[DawsNos]

I have a 1998 base model prelude with pretty much no mods and I know little to nothing about cars and I would like to know what would be the best smaller mods I can start with to make it a little faster

 

[StevenLobo]

Ya the green key flash goes on but every time I get in my car to head out it's a few try's to get it to start and ok I check out the trunk thing.. and I'm from Los Angeles/ San Fernando valley if you know a mechanic that can fix every problem in my car I'll take it to them and how much would you think it would cost I need a estimate?

 

[Wing8806]

I have a 1998 base model prelude with pretty much no mods and I know little to nothing about cars and I would like to know what would be the best smaller mods I can start with to make it a little faster

Personally I would keep it mechanically stock and enjoy it, unless you intend to dump a lot of money into the car. The strengths are it's handling, and unique style - the speed part comes a couple thousand dollars later.

The typical thing to do is intake/header/exhaust. But to actually gain any power worth the money for those bolt ons - you would need to spend even more for it all to work together properly. I recommend reading around the builds section and check out what other members are doing.

 

[Wing8806]

Ya the green key flash goes on but every time I get in my car to head out it's a few try's to get it to start and ok I check out the trunk thing.. and I'm from Los Angeles/ San Fernando valley if you know a mechanic that can fix every problem in my car I'll take it to them and how much would you think it would cost I need a estimate?

Everything besides paint and audio - anywhere from 500 to 1000+

Really depends on what the issues are after the car is checked out by a mechanic.

I'm on the opposite side of the country, can't help you with shops - sorry man.

 

[GhostPrelude]

I'm new to this whole thing. I haven't really used a lot of thread forums before. so here is my list of questions.
Turbo charged or twin turbo charged with vtec. Is it possible, and what are the specs for it when done properly?
How do you install a body kit without going to a body shop?
where is a reasonable transmission shop that can fix or rebuild my current transmission with upgraded internals. I have the 98 base model with the auto. I prefer the auto in it for practicality and usefulness. (have driven manuals in the past and loved them. as a purely experimental thing) I plan on a $50,000 build over the span of the next 12 years. (currently in the process of going back to school for a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering with a masters in aerospace engineering.)
this will be accomplished bit by bit over time. possible one part at a time.
if i can get a complied list and hot to write ups on key things, i am quite sure i will be able to be just fine. an help or guidance will be greatly appreciated. i have a vision of how i see the car, just need help on refining it now. My name is Ghost Prelude. I like to keep my real name to my self. Who knows, maybe if things go right you may find out more then meets the eye. thank you for taking the time to read this post, have an awesome weekend coming up and happy Friday eve. Also, is there and luders near or around the Kentucky area? or am i literally the only one i'm my entire town?

 

[GhostPrelude]

Could anyone give me an estimate on how much it's going to cost me to respray my whole prelude the same color it is because its fading?

I recommend to check with car quest on the paint. its a lot cheaper buying the materials before hand. that way if you deiced to go to a body shop, it wont be that costly, because all you would be out is the labor. in the past i have built some low tech paint booths out of 2x4's and plastic that goes on the inside of houses, using a industrial wheeled fan to suck out the fumes and away i went. a great way to find out how much it would cost is to check the labor guides for you specific area here is a link to a site i normally use.

http://www.instantestimator.com/faq.html
as for car quest,
http://www.carquest.com/

hope that this helps.

happy adventures lay ahead!

 

[Wing8806]

I'm new to this whole thing. I haven't really used a lot of thread forums before. so here is my list of questions.
Turbo charged or twin turbo charged with vtec. Is it possible, and what are the specs for it when done properly?
How do you install a body kit without going to a body shop?
where is a reasonable transmission shop that can fix or rebuild my current transmission with upgraded internals. I have the 98 base model with the auto. I prefer the auto in it for practicality and usefulness. (have driven manuals in the past and loved them. as a purely experimental thing) I plan on a $50,000 build over the span of the next 12 years. (currently in the process of going back to school for a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering with a masters in aerospace engineering.)
this will be accomplished bit by bit over time. possible one part at a time.
if i can get a complied list and hot to write ups on key things, i am quite sure i will be able to be just fine. an help or guidance will be greatly appreciated. i have a vision of how i see the car, just need help on refining it now. My name is Ghost Prelude. I like to keep my real name to my self. Who knows, maybe if things go right you may find out more then meets the eye. thank you for taking the time to read this post, have an awesome weekend coming up and happy Friday eve. Also, is there and luders near or around the Kentucky area? or am i literally the only one i'm my entire town?

Turbo Prelude's are common - results vary

Twin turbo Prelude's, not something i've seen before. Twin charged (turbo + supercharger) has been done, but the results were not that great.

Bodykits and bodyshop usually go hand and hand since they never fit 100%

Level 10 transmissions in NJ can work on the auto trans and make it "better" however only 2 people on here have every done it and reported back - both boosted and appear to have held up well.


Anything's doable - just enjoy the ride and don't rush through it.

 

[dirtlude38]

I have done some searching and I would just like some more clarity. I am building a 1998 Prelude dirt track car and I am trying to figure out what the best shock/strut and spring combo is. The bad thing is, that everything must remain stock. Are there other models that are compatible? Should I run stiffer in the rear than in the front....etc...Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[sp0k3s]

I have a quick question. My bb6 5th gen prelude is a base model not a type sh. I have skunk2 coilovers with a 2 inch drop. My wheels camber when i dropped my car (of coarse) but when i started looking into replacing my control arms upper and lower. Im having problems finding one for my car. I find them for civics and accords but not very much for prelude. I am looking for an after market control arm that helps fix the camber issue when its lowered. I know a lot of parts from accords will work on preludes but not always. Was wondering if you have any suggestions? Or know of a website that has them. Id greatly apreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Wing8806]

I have a quick question. My bb6 5th gen prelude is a base model not a type sh. I have skunk2 coilovers with a 2 inch drop. My wheels camber when i dropped my car (of coarse) but when i started looking into replacing my control arms upper and lower. Im having problems finding one for my car. I find them for civics and accords but not very much for prelude. I am looking for an after market control arm that helps fix the camber issue when its lowered. I know a lot of parts from accords will work on preludes but not always. Was wondering if you have any suggestions? Or know of a website that has them. Id greatly apreciate it. Thanks.

There are no aftermarket lower control arms that offer camber adjustment.

There at one point was one company that made adjustable uppers - however most just use adjustable balljoints such as MOOG or SPC.

 

[ltltoby]

Hi guys just joined this morning. 98' Lude H22a4 base model. I've had this car for five years exactly as of 3 days ago and have finally started having small issues. Previous owner was my uncle who had it for 7 years and was OCD about everything with it given his experience as a Honda tech for 20+ years.

My problem has finally been reduced to the VTEC solenoid. My question is how often do these go bad? From my understanding they're generally reliable and relatively easy to diagnose, clean and rebuild without having to replace the full assembly. My uncle lives in Dallas and as I'm in Nashville his help is limited to a phone call. After searching around I've discovered they're pretty pricey to replace as simple as they are.

Would it be easier to clean, replace the seals and reinstall or just take the bullet and get a new one?

 

[Wing8806]

Hi guys just joined this morning. 98' Lude H22a4 base model. I've had this car for five years exactly as of 3 days ago and have finally started having small issues. Previous owner was my uncle who had it for 7 years and was OCD about everything with it given his experience as a Honda tech for 20+ years.

My problem has finally been reduced to the VTEC solenoid. My question is how often do these go bad? From my understanding they're generally reliable and relatively easy to diagnose, clean and rebuild without having to replace the full assembly. My uncle lives in Dallas and as I'm in Nashville his help is limited to a phone call. After searching around I've discovered they're pretty pricey to replace as simple as they are.

Would it be easier to clean, replace the seals and reinstall or just take the bullet and get a new one?

If it's not leaking, there's no need for a new seal. Simply remove it, pull out the seal with the screen attached and clean it out. Reinstall and see if that resolves your issue.

 

[Malfalfa]

First off thanks for the help and I hope someone can educate me on what's going on. I recently bought a 98 prelude, it was running well when I got it. The night I got it I had trouble getting it started. Held the gas down while starting and it kicked over. The guy I purchased the car from said "the fuel pump needs replaced" I'm extremely new to motors in general, friends helped diagnose and suggest what to do. I've taken part in all the work but am learning everything as I go. I'll just list what has been done chasing the problem. Fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel pressure regulator, plugs and wires. No blown fuses. I was told it's likely not the fuel pump relay since the fueled pump has power. Was told it has spark but have not personally checked that myself. Not sure what else to do here to get this car running. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Smashby250]

I have a 98 prelude non-sh and I'm just curious of some direction to go in. It's got high miles (211,000 roughly) so I don't even know if it's worth it to mod but I'm thinking basics for now...headers (reccomendations)/exhaust (reccomedations). I'm looking for that deep exhaust note and performance. I don't want your typical raspy sound

 

[Smashby250]

I have a 98 prelude non-sh and I'm just curious of some direction to go in. It's got high miles (211,000 roughly) so I don't even know if it's worth it to mod but I'm thinking basics for now...headers (reccomendations)/exhaust (reccomedations). I'm looking for that deep exhaust note and performance. I don't want your typical raspy sound

 

[Wing8806]

I have a 98 prelude non-sh and I'm just curious of some direction to go in. It's got high miles (211,000 roughly) so I don't even know if it's worth it to mod but I'm thinking basics for now...headers (reccomendations)/exhaust (reccomedations). I'm looking for that deep exhaust note and performance. I don't want your typical raspy sound

It's really tough to say anymore. Everyone has their own version of "deep" - personally I recommend going custom but it's a pricy adventure.

However if you insist on a bolt on cat-back:
Apexi ws2 is nice, so is the Mugen, or even the Invidia Q300 I think it's called?

 

[darknessuneven]

Timing belt job from hell.

Hey guys, new here... all that jazz,
About a month ago, I was driving back from Houston with a buddy, and my timing belt snapped, and before you say that "all is lost", I've checked my leak down on all 4, and all is good. So now, I've bought the timing belt, balance shaft belt, both tensioners, and all the seals. and was replacing everything at the shop I work at on Saturday (3/10/17), well I got just about everything done and back together, and ran into a bit of a skirmish with the auto tensioner. I've already went through JLUDE's write up about 10 times and that's what gave me the courage to attempt this. That and I've done about 50 T-belt jobs on the Mopars that I see at work. I've got the manual, and referencing JLUDE's write up, I've got everything back together, and attempting to time everything, where I run into a predicament. When I get the timing belt on the cams, and everything, It seems like there is just too much slack in the belt. I know that when I pop the tensioner loose, it's going to move stuff around, So I'm looking to counter that and adjust for it. Also, the belt I purchased (eBay- yeah I know, sue me - has OEM part numbers on it) has arrows pointing towards the back of the engine when seen from above. I'm not sure if this is a directional belt, it sure as hell doesn't seem like one, and I don't think I've ever seen a direction tbelt. also needing to make sure that the engine rotates counter clockwise - as seen from the front of the engine. I know I should have just thrown in the extra money and gotten the manual tensioner conversion, but I've been low on funds lately, and just need my daily back.
So mainly - Is there any reason why the Timing belt would have so much slack? I don't think that the tensioner is going to put THAT much tension on it once I let it loose. And the loosening and tightening of the tensioner assembly and all that is giving me a headache. Anyone point me in the direction of a thread that may have some answers for me? Or can one of you guys help me out - I'll take all the condescension you want to dish out, if I can just get some help here... TIA

 

[Wing8806]

All of the slack should be at the idler the tensioner puts pressure on.


I usually start from the bottom and work my way clockwise up to the cam gears and down to the tensioner so everything else is tight - then release the tensioner so all that slack i'm holding at the idler is held tightly in place by that pressure.

 

[darknessuneven]

All of the slack should be at the idler the tensioner puts pressure on.


I usually start from the bottom and work my way clockwise up to the cam gears and down to the tensioner so everything else is tight - then release the tensioner so all that slack i'm holding at the idler is held tightly in place by that pressure.

Dominant, I'll give that a try tomorrow.

 

[darknessuneven]

All of the slack should be at the idler the tensioner puts pressure on.


I usually start from the bottom and work my way clockwise up to the cam gears and down to the tensioner so everything else is tight - then release the tensioner so all that slack i'm holding at the idler is held tightly in place by that pressure.

Welp, I got everything on, and lined up. rotated engine 360 degrees "to take up the slack" as they've said. Still have a bit too much slack even with the tensioner released. Not sure if it's the tensioner that's failed, or what. I wound it in all the way, and it extended back when released, hoping I got the correct sized belt from this ahem... reputable eBay dealer. Had OEM part numbers on it, and the same amount of teeth, so I'm not too sure. I'm kinda at a loss here...