Preludes

[Wood9669]

hey,
i finally sold my 3gee (nothin against 3gees, just didnt like my 3.5 cylinder brakeless sedan).
so now im lookin for a prelude (around $1500-2500) and its lookin like i could go w/ an 89 SI 4ws or a 91 SI 4ws (or a 90 but i think its same as a 89)


so, i was wondering several things that im sure you guys could answer-

1. did they change anything big between 89 and 91 other than the DOHC engine which gave all of 5 more HP? **ok, now im lookin at 89 SI's on autotrader and stuff and it says they are SOHC.. but on the engine codes it said that 89s had DOHCs.. someone comfirm? and on engine codes it also gives diff HP ratings than what other sites say.. when i buy a prelude i dont want no 100 HP crap.. and according to that in 89 the DOHC was 110 HP then in 91 it was 140. but on ie autotrader it lists 89 as SOHC 135 hp.. anyone know real #s for the 89-91 SI's??

2. if insurance sees twin cam will they jack up the rate or do they not care?

3. what is this "sports sequential shifter" for auto trannys that preludes came w/? does this just mean it goes P R N D4 3 2 1 instead of P R N D4 D3 2? or is there like a button that makes it shift at higher rpms i dont get it? lol

4. a lot of people describe even the older preludes as fast n really peppy.. but they have like 10 more HP than our cars, is there something else at work here? they have diff gear ratios? there suspension better? i mean obviously its a sports car vs family car..

5. iv heard good and bad things about the 4ws.. anyone have experience w/ it?

6. thats it, sorry for asking so many questions :help:

thanks :)

[pimp86LX]

hey,
i finally sold my 3gee (nothin against 3gees, just didnt like my 3.5 cylinder brakeless sedan).
so now im lookin for a prelude (around $1500-2500) and its lookin like i could go w/ an 89 SI 4ws or a 91 SI 4ws (or a 90 but i think its same as a 89)


so, i was wondering several things that im sure you guys could answer-

1. did they change anything big between 89 and 91 other than the DOHC engine which gave all of 5 more HP?

2. if insurance sees twin cam will they jack up the rate or do they not care?

3. what is this "sports sequential shifter" for auto trannys that preludes came w/? does this just mean it goes P R N D4 3 2 1 instead of P R N D4 D3 2? or is there like a button that makes it shift at higher rpms i dont get it? lol

4. a lot of people describe even the older preludes as fast n really peppy.. but they have like 10 more HP than our cars, is there something else at work here? they have diff gear ratios? there suspension better? i mean obviously its a sports car vs family car..

5. iv heard good and bad things about the 4ws.. anyone have experience w/ it?

6. thats it, sorry for asking so many questions :help:

thanks :)



1. Many little things changed. off the top of my head. the spedo cable was replaced with electronic. the front bumper is different. and of course you get the b21 not the b20

2. around here its all about the 2dr or 4dr.

3. miunno, get a manual!!!!

4. with my 89 stick shift. the final ratio is 4.27, it has front and rear sway's, its a bit lower and wider. rev's to 6 and 1/4 ~i think~ and the twin cam makes it so much smoother.

5. the 4ws is a dream to drive, but a bitch to fix. it uses two racks and a transfer bar. pretty simple really just a pain to fix.

6. In closing: The 3rd gen prelude is the accord's cooler older brother, ya know the one who buys you booze. It has a little more power, bit better handling, overall just a little more stylish IMO. 88-89 or 90-91 yeilds some differences, but its still the same car. I've heard rumours the b21 has some common oil burning/leaking problems but dont quote me on that.

[Wood9669]

thanks

--yeah im getting a stick for sure, and if i happen to get a REALLY good deal and its an auto, its gettin changed ASAP (prob w/ that is i dont know much bout cars so id be havin people help me as i read them the instructions off 3geez.com :rofl: )

[Wood9669]

ok so basically my big question left--(two questions actually)

-the 89 SI only came with one engine, correct? and can someone tell me the actual HP/tq and was it a twin cam?
-seems to me the engine is the only 'worthy' thing different between 89 and 91.. is it worth the extra 500+ that id end up spending (roughly.. seems that 89s are around $2000 and 91s are 2600-3200) -- im not gonna be modding it to hell and back and running it on tracks or anything, i just want it somewhat fast


again sorry for asking so many questions.. :sad2:

*edit: this (http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/modelinfo_technicalspecs.jtmpl?vehicle_number=U614 4&car_id=164038516&search_type=used&make=HONDA&model=PRE&distance=75&address=98290&advanced=n&max_price=3200&min_price=0&first_record=1&end_year=2005&color=&start_year=1984&car_year=1989&cardist=18&advcd_on=n&=&ac_afflt=none) says that 89 SI's came with SOHC 135 hp, but the engine code thing says SI's came w/ a twin came 110 HP in 89 SI's.

[pimp86LX]

hmm not sure about that.

i know the 89's had a carb'd version. my 2.0si has the b20a5 twin cam, EFI, 135hp/127ft-lbs

[Wood9669]

hmm not sure about that.

i know the 89's had a carb'd version. my 2.0si has the b20a5 twin cam, EFI, 135hp/127ft-lbs

okay. i think that answers my question.. on auto trader it says 89 SI's had 2.0 SOHC w/ 135 hp and 127tq -- so they musta just made typo saying its SOHC

and on the engine codes it lists the b20a5 as:

B20A5 2.0 16V DOHC PGM-FI 1955 110hp@5500rpm 114tq@4500rpm 87-91 Prelude 2.0 Si
and it says this for the 90-91s (and auto trader says 91 was the year that b21 was introduced but this says 90..)

B21A1 2.1 16V DOHC PGM-FI 2056 140hp@5800rpm 135tq@3500rpm 90-91 Prelude Si

so im down to ONE question--

89 SI came with just the b20a5 which was twin cam 135 hp/127ft-tq? no other engines came in the 89 si correct? (other than the dual-carb which i thought was 86-88..?)

thanks again for not flaming me for all my questions :ugh:

[pimp86LX]

im not too sure if the 89's even had the "SI" i've seen tons like mine "2.0SI"

[Wood9669]

thats what i ment--2.0si

so all the 89 2.0si's are twin cam / 135hp ??

edit: ok i think i FINALLY figured it out :rofl:

87-91 came w/ the 2.0SI which was DOHC(??) 135 hp
but 90-91 they also offered a SI that was 2.1 - 140 hp

this is the correct info, right? cuz every site says something different it seems like.. :rolleyes:

oh and does anyone know of a site for preludes like this one? i mean every car should have a site like this.. i dont know where id be without this site--i learn more about cars in reading 30 mins off this site than a months worth of auto class

[pimp86LX]

yah sounds right. To my knowledge all the 88-91 2.0si's came with the b20 135hp engine. The 135hp b20a5 is a pretty decent engine. with the usual I/H/E, plus cam gears set to -4/+4 you can get some decent gains. a 50shot on top of that and your sitting at probably 175-190 at the wheels. plent of power for only ~2600lbs. Just dont confuse the b20a with the b20z...thats the CRV-vtec engine which is totally different.

as for the carb, the 88-89 S had dual side draft carbs. im not sure about the 90-91, i think they did away with carb all together.

[Wood9669]

k thanks big time..

so its official.. im gonna be gettin a 89 2.0SI 4ws (unless i happen to see a cheaper + newer one in good condition..)

thanks guys again.. seems like whenever i have dumb questions that i spend hours lookin up i just post it on here and i get the answer.. awesome :rockon:

[Wood9669]

heres a pic of the dash on one of the models w/ the "sports sequential shifter" (http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/7/web/583000-583999/583273_2_full.jpg)

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/7/web/583000-583999/583273_2_full.jpg
.. still no clue what it is (my best guess is that it has PRND321 instead of just PRND32 ..

but i guess it doesnt matter since im gettin a stick.. still curious tho if anyone knows?

**edit incase anyone was wondering: its a button that basically the car doesnt shift till higher rpm.. kinda pointless to me since u can press it to the floor it and it wont shift till later, but i guess if you dont wanna go faster and you just wanna stay in first gear at 20mph cruising along its good?

[2ndgenludedude1986]

the tailights were also differant in 90-91. as far as the sohc carbed engine, that was lieka b20a3 or somthing , pretty muhc a carbed a20a3. whihc i have been trying to figure out if that head will mate up to the a20.

[sylynxx]

Check this info out...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_B20A_engine

[Legend_master]

Check this info out...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_B20A_engine


dude, check out the date on the first post of this thread. :Owned:

[MessyHonda]

dude, check out the date on the first post of this thread. :Owned:


:werd: