Fuel/ HP Q's

Im new to the tuner scene, so I aploogize I dont know a whole lot.

1. I got a 96 prelude SI, which from all the reading, has a h23 engine in it. Im looking to spend around $1000 on some basic HP upgrades. What do you guys suggest that I do? Anything would help. From 4-5 small things or 1 large upgrade. Let me know guys.

2. I filled up the prelude 2 times with 87 octane before I realized that It said right next to the RPM "Premium Unleaded Fuel Only". Well right now in Southern California 91 octane is like $2.89 a gallon. Will it hurt my car to continue to run it on 87?

Thanks for all the advice!

1. basic mods first, intake, header, exhuast system, that would prolly blow your 1000 but will give you a nice gain in air flow, hp, etc.

2. the 87 wont do damage for just a few tanks, but will eventually you will start to develop engine knock and detonation, despite the cost of the gas, its alot cheaper than having to change the motor.

first i would decide which direction you want to go with your car... (N/A, FI...drag, Auto X...etc...) then i wold budget money so you can build up from there...

r u sure its a 96 prelude, i thought it was only 92-95

no, 4th gen preludes were 92-96. And I would highly recommend putting only premium gas in your tank. I know how you feel, it's $2.83 or so for premium in CT where I live and in NY where I go to school. But like crxlvr said, it'll mess up your engine in the long run, thus being a lot more expensive. It'll also run a lot better.

i wish it was only 2.83 for premium....up here its 3.03....

start running the good stuff and explain what you'd like out of your car and we can help you.

BE SPECIFIC when telling us there are 100000000 ways to "go fast" so tell us as much as you can so we can help better.

shit, its $3.39 here in hawaii so no complaining.

running 87 in a car requiring 91 might lead to detonation which is not good for the motor at all. i would recommend putting 91 in just to save the motor. for only $1k i would just recommend i/h/e seeing as you only have 1k and want to keep good fuel economy

Alright thanks im now going to run only 91 and I guess $289 is not that bad a gallon. As for the performance. I will not drag it, except on the streets at 2 AM, I want the car to be faster, but it will still be an everyday commuter car and so it has to remain legal. So what im really looking for is to get about another 40HP out of my car which would put me at 200 total hp. Im not looking for a really high top end but I want really quick acceleration.

The previous message was one idea, or another one I Might consider is getting a turbo. But...

1. Can you set a turbo to kick in at a certian RPM at say like 4.0K? I think thats what the waste gate and blowoff are for right?

2. Would if be efficient to run a turbo off stock headers and exhaust?

3. Can the stock engine handle the pressure increase of turbo?

If not then ill just do the I/H/E

h22 head????

you need the rest of the turbo kit to run a turbo... like the manifold (which replaces the factory one) wastegate (some turbos have an internal wastegate) BOV, intercooler and pipes. oh and oil lines... and you set a wastegate for a certain psi, not RPM so the turbo doesnt over boost your engine. and yes your engine can handle about 7-10psi safely if its in good condition.

premium is 3.62 here in wisconsin.... i'm goin broke!

i just saw REGULAR, <<---REGULAR 87, for 3.99/gal

$6.00 FOR 87 IN LOUSIANA!!!!!! 5 MILE LONG LINE FOR GAS!!(at least thats what the news said)

Greenblurr I called your friend Bob bout the turbo, Talked to him and didnt realize that it would cost 3k+turbo to get it installed and working in my car. So there goes that idea. Another thing, I was reading here
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t334988.html and the 3rd guy down said that I/H/E will only give you 7HP max. Is that true?

h22 head????
Can you put an h22 head on a h23 and make it VTECH? I thought the heads were alligned differently.

Well, it may be 3k for a full new setup... but if you hunt around i know you can get a decsent setup for like 1500.. try www.homemadeturbo.com (http://www.homemadeturbo.com) for ideas...and 7hp may be true, but you may also get 10-15....maybe... its true, forced induction is the cheapest way to get a good amount of reliable HP...

yes you can put an h22 on an h23 and make it VTEC not VTECH(thats a phone company) this is what you'll commonly hear called a Frankenstein motor as this would be the most powerful non-tuned motor to be put together.

Well, it may be 3k for a full new setup... but if you hunt around i know you can get a decsent setup for like 1500.. try www.homemadeturbo.com (http://www.homemadeturbo.com) for ideas...and 7hp may be true, but you may also get 10-15....maybe... its true, forced induction is the cheapest way to get a good amount of reliable HP...
Really, well, how do I go about getting a h22 head either new or used?

either way you want, obviously a new h22 head will cost thousands of dollars, since for one the motor is out of production, and two you can only find one from a dealer. a used h22 head will run no more than 1000 depending on condition.

Hey I have been looking at a lot of performance stuff and some sites say "application-1992-95 Prelude Si H23" but we all know that that style of prelude was 92-96, i got the 96 lude, will all 92-95 products fit on the 96? There were no engine changes from 95 to 96 were there?

well the h23 was the non vtec, if you have a vtec model, then you have an h22.