I am currently in the market in buying my first car that is worth spending time working on, etc. Honestly, I don't have much knowledge about cars at all. Ya probably thinking I'm a dumbass for posting for help on a car enthusiast site as Honda-tech, but in reality ya got to start somewhere, and what better place to ask then where people know most. I've worked my *** off all summer to get enough bread for a decent car, and now I'm here right before school ready to make a purchase..

I have 3 cars that I've had in mind that fit my budget. I do a lot of driving since I'm about 30 miles or so out of the city, so as performance is a plus, gas mileage and reliability still stand tall in my decision for a car..

My question is how does a non-vtec 92-96 Prelude Si compete against say a Toyota Celica GT and Mitsu Eclipse GST?

I'm looking for the package here.. performance, reliability, gas, potential, etc.

Also I know Preludes can come w/ vtec engines, but lets keep it at non-vtec for now since I'm not sure I can afford a lude with a vtec engine..

Thanks in advance for the nfo..

 

Back in 92, Motortrend awarded the best sports car to the GST. It beat out the Prelude by a little. However, in 93, the VTEC Prelude beat out the GST.

Both cars are good. Actually, all three are.

I have an 89 240SX and a 92 Prelude Si. The Prelude by far is a more fun car to drive. Every time I drive it, it puts a smile on my face...and I don't even have VTEC......YET!! I think the Prelude will be more reliable too. The GST wasn't one of the most reliable cars.

Overall, I think the Prelude Si is the better buy in the long run...and I am not just saying that because I have one.

Hope I helped some.

Andy

 

I personally think mitsubishi is crap jave freidns who have them just a big pain in the ***. theyre nice when u first get them, Celica is a good reliable car but your best bet is the prelude for sure. ill have to diagree with andy sayin that i like driving my 89 240 better than my friends 4ws only cause u can go sideways in the 240 but yeah prelude is best bet

 

reliability:
1. toyota
2. honda
99232. DSM

handling:
1. celica
2. prelude
3. DSM

looks:
1. prelude
2. DSM
3. Celica

straight line speed/accel:
1. DSM
2. prelude
3. celica

fuel econ:
1. celica
2. prelude
3. DSM

potential:
1. DSM
2. Prelude
3. celica

 

...
handling:
1. prelude
2. celica
3. DSM
...

 

Agreed, I've never had much experience with mitsubishis, but I do know that I hate Celicas... I deffinately think the prelude handles better. But if you're looking for a car that has alot of aftermarket parts available for it with easy access, then your best bet is the prelude for sure. I myself have a 1996 Prelude, it used to be an Si but I swapped the motor for an H22 Vtec. But the stock H23 ran 8.8's on the 1/8 mile with just a dc sports intake, header, exhaust, lightweight flywheel, and clutch. That was with street tires as well so it may have ran better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H22A-AllMotor &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> But the stock H23 ran 8.8's on the 1/8 mile with just a dc sports intake, header, exhaust, lightweight flywheel, and clutch. That was with street tires as well so it may have ran better.</TD></TR></TABLE>

wow, that's awesome times for just those mods on an h23,
almost unbelieveable.
what's the elevation at the track?


i say go with the lude, dsm's break down all the time and celica's
just don't look as sporty and don't perform like the lude

 

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

i say go with the lude, dsm's break down all the time and celica's
just don't look as sporty and don't perform like the lude </TD></TR></TABLE>

he just summarized all future posts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4thGenReady2Go &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...
handling:
1. prelude
2. celica
3. DSM
... </TD></TR></TABLE>

celicas weigh 2400 lbs. 4th gen ludes 2850.

and i don't see any preludes winning G Stock @ auto-x, even if the celica GT is one of the frontrunners in that class.

 

Check my website, See what the experts said.

http://members.rogers.com/mech...x.htm

I personally would never even consider the Celica way too underpowered.
If you want a Prelude get the VTEC, more reliable engine and more fun to drive due to the extra power.

If you want straight line speed and can sacrifice some refinement/reliability the Eclipse is the best. It is VERY easy and CHEAP to make an Eclipse go fast because it has a turbo. The motors are very strong and capable of a lot of boost.

 

Well damn. Thanks for the posts guys. I've actually been test driving people's 92-95 si's all week trying to find a good one. I've also been waiting to test drive a 94 celica GT to try and compare the two cars. The prelude has always been on the top of my list since Celica's are indeed more of a chick's car.. Forgot to add I've been also looking at 91 and 95 240sx's. I assume 240's have better handling but less power?

Also, what are some good tips to look out for when scoping out someone's 4th gen Prelude? Obviously the basics, oil leaks etc, but anything else exclusive to Preludes when looking/testdriving one?

Thanks for all the replies

 

i dunno about the handling.. .. i have a 95 lude si and the wife has a 00 celica
.. i'd give the handling to the celica... but its a chicks car!

 

Well, all the tests I've seen in mags have put the Celica as the better handling car.

 

Well well.. I just test drove a Prelude Si today. Although its non-vtec, and has the H23 engine, I may just purchase it since I can decide to do an engine swap later if I'd like.

The car is in pretty good shape. Minor tear and wear from a 12 year old car.. Only bad things is the car has no air bag for some reason. This car was driven by a girl, and she said she had the VIN checked, and everything was clean, no accidents.

Price: $4200.. Should I jump on the deal? The price is firm from what she said, and I had her take a few hundred off already.

I'm going to get a carfax on the VIN to make sure..

What you guys think?

 

forgot to add 146k mileage.. but it is in good condition.

 

I believe that price is a little high.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H22A-AllMotor &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Agreed, I've never had much experience with mitsubishis, but I do know that I hate Celicas... I deffinately think the prelude handles better. But if you're looking for a car that has alot of aftermarket parts available for it with easy access, then your best bet is the prelude for sure. I myself have a 1996 Prelude, it used to be an Si but I swapped the motor for an H22 Vtec. But the stock H23 ran 8.8's on the 1/8 mile with just a dc sports intake, header, exhaust, lightweight flywheel, and clutch. That was with street tires as well so it may have ran better.</TD></TR></TABLE>
what a minute your telling me you ran an 8.8 in the 1/8 with those mods on an h23..thats complete BS...im sorry the track eqipment must have malfunctioned...maybe it was a 9.8...my best 1/8 mile was 8.8 and i ran a 13.7...at almost 103mph, theres no way on gods green earth a stock h23 ran that, sorry...and next a celica doesnt handle nearly as well as a 4th or 5th gen prelude, the prelude is in fact considered by many automotive experts as the best handling FWD car you can buy...and on a side note i know you said not to include the vtec, but hey even if u get an h23 you can always get a JDM h22 for around 2 grand with tranny...something to think about

 

Obviously you can't make a perfect estimate on the car since you haven't seen it first hand, but what is a good price I should look to get it for?

Here is the car on autotrader..

http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp....st=36

 

h23's have a way of spining bearings especially around that milege.

 

Is that expensive to replace?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by el3vate &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is that expensive to replace?</TD></TR></TABLE>

uh yeah...usually you replace a soun bearing by buying another engine...or block, it's not worth the cost to rebuild

 

Go straight for the GSX, not GST model.

In terms of horsepower, it's got both Prelude VTEC and Celica GT/GTS beat. In terms of modibility, it's also got both cars beat. A simple boost controller sends oodles of horsepower more to the wheels. In terms of handling, it's no slouch; the GSX packs AWD capabilities which 1) makes it great for drag and 2) makes it great for a course.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MechEng &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">h23's have a way of spining bearings especially around that milege.</TD></TR></TABLE>

146k isn't that much for an h23
people spin bearings because they rev their engine to
high or they run it too hard w/o enough oil

mine had 215k on it and didn't spin a bearing.
I put 85k miles of 6600 rpm shifts almost daily
and didn't spin a bearing.

 

The car is owned by this girl who seemed to take care of the car, so I doubt she pushed the car hard or regularly shifted at high rpms.. I got her to drop the price down to $4000, no lower.. I'm about to pick it up later today, so I hope I'm making a good decision I've been looking for a lude since late spring, but for some reason can't find a decent one in the $3000's..

As for the GSX, it sounds like a great car, but probs over my budget, and I'm looking for more then just speed.

This will be my first car I can mess around with, so hopefully I can learn a whole lot more about cars and get help from ya gurus here

 

good luck on your purchase
it's good to have another fellow luder