What the Build Gets Right and What It Compromises
What the build gets right is the way the whole package now works together. The chassis has the spring, tire, brake, and differential support it always deserved, and the K24 gives the car the torque and top-end character needed to make the platform feel alive on circuit. It feels purposeful, responsive, and far closer to a track version of the Prelude this project was always trying to create.
That said, like most builds with a strong track bias, this car comes with trade-offs.
Street driving is noisier and rougher since the K-swap. Prior to the swap there was considerably less rattling, buzzing, and general noise, but with extremely stiff engine mounts and bigger camshafts there is now substantial vibration going through the cabin. The K-series engine shakes and vibrates significantly more, and pairing it with very stiff mount bushings means the whole chassis feels more alive all the time, whether you want it to or not.
The steering is another area where the car shows its age. After being spoiled by the quicker steering ratio in the FD2 Type R, the Prelude steering feels vague by comparison, even without power steering. I think this is among the biggest let down in terms of the experience of the car. The steering does not feel as responsive.
Inside the cabin, the exhaust drone is loud. That is not much of an issue on the track, where the experience feels more visceral and purposeful, but for street and highway driving the drone is definitely one of the compromises.
All of the above are the trade-offs you make when you build a car with a bias toward track performance. I was warned about this, and now I’ve experienced first hand there performance and comfort can be inversely correlated.
In hindsight, there are a few things I would have done differently. We went with budget components for some components, and its is not worth the risk for the savings.
We used a “K Tuned” style billet shifter from Ali-Express. While it did do the job, we did have to modify it slightly so it was safer to use. The bushing for the shifter was not secure, and due the amount of vibration in the chassis, the bushing eventually gave way and the pin fell out. I wasn’t able to shift into 2nd gear whilst I was driving on the street.
Tidying up the loose ends
After the KSwap there were still a few problems and on-going ones as I am writing this. The initial power steering leak that came with the car was still present.
Steering rack boot crack Oil leak from the steering rack Oil leak from the driveshaft seal on both sides Leak from the drive shaft boot on the outer front left Front LCA ball joint crack on the front left
Future Plans Changes
- Softer engine mounts
- Review seat fitment, because the Recaro SR7 is slightly too large for the Prelude and the bolster rubs on the centre console
- Continue refining idle, street drivability, and calibration behaviour
- Revisit future cylinder head options to improve flow
- Swift spring replacement for a more refined ride
- Genuine Acuity shifter
- ABS
And about that head that didn’t flow so much, we’ve found a solution…
