[Reaperx]

Hey Everyone,

After the amazing help sorting issues out with my car it's both running and back to being my daily driver.

Backstory:
I separated from the military in May of 2015. Came home to the PNW and wanted to pickup a vehicle that's better on gas than my 06 Nissan Titan (my other project).

My mother-in-law bought this 1988 prelude SI new, drove it on and off until about the early 2000's when she bought another vehicle. This begins it's hibernation.

I purchased it from her last year and began the tune-up. all of the obvious component changes to get her running well again.
Pulling from the backyard:


Little Clean up:


Soo yeah, it's pretty much stock condition and begging for some mods.

My first mod was part of my troubleshooting process. Adding a fuel pressure gauge to the fuel filter.


I plan to get in and upgrade the ground wires soon. Among many other mods that i'll update along the way.

I want to upgrade suspension in the near future. I like to do it right the first time as well. After doing some digging I ran across some good choices but think i'm narrowed down to the Ksport coilovers and the megan racing coilovers. Opinions?

Thanks for looking.

 

[Run_Away]

Diggin' the awesome graphics down the side!

 

[Xiao_Hu]

Looks good. I would definitely spend money on either new poly or rubber bushings wherever possible. That will improve the handling exponentially. Then do tires, then start looking at mods like coilovers etc. I mean, if you want to lower it, you can lower it, but that's a matter of personal taste vs performance, you can quite easily go with better shocks/springs in a standard strut type and get the stiffer performance you want. Just don't go "nuts on the ground" like the previous owner of my Honda did, I had to have a few transmission case holes welded, and the exhaust is pretty dented.

 

[Reaperx]

Diggin' the awesome graphics down the side!

Haha thanks man, they're something else.

Looks good. I would definitely spend money on either new poly or rubber bushings wherever possible. That will improve the handling exponentially. Then do tires, then start looking at mods like coilovers etc. I mean, if you want to lower it, you can lower it, but that's a matter of personal taste vs performance, you can quite easily go with better shocks/springs in a standard strut type and get the stiffer performance you want. Just don't go "nuts on the ground" like the previous owner of my Honda did, I had to have a few transmission case holes welded, and the exhaust is pretty dented.

Oh I agree completely. bushings are before anything else but I want coilovers for the adjustable performance, not for lowering the thing to the ground. Maybe an inch or two in combination with decent rims and good tires.

 

[Xiao_Hu]

Good, you're not one of those hellaflush types. I always laugh at those guys when their cars hit something that breaks the oil pan. In that case, best of luck with it. Just don't expect handling to magically get that much better. In my case, I drove a few lowered cars that actually handled WORSE than if they were at normal height. Just remember, everything in moderation, and even if you're like me and have some engineering experience, none of us really know better than the engineers who made our cars.

Obligatory idiot post: http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26342

 

[Reaperx]

Yeah I understand that things change when you go to aftermarket parts.
I am on the lookout for a 4ws donor. Never driven with 4ws but it sounds like something i'd want to invest in.

 

[Reaperx]

Small progress today. Went to check out a 3rd gen at the local junkyard. Looks to have been sorted through pretty well. They've got another being processed before it hits the yard.

I've got a modded short throw on the way courtesy of MustardCat. Contacted shayspec about some solid shifter bushings.

Also performed the ground wire upgrade that I will get pictures of tomorrow. Went with black 8 gauge wire to blend in.

Overall looking to start at the basics and perform all the small supporting mods one by one before getting crazy. I'll post up an interior picture soon, pretty clean.

 

[Xiao_Hu]

Does it have the driver side door pillar trim? Check my wanted post and if they have it, I'd very much like it.

I'm doing ground upgrades too. Gotta find good wire first though.

 

[Reaperx]

Does it have the driver side door pillar trim? Check my wanted post and if they have it, I'd very much like it.

I'm doing ground upgrades too. Gotta find good wire first though.

Once I get confirmation that the other 3rd gen is in the yard i'll head out there and check both for the trim! I cant remember if it did, whoever got to this car first did work on it cause it was mainly a shell with a pile of parts inside it ha

Hoping to get to the other lude before it gets ravaged.

 

[Reaperx]

Alright so it's been a few days, time for an update!

Ground wire upgrade was completed:


Purchased the MustardCat short shifter, very excited to get this installed.


Looking at my old shifter bushings, before installing the short throw, we are going to do some measuring here in a week and get some delrin solid bushings made up on my buddy's metal lathe.


Been lacking on time and decent weather to get the car washed up after it's 2 month sit. Finally got to it today.


Hoping to sell one of my nissan engines soon in order to do some shopping for another b20 engine to put on a stand and start building. all a matter of time.

What are everyones opinions on the stock 3rd gen "sawblade" rims? I dislike the plastic hubcaps (which are peeling) and found a set for $120. Is that a reasonable price if they aren't severely damaged?

It's either those or save for some aftermarket rims which i will do later in the future once i replace all the suspension bushings ect.

thanks for all input!

 

[cudaboy]

I like my stock 90-91 sawblades. I also have some aftermarket rims I hope to put on this summer for summer/spring/fall use only. Just need to save up for the tires. The only drawback of the stock 14" tires is it is getting harder to find tires. If they are not severely scrubbed or bent and you have already looked into tires availability then I say go for it. They look great. Other thing is if you want to upgrade to larger rotors and other Honda calipers then the 14" wheels won't allow for that upgrade.

 

[Reaperx]

I like my stock 90-91 sawblades. I also have some aftermarket rims I hope to put on this summer for summer/spring/fall use only. Just need to save up for the tires. The only drawback of the stock 14" tires is it is getting harder to find tires. If they are not severely scrubbed or bent and you have already looked into tires availability then I say go for it. They look great. Other thing is if you want to upgrade to larger rotors and other Honda calipers then the 14" wheels won't allow for that upgrade.

That was another big question I was going to ask. I want to do the 4th gen prelude calipers with the 11" mini cooper rotors. So there's no point in looking for the 14" rims. And if i want to do the upgrade I need to budget for rims and tires now.

All good information to have!

 

[cudaboy]

you can double check that but I don't think the stock 14" sawblades work with any of those swaps. I have not studied it in detail but that was my thinking.

 

[Andrew]

Yes, you need 15" wheels for that brake upgrade. Not all 15s work, but most do.

 

[Reaperx]

you can double check that but I don't think the stock 14" sawblades work with any of those swaps. I have not studied it in detail but that was my thinking.

Thanks for bringing that up! Think i'm going to check the classifieds for some 15" rims and tires.

Yes, you need 15" wheels for that brake upgrade. Not all 15s work, but most do.

Thanks for clarifying!

 

[Reaperx]

Doing some craigslist shopping and ran across a couple 15" rim and tire combos.

First:
Unknown german made rim with Toyo RA1 tires. 205/50zr15


Second: STR 518 (15x8 rim) unknown tire size as of now


Decided I want to go for a 205/50/15 tire when comparing specs to stock. I gain %5 in tire width while maintaining a similar diameter

195/60/14 vs 205/50/15


What do you guys think?

 

[Andrew]

205/50 is a good size. :emthup: 195/55 works too, if you wanted more options to search for on Craigslist.

Those used Toyos may not be a good choice for street use. I'm not certain but they probably have a rubber compound where you have to consider heat cycles, and cycled out rubber could be scary. (On the other hand, potentially lots of fun in the dry and I like the design of the wheels.)

The other one is probably too low offset. As in, it may fit without rubbing, but will stick out and look funny unless you're lowered with a lot of negative camber.

 

[cudaboy]

I vote for the 5 spoke too. I am partial to 5 spoke. The lead engineer in japan based the styling of Italian car and most likely the Ferrari and some of the 90-91 you can definitely see some testarossa styling. The testarossa had a wheel very similar to that for at least a year or more.

I think somebody with a yellow 3rd gen build may have that same german brand wheel with center caps different color. I will see if I can find it and if I do I will post a link.

found it. It is preyruder's build. I like your wheels better. His may have been more accurate to original testarosa's, The wheels I bought for mine years ago are 5 spoke 5zigen FNOR1C HOT VERSIONS (Second Release) in bronze/titanium/gold finish.

Here is Preyruder's build:

http://www.preludepower.com/forums/showthread.php?t=353076&highlight=yellow+3rd+gen

 

[Austro]

^yeah those are Borbet Type As.

Any reason why you want solid shifter bushes? Fresh ones would work just as well IMO.

 

[Reaperx]

205/50 is a good size. :emthup: 195/55 works too, if you wanted more options to search for on Craigslist.

Those used Toyos may not be a good choice for street use. I'm not certain but they probably have a rubber compound where you have to consider heat cycles, and cycled out rubber could be scary. (On the other hand, potentially lots of fun in the dry and I like the design of the wheels.)

The other one is probably too low offset. As in, it may fit without rubbing, but will stick out and look funny unless you're lowered with a lot of negative camber.

Yeah i'm starting to lean towards the 5 spoke, considering removing the toyo's and selling or storing for track purposes (long time from now).

I vote for the 5 spoke too. I am partial to 5 spoke. The lead engineer in japan based the styling of Italian car and most likely the Ferrari and some of the 90-91 you can definitely see some testarossa styling. The testarossa had a wheel very similar to that for at least a year or more.

I think somebody with a yellow 3rd gen build may have that same german brand wheel with center caps different color. I will see if I can find it and if I do I will post a link.

found it. It is preyruder's build. I like your wheels better. His may have been more accurate to original testarosa's, The wheels I bought for mine years ago are 5 spoke 5zigen FNOR1C HOT VERSIONS (Second Release) in bronze/titanium/gold finish.

Here is Preyruder's build:

http://www.preludepower.com/forums/showthread.php?t=353076&highlight=yellow+3rd+gen

Thanks for the push towards the 5 spoke and an idea of what they'd look like!

^yeah those are Borbet Type As.

Any reason why you want solid shifter bushes? Fresh ones would work just as well IMO.

Anything I can replace that will not wear as quickly as OEM or perform better than OEM is the goal. I saw the shayspec bushings and figured i'd go the solid route.