I just found a new love. Move over maxima its time for a prelude.

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Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
I had a 97 Prelude SH. It was a great car. Handling was awesome. Ok 0-60. Needs a little more torque but when you hit 5700 RPM the VTEC kicks in like crazy taking you to 7500 in no time.

The one major problem I had with the car was with the digital ignition. It would flake out on me quite often. The engine just wouldn't turn on no matter what I did (and I tried everything). One time I was caught in downtown traffic so I decided to do an illegal K-Turn when I screwed up and stalled my car completely perpendicular to oncoming traffic. When I try to start my car, nothing. Just a click. For two minutes I'm there trying to start my car blocking two lanes of traffic (the SH has a really, really bad turning radius), causing gridlock the opposite way. Finally, the ignition decides to turn on and I sped off like a mofo.

Going to pick up my new 2001 M3 in January. Now that's a real car.
 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
91
Everclear:

Do you really know from firsthand experience that there is no limiter over 140 MPH? I bet there is a story there!
 
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
91
Everclear:

Do you really know from firsthand experience that there is no limiter over 140 MPH? I bet there is a story there!
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
I'm thinkin' my next car will be a late 80's/early 90's Prelude with AWS. I love my Accord, & a Prelude seems like a logical step.

Viper GTS
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,514
42
91
Yes, the late model Preludes were a bit slower in the straight line than the Maxima, but bear in mind that the Maxima with an automatic is "only" supposed to have a 0-60 time of 7.2 sec, as opposed to the 6.7 or so with a manual. My mother has a 98 Maxima SE, and it is a lot of fun to drive. That said, I personally feel that the interior of my 88 Accord is in better shape than the Maxima's was when new. The buttons, switches, &c. just don't have the same positive feel that is common to Honda's, the chassis, steering, suspension, and engine are devine though. If you want a sports car, get the Prelude, it has always been Honda's tech showcase. It debuted Honda's "ALB" (Anti Lock Brake) system in 1989, Mechanical 4WS in the early 80's and electronic 4WS in the late 80's, VTEC, ATTS in the new models. The Prelude is a great machine. As for Noxipoo, some people will call anything from Japan a "rice car", including an NSX.

Aaron Meyer
 

Cretin

Senior member
Nov 7, 2000
269
0
0
I like Honda, but in my opinion the new Preludes are ugly. Ugly dammit! What the hell did they do to the design? They friggen butchered it! How could they do that?

I like the older model better... I forget which year it was when they had the nice one. 96, 97? I find that model (not the latest dammit) looks amazing! I don't know how fast it is, but it's gotta be peppy enough... I mean come on, what do they have, 160 or 170hp V-TEC engines? Civics only have 100-120 or so, and unless you buy an Si/SiR, you don't even get V-TEC, and the Civics still seem peppy (well, depends).

Cretin
 

EverClear

Member
Oct 12, 1999
141
0
0
I think it took me three years to really like the look of the new preludes. I thought they were weird at first, but now I like them so I bought one.
 

pdo

Diamond Member
Feb 9, 2000
3,468
0
76
www.pauldophotography.com
Those Prelude are awesome. I got humiliated and squashed one time racing with this 2 fine chicks in a 94 Prelude with my Lexus SC400. For the life of me I couldn't keep up with them on the inner street.
 

agent1

Junior Member
Nov 15, 2000
14
0
0
Are you kidding me? Prelude sucks ass compared to a Maxima. Lets see here a V6 222 horses compared to a 4 banger that only produces 190 horses. The maxima would break open a case of whoop ass on the prelude. By the time the prelude whines up to 7000 rpm the maxima is a 1/4 mile in front. Maxima RULZ!!!!!:Q
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
hehe Paldo. Thats what you get when you try in an automatic if they are in a manual (?)!

agent1

The 0-60 on a 5-spd current-gen maxima is 6.7 seconds. The Prelude is anywhere from 6.9 to 7.2 I've heard (with 5-spd). The auto on each one does 0-60 in about an hour hehe (just kidding).

Not a major different at all, and certainly driver error could make a maxima much slower than the prelude. However, given the prelude has crappy low-end torque it only starts busting ass in the high rpm whereas the maxima will gun it right off the start.

From what I hear a Maxima vs. Prelude at the lights will end up in the maxima quickly getting the lead (say a car length) and then the prelude will hang right with it the rest of the way through the gears...the maxima's top speed is a tad better though. Prelude is something like 138 mph vs. 140+ in a maxima.

And, I've again decided to get a maxima over a prelude next year. The reason being that the maxima is a tad faster (and given it's low end torque if I have to race at lights it will seem quicker if we only gun up to 30 or 40 for instance), isn't any worse on gas, is larger and probabaly much safer, and is actually a tiny bit cheaper! Preludes seem overpriced - or maybe its just that Maximas are such a damn good deal!

Preludes are certainly sweet and handle like a dream...but Maximas just really are the S**t. 6.7 seconds in a foreign sedan of that size for that price is just insane...
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Such a shame it gets crappy gas mileage :( I guess thats a lot of horses to keep happy though :)
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
Agent, its 200HP on the '00. Though it is from a 4 banger.

One thing to really consider, not just 0-60, is also the handling.

I once had an '85 VW GTI 8V and it was awesome. The car wasn't the fastest thing out there by far but the handling and peppy engine were just an amazing combination.

The reason why people who own or have owned (myself included) like this Prelude is because of the decent (not great) acceleration and amazing handling.

When I traded my 97 Prelude SH in for a 98 Lexus GS300 (I got married and had to get serious), I was still used to driving like I was in my Prelude. I usually take this corner near my house at about 50mph with no problem (maybe not to my passengers) but in my GS, the car begins to fishtail, the traction compensation light goes nuts and I get the cr*p scared outta me. My friend has the '99 Maxima SE and he can't do that in his car either without the same happening.

A car purchase shouldn't be made on 0-60 alone. Why do you think people love BMWs and VWs so much? Because they have a good combination of both.

Both are nice cars. I like the styling, handling and VTEC engine in the Prelude but the Maxima is a nice big car (bigger interior than my GS) with an excellent engine and nice looks. Its really a trade off. I have to agreee with Skoorb though, the Prelude is a bit overpriced for what you get but that is because people aren't really buying cars like the Prelude anymore and going to Accords and Maximas which causes Honda to keep its price high. I just hope Honda continues to keep up the line and not have it end up like the 300ZX, RX-7 and Supra (likely).
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
doggiedog

Not only can the maxima not handle as well but maximas don't actually handle very well anyway - What I mean is, at least in 4th gen non-SE models if you were taking a sharp corner that was fine, you'd hold it - unless there were bumps in the road. If there were you better break out the cellphone and call for a tow-truck, cause you're going off!

Thankfully I don't find myseld driving fast around corners much anyway. There is a corner on my way home I take at 80 km/hour and I still have yet to skid around it and frankly I'm too scared to do it (in an imprezza). I need some balls but the point is most people will use straight-out power more often than handling.

I'm sure I'll test drive a prelude but my wife to be really likes the maximas and my father used to have a '95 and until he totalled it I loved the thing.
 

atom

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 1999
4,722
0
0
Too late, Honda is trashing the Prelude and integrating it with the Integra line. :(

My brother should be closing a deal on a 98 prelude sportshift (I know, but he hates the California traffic even more than I do) any day now. I can't wait to test this thing out. :)
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
Ahh come on Skoorb, what's more exhilarating than dashing off 0-60 in under 7 secs? Taking a sharp curve at 70mph and seeing the guard rail next to your window!

Too bad about the Prelude though.

Ahh well I guess I'm going to have to settle for an M3 in January then ;)

BTW Atom, the SH has slightly different handling characteristics from the S.
 

DaBoneHead

Senior member
Sep 1, 2000
489
0
0

Skoorb,

How can you not like an Acura product?

Here are three little letters for you that can change you life:


NSX
 

bigbootydaddy

Banned
Sep 14, 2000
5,820
0
0
cretin, both the civic Si and the EX have vtec, and the si is just as fast as the integra gsr w/ vtec, i dont think you know what youre talking about, and dont tell me you do cause i have an SI, and my cousin has a GSR, we go neck in neck in races, but SI cost like 6k less, and is now a collectors cause they remodel and Si isnt available anymore.

Civic Si is 160hp
Integra is 170 i think
prelude are nice, not ugly.
 

Gibson486

Lifer
Aug 9, 2000
18,378
2
0
Preludes look decent, nothing spectacular. It is more of a "avaergae looking" car. However, if you want to see ugly Preludes, come to Lowell, Ma. They pracrtically ruin the cars. Almost everyone who owns a Prelude pimps it out! I am talking tinted windows, a spoiler that ruins performance (let alone makes it ugly as hell) and low riders that make teh muffler touch a speed bump. Do not even get me started on Accords here....