Prelude vs Civic?

Here is the problem: I was gonna get this 3rd gen prelude, but the mechanic said it was crap. So now back to the drawing board however

Here is the question. I am tied in between a civic and a prelude? What should I look for? What is easiest to rice-up? What has the best performance etc etc? Now i know its gonna get biased in here, but I wanna know what yall have to say , soo let the comments run in :dogpile:

civic is lighter.

prelude has more power to start (unless u buy the civic si)

go w/ the civic, an don't rice it out...plz...

Ice, once again where in the same situation...looking at having to settle for a civic over a prelude. What i wanna know is should i go for a HB or coupe? with same suspension and all which handles better? HB seems like it has a little more room but the coupe looks better to me in stock form. I think for about 1800 in mods i could have a stealth civix that would run low 15's...not too bad if i get one cheap. I know the DX has the shitty D15, what does the EX have? maybe a D16? if so that has some potential.

If it's between a 3rd gen. lude and a 5th generation(92-95) civic, i'd go with the civic. Almost as fast and easier to find parts.

What about a new prelude? that in my options as well?

Someone said that the Prelude is more powerful unless we're talking about the Civic SI. This is untrue - the Prelude is still considerably more powerful.

Don't ask which performs better - neither perform well at all. If you're in this type of market you should be asking about gas mileage or which has cheaper tires.

Originally posted by 96z28SS
Someone said that the Prelude is more powerful unless we're talking about the Civic SI. This is untrue - the Prelude is still considerably more powerful. That´s true!

Originally posted by 96z28SS
Don't ask which performs better - neither perform well at all. If you're in this type of market you should be asking about gas mileage or which has cheaper tires. That´s bullshit! Maybe you want to prove your statement?!? And don´t start like "my 3.8l V8 with 300hp is faster..." or anything like that. The cars should be compareable and not in different classes.

Originally posted by 96z28SS
Don't ask which performs better - neither perform well at all. If you're in this type of market you should be asking about gas mileage or which has cheaper tires.


do you ever give up? :bloated:

Or do you TRY to be a complete asshole? :nutkick: :eek7:

That was not necessary, you're just being annoying.

If you get a 3rd gen prelude parts are harder to find as with newer ones there are more. Civics you can find anything!
but personaly i like preludes. I have a 1990 prelude 2.1Si its fast. I beat a civic del sol Si. But anyways i donno i just like preludes the best.

Originally posted by NDeBa
If you get a 3rd gen prelude parts are harder to find as with newer ones there are more. Civics you can find anything!
but personaly i like preludes. I have a 1990 prelude 2.1Si its fast. I beat a civic del sol Si. But anyways i donno i just like preludes the best. 1.) It´s called "Honda" and not "Handa"! :wink:
2.) What is a 2.1 Si?? :confused:

a H23 that's running 3 1/3 cylinders :spit:



:cwm27: errr.... Or a type-o :icon16:

Figures a guy with a camaro comes in to talk shit on honda. Heres an idea GET THE FUCK OUT! The prelude is powerful and handles much better than the civic SI. Simple as that. Throw a turbo on there and run up the PSI and the camaro will eat shit. My prelude has about 8g's throw down in mods, i can run a 10.8, with venom's nitrous oxide system. Go with the prelude, pref. 2001.

1.) It´s called "Honda" and not "Handa"!
2.) What is a 2.1 Si??

1. I know its not a handa!!! its called a typing error!!
2. there are Prelude 2.0Si's and Prelude Si's the prelude Si's have a 2.1 liter engine compared to the 2.0Si's have the 2.0 liter engine. There is also the Prelude Si (4WS) that also has the 2.1 Liter engine with four wheel steering. The Prelude S has the 2.0 is carborated not fuel injected. (no i )
That all goes for the 3rd gen anyways.

Originally posted by NDeBa


1. I know its not a handa!!! its called a typing error!!
2. there are Prelude 2.0Si's and Prelude Si's the prelude Si's have a 2.1 liter engine compared to the 2.0Si's have the 2.0 liter engine. There is also the Prelude Si (4WS) that also has the 2.1 Liter engine with four wheel steering. The Prelude S has the 2.0 is carborated not fuel injected. (no i )
That all goes for the 3rd gen anyways. 1.) I thought so! I didn´t want to offend you! :smile:
2.) Dang! You´re right!! Never knew that there is anything like a 2.1l Prelude. They were never available with this engine over here in europe (or at least not in germany)! Sorry, my fault!!! :rolleyes:

1.I wasn't offended :)
2. yeah its usualy called just the prelude Si but i like to say 2.1 because people may asume its a 2.0... or don't know that they made it w/ a 2.1 :)
ya learn something new every day!

To me a 4th/5th generation prelude is a clear choice over a civic but do you have to extra money to go with a prelude? First off the lude is going to cost more than you can get a civic in the same condition. For the civic parts are easier to find and a little cheaper(i think?). But where you can make an H22 hit 14's without out too much cash the best time i've seen on an all motor DX engine is like low 15's. After engine swap and all prelude will be cheaper and still better looking than a civic...

Wow, you're not shitting, there is a 2.0 Si and 2.1 Si, aswell as a 2.0 S :bloated: Didn't know that :eek7:

If your being sarcastic....i was informing Veetec not you are anyone els that knows that...he asked. :biggrin:

No I wasn't being sarcastic...

first of all the prelude 2.2 vtec in the 4th or fith gen. is way more powerful than any civc. i mean come on how can you even compare a a litte civic to a refined 5 th gen 200 hp prelude. the car drives like it is on rails. if you are buying a civic and trying to compare it to a prelude then you must just be looking at the civic si. i like the 99's and i have driven 2 of them, but the power, acceleration, and handling doesnt even come close to a 97 thru 01 prelude.

:iagree:
hell yeah!

anyways also depends on the driver. If ur gonna take ur friends or family or someone in the car a 4 door civic could be more comfortable than the 2 door prelude. But thats wha others think, i dont care about that ,i just squish my friends on my lude and i get an automatic drop.
:bigthumb:

I say that u go with the lude. Faster, better, and more fun to drive

I say go with a 4th gen prelude, cheaper than the fith gens. but a little more than a civic. i all most got a civic si or a integra gsr, but i found 93 prelude vtec that i like a lot. To many people have civics i think. My cusin has a a 3rd gen prelude and she has a cheap ceramic header and a weapon r ram intake on it, it was dyoned a 160 somthing. It was nice but id go with a 4th or 5th vtec. A 4th gen prelude vtec comes with 190hp stock thats just fast and lightin it up and throw some bolt on it youl can run 14s like MotoRex17 said. So id pick even a 3rd over a civic if that was my only choice, ha unless the civic had a h22 in it, id have to change my mind.

i have owned both a civic (94 ex) and a prelude (93 si). i loved both of them, mind you, but the prelude is so much more enjoyable to drive. plus i think they are easier to work on than a civic. the civic has more room, but it did not put down good times at the track. my lude has a H23 with not a whole lot of mods and runs 14.9's. and i don't know about where you live, but around here EVERYONE has a civic, which is cool. but i'm the only one roling in a lude, which is cooler :o)

Iv owned both, and driven a more than a few of both from a variety of generations in a variety of forms.

The Prelude is a nice GT, i.e. great for getting from one end of the country to the other, but IMO thats all its good at.
A higher end Civic model is by far and away the better car, and Im not talking about the poor pathetic models sold in the US, but the genunine RS/Si/SiR/VTi/VTiR/Type R models sold else where in the world.
Quite simply the Prelude is build as a mixture of Accord, Integra and Civic parts and is at its very heart a compromise. The same can be said for every other FWD Honda model, all of which are based in some way on the Civic, which is the orginal car in every new generation of platforms.

I have owned and been very satisfied with both. My 89 H/B ran for 238,000 miles when I sold it and is still running. They make everything for it 2. Not the fastest ride but I made it look and sound good. Now I own an 88 prelude si and its a bit more powerful. Easy to find parts to charge the motor up but hard to find parts for the exterior. I would have to say That I like the Prelude more for the speed.


Happy Holidays all

Iv owned both, and driven a more than a few of both from a variety of generations in a variety of forms.

The Prelude is a nice GT, i.e. great for getting from one end of the country to the other, but IMO thats all its good at.
A higher end Civic model is by far and away the better car, and Im not talking about the poor pathetic models sold in the US, but the genunine RS/Si/SiR/VTi/VTiR/Type R models sold else where in the world.
Quite simply the Prelude is build as a mixture of Accord, Integra and Civic parts and is at its very heart a compromise. The same can be said for every other FWD Honda model, all of which are based in some way on the Civic, which is the orginal car in every new generation of platforms.


last time i checked, the prelude was classified as a sports car, and a civic was classified as a compact economy car. lay off the crack.

Go with the Lude. Mine spanks Civics left and right... ...Integras too.