Prelude for IT

[nmoon]

I am just starting to get invovled in IT racing. I have located a cheap 1988-89 prelude for sale. Has anybody had any luck or advise on racing the prelude. I would also like to know what class it would be included in.

[jmb]

probably in ITS. check here to verify:

http://toyota.shults.com/cgi-bin/scca/scca.cgi

[JinMTVT]

hi!
i don't know much about IT racing..neither do i wanna race with you guys since i'm in canada and no money to do it..but i have a prelude and have lots of interest in thoose cars.. ( though min is 97 i've played with a lot of 3rd gen preludes..)

I think that the 88-91 preludes would make a great race car if you can manage to get some weight off the car..there frame are pretty stiff and using a cage inside will further help in that way.. 4WS if permitted by the rules would seriously be a good asset..as it really helps limitating the slip angles and pushing the tuning more to neutral steer characs in constant speed turns ..
and it can be tunned to have the wheels turn at different ratios by changin the rear wheel steerring rack gear where the driveshaft comes in..

I don't know what kind of engine u plan on using for your car..but the 90-91 B21 is a lot weaker than the 88-89 engine for sustained revving..u can also mix this block with different honda head as the B16 ..but again i don't know the rules so .. ahah
good luck with the prelude!
( make sure that the main rails in teh fram under the car ( front to rear) are in perfect state..or it will bent and allow too much torsion..)

[racer-025]

Forget the Prelude. It would be in ITS. It would get eaten up by the Integra GSR and BWW

[JinMTVT]

Why always take the easiest car ?
It is easy to take 2nd gen CRX weighting 1600lbs and make it fast..
it is something else making a lude fast..and it'll be a lot more gratifying ( and stable

go on with the lude..and show what you can do as a driver!

[JinMTVT]

by the way..
prelude 88 = same weight as stock GSR..
same power ..

don't know engine limitation in rules..
but this engine can be enchanced a lot with exhaust and few internal modifications for nice torque curve..

[mazdagt3]

again, it seems as if you need to put the crack pipe down. seriously, your wasting time and money building the prelude. the car is in ITS and will be destroyed. the 92-96 platform is much better to work with, but that to gets destoyed at the arrc.

same hp as a gsr....

since when does 140hp for the lude compared to 170 for the gsr equal the same?

its nice to build different cars, but when you want to sell that different car, you'll see how people compare it to cars that actually are competitive.

[John Herman]

Call Tom Fowler at OPM motorsports to talk about Preludes. Sorry, don't have his number, but they have a web page with contact info

[bobpink]

Tom Fowler can be reached at 770.886.8199. The 91-93 Prelude has proven itself to be competitive in ITS as Tom won at Charlotte this year and has been fast everywhere else. Nathan Bonneau (RealTime Team Manager) also ran a early 90s Prelude in the Midwest and did quite well with it.

Bob Pinkowski
Atlanta Region SCCA

[WannaBITB]

Am I missing something here? I have a '88 Prelude S, (Carbureted, non 4WS)and I'm not sure I see it listed on this site: http://toyota.shults.com/cgi-bin/scca/scca.cgi

The classification I see shows only the 2157cc '92 S classed in ITA. Is this correct? The S model from earlier is not classed at all?

[racer-025]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the 86-87 Prelude Si is in ITB. This car, with it's 2L displacement and dual carbs (somewhere around 110hp) should make a pretty good ITB contender. Is it too heavy with it's iron block etc etc. Is anyone racing any of these?

Bruce

[Bill Miller]

Originally posted by mazdagt3:
again, it seems as if you need to put the crack pipe down. seriously, your wasting time and money building the prelude. the car is in ITS and will be destroyed. the 92-96 platform is much better to work with, but that to gets destoyed at the arrc.

same hp as a gsr....

since when does 140hp for the lude compared to 170 for the gsr equal the same?

its nice to build different cars, but when you want to sell that different car, you'll see how people compare it to cars that actually are competitive.

Seems that you need to learn some manners.

Here's what I found from the 2001 ITCS as far as Honda Prelude classifications go:

ITS:
88-91 Si 1950cc, 2550#
92-93 Si 2259cc, 2715#

ITA:
"S" model (no years given) 2157cc, 2680#

ITB:
83-87 1829cc, 2350#

Now, I'm not a Honda guy, but I did check the ITS and ITA classed Acura's, and none of them have engines that match the displacement of the listed Preludes.

Also, since the ITA car has no years listed, I would go w/ whatever years were produced that had an "S" model w/ that engine as well as the other things listed on the spec line (gear ratio, brakes, etc.)

So, if the car nmoon is looking at has a 1950cc motor and is an Si model, then it's an ITS car. If it is an S model w/ a 2157cc motor, it's more than likely an ITA car.

What's interesting is that both the ITA and ITB cars are listed as SOHC, and the 92-93 ITS car is listed as a DOHC. The 88-91 car does not specify SOHC or DOHC. In addition, it does not specify the comp. ratio or the brake size. It is however, limited to 13" wheels (while the other ITS car is 15", the ITA car is 14", and the ITB car is 13" or 14"). I would suspect that there are very few (if any) of the 88-91 cars running in ITS. Otherwise, I'd expect to see more complete information on the spec line.

------------------
MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI

[chapman]

the 92-96 prelude s has a sohc "f22" engine.that is the ita prlude listed.the its prelude is a very competetive car, just ask the mazda guys in florida. timmy chapman
its #31 prelude

[p.keane]

Racer-025,
I think the Prelude would be a pretty good ITB car. It is a carburated Accord that is 200# lighter. OPM has someone that rebuilds the dual carb set-up to get it to work.

[NoRaceCarYet]

Really? I can find 84 Preludes all day from $500 to $1500 running and in good shape..

Do you really think it would be a good car?

I am prepared to move on your advice...

K

[p.keane]

The Prelude has a couple of negatives. I was never very good at tuning carbs and I believe there are a limited amount of parts availible for the prelude. Breaking new ground with an IT car can be tough. I had to have all my delrin bushings, shocks and final drive custom made for the Accord. Positives, Honda reliability, 2.0 liter power, good "cd" and no one else will have one.

[NoRaceCarYet]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

Thanks...

[dpmurray]

I haven't got my 2002 edition GCR yet - and my 2000 mdoel doesn't have all the specs. Anyone care to post the full specs for the 83-84 and the 85-87 ITB models?

Thanks,

Dennis

[racer-025]

I started a new Prelude post, hoping to get more data and to keep this topic rolling because someone out there, combined with our limited knowledge, will provide us with more info. These cars are everywhere. Lets get those Mugen fellows involved???