Prelude ITS

[Charles Perry]

Would be interested in talking to Prelude ITS guys about their cars. Can and will they run with the Mazdas, how are they on upkeep ect. Any input would be helpful.

[TypeSH]

I have been tracking my Prelude for 3 years and started racing it in IT this year. I don't have any competitive Mazdas in my region but we do have several fast 240z’s. So far I have managed a few poles but no wins yet.
The Prelude is heavy but handles its weight well. As you might expect it is hard on front tires and easy on rears. Tire management is key for this car since if you push it too hard the front tires get too hot and greasy.
I sent you an email if you want to discuss this in more detail.

[R2 Racing]

Our Prelude is very fast if the suspension is set up properly to handle the weight. If it's not, I'll run into some tire and brake (lockup) problems. The low end torque is very nice and it's got some great top end speed too. The handleing is also very good and I don't think the car feels as big to drive as it really is. One of the big problems is that, although it's reliable, fixing things can get expensive. Our ITC cars are quite a bit cheaper to keep running. If you detonate an engine in the Prelude, it's damn expensive to get and build a new one.

Our car has several poles and wins in CenDiv and held the ITS track record at IRP for a while. It can hold it's own very well at your average regional race. Could it win the ARRC? Hmmm, I think it would be damn tough.

------------------
Kevin
R2 Racing
'92 ITC Honda Civic CX
'85 ITC Honda Civic S
'95 ITS Honda Prelude Si

[jlucas]

Anybody got advice/experience on running the latest Prelude (97+) in ITS? Looking at building one over the off season, currently being used in SSB.

Jeremy Lucas

[gran racing]

Talking about front tire wear...I need to figure out a way to get more weight on the rear and less on the front. What have you done to do this? Thought about moving the battery to the trunk and/or removing the power steering.

Any suggestions? (I have a 2nd gen prelude but is basically the same car - except for HP)

[Greg Gauper]

Sorry, Moving battery is not permitted in IT.

Not sure about power steering i.e. is it the same as the A/C rule in which if the model was availale without PS it can be removed???

Don't have my GCR on that one....

[JeffYoung]

Don't have my GCR handy, but I think you are allowed to remove a/c from any car.

With P/S though, I believe you are right. If your car on your ITCS spec line could have come from the factory w/o P/S you can remove it. If not, it must stay.

[ITSRX7]

If you can get to minimum weight, run with a full tank of gas. Add enough ballast to compensate for the used fuel at the end of a race.

We run full tanks in our RX-7's for a couple reasons: 1. We think fuel 'slosh' only upsets the balance of the car and 2. the car was 50/50 from the factory - with a full tank, so why mess with that? The weight is low...

AB

------------------
Andy Bettencourt
06 ITS RX-7
FlatOut Motorsports
New England Region
www.flatout-motorsports.com

[jlucas]

The weight may be low on a RX7 but it's pretty high on a Prelude. Also looked into EP but the Honda EP guys say it's impossible to get to the minimum weight.

Jeremy

[jlucas]

TypeSH, please email me:
jlucas AT columbus.rr.com