I just picked up my first prelude(93 VTEC) for the purpose of running H2 in the MWHC in the next two years. I have been looking for coilovers for my model prelude and companies such as Tanabe, JIC and TEIN cut short their race suspensions at the beginning of the 5th Gen. Can anyone give me a couple of sure road course suspension set ups for a 4th gen???? Any input is appreciated.

 

Well Corey will be happy to see another prelude. Its always been my believe that if you're going to road race you need the ability to get products serviced. Going with a setup such as Tein, JIC, Tanabe, ect. MIGHT limit your ability to get service to the shocks if they some how fail. Although Tein has stepped up there custom service dept.
-On my what use to be my auto-x specific 5th gen I was running Neuspeed Konis and Ground Control perches. with spring rates of 450f and 425r. Some observations.
--> The shock body needs to be shorten especially in the front to gain my travel if you plan on a low ride height for road racing.
--> Spring rates of 450 won't cut it, look towards 900-1000 in the rear and 700 in the front.
-->Understeer was my nemesis.
My recommendation Koni/GC setup. With revalved Konis.

 

I figured oversteer would be a problem with this car, although I have been impressed with its balance. Thanks for the advice, I've had poeple comment on similar setups. It seems to be an excellent stand-by.

 

i would definately PM corey (honda318dx), he will either be threated by you (highly doubt it) or take you under his wing.

 

Does Corey run HC in a prelude? I know there is at least one East Cost guy doing it.

 

Who is the best dealer for Konis? I would like a dealer that would offer excellent customer service.

 

As far as koni dealers go. You can get konis any where. Just find them cheap and get the yellows not the reds. As far as getting them serviced you can do it through Koni NA directly (what I'm going to do) or there are many other companies out there that are authorized by Koni for service. Like http://www.truechoice.com

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nolan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does Corey run HC in a prelude? I know there is at least one East Cost guy doing it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

corey runs H1 in ECHC.

oversteer isn't a problem in a prelude...massive understeer is though.

i commented in your thread in RR/AX.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nolan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Who is the best dealer for Konis? I would like a dealer that would offer excellent customer service.</TD></TR></TABLE>

check my sig. the link to import horizion is where i got mine. great service and a good price.

 

I'm not so sure about what everyone has posted here, but I gotta tell ya, Just because they race them, doesn't mean they know what the hell is going on mechanically!

Spring rates, bars, camber, caster, Bound, Re-bound. They all work together. Generic statement I know, but there's just too much to say otherwise. Have you looked up the weight distribution on the 4th Gens? Do ALOT more research than this. How serious do you want to get?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxlr8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not so sure about what everyone has posted here, but I gotta tell ya, Just because they race them, doesn't mean they know what the hell is going on mechanically!

Spring rates, bars, camber, caster, Bound, Re-bound. They all work together. Generic statement I know, but there's just too much to say otherwise. Have you looked up the weight distribution on the 4th Gens? Do ALOT more research than this. How serious do you want to get?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the confidence man.. Yes, I know how it works mechanically, I know how EVERYTHING on this car works mechanically.. I havn't really been online all week, have been rebuilding my motor/trans..

Anyways, Its awesome to see another prelude to join the fight in the honda challenge. I learned a lot in my first 2 years with the prelude, what works and what doesn't. At the time I was in H2. The car in race trim is VERY quick, its a low/wide/stable car that just begs for more. The problem with H2 lies with its min weight of 2725 with the driver, compared to an ITR with 2575 with driver.. I had to run 100lbs of ballast in the car to make min weight In H2.. Motor had 205 whp. 13.3 hp/weight ratio

I run H1 now, weight of the car with me in it is about 2375 I am about 175 lbs over my min weight of 2200.. Car (should by all means) have at least 230whp.. 10.3hp/weight. Car feels like a gocart now compared to the weight I had to run in H2..

Anyways, suspension
I use revalved shortened Konis on the front, with a 800lb spring rate
Revalved Konis in the rear with 1250lb rate
Saner 28mm rear swaybar with neuspeed mounts
ORJIN spherical front LCA bearings
SPC Camber kit, reversed in the front to gain negative camber, regular way in the rear..
Caster is about +4 degrees
Camber 2.7 in the front, 1.5 in the rear.. I think its to much camber in the front, even with HOOSIERS
Toe out 1/16" in the front, 0 in the rear..

All in all, its a decent setup. I think the shocks could be better, or, they are just getting old..(2 race seasons on them, time for a rebuild..) I would look into the JIC units, My "teamate" in an ITR and they really planted his car, after he put much heaver rates in the rear.. If you need any help with ANYTHING on the car, let me know, I've seen everything.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I meant top say understeer earlier . Let me apologize for the length and number of questions in this reply, I can't PM yet.

Is it true that every suspesion component that fits the 5th gen will the 4th gen? If so I believe I would want to rock the JIC FLT-A2 RS's my friend Ed is runs them in H2 and they work pretty well for him.

If this is not the case, how long is the wait for Konis to get revelved and shortened? Is it something that has a quick turn around? What do I need to tell them when I have it done---just vehicle weight and desired ride height?

Corey, my transmission has a bad first-second gear syncro. I think the spider is wearing as well. I will probably get a whole new tranny, so let me know if you would like to buy it.

I didn't figure it would be the most competetive car in H2, but I couldn't spend the money it would take to get an ITR or RSX-s on the track. So, this is going to be my learning car in the challenge. Will the car (dependent on the driver of course) run with the ITR???

Thanks for the help

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nolan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for the input everyone. I meant top say understeer earlier . Let me apologize for the length and number of questions in this reply, I can't PM yet.

Is it true that every suspesion component that fits the 5th gen will the 4th gen? If so I believe I would want to rock the JIC FLT-A2 RS's my friend Ed is runs them in H2 and they work pretty well for him.

If this is not the case, how long is the wait for Konis to get revelved and shortened? Is it something that has a quick turn around? What do I need to tell them when I have it done---just vehicle weight and desired ride height?

Corey, my transmission has a bad first-second gear syncro. I think the spider is wearing as well. I will probably get a whole new tranny, so let me know if you would like to buy it.

I didn't figure it would be the most competetive car in H2, but I couldn't spend the money it would take to get an ITR or RSX-s on the track. So, this is going to be my learning car in the challenge. Will the car (dependent on the driver of course) run with the ITR???

Thanks for the help</TD></TR></TABLE>

hmm, there was a batch of JIC FLT-A2 RS's that was bought in a group buy a few months ago that yielded some very disturbing revelations:

buyers asked for custom spring rates, mostly 12kg/mm and 14kg/mm and the custom valving for said rates (O.E. rates on the FLT-A2 are 10kg/mm F and 7kg/mm R). Upon sending one of the shocks to a place for analysis, it appears that the shocks were never valved for the custom rates, and that the damping quality of the units were subpar, at best. It looks like JIC simply sent regular FLT-A2's with the stiffer springs, and charged an extra 300 bucks for it.

i am leery of JIC at this point, since they seem like they're not putting out top notch products. A comparable full coilover setup that i've heard some good things about are the budy club racing spec dampers, but not alot of people are running these, so it's hard to say what the real deal is.

dave @ randdmotorsports is supposed to be getting his hands on the new T1R prelude suspension, and he's very sold on T1R products so that could be a future option.

in the end, shortened/revalved koni's and GC's has proven to be the most reliable suspension setup out there, even if it's not the sexiest. Turn around on the shock work is roughly 2 weeks, and should cost ~$200/shock to shorten and revalve.

as far as the bb1 vs the dc2-r in h2, corey proved last year that the prelude can be a competitive chassis in H2, and he's probably got some insight as to what the strengths are vs. an ITR. but my personal opinion and short answer is that yes, the prelude can compete, if the driver is skilled.

on understeer: the prelude is push happy, like most other honda cars, but there are a lot of remedies to this problem. sway bars and spring rate/damper tuning are the main ways FF racers deal with Understeer, but there are many many many different things that can affect handling balance, and each has its own cost.

anyway, good luck in the HC, it's always good to see more ludes out there. Once i get out of school and can afford to W2W, you'll see my 5th gen in H2 wchc...

or maybe an EG hatch in h4.

oh, and also, make sure you can AFFORD it! one of the things with H2 is that if you blow your h22, can you afford to rebuild/replace? all of this on top of a 4 or 6 or 8 hoosier/weekend tire budget? etc etc.

 

Thanks...

What sort of information does Koni need to revalve and shorten? Is it better to buy the Neuspeed Koni's with the perch kit?

I still would like to know if the suspensions are the same between the two gens?

 

Corey...you still watching this post???

 

bump

 

Like corey said he is rebuilding his car. so he proably aint gonna be on line to much. but If you need anything he is the man to talk to. just pm him or email