R.I.P Prelude, hello FRS. (review)
 

New owner here, my 92 Prelude SI was stolen and trashed. So time for an upgrade.

I worked on my Prelude three years ago when I was 16 and never thought I would ever let it go. Now the things I miss about the prelude was the uniqueness, the digital gauges, and the nostalgia it brought to former prelude owners wanting to talk to me. TBH I'll buy one again in the future (: Those H series motors pull, and they pull hard.

Now onto the next. Here's my review coming from my prelude.

Interior: 8.5/10
Coming from the price point of 25,000 I didn't expect much of luxury, but I expected to attention to detail. This consists of touch points in the car such as the steering wheel, Brushed pedals, shift knob, the leatherette touch points like knee pads and door arm rests. The only complaint is the AC Controls but even those I only touch once per car ride. Seating is spot on, steering wheel feel as well, and clutch and shifter are relatively short which isn't a bad thing.

Exterior: 9/10
Lots of curves, bodacious butt, and aggressive front. 2015's look amazing with shark fin and larger exhausts. Aftermarket Aero makes a lot of room for customization. Rims personally look good, aftermarket is a little over the top for me with this car already being so flashy. I'm more about that OEM+

Engine and drive feel: 10/10
Comparing from my prelude 160hp and 156 tq. This car does not feel anemic, but it does make you work for its power. Driving hard consists of shifting into 3rd or 4th and really engaging the driver, now if you want a car to stomp on the pedal and accelerate I'm sorry but this isn't the car for you. This car is built to really involve the driver when wanting to have fun. Shifting from neutral to first is a tad hard to get smooth but this is my first manual car. Comparing driving from my brother's Civic SI the clutch engagement is relatively high and i'm sorry but Honda's shifters are smooth like butter. Taking hard turns have turned into a smile because this car simply has hardly any body roll. Merging onto freeways really pushing revs high has turned into a competition of how well I can control the car, and turning into merging 35mph freeways at speeds well beyond that really makes one's drive worth it.

Overall:
You're not paying for the engine in this car, you're paying for the chassis, you're paying for the feel you get in how much it engages the driver through bends, through the relatively short shifts, you're paying for a car that will make your daily driving a reward instead of a boring car ride. Now if you want a car that can accelerate with low driver involvement this isn't the car for you.

Complaints:
1.AC Controls are cheap
2. I suck at first gear in this car
3. Few cabin noises on a new car already
Edited* 4. Personally I believe this car should only be available in manual, as coming from the Honda Community the S2k, Civic SI's are only available as manual. As a business major it creates a car that is only marketed towards car enthusiasts who want to have a little bit more control over the average car. It's almost as though when you see a S2k only being available in manual the crowd it markets too really diminishes into a car enthusiasts car as not everybody can drive it. This is just me though, as I've heard the automatic in these cars really do a good job.

That's a damn shame about what happened to your Prelude. I love that body style. Nice pictures of it too. You will find that most people on the forum agree on most of the points you said.

Also, you should look into the DIY for clutch height adjustment, and for removing the spring that's attached to the clutch pedal. Doing both makes it feel way better in my opinion. I hate the "recurve bow" feel of most modern sports cars with spring-assisted clutches.

You have an interesting attitude for a 19-year old. Welcome to the forum!

Oh alright thanks! I'll look into it (:

What makes you say that? Haha and thanks man

Well done review! Exact reasons why I want this car in the same color. I had a two generation older '87 Prelude Si back in the day. Loved the low hood, that today, would feel like I'd be peering over a rear-engine exotic compared to today's vehicles with high cowls and side windows. Handling was top notch too especially for a FWD vehicle. The interiors in 2nd generation 83-87 Preludes were not the best, but great car nonetheless. Really hard to find a stock model from the late 80's and 90's that hasn't been butchered, trashed or badly modified (oh, and has a manual transmission).

Agree this car makes you work hard for the power, but that's part of the fun/involvement. Welcome!

Oh man I can't even imagine. Yeah there's just something about older cars that really give you a raw feeling of handling, and that sense of nostalgia of driving a car that people can't even buy anymore really makes it unique.

Thanks, I looked at your build and nice mod list! It's always great to see function over form. Personally I think the quality of mods through function on a build are what really differentiates a quality build from an all show and no go build haha

Nice review, I agree with everything you said. About the A/C controls -- order a set of milled dress up rings. They not only look good, but they make the controls feel better, ie. less "vague".



http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y44...pse0376e6a.jpg

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First off, congratulations on the new car, sucks to here about the prelude.


Just commenting on what I quoted, this being just my opinion. That's a little closed minded to assume that anyone who bought the auto is a teenager buying the car for looks, from what im reading aren't you also a teenager? I don't know many uninformed teenagers who bought this car at all, not saying there isn't any. Majority of the people I see in these cars bought them as a project and are true gearheads looking for a good drivers car. I bought the auto, not because I cant drive a standard trans, but after test driving both, I preferred the paddles, theyre far better than the bad impression given to people 10 years ago on other cars where they weren't so good. Its fun when I want, and I can just leave it in auto with all assist on when im doing my daily commute in the city. If I were buying this purely as a weekend toy/track car, I would have wanted the stick.


Just trying to give you a little insight before you make assumptions like that. Theres quite a few people on this forum who bought the auto because they enjoyed the paddles.

If I'm being honest, the automatic transmission these come with is probably one of the best automatics in any car below $80k. Don't hate.


From,
A 6-speed driver with a very strong left leg due to Long Island traffic

Thanks and yeah I'm more function over form, but I'll take both if possible! :)

BTW there are some really nice builds on this forum if you browse the member pages.

Sorry about that, that's very much true. I guess coming from the Honda scene I really appreciated that the s2000's, and Civic SI's only came in manual , thus anyone who wanted a sports car of Honda's really had one choice which was to learn manual. As a business major I really appreciated this because it primarily marketed it towards people in the car enthusiast scene. But yeah I get what your saying (: I heard the GTI dual clutch transmission is spot on amazing haha

Haha right? Only so much money to go around though (:

Yeah some really nice builds! Maybe after I reach the 3 year or 36000 mark on my FRS, build threads love to tempt me into non warranted policy products haha!

I had a boosted 4g 'lude. It was still a fat pig.

That's awesome bro (: well good thing you have the finances to buy a new car aye?

Ya. I've probably had 15 cars since then. Actually, I kinda liked the Preludes. Wife (gf at the time) had a 5th gen SH. It was pretty nice.

Oh nice, they're nothing flashy for sure. Honestly its a really plain car to look at especially compared to the FRS which exterior is already really nice haha. I guess I really liked the prelude because to really make it your own, parts for it are really hard to find and not many of them are out there. Also the A pillars and D pillars were extremely narrow so blind spots were small. Besides that the FRS is alot more nimble and an upgrade in almost all ways lol

Hey, great review and congrats on the car. Just be careful with the traction control, especially because this is your first rwd/manual car. From personal experience i prefer the darn thing of at all times.

Nice Review. A lot of the interior pieces of the BRZ, including the heater controls, feel a lot more mature and refined.

I'm going to have to argue with you over they should only offer this car in a manual. Car enthusiasts make up maybe 10% of FRS/BRZ owners, the company cannot afford to make a new platform only targeted towards this 10%. It would only help ensure the car isn't produced for as long, kill the number of aftermarket parts market and limit the size of the community.

Hello there from a fellow Honda/Acura owner! The one thing I miss coming from my old DB2 is the linear power haha, but you do get used to it quick.

Yeah I know, what it can do economically to the cars longevity. Toyota knows by having an available auto the market of the FRS is increased substantially, being known for all its accolades in driving, sharp looks, not bad on insurance because of "4" seater, and in available in automatic!? Jeez who wouldn't want this car? I'm just saying I like Honda's stand on its scene by differentiating there sports cars from the rest.

Yeah I agree haha, oh db2?? Those had the automatic moving seatbelts right? Haha those were really cool (:

Welcome! Looked like you had a nice Lude. I had a 91 2.0Si myself, fucking loved that car. I want to pick up another one and drop a H22 in it.

Ooooohh damn! The prelude with the flip ups? That retro prelude is personally one of my favorites too haha. You hardly ever see any nicely build third gen preludes but on the occasion you do, its like looking at a baby nsx haha

Yup, that's the one. Us 3rd genners always referred to it as the baby NSX, LOL.

Had some rust but I thought she was sexy.

It really is, there's just something about older cars plain body lines that really appeal to me. Lol

You bet your booty. Love that little car and haven't sold it yet. Will be a sad day when I finally do. That little b17a1 screams up to 8k and the short gearing on it so much fun.

Yeah my friend has the same one, that cars trunk space is pretty big haha. Plus its a Honda, when it breaks, you can upgrade the motor to vtec for just like $800. Lol old honda's are fun projects and really got me into learning more about cars.

Yes, and the pop-up headlights, cassette player and sound equalizer made it extra special. Good for the "Awesome Mix Tapes" from "Guardians of the Galaxy".

I swear, the FR-S is one of the few cars today that doesn't look like it has a bulbous nose to deal with the pedestrian protection regulations.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...fatter-feature

Another of my favorites from the era was the Ferrari Testarossa.

I always have a soft spot for Prelude - it's one of my dream cars when I was younger.
But Honda's direction now... F you Honda execs whoever decided to not make interesting cars anymore!

3rd gens are super sexy.

that frontal picture of the prelude is pure gold.

I had owned a similar, fourth-generation (non-Vtec) Prelude for many years, it was an automatic mainly for the ladies in the family, but I drove it regularly.

Compared with the Prelude, I would add the following observation that Toybaru has:

1 Better visibility, especially for the rear quarters;

2 Much worse quality, a 2-year old Toybaru has more rattles and vibration than a 20-year old Prelude;

3 Shorter range, primarily due to its smaller fuel tank, but fuel consumption is similar;

4 Much choppier ride, despite a slightly longer wheelbase, probably due to minimal wheel travel;

5 Much better handling, being rear-wheel drive and lower centre-of-gravity;

6 Much nosier and a very different tune, the Honda F22A1 engine came with a counter-rotating shaft that quiet things down significantly; and

7 Even less room in the back.

Of course the two are not strictly comparable. Most of the difference is acceptable and expected, the big surprise is the much higher level of quality and refinement of a 20+ year old Honda compared with the Toybaru.

@jaorocks1 hey man welcome to the club!! My 92 prelude was stolen, trashed, and recovered also! i spent 3 months parting it out and selling all the parts and waited forever for the fr-s to come out! we have a similar story :) I also had the SI (h23) and i lovvved it. FR-S was for sure the next best thing. I will never forget my prelude for the same reasons you described in ur original post. Thanks for sharing and im glad to see someone out there with nearly my EXACT same story

On number 1 are you saying the prelude is better for visibility or FRS? Because for me its the Prelude for the rear quarters. I agree on everything else lol

Haha something about the prelude that makes it unique you know? Don't know if its the torque, non flashy body lines, no cupholders, digital gauges or huge engine bay. The prelude lacked what other Honda sports cars that proceeded it had, and that's nimbleness it didn't feel like a light car but sure as heck felt like a well built car, especially being that old.

I will have to say very nice upgrade from a honda to a fr-s. Especially being 19. Not only that but if you did not tell us your age, i would have assumed you were older due to your writing and punctuation. LOL. I been on ht to much in the past >_<.

May i ask what are your next steps on this car build wise?

Yeah, I really owe all the thanks to my parents. Once done with college I really want to pay them back somehow, through vacation experiences, a BMW 7 Series, or even a down payment on their dream house.

Honestly build wise, I don't plan on doing much. Have you ever seen a molested supra with a ton of aero and engine mods? Now keep that thought, have you ever seen an untouched Manual Twin Turbo Supra completely stock and unmolested? For me the beauty of a car really holds its value when it gets older when it's just simple and clean. I'm not saying our cars are Supra's but it is a car that really changed the game of production for car makers. Besides the point, here's my mod list:

First 36,000 or 3 years:
K&N Filter $50
MTEC Shift springs $35
Toyota Badges $55
Subtle CF front lip I don't know which yet $400+
I'll tryout Unichip $365
BlueBatMan tailight overlay $?

After 36,000 or 3 years:
FT86 Speedfactory header
RCE Yellow lowering springs
Crawford Billet Block (This is godly expensive for what it is and I hope it goes on sale)


Decided not to go exhuast, 2015 Exhaust tips are actually really nicely sized and dear god a full catback no matter how little the drone will annoy me as it did my prelude.

This car is a huge investment for my parents in me, they decided to get me a new car to get me places, not to go fast. As thankful as I am to my parents to have gotten me a sports car, I'm somebody who will hit Cruise Control at 65 mph to save gas, only every now and then slowing down to 60 just to drop it into 3rd or 4th and haul ass to 75 to get that rush.