na build up

[cardinalsfan]

ok, been doing my research and such and ive come up with the following stuff and the following questions i need answered before i move forward. first off, this is my daily driver so im wanting to keep it NA until i can buy another car and then this will get turbod for sure (and ill do a mt swap) anyways, here is my list of stuff:

Skunk2 intake – $305 pe
Skunk2 70mm TB – $260 pe
RC 370cc injectors – $320 pe
Skunk2 N1 exhaust – $453 pe
Skunk2 Stage 1 Cams – $555 pe
Skunk2 Red Cam Gears - $184 pe
PLX DM-5 + SM-AFR Combo - $265

now the questions:

Am i wrong with the brands i have selected?
should i do some valve train upgrades? if so, what should i do?
Which intake (brand and true cai (which i have) or short ram (which i kinda want)?
Fuel Pump upgrade?
Do I need a new fuel rail?
Do I need a fuel pressure regulator?
Which header should I use (brand again)?
Should I use the apexi neo or a tuner service (chrome, hondata etc.) and which of these would allow me to change the vtec kick in rpm?
Should I look into new pistons? if i did this, what all would that entail? could i get the engine ported and polished? can i get the engine bored out? how much can i get bored safely? what all else would this entail?
Where can I get the intake ported to match the TB size?
finally, this question hangs on whether i should do the safc neo or do the other tuning services but should i go from obd2 to obd1?
Anything else that im going to need? Anything im missing?

about the car, so far i only have a cai intake...thats all. its a 1998 prelude h22a auto tranny, everything runs like a charm. like i said, this will become a project car and im pretty sure (other than the cams i selected) i wont need to change much to go to a turbo or sc setup.

also, how would i look up places to install this stuff in my area and also where would i get dyno time? what kind of gains could i expect outta this? i still need this car for at least 2-3 years before i can go hog wild with it.

sorry for all the questions, ive look at other posts and such and just still need info.

[WERD]

ebay intake with k&n filter ftw

[cardinalsfan]

anyone else? really wanting some help with this

[bLatantLude22]

FIRST OF ALL: if your going n/a now and planning for turbo later on, your looking to waste a lot of money in reselling some of your parts that wont work with a turbo(air intake, header, etc.)
but anyways...

i would go straight to stage2 cams if your planning on doing turbo down the road. the stage2s should b fine for a dd until then.

skunk2 is a good brand, im going with it for my internals. some prefer Crower and i may even some day change my mind to that but its s2 for now.
if you do stay with a stage1 cam setup for now for some reason.. you should still get some springs and retainers even though its not mandatory.

i assume when u say s2 intake u mean intake manifold.
for an air intake check out what WERD said.. or an AEM V2 would be in your interest and in my opinion might b the best choice.

RMF and SMSP make great headers.. just pricey. but u get more for the buck

dont worry about pistons now if your turboing later.. n/a you would want high comp. pistons and turbo you would want low comp. and when you do a piston change youll most likely need to sleeve your eng.

obd1+ecu(several good types to choose from) and tuning would b quite smart.

thats all ive got. not too much but i figured id get ur help ball rolling with some minor suggestions.
these guys will get to you with some better info about all of your questions just b patient.. they kinda get caught up in flirting with PZ girls but hey thats understandable aint it? :P

[cardinalsfan]

sweet...thanks for getting me started, those were great answers.

i suppose i gotta decide now if i ever want to turbo the lude. seems like most things hang on that.

right now its an auto, which means no turbo and i cant use hondata with an a/t. i just dont have the time or money to swap it over to a m/t lude. anyone wanna trade ludes lol?

how much can i gain if i stay only na?

[bLatantLude22]

yea ive got an auto 98 base too. wish it was m/t.. and its actually sitting in the garage right now with a dead tranny waiting to get a new 1 and i so wish i could afford he swap at this point :\

well if you wanna use one of the best n/a setups as an example.. take a look at ogsmakdade. he gets about 250+hp. not quite the gains that a turbo will get you. but ur engine is a lot more likely to last. and youll probably still take most cars out on the street.

[cardinalsfan]

nice, thanks for the tip

[98vtec]

dont take advice from people who havent done it.

2 cents.......

If you want to be fast and reliable at the same time, either learn through research or trial and error or pay someone that has experience in this department to build you a setup.

leave everything alone til you figure out what you want.

[THE ONE]

dont take advice from people who havent done it.

2 cents.......

If you want to be fast and reliable at the same time, either learn through research or trial and error or pay someone that has experience in this department to build you a setup.

leave everything alone til you figure out what you want.

this is the best advise. Figure out what you want to do then research. Then whatever is unclear. Research it some more. Still unclear? Then ask questions.

[92_prelude]

There's not much difference with intakes, it's a pipe, and a filter, so go with an ebay intake for like 35 bucks, buy brain crower stage 2 cams with the valvetrain upgrade, and a good exhaust system. skunk 2 charges a lot b/c they're a popular brand, but brain crower's cams are solid, and aem's cam gears are good too, you could save a lot of money with these, and use it to upgrade your valvetrain...and tune, you'l probably get more for your money with a good tune.

[98vtec]

skunk2 cams are more expensive because their cams make more power.

intakes do differ. The length and diameter of the intake play a huge role in how much power is gained or lost.

[OEM~KaOs]

intakes do differ. The length and diameter of the intake play a huge role in how much power is gained or lost.

I agree. I put ebay intakes into my earlier cars (integra's) and they worked just fine, but now i have a custom intake in my prelude and the piping diameter is...well...i haven't seen regular intakes but this intake is gigantic. The power gain is substantial compared to those cheap ebay intakes. I have also been looking into going n/a, so im the same position as you, and research is the most important part. Read what other people have done, and learn from their mistakes and their accomplishments. hope this helps, probably just repeating what you already know... :)

[Rory]

Am i wrong with the brands i have selected? Prefereance.

should i do some valve train upgrades? if so, what should i do? If u wanna rev higher.

Which intake (brand and true cai (which i have) or short ram (which i kinda want)? They all the same. Pick one.

Fuel Pump upgrade? Walbro 250

Do I need a new fuel rail? Your Stock one can do the job.

Do I need a fuel pressure regulator? Yes.

Which header should I use (brand again)? Price Range. lol

Should I use the apexi neo or a tuner service (chrome, hondata etc.) and which of these would allow me to change the vtec kick in rpm?
They all can change Vtec. But u pretty much dont want to. I perfer hondata.

Should I look into new pistons? if i did this, what all would that entail? could i get the engine ported and polished? can i get the engine bored out? how much can i get bored safely? what all else would this entail? You can only get Mahle pistons for your car with out sleeving. Yes. u can bore. I cant rember the bore size. But i do remember i like the factory bore. I would change rods and bearing while changing pistons and also get the crank polished.


Where can I get the intake ported to match the TB size? You can make a intake or buy one to match the size.

finally, this question hangs on whether i should do the safc neo or do the other tuning services but should i go from obd2 to obd1?
Anything else that im going to need? Anything im missing?

I still say Hondata. And that will require you to go OBD1.

[v8h8]

Upgrade your fuel system, rail filter and pump