Quote:
Originally Posted by Abe Acosta
just got an 01' lude with racing headers, full exhaust kit, AEM intake, and NGK spark plugs & wires about how much horsepower would be putting out does anyone have an idea? thanks......new to the scene....
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1:The specially tuned stock exhaust on the VTEC Prelude provides a very low restriction gas flow, and unlike a 4-1 header racing header for example, is tuned in such a way that it does not trade high rpm power for low/mid rpm torque. Unless you have done something to your engine prior to the header that results in a significant increase in gas flow ,the gains that you are getting from having a modified exhaust are of no real world significance.Shown below is a picture of the true 4-2-1 header on a VTEC Prelude and an example of the much more primitive headers of the other model Preludes.
Primitive 3rd gen Prelude header that looks like a hunk of metal with 5 holes drilled into it which could benefit from a aftermarket upgrade:
True 4-2-1 header of the VTEC Prelude engine thats more then adequate for any N/A situation under 7.4k rpms.With piston speeds above 4462 ft/min, sustained engine operation above 7.4k rpms should not be attempted without a engine tear down and durability improvements made.
2:The stock intakes dimensions are tuned to the air pules going through it heading to the intake manifold. This intake tuning results in air piling up on their intake valves at just the right time, and through a process referred to a intera supercharging , more power is created compared to a untuned intake.
The only aftermarket intake that is tuned to the intake pulses that I know about is the AEM V2.If your AEM intake is the V2 model ,you may be getting some marginal improvement in top end performance but probably not much over the stock intake because the stock intake is pretty good.
For more information on the amazing , advanced, ecu controlled, stock intake click on the link below.
Honda Prelude VTEC Enthusiast Site
3:Your fancy spark plugs and wires don't really do anything to increase performance.Don't buy the hype! Marking the plug before screwing it into the hole such that the plug electrode is facing in the best possible direction has been known to help with performance somewhat.
Everyones definition of usable performance is different . If your mods can't knock down the 1/4 mile time of your lude below about 14.9s then on street, your modifications are nothing but eye candy in my opinion.A stock Prelude puts out about 156hp to the wheels and your enhancements are very unlikely to produce more then an additional 5hp up to maybe 161hp at the wheels . A 5hp improvement is not going to cut 1/2 sec off of your 1/4 mile time.Unfortunately the mods that you describe indicate that the previous car owner was probably someone who may have given your engine a hard life.If the engine has been whipped a lot during its life, then you just may need that extra 5hp improvement to get your engine hp up to the same level as someone who has the same engine thats not been as severely used.If you see a catch can, or if you have to add a quart of oil with every 2nd fill up, then your engine hp enhancements may be doing nothing more but acting to compensate for engine wear and tear and increased compression related, blow by losses compared to that of a normally operating, stock engine.With out a doubt , the amount of power your 9+ year old engine puts out is dependent on how it was treated from break in up to the the present time so knowing exactly much power your engine actually puts out in its present form is indeterminable for the most part..
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