Curiosity hasn't yet killed the cat but it's on its tail in any case.
I am at the point where next year I want a change. Either I add a JRSC to my Prelude or I will get different and much older car. I've wanted a RWD, 2+2 turbo car for a while now.
Since I want a driver's airbag, I've decided against a Starion. I've always liked 90-92 MKIII Supra Turbos. I understand that even those cars have high maintenance costs and inherent problems. Owners make them sound as bad as RX-7's. Also, due to the weight of about 3500lbs, I would want to BPU the car to at least 350-400HP.
So very simply, I am trying to determine how much more unreliable and maintenance heavy my Prelude Type SH will become if I add a JR supercharger, and if I really do need a fully built engine if I want it to stay reliable. My Prelude has recently broken 100k miles.
If a JRSC Prelude SH is just as bad on maintenance as a Supra MKIII, I'd assume get the Supra and enjoy it and deal with the problems in a fast car I'd really enjoy driving. Even mostly stock I don't consider a 5th gen Prelude low maintenance. Either a JRSC or a Supra will be a leap beyond that.
I'd love to hear some other opinions and thoughts on this.
Thanks!
-Craig
P.S. The reason for looking into a JRSC and not a turbo... MKIII Supra Turbo and not a much cheaper SR20DET swapped 240SX, etc.... is because if I do any of this, I need to keep my car emissions and visual inspection passable in CA, since I will be moving there. This limits my options considerably, unless I just want to give up my pursuit of horsepower entirely.
I don't know any parallel universe where a 3rd gen Supra is more reliable than ANY 5th gen Prelude.
Just make sure your engine is in good shape; no burning oil, sucking up coolant, no oil leaks, etc. Then JRSC it and be done.
MkIII's aren't very fast and after you make yours 350-400 hp I think the reliability will be shot. I personally think the JRSC alone isn't going to do much anyway. I forgot the dyno's on it, but I estimate maybe 70 - 87 whp. I'm just going 50% of the base whp, but it will realisticly give you less gains than 1.5x hp.
350-400HP on an MKIII seemed to be the upper limit of what you can "get away with" for emissions reasons by leaving on both cats. Even then, quite expensive to get it there. The way owners talk about those cars -- a Toyota, mind you -- makes them sound as quirky as RX-7's.
I know a JRSC only adds 60 horsepower at best with the standard pulley. More torque, especially in the midrange, is what I was hoping for.
...
Nissan is apparently working on a new Silvia slated for global sale in 2010. I could wait for that if I really want a small RWD Turbo. That isn't 16 years old. As a daily driver.
dude, With a good tune, your lude will run like a stock car, with the extra power. I have 162,000km on my lude with the blower, and the only issue I've ever had with it is that I need to change the blower belt twice a year, and every winter for the past 2 years, I'm replacing an idler pulley or two on the kit. Belts cost $15, and I change the bearings in the pulleys instead of the whole pulley. Bearings are $5 each (2 in each pulley). That's it! I brought the car to the drag strip once at 9psi, and ran 2 - 13.7's on street tires. I also run open track days about 4 times a year now. This should prove that a properly tunned JRSC Lude is basically as reliable as any stock honda.
Paluce, that's good to hear. Tuning is the key to any good modified car.
My problem is with deciding on *how* to tune it. I must keep it OBD-II if I plan to move west with my car. I hear so much about making an OBD-II to OBD-I swap when it comes to tuning Preludes. How do folks tune with the stock OBD-II system?
Hondata's website is particularly amusing: they recommend an OBD-I swap for Preludes and yet with newer OBD-II based RSX's, TSX's and Civic Si's, you can simply reflash the ECU.
On the Supra... The main thing is the HG is not that strong as provided by the factory. Fix that, and the block is very stout. Most Toyotas of that vintage have similar issues.
On the K-series cars, Honda has designed (per EPA requirements) the ECU to be re-flashable.
Oh my. So Honda could issue a TSB for the newer cars to have them reflashed for even cleaner emissions? How will this affect people with performance flashed ECU's?
Oh my. So Honda could issue a TSB for the newer cars to have them reflashed for even cleaner emissions? How will this affect people with performance flashed ECU's?
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