I'd love a Prelude!
Discussion
Ari said:
You'd get seen off at the lights by a Golf GTI.
Once you're "in the VTEC zone" you'd be quicker for sure, it was a properly quick car then, but out of it, pretty flat.
And this is in a car that, in it's day, cost almost double a Golf GTI!
The only bit of your original post i'd agree with is the road noise - admittedly mine was a lightweight BB4 but I bought sound proofing for the boot to try and drop it down a few decibels.Once you're "in the VTEC zone" you'd be quicker for sure, it was a properly quick car then, but out of it, pretty flat.
And this is in a car that, in it's day, cost almost double a Golf GTI!
Your experiences of the ergonomics, engine characteristics etc don't tally up with mine at all. In fact, my experience of the Golf GTi (mk3?) seems to be exactly opposite yours too!
The Golf MKIII 8 valve was a GTI in badge alone, woeful thing with zero performance.
The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
Its funny how people have different experiences.
My last one was a '95, 2.2 VTEC without 4WS, with sunroof. Jap import (imported myself, I'm not sure what designation that would be. It was a great car to drive!
Mine was auto (don't all flinch at once), and I liked it! I like to think the auto knew how to rev the engine better and keep the torque right, deal with the VTEC, better than I would have.
I don't recall it being overly noisy on the road either; I had removed the air resonator to let it breathe a bit better which increased induction noise slightly too.
As I said, I'd love one again!
A.
My last one was a '95, 2.2 VTEC without 4WS, with sunroof. Jap import (imported myself, I'm not sure what designation that would be. It was a great car to drive!
Mine was auto (don't all flinch at once), and I liked it! I like to think the auto knew how to rev the engine better and keep the torque right, deal with the VTEC, better than I would have.
I don't recall it being overly noisy on the road either; I had removed the air resonator to let it breathe a bit better which increased induction noise slightly too.
As I said, I'd love one again!
A.
Ari said:
The Golf MKIII 8 valve was a GTI in badge alone, woeful thing with zero performance.
The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
So a mk4 golf turbo would be faster to 40, maybe by a tiny bit, but who cares. Its not always about what's the fastest. The H22a engine is a far far nicer engine than the boring old 1.8t vag lump.
A prelude wouldnt see which way my evo went, but that doesnt make it any less of a nice car - I think the prelude managed a good mix of comfort and fun for a bargain used price.
Ari said:
The Golf MKIII 8 valve was a GTI in badge alone, woeful thing with zero performance.
The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
Ive had 4 and never found them that bad. Certainly faster than the MK3 8v Golf GTI, and MK 41.8T GTI by a considerable margin. The later 16v was a bit better.
A MK4 Turbo (non Turbo GTI also woeful) would have a Prelude VTEC up to 40mph when the VTEC kicked in (YO!), and I strongly suspect a MK2 would too.
Change down, change down, change down, it's all you seem to do in a VTEC if you want to make it go. Fun for the first 5 miles, PITA the rest of the time you own the car.
It drives fine outside the VTEC zone, but it's not quick...
My 1.8T was Revo remapped as standard they are pants, so was quicker, but handling wise the Prelude was in another league.
0-60 was in 6.6 seconds for the red top cars, but top end was only about 143mph if you were lucky. The earlier shape Jap import had a far higher top speed (Over 150mph)with the different gearing.
The high speed cornering in a Prelude with the 4WS was superb.
RobCrezz said:
So a mk4 golf turbo would be faster to 40, maybe by a tiny bit, but who cares. Its not always about what's the fastest. The H22a engine is a far far nicer engine than the boring old 1.8t vag lump.
A prelude wouldnt see which way my evo went, but that doesnt make it any less of a nice car - I think the prelude managed a good mix of comfort and fun for a bargain used price.
Great fun for about five minutes...
doogz said:
Ari, I kinda feel like you're missing the point.
You say it won't keep up, unless you drive it like it was built to be driven. That's sort of the whole point of the car.
If you drove both cars like you meant it, the Golf wouldn't see which way the Prelude went.
Exactly, thats the whole fun of the vtec engine. You say it won't keep up, unless you drive it like it was built to be driven. That's sort of the whole point of the car.
If you drove both cars like you meant it, the Golf wouldn't see which way the Prelude went.
I guess its a matter of what you enjoy in a car, but I thought the engine was one of the best bits of the prelude.
Edited by RobCrezz on Friday 14th December 12:53
doogz said:
Ari, I kinda feel like you're missing the point.
You say it won't keep up, unless you drive it like it was built to be driven. That's sort of the whole point of the car.
If you drove both cars like you meant it, the Golf wouldn't see which way the Prelude went.
No, I think you are, read my posts! You say it won't keep up, unless you drive it like it was built to be driven. That's sort of the whole point of the car.
If you drove both cars like you meant it, the Golf wouldn't see which way the Prelude went.
I totally agree that if you rev the nuts off a Prelude it's quite a quick car. And it's great fun. On just the right road (or a track), with the right weather, when you're in the right frame of mind, provided there is no traffic.
The rest of the time it's just a boring uninspiring Honda...
otolith said:
I think performance VTEC engines suit a certain driving style. If you are more of a "reacting to stuff" driver than a "planning ahead" driver, they must be quite frustrating.
Ah, so it's not the car, it's because I'm a crap driver... 
Look, if you're 18 and a huge fan of 2 Fast 2 Furious I'm sure it's a wet dream come true. I suspect my problem is I had it when it was an expensive car and there were other similarly expensive cars that were superior in every way, 3 Series Coupes, VW Corrados, even the Nissan 200SX.
At today's shed money they're probably a hoot. Just don't confuse it with a proper car because anything that gives you backache and a splitting headache after 2 hours, and can make you physically sick after 8 isn't fit for purpose in my book, unless it's a real sportscar like a Lotus Elise in which case it isn't really designed to be used as a proper car and is just a great toy.
I'll leave it there as I'm clearly upsetting people, but it was by far the worst car I ever had, and I include such luminaries as a dull as ditchwater 1.0 Micra and a poverty spec Peugeot 309. At least those cars didn't make you ill if you tried to actually go somewhere in them.
Ari said:
At least those cars didn't make you ill if you tried to actually go somewhere in them.
No, your Prelude made YOU feel ill. I think people's objections mainly stem from a few things you've offered up as facts but in reality are opinion (i.e. what you've said about relative performance, reliability, ergonomics and sick-making potential). You're entitled to the opinion but you can't complain if other people argue with more measurable elements of your posts as being inaccurate based on published stats and the experience of a wider sample.
Agree with you about them making a lot of sense at Shed money though. They are a lot of car for £600-1000.
I loved my Prelude:
It was a 1986 2.0i 16 GSi (not 16v.....16!) It was a pretty rare 2nd gen model (around 80 imported I was once told) which had the engine from the 3rd gen. 135bhp if I remember correctly.
It didn't have the 4-wheel steering, but it did have a badge with 4WALB on the back, which in English meant ABS! It did work too....for about 3 weeks until I got cut up by a BMW on the M25 and on slamming the brakes on, nearly hit the back of him as the ABS pump went mental like I was on ice....on a dry day. Needless to say I pulled the fuse, removed the bulb and went back to regular brakes!
I was told recently by a Honda nut that the GSi was supposed to be a lighter version of a model they had in the USA. Had quite a few toys....leccy sunroof, leccy windows, leccy mirrors, pop-up headlamps, PAS. I lost so much money on it you wouldn't believe it! Sold it to a guy who lived 15 miles away in the village I now live in. But that was in 2002 and it's gone now
It was made of rust and filler, and the petrol tank leaked if you brimmed it (which is what you needed to do because it used to guzzle it pretty badly....mind you I was 18 at the time). Memories of an indicated 135mph down Poulner Hill near Ringwood at about 4pm remind me of care-free times when I was a complete t
t!
On the positive side, the gearchange was as sweet as I've ever had since and it was very comfy. Most of the electrics still worked and if you had one today you could genuinely use it.
If I had the money at the right time and another popped up, I'd buy it in a shot and re-live being 18 all over again!
It was a 1986 2.0i 16 GSi (not 16v.....16!) It was a pretty rare 2nd gen model (around 80 imported I was once told) which had the engine from the 3rd gen. 135bhp if I remember correctly.
It didn't have the 4-wheel steering, but it did have a badge with 4WALB on the back, which in English meant ABS! It did work too....for about 3 weeks until I got cut up by a BMW on the M25 and on slamming the brakes on, nearly hit the back of him as the ABS pump went mental like I was on ice....on a dry day. Needless to say I pulled the fuse, removed the bulb and went back to regular brakes!
I was told recently by a Honda nut that the GSi was supposed to be a lighter version of a model they had in the USA. Had quite a few toys....leccy sunroof, leccy windows, leccy mirrors, pop-up headlamps, PAS. I lost so much money on it you wouldn't believe it! Sold it to a guy who lived 15 miles away in the village I now live in. But that was in 2002 and it's gone now
It was made of rust and filler, and the petrol tank leaked if you brimmed it (which is what you needed to do because it used to guzzle it pretty badly....mind you I was 18 at the time). Memories of an indicated 135mph down Poulner Hill near Ringwood at about 4pm remind me of care-free times when I was a complete t
t!On the positive side, the gearchange was as sweet as I've ever had since and it was very comfy. Most of the electrics still worked and if you had one today you could genuinely use it.
If I had the money at the right time and another popped up, I'd buy it in a shot and re-live being 18 all over again!
Only thing I ever hated about my Prelude (and the reason I sold it) was the lack of rear space. They should of done away with the back seats and just made it a 2 seater Coupe. I'm not tall by any stretch (5'10) but having the seat in a position that was comfortable for me meant the driver’s seat was pretty much touching the rear seats.
Madness.
Madness.
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