So many options.. What to do

[Avenger699]

I have recently purchased a 1988 Honda Prelude and have seen stuff on the net to put turbo's and intercoolers plus the VTEC up grade. The question that I am posting is that should I do the turbo, intercooler and VTEC upgarde or should I look into putting a Acura V-6 into it with mod's and a supercharger(even though I do not like the superchargers).

[Ashwin91]

Hey Avenger,

What about an Air-Intake system and new Sports Headers,New ECU Unit,Its a cheap way,as far as i know.I'm sure there are other options to look to.

Later,
Ashwin

[Commander]

Yes, anything to improve the flow of air through the engine will really get you going. Cheapest would be a good exhaust and muffler, as well as a good intake point (stock air filters are restrictive. Another thing you may wish to consider, as it will REALLY give you the most juice, is to have the cylinder head ported and polished. If you are handy with a wrench, you can pull a head on one of those engines in about a half hour. You will need to call a machinist to ask what they might charge for this operation, but it will definately give you the most bang for your buck. You are wise in staying away from superchargers and turbochargers for now. The idea is to make a smokin' motor without these items, and then maybe afterwards you can slap 'em on. Have fun!

[Justin Martin]

I really wouldn't suggest swapping a V6 in, for one, it likely weighs more, and would hurt your weight distribution and handling. An '88 is fairly old, (nothing wrong with that, I drive a 81 Chevy truck) so computer wise it probably wouldn't be all that bad, but unless the Prelude was available with a V6 option, I suspect it would be unlikely that the engine would come anywhere near bolting in. You'd need to have good welding and fabrication skills and a fair understanding of basic engineering to make it work right.

Like Commander said, i'd start by trying to make it breath better, freer flowing intake and exhaust, and port the heads. That should spice it up pretty good without spending an inordinate amount of time or money. -^

[Dylan]

if you port the head you will need a new cam if you want it to run properly

[Commander]

I am not sure where you heard that bit of info Dylan, but I am afraid it is false. Certainly, to optimize performance and truely make use of the better flowing head, then yes, a different camshaft is desired. This is not to say that the stock cam will not work, as it will most certainly, but since you are in there anyway it might be wise to upgrade the cam too if you have the extra cash. It isn't absolutely necessary, however, the engine will be fine with the stocker.

[Dylan]

yeah sorry i should have said to make it run at its best you will need a new cam or something like that

[Commander]

Indeed, this is true. Often, the stock camshafts will give about as much lift/duration/overlap as needed for the stock heads to flow optimally. When you make the heads flow better, naturally you will be able to let a bit more air/fuel through the valves (because the heads will flow it), and you would therefore be wise in upping the camshaft and valvetrain to accomplish this. Not to mention the fact that swapping-in an overhead cam is a breeze, especially seeing as how you have the cylinder head off anyway. I am not up to date on performance cams for such engines, but I know V8 camshaft kits go for around $200 - $250 for a decent one, not exactly the end of the world pricewise.

[monaro]

nah, my dads best mate owns a powerboat called the hammer (they race on hawkesbury river) and the other day i was talking about prices of engine gear these days and he said that a decent cam can get close to $1000. there is a boat called wild horses and she runs a psi blown chev (they won't tell you capacity, the pricks :mad: ) and he tells me that he cam alone is 7000 big dog!!
anyway, back to rice, cams wouldn't damge the pocket too much depending how exotic.

[Commander]

A thousand clams for a cam? That is insane! Just so you know, I am a certified mechanic and I do buy these things quite often. Maybe for marine applications there are special grinds that cost more, but for a standard chevy small block camshaft AND lifters, you shouldn't be paying past the $300 mark, that is most certain. Maybe in small towns or remote locations it will cost more, yeah, but I really cannot see where it would cost anywhere near $1000. :jawdrop:

[Dylan]

cause we live in australia things cost differnt but not that much i dont think.

[Commander]

Ahhhhh, that actually makes total sense now that I see the big picture. Geez, that is rather heinous man, I mean, how the cheese is a guy supposed to build a rod at those prices? If a cam costs $1000, I would probably keel over and shrivel once I got a quote on some cylinder heads in Oz. Would it not be cheaper to order the camshaft (or other parts for that matter) from North America? Even after shipping, one wouldn't think it would be near $1000, am I wrong? Food for thought anyway.

[monaro]

he runs a small block 350 but its stroked to 6 litres, methanol fuel injected, nothing to amazing

[Commander]

Likely a 383 stroker then, which is ultimately sweet, may I add! I love making 383's out of 350's, because it never fails, you have some dough-head try and tell you "huh huh huh, a 383 is a Chrysler engine, huh huh huh :P . That is priceless!

[Justin Martin]

With the current US-Aussie exchange rate, that'd put the cam at a bit under $500 USD, i've never priced marine stuff, so I wouldn't know if that's reasonable or not.