Real difference in CF. - Honda Prelude Forum

pIERCE · 12-02-2008, 09:35 PM

I have read about CF for years now, and think about its advantages, yet I haven't really read about the "real" advantages. When I say "real", I mean advantages you can feel or experience.

I am constantly worried about mpg, and strive to get better...what I want to know firstly, is...

Does weight make a large impact on handling and mpg?

I wonder what CF bumpers(front, back) hood, trunk lid, and fenders would do for weight and handling. Do you guys think it would halp a lot? Or os it not worth it? Because I, as many of you also know, that all those pieces in CF would cost no less than $1.2k. I wouldn't be worth it in the short run, or if your not an avid racer, but it may be worth it if you love the idea, have lots of money, and are going to own your lude for a while and want the most out of milage.

boymeetsfence · 12-02-2008, 09:41 PM

After I put my cf hood on I could feel the car rotate a little more in turns. Any significant weight taken off the front of a Prelude is going to be beneficial. As far as a CF trunk, the trunk is already pretty damn light idk how much of a real diff that would make. Your best bet would either be a lightweight dry cell battery or just relocating it to the trunk, that'll do some good for you in terms of handling

Tee-Dot · 12-02-2008, 09:44 PM

A hood or trunk isn't going to make any difference at all. If you think it does or has, it's all in your head. You'd have to do a LOT in carbon to notice anything at all.

pIERCE · 12-02-2008, 09:45 PM

How much would CF fenders cost? Hood? Where do you buy quality CF parts(brand)?

boymeetsfence · 12-02-2008, 09:48 PM

Hmm, idk TJ, maybe it was in my head but the butt dyno felt pretty good around turns... Who knows tho

pIERCE · 12-02-2008, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacklude1

A hood or trunk isn't going to make any difference at all. If you think it does or has, it's all in your head. You'd have to do a LOT in carbon to notice anything at all.

Thats the exact question I'm asking. I in my opinion don't think that some CF would do that much help. Some people are big CF fans, and I'm sorry for you all, but I don't think spending 1.5-2k dollars on CF parts is very smart when you won't get enought out of it...

..now someone prove me wrong.

Tee-Dot · 12-02-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boymeetsfence

Hmm, idk TJ, maybe it was in my head but the butt dyno felt pretty good around turns... Who knows tho

You hafta watch out for the butt dyno. It's very sensitive to the amount of money you've spent on your go-fast parts. The more you spend, the worse the calibration gets.

Tee-Dot · 12-02-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pIERCE

Thats the exact question I'm asking. I in my opinion don't think that some CF would do that much help. Some people are big CF fans, and I'm sorry for you all, but I don't think spending 1.5-2k dollars on CF parts is very smart when you won't get enought out of it...

..now someone prove me wrong.

It's all in the look. That's the only reason anybody buys that stuff. I was guilty of it.

boymeetsfence · 12-02-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacklude1

You hafta watch out for the butt dyno. It's very sensitive to the amount of money you've spent on your go-fast parts. The more you spend, the worse the calibration gets.

Lol well I got my OEM VIS for $150 brand new so it's ok

Tee-Dot · 12-02-2008, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boymeetsfence

Lol well I got my OEM VIS for $150 brand new so it's ok

Had you recently removed something from the butt dyno that might have previously skewed the numbers?

pIERCE · 12-02-2008, 11:06 PM

Hahahahahah, thats great. I don't think I'll ever buy this stuff now. That is, if it really is all for looks(not all, but mostly). My butt dyno works great(because I only buy what My lude needs). Thanks for the info, I thought so myself, but I thought it was worth asking some people who actually know something and have experienced it for themselves. \

Thanks a lot all.

Solid · 12-02-2008, 11:18 PM

How much is saved from a CF hood? 30lbs or so

The front and rear bumpers are pretty light, so I am not sure what CF would weigh.

If you want to lose some weight:
-Remove passenger and/or rear seats
-Remove spare tire and jack

That will save more than some CF panels.

98auto · 12-03-2008, 02:15 AM

Think about this: Let's say it does lighten the car up, how much gas savings will you see? Probably not enough for the mods to pay for themselves in the long run, so it's a waste of money. I am seeing 3-4mpg better with the 5speed trans than I did with the auto. That will eventually pay for itself...Just a matter of when

aisukurimu · 12-03-2008, 02:59 AM

I can admit that i like the look of carbon fiber, which is one of the reasons i bought my hood and trunk. I believe the lude looks hot with one, so i got one. Weight savings and MPG wise i probably lost some weight, but not anything significant enough to talk about.

Use your money elsewhere.

prepreludesh · 12-03-2008, 06:40 AM

Theoretically, the more weight you lose, the better MPG's you'll get.

But you'd have to probably lose in excess of 200lbs off the car to maybe see 1mpg increase, and that's alot to take off a Prelude and still keep it livable.

But that's why you see cars that have an engine swap with a bigger engine get better MPGs, because they have less weight to pull around and the engine doesn't see the need to use all that fuel when the load on it is so small.

Does anybody remember that guy who dropped that K20A into the Insight a couple months ago in Honda Tuning? I think he claimed he started to get 35mpg, because the Insight's body was so light without the battery (and just being small to begin with) yet he still had all that power he could use to really make it move.

There was also an article in Sport Compact Car years ago about a guy putting a Cadillac Northstar engine in a Volkswagon Golf III or something like that and he claimed he was getting 30mpg.

So only if your goal is to start shedding major poundage will you ever have to resort to getting carbon fiber (because you'll look for weight everywhere you can).

rayslude · 12-03-2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boymeetsfence

After I put my cf hood on I could feel the car rotate a little more in turns. Any significant weight taken off the front of a Prelude is going to be beneficial. As far as a CF trunk, the trunk is already pretty damn light idk how much of a real diff that would make. Your best bet would either be a lightweight dry cell battery or just relocating it to the trunk, that'll do some good for you in terms of handling

WTF?

Carbon Fiber is starting to be the new altezza taillights. All the ricers are buying it up. If I got anything carbon fiber a majority if not all of it would be painted.

pIERCE · 12-03-2008, 12:09 PM

Ahhh, I see. Unfortunately I daily drive my car and can't really afford to live without a spare. However, the back seats are pretty useless being that noone ever rides in them. How much weight are they? I assume aboiut 40 pounds.

And here is another question about efficiency. I'm somewhat of a motorhead so I know this would help, but I've never tried it myself, so I'm thinking someone on this forum has done it before...

What gains do you get by shedding the power steering and/or the A/C? Is it worth it. I know it would help, But is it worth living without. How about to the average commuter?

golfradict · 12-03-2008, 12:15 PM

I bought my CF hood because the hood that came with my car was chipped up and rusted in the front. I went to a repair shop and they wanted $500.00 to repair and repaint the original hood. So thats when I purchased the CF hood off of ebay for $500.00, fits perfect and lot of compliments.

petern101 · 12-03-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pIERCE

What gains do you get by shedding the power steering and/or the A/C? Is it worth it. I know it would help, But is it worth living without. How about to the average commuter?

Again, you will gain some hp which will gain some efficiency but all these small little things could go out the door the minute you floor it.

Not worth it. If you are really worried about mpg, trade your car in for a kia.

Solid · 12-03-2008, 03:33 PM

Yeah, your MPG will increase more from driving style and maintenance.

Andyroo901 · 12-03-2008, 05:33 PM

if you want better mpg just unplug a spark plug

jk dont do it. carbon fiber is way too expensive for what it does.

noopie · 12-03-2008, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayslude

WTF?

Carbon Fiber is starting to be the new altezza taillights. All the ricers are buying it up. If I got anything carbon fiber a majority if not all of it would be painted.

Thats a bit harsh. CF hoods/trunks look great and serve a purpose other than just plain cosmetics, unlike alezzas. You don't like the look of CF, and thats fine, but calling people who like it 'ricers' is lame.

rayslude · 12-03-2008, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noopie

Thats a bit harsh. CF hoods/trunks look great and serve a purpose other than just plain cosmetics, unlike alezzas. You don't like the look of CF, and thats fine, but calling people who like it 'ricers' is lame.

i take it back. My point is that its getting played out. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of CF, but it won't go on any of my cars unless its stock.

pIERCE · 12-03-2008, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petern101

Again, you will gain some hp which will gain some efficiency but all these small little things could go out the door the minute you floor it.

Not worth it. If you are really worried about mpg, trade your car in for a kia.

Not gonna happen

...ever. I love my car, I just thought it was worth discussing with you all. I don't think I would've ever done it anyways with the high costs.

boymeetsfence · 12-03-2008, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayslude

WTF?

Carbon Fiber is starting to be the new altezza taillights. All the ricers are buying it up. If I got anything carbon fiber a majority if not all of it would be painted.

Mine is to be painted just FYI, and I mostly got it because of the cheap price that was offered to me by a friend. I had initially planned to paint the whole thing to match the car so I would get the small weight savings up front and still retain the stock look, but after putting it on I had the brilliant idea (matter of opinion only) to paint from the stock hood lines outwards to match the car, then just clearcoating the whole thing. Saw it on another 5th gen and it, IMO, looks killer. You gotta do a hell of a lot more than a CF hood to turn a Prelude into "rice."

Quote:

Originally Posted by noopie

Thats a bit harsh. CF hoods/trunks look great and serve a purpose other than just plain cosmetics, unlike alezzas. You don't like the look of CF, and thats fine, but calling people who like it 'ricers' is lame.

prepreludesh · 12-03-2008, 11:11 PM

Solid is right with the driving habits, that's the single most thing you can do to increase mileage.

There's a ton of tips out there on how to drive and things to do, but really, they're all based on inconveniences that you're going to have to put up with to achieve better MPG.

Some of the more ridiculous driving habits include:

Try not to go over 3,000rpms

Never slow down if you don't have to (don't excessively use the brakes, let others speed ahead to the next stoplight so they might activate the sensor to turn the light to green)

Don't slow down on offramps, the velocity you enter it will keep your speed up, meaning you won't have to accelerate out of it

Try to drive as close as legally possible to other cars on the highway (the bigger the better) Your engine won't be under as much load because it's not having to struggle against wind resistance

Don't ever let your car idle, ever (0mpg) Remember that your car uses the same amount of fuel to idle for 10 seconds as it does to turn it on.

If running multiple errands, go to the farthest destination first, it will give a chance for your engine fluids to warm up to operating temperature (where it operates most efficiently) and it will stay that way as you keep starting the car and turning off the car the closer you get to home.

Let your car coast as much as possible, coasting means the injectors are off. Don't coast with your car in neutral, the injectors turn back on.

Use cruise control for more efficiency

Now for the ridiculous modifications you can do:

Get tires specifically made for low rolling resistance (although performance will suffer). This is the single biggest area your engine uses power for.

Decrease engine rotational mass and unsprung mass i.e. underdrive pulleys, lighter flywheel, take out balance shafts, take off the A/C (or disconnect belt in winter months if you must have it) drill your rotors for less weight and mass, get lighter weight wheels and skinnier tires

Get light, take out everything you don't need (a big pain in the ass if you do this with seats) replace things that weight alot with something lighter (hood, battery, trunk)

Switch to a motor oil like 0w-30 for a little bit more efficiency.

Get a K&N panel filter for your stock intake, always keep it clean

Get a ground wire kit

Maybe try those new enerpulse "pulse plugs" They ensure a more complete burn in the combustion chamber, therefore, less fuel will be used.

I'm not saying all of these things are totally practical to do (or legal or cheap), but if you want MPG increases, these are the steps you should take.