whp/6tq over my Greddy on both cars.
Not going to lie, I cheaped out with my last build......But spending $1k+ for a header seemed silly to gain 8-10whp, when 8-10whp costs $5 with Nitrous!
There should be some used SMSPs floating around in the future. I'd love to know how many were actually made. Don't forget DTR-SSR as well.
And man, people can say what they want about the price, but the Mugen may be the highest quality header ever made for the H22. My friends is over 11yrs old.....

 

a tune will make it drive like a sports car (if done properly and not just WOT) and at the same time increase its power and economical efficiency. i charge 350 dollars to fully tune a mostly stock car. it will pay itself off by the years end.

 

With smiles and $$$! Who cares about the $$$ though!

 

Pardon my ignorance, but that is a lot of $$. What does everyone here mean when they say "tune"? Does everyone think the same as far as what a tune consists of? AFAIK modern cars use the onboard computers for all settings and all most cars do for a tune is replace plugs... Some older ones have a distributor cap & rotor to replace but newer ones don't HAVE a distributor.

So what else IS there on the Prelude???

 

When you swap to a chipped ECU of some form, all of the ignition and fuel values become adjustable, just like playing with all the screws and gizmos on a carburetor, which I know nothing about ... give me fuel injection all day, that makes sense to me.

Here, this is one of the more popular tuning software packages:
Hondata S300

If you download the S300 software and open a base map for an H22 with a P72 ECU you'll see what is tunable.

 

Or use a piggy back system like Greddy E-manage ultimate. there are multiple ways to go about it.

 

if 350 is a lot of money to make your engine actually make use of the PERFORMANCE mods you have put on your car then you have no need to be modifying cars.

nor do you understand what we, as tuners, have been through to understand how to go about tuning engines the way we do.

when you spend thousands upon thousands to figure it out, you kind of become proud that you can take pretty much any programmed fuel injection setup and be able to make it run right.

im probably one of the cheapest tuners i know so good luck in your venture.

 

$350 is dirty cheap, do you just road tune or dyno?

 

dyno, then i drive it on the street after to make sure everything is still right.