[fugiot]

yes, but the only power you can FEEL is torque. You can't feel HP. It creates more of a "floaty" feeling than a pulling feeling. You're also forgetting of the MAJOR advantage that gearing provides. A Spec redlines at 6200rpm@38mph. The Prelude reds at 7800rpm@35mph. That's nearly a 2000rpm difference at the same speed meaning that the gears in the prelude are incredibly short. Shorter than even a B13 SE-R's. Now a weak power curve(if the H22's WAS weak), would only matter in 1st gear anyway. But since 1st is so incredibly tiny, it flies to redline before you know it. Smaller gears make the car seem dramatically lighter to the motor.

One thing I will say though, I'm sure the clutch and the low-end power in the Spec are better. It will definitely have the initial launch. But here's where things get tricky...the Prelude is meant as an "entry-level luxury car". If the Prelude has a terrible start, it won't catch up. Whereas the Prelude's 1st and 2nd gears are super tiny for around-town acceleration, it's also missing a gear to the Spec's 6-speed. The Spec is geared just like any other compact until 4th. 4th is a real small gear on the Spec and will pull HARD. I would actually be more inclined to believe the Spec winning from a roll or passing the 'Lude farther into the race(despite the trademark VTEC top-end), but not spanking a 'Lude in the first 2 gears.