Hi everyone.

I wondered if anyone here had any experience with Honda Preludes? The reason why I'm asking is I find they are beginning to intrigue me. Approximately one and a half years ago I purchased an 05' Accord coupe six speed. It is one of the BEST automobiles I have owned. It was my first Honda product, replacing a 97' 530. Throughout the years I've heard people praise their Honda products and continually read reviews in various publications where Honda products were often compared to models of other manufacturers. I have no intention off selling my Accord, but noticing the extremely strong following of Prelude owners, I wouldn't mind trying one first hand. As my knowledge of them at this point is somewhat limited, I thought I would ask the knowledgeable members of this forum what specifics I should be aware of. Any particular model years more desirable than others? Trim levels and packages? Current prices for pristine examples?

Thanks to everyone in advance.

 

Terry:

I've always been a fan of Preludes.

Personally, I'd get a 2001 (the last year they were made) SH model.

It debuted the SH part of SH-AWD, though it was done so as a front wheel drive vehicle. That Prelude model simply refused to understeer like a normal FWD should! It had amazing handling. The body is very strong and stiff, especially for its time. This resulted in excellent handling and very few if any creaks and squeeks over bumps. Ride is very acceptable and will feel similar to your Accord coupe. Steering feel is excellent. Some consider the interior boring, I think it was absolutely perfect. Simple controls and no whacky styling that will look ridiculous 5 or 10 years down the road (cough cough current Civic and '92 - '96 Prelude)

I've been trying to find a mint condition Pearl White or Electron Blue Prelude SH model with little success. Most of the Preludes for sale are either the 4 speed auto (it has sportshift) or the base 5 speed manual.

 

Terry,

Ken has a lot of good info there. I personally prefer the 92-96 Preludes. They've got timeless styling, and the VTEC variety introduced in 93, made 190hp. With the electro luminscent guages spanning the dash, I simply loved the interior (must be the age!). As Ken mentioned, I find the interior of the final gen Prelude to be more sedate and boring.

Three trims levels were available for the 92-96 models. S = base with 135hp, SI's which had 160hp and the VTEC which made 190hp. The VTEC was only available with a 5sp manual. In 95 they introduced an "SE" trim (i recall) that sported a leather interior.

 

I sold my 97 SH in 03 and i miss the stick shift . I loved the car around town but got sick of the stick shift on interstate highways and CT turnpike traffic. I travel alot to NYC and Boston and the stick shift just got boring and became a drain after a while. I wish i hadnt sold it though. Here are some pictures.

 

Wow, that's hot. I'd love to get one of those as a DD. =]

 

Yeah, after I bought my CLS 6spd (my first H/A product) and surfed the honda sites, I realized that the preludes (and especially the SH model), where highly sought out cars.

I think that the Prelude SH and the Legend 6spd coupes w/ the 230hp type II motor are probably 2 of the most sort after honda/acura products out there.... They both have a cult following.

 

love the last gen preludes. i was looking for a 2001 5mt before i decided on a tsx.

http://www.preludeonline.com/

 

Like this one ??

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=204479888

edit: oops... that's a 2000MY, not a 2001..

 

that dealer has some great prices on their cars. 02 AV6 coupe 5AT w/62k for 10,995.00 w/leather, moonroof, 17's, etc. damn that is cheap. that prelude is a great deal too.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. As GreenMonster has stated, I didn't realize until recently that they are as sought out as they are. I've seen a pearl white example locally which is just beautiful. In fact most of the cars I have seen seem to be unmodified and in excellent condition. I've picked up the AutoTrader the last few weeks and have yet to see one for sale. Thanks again for the info thus far, as its pointed me in a few different directions of research.

I can't recall exactly, but I believe in a 1997 issue "Car and Driver" determined a Honda Prelude was one of the best handling cars available at any price. Looks like I'm going to have to go through my collection!

Jack_n_Coke:

Beautiful car. I was curious if the seating surfaces were factory?

 

Terry, I haven't really done my homework on the preludes, but I would think that the cloth interior that I've seen on alot of the cars is the "base" model that Ken refers to. I can't beleive that honda wouldn't offer a leather interior on a car like the prelude SH...

JnC, what's the deal with that interior ??

 

You wanna get a 5spd though and not the autotragic

 

I've owned two Preludes, the last being a '95 Si. Owned a used 85 which loyally got me through college. Honda needs to bring them back since they axed the RSX.

 

My car was completly OEM. Leather that you see is how it came from the factory and also heated seats if you notice. It was a very rare combination, the dealer told me that my car was one of the only hand full that were offered in that combination i.e. Milano Red (i think thats what the name of that color is) plus the red and black leather. The only two things that i did to the car were put an Apexi exhaust a JDM Prelude SiR OEM strut bar (i am pointing at it in one of the pictures). Also notice the embroided Honda "H" on the seats. I miss that car

 

^ did you buy it new? cuz a 97 would have been san marino red not milano (99-01). heated seats were only offered in canadian preludes in the se model.

your paint color deff looks like a 99-01 since its a lighter red (milano) since san marino looks blood red (97-98)

 

Mine was a 97 so it has to be San Marino, I recall Milano because i bought touch up paint once with that name. And yes i bought it used from a local Honda tech. Not sure if it was a Canadian Model but he was a local and the car was indeed registered in MA before i bought it

 

My cousin has a Lude

They have a really small backseat

and it has that stupid storage thing in between the back seats that Integras have. 3 people in the back will be really cramped.

AND the center console sticks out way too far in the back, which means anyone who gets in the back left seat will have to twist and turn or bring their foot over the console to sit down.

When there's someone in the back and we get on those cloverleaf offramps or we hit a bump it will rub (no drop.... but stock struts)

Otherwise it's a really nice car, the ATs are slow though.

In summation, do not do the nasty in the back seat because it's really cramped and the car will rub.

 

wow JnC that thing was a beauty and all stock, wow...

 

Yup, i didnt BSed around the motor or fucked with the suspension. It was an impulse buy, i saw it for sale infront of someone's drive way and put down a deposit right then and there. .. Drove it for a year before selling it to a guy who works for Foxwoods Casino. I posted it on autotrader and he called me the same day saying he is coming over the next day to pick up the car. I think that was the quickest i ever sold a car. He showed up the next day with a bank check, I wrote the title to his name and off he went. I am 6'1'', which is an average height and even though i didnt lower the car or anything but getting in and out was a pain and the stick shift on long routes, specially driving to NYC and getting stuck on I-95 all the time got boring and tiresome.

 

I had the same issue when I get stuck in traffic... love my 6spd, but I might just have to buy a "automatic commuter car" next time around and maybe buy something sporty for the weekends...

 

Dude, it wasn't designed to carry 3 people in the back. From every brochure, review, and such, it was listed as a 2+2. That means the back can only hold 2 people. Did you also notice that there were only 2 seat belts in the back too?

 

How tall are you? I was very set on getting a prelude untill I actually sat in one for the first time. I didnt fit very well (i'm 6'3)

 

I'm a Prelude owner myself. In fact, I've had two Preludes before. My first car was a 90 Prelude (3rd gen), and my second car was the 98 Prelude SH (5th and last gen) which I still have. I love how Honda designed the 5th gen (97-01) with some of the exterior design ques from the 3rd gen (88-91), and they modernized it. The interior design, as someone has already mentioned, is just perfect. I don't feel boring at all. My 5th gen was my daily commuter car, as well as weekend warrior at auto-x's and tracks, for the past 7-1/2 years and has served me very nicely. Since April this year, it had been my dedicated track car, and eventually I was going to turn it into a race car. Too bad, my aggression caused me to make one little mistake on the track and blew the motor. Now the car just sits on the driveway with no motor in it. I miss it alot, especially when I'm at the track because I could hang with some faster cars. It will eventually get rebuilt and back on the track someday.

Here are couple pics of my 5th gen.....in action during the auto-x.

 

Great thread, I've always been intrigued by Preludes!

 

Yea, but certain circumstances in the past meant that me and my friends had to either fit 5 in the Prelude, or take 2 cars (which is very inconvenient considering gas prices) I didn't say that it didn't fit 3 in the backseat very well for a 5-seater, I just said that it didn't fit 3 in the back very well in general.

Also my seemingly Civic coupe somehow manages to be roomier in the back and also have a seatbelt for a person sitting in the middle.

Anyway since your motor is blown.... drop a Euro R H22 in there!

 

Hey bro,

When I sold my CL-S last november, I decided to get an '01 5mt Prelude. For the year that I've owned it, it has been a pretty solid car. The only problem(s) that I ran into were the timing belt/auto-tensioner, and the clutch master cylinder. The timing belt and auto-tensioner seem to go out around 60-80k, which in turn is about a $650 job. Many people switch to the h23 manual tensioner since they supposedly don't break as easily, but it's more labor intensive. The clutch master cylinder went out on me as well, which was about a $250 fix ( I replaced the slave as well ). Besides that, the car has been great. I avg. about 24-26mpg 50city/50hwy which isn't bad as well. As mentioned, I think the interior is perfectly designed. I have 2 roommates that are about 6'5" that I've crammed into the backseat SEVERAL times and it works. It's not exactly the comfiest, but it works, so keep that in mind. The back seat is extremely small, but it does the job.

If you plan on heavily modding the car (FI), you should probably stay away from the Type-SH. In addition, about the SH, unless you plan on driving the car hard, the SH is almost pointless. If you check out the forums, there are plenty of explanations as to why. The SH is another 60lb heavier i believe (50-100lbs, not too sure). Ummmm....the car only takes Premium gas, so take that into consideration. The car is very easy to drive, as the clutch is pretty soft, and the shifting is smooth. As for speed, they're not the quickest around, but they can hold their own. The're mostly low-mid 15sec cars, with a top end that shines. Not much power down low as there isn't tons of torque, so if you plan on zippin' around, make sure to be in VTEC land. I'm sure I could think of some other stuff, but I'll stop here. If you can, check out:

www.preludeonline.com - you have to pay for it though
www.preludepower.com
www.socalprelude.com

Those are my 3 favorite. There are a couple others, like absoluteprelude.com, but I'm not much of a fan. I should be posting some pics of my ride by this weekend, as I haven't posted any of it yet ;(.

`John

 

Nah...it doesn't have enough power. IIRC, EuroR and TypeS H22's are making about 220hp at the crank. That's probably 190-200hp at the wheels. My motor made more than that before I it blew. It was dyno'd at 209hp at the wheels. I need to be making at least 230hp at the wheels to be somewhat competitive in Honda Challenge H1 class. The day I blew the motor was the day I was testing out my car to guage how slow my car was as compared to the fast H1 cars. I was about 7 seconds off the pace.

It's probably cheaper for me to buy just a H22 and build it up again.

 

Thanks for the info John. I've been actively looking for a week, but so far no luck. I'm not interested in modifying the car just yet, but perhaps down the road. Being new to the honda family with my six speed accord and absolutely enjoying it, I'm very much interested in owning and driving a car that seems to be revered by most honda enthusiasts.

 

I'm sure you will find one soon...