I really need help with advice! I want to work on the preformance of my car, its a 97' prelude... sniff sniff! auto... but its ok I got a really good deal so I want to make the best out of it! I just want to hear what people like and whats good because I am new with this. So plz help a girl out!! my aim is mizlayd627 and yahoo id is aflipluv um I dont have a current pic of my car, but it will be on soon...and i know guys are curious so there is a pic of me on the other topic "Need prelude advice" so keep the suggestions up! Thank You!!!

 

Uhmmmm ..
You are going to get a lot of different responses since you left the topic wide open. Most people will tell you to upgrade the Wheels, brakes, suspension first.. then others will tell you to atleast do the basic bolt-ons first (intake, header, exhaust)
It would help to know how much $$ you are wanting to spend, that way we could help you get the most for your money..

and about your picture
Since there is no leg humping in this forum I cant tell you that you look good...
ooops..!!!

 

Since its an auto, I'd go with mostly looks instead of speed. Autos are just slow compared to the 5spd. Get your basic bolt ons, and work on suspensions, then maybe invest into a OEM or Wings West rs lip kit

 

I agree with the OEM lip, something clean and simple...

but the car is a daily driver...needs to be reliable...and it needs to be able to not get stolen.....so I think she should keep it simple as possible and just throw in a few performance mods for that little extra fun on tap. I think she should also invest more into handling since it's an automatic.

I have school tonight Courtney, , and my first test is on Thursday
School sucks

 

It would still help to know how much she is looking on spending..
I mean if she has a few $k to spend, just go get a supercharger..
automatic or not, it will still surprise the hell out of some people if they pull up next to her..

 

I'm not sure exactly how much she has to spend...I know it's not that much, plus I don't think she would want to do that much

A guy I work with had a JRSC on his 5th Gen Lude and he got beat by a Prelue with I/H/E and 50 shot of nitrous at Commerce [drag strip in Atlanta]

For her though, I/H/E should suffice for power, that and some pulleys. That's why I suggested she get a decent suspension...Neuspeed Sport Springs (don't wanna go too low), Tokico Illumina Shocks, Skunk2 Front and Rear Upper Strut Bars.....enough to handle well, but not a ton of money.


[Modified by RotiEatter, 11:58 AM 1/14/2003]

 

cause commerce sucks.. haha

he got beat by a 5th gen with a 50 shot?
hmmmm odd

 

haha, yeah....both are 5 speeds, I'm led to believe he just can't drive though.

You know Commerce?

 

Nitrous is another option if you dont mind having to fill the bottle every now and then..

 

Take some good advice from someone who has modded the hell out of his SS lude: don't bother. Trade it in for either a manual lude or something else.

 

Yeah, I wont go there though cause of to many horror stories..
I only live 3 hours from atlanta

 

Nitrous is more power than she really needs, any shot. Hence the very basic and simple bolt ons

 

Why? Still slow or something?

 

Yup. Don't get me wrong, it's faster than what it was and I AM having fun with it, but the loss through the tranny is disappointing, and I am having a tranny issue that I haven't been able to isolate. Had I put all this onto a manual lude, I would have a much funner car right now.

 

I've done so many stuff on my 00 lude, until I finally settled down on a turbo kit, but mine's a manual though. Anyways, you should save up for a manual swap, because I have 2 friends who are running into problems with their SS. Once you have money on the side, you can do a swap when it blows. Besides, the SS is slow as hell.
For now, I recommend doing the suspension. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, do the following on the suspension. Change the rear sway bar. It's the most bang for the buck as they go for $110 to $150. I recommend either going for the Tanabe one or the suspension technique. I've got the Suspension technique one, and I'm happy with it. You'll feel a huge difference in handling. I would not go for neuspeed springs nor eibachs from my experience, they suck. Don't even bother with ground control as they suck too and are still made by eibach. You would need to constantly adjust them. Get H&R sport springs. Don't get the Race ones as they'll make your car too low. Get Koni adjustable shocks. After you get the shocks and springs, do a wheel alignment a month later as they should be settled in by then. If you want to spend more, you can get Tein HA. I'm very happy with those. Also, get one of those $15 strut bars from ebay. You can spend $100+ on brand name strut bars, but they all do the same. You're just paying extra for a piece of metal.
As for the engine, you'll need to decide whether you're going all motor(NA) or forced induction(FI). If you want to stick with NA,just get DC headers and Apexi WS exhaust for mild NA. That way, your car won't sound like an RC car lol. Don't waste your money on pulleys as underpowering your alternator, windows, and other accessories is not worth the small gain. Just watch out for the brackets on the DC headers, they tend to break. Don't bother with the intake, as gains are negligeable. If you want, you can get the Type S air box. If you want FI, get a jackson racing supercharger. Since you're an auto, you'll need all that power in the beginning. Don't forget to do the OBD2 workaround too.
As for exterior look, you can get the JDM foglights and OEM kit. That's all you need. Nice and clean.
Here's some pics of my car that can help you.
http://www.bayareaprelude.com/cgi-bi...ct=ST;f=3;t=46
http://www.bayareaprelude.com/cgi-bi...f=3;t=46;st=30



[Modified by mugenbb6, 7:01 PM 1/14/2003]

 

Get some wheels w/ slightly wider tires, suspension upgrades, and brakes. I'd worry about how my car sticks to the road over how fast it can go off of it Then get an OEM lip or something--girls gotta go in style.

 

Why would u need to upgrade the brakes? That's money better spent elsewhere. The prelude stock brake systems are very strong already. You can change the pads, but you won't notice a big difference. Changing the rotors to a larger size ones is pointless, because you won't be able to use the spare tire.

 

I don't know how said anything about brakes....?? But I don't see the need to upgrade her brakes either.

 

wow! lots of advice thank you! Im getting 5k from my school from grants and ****.... but i am paying off my bills.... which is leaving me with around 1-2k so i want to spend around 1k and see from there. I do like looks, but I rather have something to back up my looks. Yes I know Auto's are not as good as manuals, but this is what I have to work with...I want to know what brands are good and what shouldbe the first thing i buy? I have a front strut bar, a vtec controller, and short ram intake. I want to make it cold air... i know that... but i just want to know more about my car and whats good for it. So i mean help is always good and suggestions!

 

With 1k , I'd buy shocks & springs. Suspension helps ALOT

 

*cough*BOOST IT*cough*

 

hell no, boost on an auto? asking for trouble...


I/H/E and maybe a VAFC or unichip or some sort of piggy back u will get about 40 to 50 horses.. depending...

but thats all i would do, the auto tranny is not as strong as the manuel. If you want more power, ur better of going a manuel, but hell autos are nice to drive neways.

 

explain

 

but it will easily handle a little bit of boost..
but it would be hard to boost for 1k.
for 1k, I would think
Ebay CAI $80
DC header $no idea
axle back cheap *** muffler $100 (or keep it stock)

then get some new cams since they said you already have a vtec controller.
Maybe some stage 2 cams or something.

 

Try groupbuycenter.com for a header. I just got my DC Sports in for around $300.