DILEMMA!!! Options

[jshawn96]

Ok. My first car was a 95 VTECH Honda Prelude and I loved it, but wrecked it. Then I got my 96 Celica ST and have just about finished a $4000 dollar 3sgte engine swap. But I just found a local seller that is selling a 2000 Prelude with 72,000 miles on it for $4000. My dilemma is: Should I sell my newly swapped celica for 6-8 thousand and get the prelude, or keep the celica?

[jjbenzo]

I had bought a two year old Prelude Type SH back in 1999. The car had only 18,000 miles on it. It was the biggest piece of crap I have owned to date. After just one week of owning it the whole bottom end had to be replaced (by Honda) and thereafter the car was in the shop on a monthly basis. I finally sold it back in 2002 with about 42,000 miles on it. The car was junk. I would stick with the Celica if those are your only two options.

[thecanyon2k4]

I had bought a two year old Prelude Type SH back in 1999. The car had only 18,000 miles on it. It was the biggest piece of crap I have owned to date. After just one week of owning it the whole bottom end had to be replaced (by Honda) and thereafter the car was in the shop on a monthly basis. I finally sold it back in 2002 with about 42,000 miles on it. The car was junk. I would stick with the Celica if those are your only two options.

Must have been a lemon from the factory...the prelude is a cornerstone in the honda line-up and are built very well...even though the A/T is dreadful.

I would keep the celica as you will NEVER have to worry about a thief stealing your car, and as far I know, the 3s-ge (197hp with variable valve timing, correct?) would be the equivelance to the prelude H22, and the gte being the equivelance to a turbo h22...so you'll be able to match hp wise, even though the prelude is heavier ( it weighs at about 3800 lbs).

[FortuneCookie]

I had bought a two year old Prelude Type SH back in 1999. The car had only 18,000 miles on it. It was the biggest piece of crap I have owned to date. After just one week of owning it the whole bottom end had to be replaced (by Honda) and thereafter the car was in the shop on a monthly basis. I finally sold it back in 2002 with about 42,000 miles on it. The car was junk. I would stick with the Celica if those are your only two options.

Must have been a lemon from the factory...the prelude is a cornerstone in the honda line-up and are built very well...even though the A/T is dreadful.

I would keep the celica as you will NEVER have to worry about a thief stealing your car, and as far I know, the 3s-ge (197hp with variable valve timing, correct?) would be the equivelance to the prelude H22, and the gte being the equivelance to a turbo h22...so you'll be able to match hp wise, even though the prelude is heavier ( it weighs at about 3800 lbs).

Almost true. I HAVE a manual Prelude H22. 4th Gen (92-97) "H22" Preludes have 195bhp stock. 5th Gen (98-02) Preludes comes with S and SH versions both equipped with H22. Only difference is S comes 200bhp and SH comes 210bph stock due to compression and are way different than the 4th Gen Prelude's H22, thus not being feasible engine swap (I would explain but too much to explain. Go look it up and you'll understand why the swap isn't feasible to the 4th Gen H22). That 220hp statement earlier is bull. The H22 build is really good for N/A build due to very high compression. Turbo is a different story for the H22. They are 'very' quick cars for their weight. And no, they do not weigh 3800lbs. If they did, they would be extremely slow. My Prelude weighs 2790lb and that's a 4th Gen Prelude. 5th Gen Preludes weigh 100lb more.

Our Celicas weigh 2450lb-2600lb depending on your chassis (ST, GT, GTS, GTFOUR). If I'd go to something similar to the Prelude's buildup, I'd go after the BEAMs engine 3S-GE VVTi. You will have lighter weigh car than the Prelude and also as much horsepower as the SH Preludes (210bhp). As for the Prelude's handling, it does not handle as well as my Celica. It's easier to "STEER" no doubt, but the Prelude (due to it's weight) always seems to weight shift alot while trying to handle curves and will eventually oversteer. I have yet to upgrade the suspension and see how it does. But without a doubt, the Celica handles way better when it comes to gripping curves.

But since you have a 3SGTE swapped in, you might as well keep it. There are way more things to do when doing a Turbo'd H22. That's why not alot of people have it. And not many have reached past 400hp. The 3SGTE as EVERYONE knows is probably one of the best turbo'd 4cyl out there today and they have very good potential of reaching 500hp+. Alot of people has proven that esp with the MR2s.

This post has been edited by FortuneCookie: Aug 6, 2007 - 6:53 PM