Pete-lude

A little backstory. My wife got into an accident on Saturday, and her 2001 VW Beetle was totaled she had the 1.8 turbo, and it was a fun car. Anyway, she drives about 120 miles a day or more, so she is going to get my 2005 mustang for a while... until we either get a new house, or she demands seat time in our new 1998 Prelude. (It's coming, just don't know when, lol)



So, I decided I would buy me something economical but not so pedestrian that I wanted to shoot myself every day in my commute. I figured the Prelude would fit the bill. After today, I realized how wrong, and right I was. It has not only fit the bill, but has me seriously thinking that after our move, I might put the Mustang up for sale and just keep the Honda.

Even with 150k miles, this car is TIGHT. I already put a short ram intake on it today, and the response and sound over the magical 5200 rpm on the tach is surprisingly -- well -- instant gratification. 0-60 and even 1/4 mile times probably arent close to the mustang, but the polish and feel on this 12 year old car is drastically different than my 5 year old Ford.

She is an automatic, which now that I have done some digging appears to be a bit of an issue, and I am apprehensive of adding any more power - and need some advice on keeping the transmission from turning into a big anchor around my neck. Any suggestions, or tips on keeping this car on the road without any automatic transmission disasters? Are most people who are having problems using forced induction, or are we normally aspirated autos also succeptible?

Also, I am having a hard time finding dyno sheets with comparisons of Short ram vs. stock airboxes. the sound is great, but does it make much of a difference? On my mustang I had to use a tuner to change the air/fuel mixture from the larger diameter of the intake to the MAF.. this car doesnt have a MAF there at all. The tune on the Ford REALLY woke that thing up.

I have had the car for less than 12 hours, and have already been approached about it by a guy outside the pet store, looks like the 'Lude community is a passionate one. I am happy I made the choice to get one, sweet ride. (Just wish they hadnt dropped the ball on the transmission - it scares the **** out of me - as I dont have the cash around now to rebuild it if it craps out)..

I will be lurking around on here quite a bit over the coming months - who knows... maybe a long time to come. I look forward to your transmission advice, and any other tips you might have for a new Prelude owner.

Thanks!
-Pete

tom27897

Welcome! Hope you can find the answers to anything you might want to know through our many years of posts lol. As for that automatic trans... you might want to seriously consider a 5-speed swap, and i WON'T be the only one to tell you that lol. Oh, and the intake situation... on a prelude, an intake is an intake. I wouldn't bother with a tune unless you had at LEAST header and exhaust also, and even then i'd still look into more mods before a tune (possibly intake manifold, larger throttle body, engine internals, etc. etc. etc. but it all depends on how much money you actually intend on putting into the lude). Search some of the build threads on here, they're really interesting and it'll give you an idea of what you'd want to do or where to start. Anyways, welcome to PO and happy luding!

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tom

indylude18

A bit of an issue? This is a bit of an understatement. There really isn't much you can do to prevent it, that transmission is going to fail. Going easy on it by avoiding hard acceleration and SS mode might make it last longer, but it is only delaying the inevitable. Stock or modded, it does not matter, that transmission is defective. Sorry.

The difference is about zero aside from the sound and possibly throttle response. A tune on a prelude can also help quite a bit, but it requires some additional hardware to tune(aftermarket ECU or piggybacks), unlike a mustang which you can just plug in and tune from the factory.


Other tips: Preludes burn oil...keep an eye on it constantly. A well oiled 'lude is a happy 'lude.

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Bluetop H23a Vtec Swapped NHBP '99 Base

Pete-lude

Is SS mode when you change the gears, or letting the car do it automatically. Was going to ask which method of shifting was better for it too.

indylude18

SS = sport shift mode. You are less likely to beat on it while putting it in D, but there is no direct reason that SS mode will hurt the transmission. Either way, you need to baby it to make it last.

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Bluetop H23a Vtec Swapped NHBP '99 Base

aznxpsyko

SS (sequential shift) mode is when the shifter is clicked to the left of D4 so that you could do the shifting manually by pushing the shifter up or down.

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Tee-Dot

Return the car, delete this thread, find a 5-speed, create a new thread.

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Pete-lude

LOL, no way to return it. I will change out the fluid tomorrow. I wonder if the transmission has been replaced/rebuilt on this car before. It has 150k miles on it. Looks like I need to do some crawling around under and check.

thanks for the input guys. This car is gonna be mine for at least a few months. Hopefully it will not give me any problems during this time. I guess I need to keep my foot out of it.

Is there a preventative fix for this that would cost less than a rebuild? (New torque converter or something?)

Tee-Dot

No fixes. You should search the forum. You'll find out everything you need to know about the faulty ss tranny.

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pIERCE

Your transmission will give out at one point. There is a 99% chance it will.


You just signed yourself up for not only a huge let-down, but about a $2000 bill when it does break(maybe as little as ~$1.2, maybe more than $2k).

It will happen, not might; will.

Sell the car and buy a 5-spd. Or move on to another car. It's honestly not worth the money or the heartache, man.

Indy covered everything else pretty well though.

Tee-Dot

I'll sell you a nice motorcycle for cheap!

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Kronn 98SH

If it's a V6 Rustang, then it won't be close. The Prelude wins, well, the non-SISSY Prelude wins.

All autos are susceptible (fixed spelling) to premature failure. It's a flaw in the transmission itself, and it's not limited to the US market.

No, there is no difference. The stock intake was designed so well that the aftermarket world can't really top it, although the AEM V2 has shown a possible 1whp increase. A tune on a stock engine might yield an extra 3-5whp throughout the band. For this I would recommend a piggyback like Apexi's VAFC.

Yes, we are passionate. Now, quit being lazy, sell the SISSY car, and buy a real Prelude with a stick. Just don't let the wifey drive it. We hate to see more wrecked Ludes.

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1988 Prelude S - victim of an 80mph backflip
1991 Prelude Si - sold
1989 Accord DX - impounded
1998 Prelude SH - totaled on 3/29/12
2006 CRF150F - sold
2006 YZ250F - sold

Dr.vaNEELa

dont worry, the SS wont crap out on you just as long as you walk around it 4 times everyday in a counter-clockwise direction and say the mantra: honda for life, honda for life, honda for life. ill be the first so say think positive. you guys just scared the crap out this noob yea sure the tranny has problems but damn dont tell him that next time he gets in his car is gonna be the last.... Good luck with the car, try to get rid of the SS if you can. if not enjoy it nonetheless!

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99 Integra GS
Hondas..... they last longer than PEOPLE