Honda Prelude, Wheely Interesting Updates

[phil_lihp]

It's not a Vtec! Quite quick though. Also now insured, thanks for the suggestion James! Still not really cheap but hugely better than anything else I've seen.

[phil_lihp]

Hmph.  This car is not as described.

 

Seriously, it isn't.  I was told it had an oil leak and might be a bit low on oil.  However, the oil level was on the max mark when I first checked it and has remained there ever since.  It's possibly got a (tiny) leak on the power steering but other than that, seems to be nicely sealed.  Some sellers....

 

Seriously though, I'm rapidly growing to love this thing, it turned up at just the right time really.  At the last minute, it was pressed into service late last week to transport myself and a friend cross country to Stansted airport (coming from Devon, I might as well have booked a flight from Aberdeen, it'd be easier to get to).  Owing to a slight timing cockup which became evident halfway into the journey, it was able to prove itself a worthy motorway weapon by covering a remarkable amount of ground in 2 hours and therefore, with a bit of sprinting through the airport involved, got my mate on his flight with quite literally just seconds to spare.  As we had offsite parking, I did not get on but did at least get another flight a few hours later. 

 

It then ferried us home on Monday in a rather more relaxed manner and has earned a lot of praise in the process.  It's comfortable, pretty quick (ahem) and corners very flat.  The autobox is smooth and enthusiastic, probably helped by the fact it contains nice clean red fluid which appears to be quite fresh.  My mate took the helm for a couple of hours and proclaimed it to be excellent, he even mentioned the idea of buying one.

 

Overall, an excellent purchase and after all that it's definitely earned itself a proper wheel alignment session to fix the dodgy tracking.  After that, I'll see if it does need a new rear wheelbearing (I can't work out if it's that or just road noise from the nasty but new-ish 'Tigar' rubber it's wearing) and continue to stack the miles on.  It's done about 800 miles in just over a week and I can't fault it.

[Ghosty]

Sounds exactly like the one we had. Good job!

[J-T]

Sounds about my luck that - regularly leaves its mark on my drive and then heals itself when I sell it!

 

And +1 on swapping those tyres, they may have loads of tread and match but they're seriously crap - I went straight on at a roundabout in the wet on more than one occasion, they're that hard I think you'd get about another 60k out of them

[phil_lihp]

How time flies, I'd forgotten all about this thread.

 

The Prelude continues to be a superb car and has not put a foot wrong since collection.  In fact, it's been boringly Japanese about the whole thing and as a result has received no maintenance whatsoever, mostly on account of not needing any.  It still hasn't used any noticeable quantity of oil, although I haven't checked it for a couple of weeks and in fact to my shame it hasn't even been washed since I picked it up from James last month.  

 

That's not to say it's been completely neglected though, the slight drone from a rear wheel bearing had evolved into a loud howl and I got my tame mechanic to change it, a quick, cheap job but a rather expensive part at £130, although that does include the hub as well so it could be worse.

 

Second on the list, some new tyres.  It came with some quite nice but non-original OZ wheels with 4 fairly new tyres on them.  Unfortunately, those tyres are branded "Tigar' and don't do the car many favours - they are quite ridiculously noisy, rock hard and have absolutely no grip in the wet.  Futhermore, the tracking is waaaay out, meaning the car doesn't handle terribly well and the newish front tyres are already bald on the inner edge as a result.

 

A lucky eBay find solved that issue - 4 proper Prelude alloys with 3 month old Mohawk tyres all round for £20 less than a pair of new front tyres on their own.  That'll do nicely.  Anonymous User kindly collected and stored them for me and yesterday I went and got them.  

 

Seeing as I had a spare hour this afternoon, there was only one thing to do.

 

 

Before...

 

 

 

 

And a few minutes later...

 

 

 

 

Much better.  The wheels are in dire need of painting but they'll do and personally I much prefer them, they suit the car and seeing as it's so original, right down to the original dealer numberplates, floor mats and key ring, I reckon they're the right way to go.  

 

The main thing isn't the look though, it's how much better the car is on decent rubber.  I looked up 'Mohawk' before bidding as I'd never heard of the brand and the general consensus seemed to be that they were a perfectly decent low-mid range tyre.  This certainly seems to be the case, they're a lot quieter and seem to grip better, plus I think the car rides and handles better now too.

 

The last job will be tracking on Tuesday, then after a good clean it'll be moved on again.  It's a lovely car but I don't want or need 3 cars, particularly when I cycle to work most days so it will hopefully go to someone who will appreciate its originality and keep it as it is.  I have an interested family member but if he changes his mind then you lot will have second dibs.

 

[Lacquer Peel]

Those aftermarket alloys aren't too offensive but it does look a lot better on original alloys, they are still reallly good looking cars and it's nice to see one that hasn't had the Fast and Furious bellend treatment.

 

Is it a 2.3?

[phil_lihp]

Not this one, just a 2.0 auto but it shifts well enough.

[Honey Badger]

Looks miles better on the Honda alloys, These are at the top of my want list.

[Spottedlaurel]

Very nice (but I would say that, wouldn't I?). A Prelude of some sort is certainly on my list to have some day.

[junkyarddog]

Such a good looking car,the original alloys look so much better.

These really are the best era of Japanese cars.

 

I have a '91 2.2 vtec JDM version tucked up in the shed,

was my daily for 7 years.

Hopefully it will become a cla**ic in a few years time

[phil_lihp]

It is a very pretty car in a slightly emotionless, Japanese sort of way.  
 

Incidentally I have tried a nighttime dash pic as previously requested but my camera phone won't focus in the dark. I'll do it with the proper camera when I remember at the right time of day.

[Ghosty]

I love those wheels, that looks great.