A Couple Hundred Hours Later...

[gimp]

Sure thing. All in all, it wasn't that bad. The power is addictive, and the ease of mods is really nice. I only had the car for under a year, but it belong to my neighbor since new, so I was aware of any and all issues it had, which were pretty much none.

I didn't like it because the car handled terribly. Skinny tires (even on the 225 Azenis) combined with lots-o-power and a terrible turning radius meant cornering stunk, even with the limited slip.

Ultimately that, and the safety issues with the car (it crashes very poorly) were the reasons I got rid of the car. That, and I was able to sell it for more than I bought it for, so I could use some of that money on my new house.

Don't let me scare you into thinking you bought a lemon - all in all the car isn't that bad, but I wanted a daily autocrosser that could be competitive, and the SRT-4 wasn't it (not like the ti is either!). The car goes to CSP or STU and is out classed in both spots. Do some of the more fun mods and you're in SM, and good luck with that.

Invest in a check valve, lots of zip ties, and some good, strong t-bolt clamps to start. Personally, I wouldn't go to a big IC until you have a larger turbo that needs it, because that means you loose the front crash bar - car gets mushy and even less safe.

Search around on the SRTforums for my name, I've got a few good posts there, but while you're here:


My old SRT4 with my old turbo Accent






At the Atlanta Pro-Solo DoubleCross

[gimp]

Catch Can info and routing:

[gimp]

[RidingSimple]

Wow Gimp, thanks for the info!
I wasn't too particularly impressed with the handling back in 04, but it's been such a long time since I drove one that I was thinking I might like it.

The local one that had me thinking was a silver 04 (with the damn moonroof though!), 37K miles, 2 owner, clean title for $11.8K. I was thinking if I could get it for $10.5-11 I might bite, but I don't think the car is for me really. Thanks again though, I appreciate the insight!

[gimp]

That's a pretty decent deal. Truth is, for not much more than 12K you can pick up a turbo Cobalt which has all the good power, and handles MUCH better.

SRT4s have been made to handle, but it just takes much more work.

[mgbman69]

Yeah, like Gimp was saying. The new turbo cobalts are amazing, I'd say they handle at the same level as the Integra Type R. That's saying a lot!

Try one before you settle on an SRT-4

[RidingSimple]

.....a 1998 Honda Prelude Type SH

Notes:
-One owner
-51K original miles
-all original paint and body panels
-$4500 in service records neatly organized in a spreadsheet in a manila folder
-Only mod is Red JDM "H" badges. lol
-Never been modified (other than a really nice alarm)
-Car is only on second set of tires, that tells you how it was babied
-Still on original brake rotors and pads, with over 50% life left, gotta love Hondas
-Water pump, timing belt, all struts, drive belts, etc are all new within the past 2 years. Previous owner was so dedicated he did the timing belt based on the 7 yr rule, vs the 100K mile rule....great for me!

Driving the car:
-My good friend in college had a stock red Type SH, so I was really familiar with the car. I forgot how little torque steer (if any) the car has and that ATTS system works wonders in the twisties. Looking under this car, the suspension design is light years ahead of the ti, and the suspension components in general are *very* beefy. (swaybars are huge for stock, mounts really tight and solid).
-The motor is a nice surprise torquewise, at 2.2 liters, even before the VTEC switchover, it pulls nicely. The car is deceptively quick (not fast), and pulls all the way to 7500 like nothing.
-Boy I miss these Honda gear boxes! (have owned a 00 Civic Si, 06 RSX-S, and a lot of seat time in my Dads 00 NSX-T). The gear interchange is real snick snick (not S2000 snick snick, but close). It just shifts really well.

I do miss having a BMW, but I have always defined myself as a German *and* Japanese car lover. BMW does things Honda could never do and vise versa.

So far, I removed the ugly stock mud flaps/guards, and detailed the wheel wells and insides of the wheels. The rest of the car is damn near perfect, I get more looks and questions in this than any car I've owned. It is visually stunning in person (despite the stock ride height lol).

I plan on keeping it Honda OE stock as best I can to preserve the value. The price I paid was very good, and I truly feel these will go up in value in the near future in this condition.

As I always preach to people, these are the types of car I drive and recommend others shop for (1-2 owners, all records, no accidents, mint condition, reputable owner, etc, etc).

A few photos after the wheel/wheel well detailing and a quick wash.

[RidingSimple]

Interior still smells new.

Could eat off the engine bay.

[RidingSimple]

Last set.


After scrubbing inside of wheel (needs a clay or light steel wool to get the baked on brake dust spots....I plan on buying a light set of Mugen 16's and taking these off to preserve with a full inner/outer refinish at some point). Interesting point: The stock SH wheels were made by Enkei for Honda, I saw the stamp on the inside spoke, pretty cool.

[Jean H.318TI]

hella clean looks brand new

[wolferj-RIP]

Very nice and clean. Great find!

I previoulsly owned a late model prelude as well, and it was pretty much indestructable... Drove it to 175K, always having fun.

People seem to forget that while the e36 M3 was ranked best handling car, this gen prelude was ranked best handling car for less than $35K when it was new...

[mgbman69]

Nice find! You'll love a build quality and ease of maintenance/modification. Of it's era the only FWD that would out handle it was a Integra Type R.

Great car man! Start putting some suspension on it!

[RidingSimple]

Well that lasted 8 days.
Sold it and made a grand.
Looking into E28/E30 models now.

[tiFreak]

Originally Posted by gimp

omg, I just noticed the badge

E28s are sechs

[RidingSimple]

Here is the new rig.