Hey guys,

Im going to buy a new used car and id like to know what to get. Im thinking of a s2000, or a Prelude Type SH. What would be a faster car the Lude or s2k? What would be easier to modify? How much would I be expecting to pay for a year 2000 s2k?

 

Might I also add that im 17.

 

You can pick up a lude for around $14, and you can pick up an S2K for around $22 (ballpark figures). S2K is undoubtebly faster, funner, and nicer looking... but you can only tow one passenger, and you pay a little more.

Payments depend on how much you plan on putting for a down payment. Good luck.

 

i'd go with the s2k, but since you're 17, i say u should start out w/ an older honda, then once u get more experience driving, get an s2k.

 

Insurance is gonna be high for the S2k, and its not a forgiving car. Alot of people get owned by the rear wheel drive, and decent power.

 

I'm with Hunter. IMO the S2K is NOT a good car for new drivers. I would say get the Prelude and save the S2000 for a little later. Not only will you have the benefit of more road time, but if you get into modifying cars I think we can all agree that alot of us dont really know what we're doing till the second car anyway :-) (for some of us the third or fourth! =D).

Aside from just appreciating the S more if you wait a little, insurance would be another factor. I would hate to see the insurance rates for a 17 year old male on an S2000..... *ouch*

-J

 

I would drive whatever PornStarRacingB16-T drives. Its pimp.

 

stay with the FF prelude, its more forgiving if you make a mistake.

 

Dude, I think you already made up your mind. Why? Because you are in the S2k forum, not in the 'lude forum. Now, to answer your questions...

Which is faster? Stock v. stock, this is a no brainer: S2000

Which is easier to mod? Hard to say. S2000 has a big following for a such limited production car. However, for Prelude, the parts are hard to come by, especially for the 5th gen. The more important question you should ask yourself: How much do I want to spend???

BTW, if you are going to get a 'lude, get the base since you are going to mod it. Go to the Prelude forum and you'll see some people are having difficulties with the SH's ECU.

Now, here is my opinion: Since you are only 17, you probably have not been driving for more than 2 years. In that case, I'd suggest that you go with a FWD car. Why? They are more forgiving if you ever made a mistake, either on track or public roads.

 

I guess you've got only good pointers in the previous posts.
However, if you have the money and you like fast cars, get the S2K. It is WAY more fun (stock vs. stock) than a Prelude. Then spend whatever you have left on driver's education courses, 'cause the S2K is somewhat an unforgiving car. Make sure you know what you're doing before you attempt anything out-of-ordinary. Best way to do it is on an empty track - with lots of room .
Anyways, the Preludes are really nice as well - I had a '92 and it was great.
Good luck,
George

 

have money=s2k
not that much money=lude
if you plan on drag racing, get the base, if you plan on auto-x'ing, get the SH. if you go over 280 WHP, the ATTS system is dead weight on your car becuase it is disabled

 

the prelude base is good for you if you are into a sporty car as a young man.
i myself am 17. the way i learned to drive and adapted to cars started when i was 14. (lol.. daddy let me drive his car around).
and i've been driving a lot ever since.
right now, i've been using my father's camry for 2 years. i don't even have a car yet, but that's good i think. i've driven a couple cars b4, and it's good to go slow. so i don't think you should get such a high-performance car as a 17 yr old. maybe get more experience with a prelude and then when you have learned a lot, go to the s2000.
that's just my story
so yeah.. i'm just gonna get a car now, finally, since i have enuff experience.
'90-94 240SX and an SR20DET swap hopefully.
Good luck on driving man, and don't get any tickets or accidents!

 

Hey 5 gen ludes can handle there own and also its one of the best fwd handling cars in the world.. I would get the Prelude for your first car

 

I don't post on here much but coincidently I own both cars.

The prelude is an excellent car. I highly recommend it.
I understand it sucks to be called a beginner and have your skills insulted. But these are serious warnings. All it takes is once, one oversight, one mistake, one act of god to end your car and if it’s not your day… end you.

A RWD car, especially one with a high power to weight ratio, is not nice to any driver.
This is what makes Mustangs, Camaros, and Corvettes the top driver killing cars.

Drive the prelude you will like it, it has good power and good handling plus it has a bigger trunk and a back seat. You can put subs back there if you want, you can carry people if you need to.

Also, if you want to leave it stock get the SH, if you want to mod it then don’t get the SH.
Like it was said above… it just turns into useless weight.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blacks2000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Insurance is gonna be high for the S2k, and its not a forgiving car. Alot of people get owned by the rear wheel drive, and decent power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

plus ur 17 which means its even going to be HIGHER

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WaterPoloPlaya &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Might I also add that im 17.</TD></TR></TABLE>

well knowing that you posted your age shows your concern..

prelude first.....

people in your age group will hate on you and vandalize your car somehow..

stick with a prelude for now and save up for s2000 later on....

too many haters out there...

 

I agree...the younger crowds can do hell to a car.

 

S2000!

 

"the prelude base is good for you if you are into a sporty car as a young man.
i myself am 17. the way i learned to drive and adapted to cars started when i was 14. (lol.. daddy let me drive his car around).
and i've been driving a lot ever since.
right now, i've been using my father's camry for 2 years. i don't even have a car yet, but that's good i think. i've driven a couple cars b4, and it's good to go slow. so i don't think you should get such a high-performance car as a 17 yr old. maybe get more experience with a prelude and then when you have learned a lot, go to the s2000.
that's just my story
so yeah.. i'm just gonna get a car now, finally, since i have enuff experience.
'90-94 240SX and an SR20DET swap hopefully.
Good luck on driving man, and don't get any tickets or accidents!"

for a very mature viewpoint

I can add this. My very first car was a 5.0 liter trans-am. Afterwards I switched up to a FWD 99 Civic Si (that ended up turbocharged). I thought it would be no biggie going back to rear wheel drive due to my old t-am...... I could not have been more wrong. I think its really easy for someone who hasn't driven the S2K to say get the S2000. Most of us that have one would agree that its not a forgiving car. Just my 0.02, either way your heart is with the right make of car

-J

 

How is it not a forgiving car?

 

My first car was a 93 BMW 325is. I don't think rear wheel drive is harder to control than front wheel drive if you dont drive like an *******. (Like i did....goddamn astro van ) But...I think you should go with the prelude. Insurance will be a little easier on you and its a much more practical car. Besides its a beautiful ride with alot of potential with a much lower price tag than the s2k, for the most part. Good luck man and welcome to honda tech .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IntegraBoy04 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How is it not a forgiving car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's not a forgiving car because of the amount of oversteer. This car has been known to snap around on an unexperienced/unexpecting driver. It doesn't take a lot to break it's back end loose, and if you do it you gotta know how to pull out of it or else you'll see your @$$ end passing you by. I've pushed it pretty far and have yet for it to totally spin, but I've also had a lot of experience with rearwheel drive.

 

It's not a forgiving car in the sense that it gives little warning when driven at the limits. When a FWD Honda is at the limits of adhesion and you hit VTEC it simply pushes (understeers) a little more. No big deal, everyone's instinctive reaction (lifting off the gas) is the correct one. In the S2000 the same instinctive reaction will cause you to spin (because you're oversteering). Lifting off the throttle is exactly the wrong thing to do. You have to catch oversteer with the steering wheel and be very careful with what your feet are doing.

Now, with all that being said, I personally don't think the S2000 is that bad. It gets its reputation from the relative large number of young people that transition from FWD cars. I have yet to spin my car and I auto-x regularly. I've lost the rear end a few times but have always managed to get it back in line pretty quick. My wife has spun twice though. (auto-xing thank God!) She doesn't have as much experience with RWD.

The S needs some pretty quick and forceful (but not abrupt!) inputs to catch the oversteer effectively.

 

I can vouch for that. I thoguht I was an experianced driver. .. but that was with fwd. I spun my s2k well over 20 times now, but every time I do it I know that much more about it's limits (all the spins were in an auto-x, so don't think I'm out there doing donuts on a freeway or something)

 

yeah, but if you catch it just right and drift through a turn...man there's nothing like it! It's the biggest rush. I've made turns where the car is at about a 45 degree (maybe higher at times) angle and shifted out at the end...the tail end wiggles just a little and then your gone