Anyone Upgrade from a 5th Gen Prelude?

[Ratfish]

Hi, I was wondering if any current NSX drivers here upgraded from a 97 or newer Prelude and how significant they felt the performance increase was over their old car. Or even if any of you have driven a 5th generation prelude a few times and might be able to say whether there are any similarities or what would be starkly different. Odds are that I would get a pre-97 NSX.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[MakeMineRed]

I didnt' upgrade, but my friend in college had a last gen prelude I drove often. I remember it not being as fun as a '93 for some reason...perhaps they smoothed things over too much as the '93's were a little more "mechanical."

Power was good but the noise the car makes gave you the impression that the car was slower than it really was. Other than that fit and finish was outstanding and they were as reliable as any other Honda product...why did they discontinue such a great car?

The NSX is like a Prelude on steroids. Everything seems to be heightened in the NSX; the sounds, the acceleration, the performance and certainly the in your face looks.

Having said that, the NSX, although a great daily driver isn't as comfortable as the Prelude. I'm comfortable in mine, don't get me wrong, but the sounds are louder and the car is more mechanical which reduces the comfort over very long drives...after about 1 1/2 hours I'm ready to get out and stretch.

In essence, it's like a 330i vs M3, an S4 vs. an A4, or more dramatically, a C63 AMG over a Mercedes C300. The same essence, but much more of it. You will definatelty know you're in a Honda, just a very special one.

 

[chumch]

I had an 85 and a 95 vtec prelude. Sometimes I miss the '95. A comparison between prelude and NSX is a tough one. Drive wheels in different places, engines in different places, weight in different places. Not very comparable if you ask me. I did drive the last gen prelude too. Didnt think it was as sporty as the 93-96 (with vtec option). The 93-96 felt lower to the ground.

 

[Khiladi1020]

I used to have a 5th gen prelude (97) for a few years and loved it. Although it was a fun car at the time, it is not even fair to compare it to an NSX. The NSX feels, handles, accelerates, and performs so much more brilliantly than that prelude did. The NSX is a pure focused sports car that happens to be liveable day in and out. The prelude was a "sporty" car, not a sports car, and certainly did not behave like a mid-engine, rear wheel drive exotic. I actually find the seats and driving position in the NSX much better for long drives than the Prelude's. About the only thing the NSX reminds me of to the Prelude is that dang beeping noise that goes off when your key is in the ignition before the car starts.

 

[s14_tat]

i had a few friends that owned a few back in high school. they cannot be compared, while the prelude might've been quick to us back in the day i recently drove one again and the car felt like it was making more noise at WOT than accelerating. The car felt pretty torquey down low, and the structure felt somewhat tight and the shifter felt good. The stock gearing on the lude was extremely short, 70mph in 5th is like 4K rpm.

now compared to the nsx, the steering has leagues more feel, the shifter felt better, down low around town response is similar but when actually being pushed feels much much much faster, the brakes cannot be compared ( than again i'm not on stock pads, stock pads on the nsx sucks ), driving position cannot be compared.

i would say a na1 5 speed should equal to the prelude straight line performance or better it by a little bit if you were racing it and you shift the nsx below v-tec engagement. The gearing is also much taller in the nsx, you can do about 50mph in the 1st, 82mph in 2nd and close to 120mph in 3rd and so on.

the nsx is also a lot tighter of a car structure wise, it has less body roll but rides just as well as a stock prelude.

 

[Ratfish]

Thanks a lot, guys, that was the kind of info I was looking for. What is it specifically about the prelude's engine that gives it that torquey off the line feel? Is it the aforementioned gearing? So if you geared an NSX like a prelude it would just be a ridiculous tire-shredder?

 

[kwinkler]

I have a 2001 Prelude that I still use as my daily driver. Its a great car but nothing like the NSX. Although, my Prelude has quite a bit of audio equipement, so its lost a little bit of it nimbleness. However, I do manage to drive the hell out of the Lude, probably just more of a comfort factor from 7 years plus of driving the car. I have had my 05 NSX for about 2 months and am still getting used to rear wheel power. It usually goes to work one day a week and then weekend duties. I will say that the Prelude feels a lot more spacious after getting out of the NSX than it used to. Apparently, I like the final year make of Hondas with the 01 Lude and 05 NSX.

Kenny

 

[s14_tat]

Thanks a lot, guys, that was the kind of info I was looking for. What is it specifically about the prelude's engine that gives it that torquey off the line feel? Is it the aforementioned gearing? So if you geared an NSX like a prelude it would just be a ridiculous tire-shredder?

i would say yes that the gearing has alot to do with how the prelude feels around town. there is an option on the nsx where you can install the nsx-r gear set, with a shorter ring and pinion gear set would give you a more immediate snap when you tap the throttle but it would will the top of each gear except for 5th. this would lead to an extra shift in the 1/4 which would negate the effect of the shorter gearing. i prefer the taller gearing of the stock 5 speed, its very very nice be in 2nd gear at 60mph and than punch it because that is where v-tec hits in second.

the nsx would never get a tire shredder, like all honda's it has a gradual ramp up in power instead of instant torque.

 

[CBLude]

I had a 5 gen Type SH. My first honda...been hooked ever since :biggrin: The Type SH was in a way a confusing car to drive. If you drove at 6/10ths corners were like most typical front drivers. Drive in the 9/10ths realm and the "ATTS" system would move so much torque to the outside wheel that the rear end would get loose! Felt like a rear driver at times.

From there I went to and S2000. I agree with the torque/gearing thing in the prelude. After my first test drive of an S2000 I actually thought that my prelude felt faster. I drove another S2000 and actually got into the powerband more and realized what the car was about!

NSX is very different car. I think the thing I would say I notice the most the the planted feel of the NSX. The Prelude had a solid feel but it was still a front driver. S2000 is almost twitchy in a way. Feel every bump, somewhat numb steering feedback, and very easy to get the rear to slip out. NSX tells you exactly what its doing in a corner no matter how hard you push it. Instant and accurate feedback to the driver. Things you do get with the others...just not as much. Just my $.02.

 

[2slow2speed]

Thanks a lot, guys, that was the kind of info I was looking for. What is it specifically about the prelude's engine that gives it that torquey off the line feel? Is it the aforementioned gearing? So if you geared an NSX like a prelude it would just be a ridiculous tire-shredder?

Having owned a 2000 SH and a 93 non-vtec Preludes while still having my NA2 NSX, IMHO even with the stock gearing the NA1 NSX should feel way stronger than the Gen 5 Prelude not even worth comparing between the 2 cars.

The Gen 5 prelude was a heavy car at around 3050 lbs, the Gen 4 were about 2850lbs, the NA1 NSX was about 2950lbs. My 2.3L Gen 4 pulled stronger at the lower RPM's than the 2.2L VTEC on the Gen 5 Prelude.

The 2.2 on the 5th Gen Preludes were rated at about 195/200bhp the NA1 NSX was rated at 270 bhp. So the NA1 NSX had 39% more HP than the Prelude in a lighter chassis with the engine in front of the rear axle.

The NSX engine starts pulling way before VTEC kicks in due to the larger displacement size and flat torque curve, once the VTEC kicks in it's pretty much ADIOS to the Prelude.

 

[NSXGT-R]

I had a 1994 prelude Si VTEC and eventually had the car dyno tuned with all best quality I/H/E combination and it produced 195 whp which was a lot more than it was stock, with the redline bumped to 7600rpm and VTEC points lowered for more usable power. That car also had some weight reduction and it was actually quite fast.

That being said, going from a highly modified N/A lude to a stock 1992 NSX was still night and day in regards to how the drive felt. The NSX is significantly quicker and more fun to drive than the lude would have even been, the sound the engine makes, the way it handles, brakes, looks, steering feel, etc etc is significanly more enjoyable than the lude was and would ever be. The only thing I miss was that modified H22A engine's VTEC engagment and how amazing that sudden surge of power felt from that little 2.2L and the sound that lets you know your in VTEC. The NSX is much more smooth in the VTEC engagement.

The lude was awesome, the NSX is nothing short of amazing and the best part is that it may also be more reliable and more liveable as a daily driver than the lude (if road conditions are good that is and you don't need back seats )

Hope my experience helps!!

 

[Ratfish]

OK, this is all very good. I wanted to make sure that I would not be disappointed with the feel of it even if it's obviously technically more powerful. It kind of sounds like I would be disappointed with an S2000 since it has a markedly different power band. I do a lot of spurt-y driving around here and like immediate power. The styling of the NSX is vaguely like the 5th gen as well, which is a lot more appealing to me than the S2000.

As for actually test-driving one, would I be completely ill-equipped to discern whether an NSX is running correctly based on my experience? Would a poorly running one still seem so much more powerful that I wouldn't notice it?

 

[oscar_driver]

oh my 95 lude, LOVED THAT CAR, never really liked 97+ preludes ... it goes like this .. the S2k is a full second and a half faster to 60 than the Prelude, the NSX is a full second and a half faster than the S2k to 60 ...

All good cars, the NSX actually has the 90's feeling of the 4th gen Prelude that the S2k doesn't have ....

Preludes are amazing FWD cars, they didn't feel as FWD as some can think ....

Oscar

 

[EuroBoutique]

We still have a 5th gen Prelude sporting s2000 retrofits and love the car!

A Prelude is a great DD, quite a big jump to an NSX for sure if it's your only ride but both are reliable choices. Most people graduate from xxxx > s2000 > NSX.

I like this quote from MakeMineRed: "In essence, it's like a 330i vs M3, an S4 vs. an A4, or more dramatically, a C63 AMG over a Mercedes C300. The same essence, but much more of it. You will definatelty know you're in a Honda, just a very special one." :wink:

 

[White92]

We still have a 5th gen Prelude sporting s2000 retrofits and love the car!

A Prelude is a great DD, quite a big jump to an NSX for sure if it's your only ride but both are reliable choices. Most people graduate from xxxx > s2000 > NSX.

I like this quote from MakeMineRed: "In essence, it's like a 330i vs M3, an S4 vs. an A4, or more dramatically, a C63 AMG over a Mercedes C300. The same essence, but much more of it. You will definatelty know you're in a Honda, just a very special one." :wink:

We need pics of this Prelude!

I loved my 97. Great car to have. I still don't have an NSX yet, but my 08 TSX has always reminded me of a 4 door, more grown up version of my Prelude.

 

[prelude]

I have owned a few 5th gens. The super handler was fun you could feel the effect of atts. The h22 is an awsome motor it has torque and hp .I always thought a EK swap would be fun. But as far as comparing I dont think there is to much say.

 

[LoveNSXs]

i would say yes that the gearing has alot to do with how the prelude feels around town. there is an option on the nsx where you can install the nsx-r gear set, with a shorter ring and pinion gear set would give you a more immediate snap when you tap the throttle but it would will the top of each gear except for 5th. this would lead to an extra shift in the 1/4 which would negate the effect of the shorter gearing. i prefer the taller gearing of the stock 5 speed, its very very nice be in 2nd gear at 60mph and than punch it because that is where v-tec hits in second.

the nsx would never get a tire shredder, like all honda's it has a gradual ramp up in power instead of instant torque.

im pretty sure top speed per gear has a lot to do with hp/tq differences....considering the NSX is a 3.0/3.2 v6 making over 70+hp and 50+lbs/tq over the lude...

when i take every gear to red, I get 1st-40, 2nd-70, 3rd-90. 4th and 5th I've not taken all the way out yet... but. well. whatever.

 

[s14_tat]

im pretty sure top speed per gear has a lot to do with hp/tq differences....considering the NSX is a 3.0/3.2 v6 making over 70+hp and 50+lbs/tq over the lude...

when i take every gear to red, I get 1st-40, 2nd-70, 3rd-90. 4th and 5th I've not taken all the way out yet... but. well. whatever.

are you talking about the prelude or the nsx? top speed for each gear has to do with gear ratio and overall tire diameter, not hp and tq. the only gear where hp and tq would effect top speed in the gear would be top gear because it would need to actually use a lot of hp to go against the wind resistance.

but yes i do remember that the if you stretch the lude to near 8K you could get almost 70 mph out of 2nd and 90 out of 3rd, but fifth is incredibly short.

 

[EuroBoutique]

We have "limited" our mods to the car for practical use so we only improved things that are for safety such as the headlights, stereo and window tint. I really want to drop it and do some more tasteful mods but then it would ruin it's DD status :tongue:

here's 2 pics:

 

[LoveNSXs]

are you talking about the prelude or the nsx? top speed for each gear has to do with gear ratio and overall tire diameter, not hp and tq. the only gear where hp and tq would effect top speed in the gear would be top gear because it would need to actually use a lot of hp to go against the wind resistance.

but yes i do remember that the if you stretch the lude to near 8K you could get almost 70 mph out of 2nd and 90 out of 3rd, but fifth is incredibly short.

im talking about the prelude... I've always thought preludes had really long gears... But I also only really compared it to cars like the integra, RSX, and what not, which have even shorter gear ratios.

 

[BBYJGTC]

I am a OG member of the Ohio Honda Prelude Owners Community(OHPOC.org) and have been around, driven and worked on my fair share of 5g ludes. I will not knock the lude. I still want to have a nicely done 5g as another toy. I love how the SH handles when you shove it. They are great cars in their own right. When comparing it to my NSX it is the difference between an apple and an orange. The NSX has a lot more bite to its bark. As the power goes the NSX pulls hard all the time. My last dyno shows that I make around 160 lbs ft of torque at 2500 rpms and never look back till around just north of 7k. The Preludes I have driven seem to progressively pull hard the higher the revs, especially after vtec hits.
When it comes to handling its hard to judge. The 5g I have spent most of my time in has a completey modified suspension. The car is very stable and ridgid. It has no real body roll. The NSX is like that stock. It is still comparing two different cars. I am still getting used to how to handle the NSX.
With all that said, you will love the NSX and probably feel like a huge upgrade.

By the way are you on Prelude Online. If so my wife probably knows you. She has an 89 lude and we had a 5g that ran for about a month.

 

[VampNSXX]

I hade a 94 si I think it was and it was my daily car. I loved that car it was clean and nice looking. With the NSX its like a total other animal. You have to drive a NSX to see what I mean.