Building my perfect 4th gen. Mint BB1 VTEC with ATR swap

[bennyboy]

I'm told the 4WS and cruise etc might not work with the P28 as these ECUs came on Civics which didn't have outputs for these functions.

I run a P28 and Hondata S300, with 4WS and cruise, all


Cracking work, nice one.

[chrismc]

Well done with the motor!

Not so sure about the headlining/glass roof truth be told. So rare to find a good'un that it's a shame to lose its originality.

Hey ho- at least it hasn't been broken Good luck getting it running.

Should go very well- even with a stock A7. 15" wheels help with the gearing. With a proper map on a P28 it should be a true ~220bhp I reckon

[Jack]

I'm told the 4WS and cruise etc might not work with the P28 as these ECUs came on Civics which didn't have outputs for these functions.

I run a P28 and Hondata S300, with 4WS and cruise, all


Cracking work, nice one.

That's what I wanted to hear! So it's just a case of plugging everything back in? Cheers.

Well done with the motor!

Not so sure about the headlining/glass roof truth be told. So rare to find a good'un that it's a shame to lose its originality.

Hey ho- at least it hasn't been broken Good luck getting it running.

Should go very well- even with a stock A7. 15" wheels help with the gearing. With a proper map on a P28 it should be a true ~220bhp I reckon

The headlining was always gonna be marmite - I love it and I'll probably end up doing the same with my Civic and ATR I'm keeping all the original stuff stored, so it can be returned to standard if I ever feel the need!

Can't wait to drive it, it's been nearly 3 years since I drove a healthy A7 (despite the fact I own 3 ) and just over a year since my old H22A2 in my old Prelude gave up. It'll be on 16" R32 GTR wheels when I get chance to do a hub conversion, either way the ATR gearing is a fair bit shorter than the Prelude so yeah, I'm hoping it'll move pretty nicely!

[wurlycorner]

That's what I wanted to hear! So it's just a case of plugging everything back in? Cheers

4ws and ABS ECUs talk to each other, but not to the ignition ECU at all (on a 4g). So fill your boots with any engine ECU.

As for vtecdirect, I know of someone that had them do an engine swap in a prelude and they have made a total drokking pigs ear of it, with all sorts of problems with the engine running properly after, so... my advice would be not to go anywhere near them with a prelude, if yours doesn't run right after you've worked on it.

[NafemanNathan]

With a proper map on a P28 it should be a true ~220bhp I reckon

240+

[chrismc]

With a proper map on a P28 it should be a true ~220bhp I reckon

240+

Hmm- dyno lottery dependant I guess

My old Integra DC2 made 188 (fw) on one dyno & 216 on another. Spec was identical between runs. The lesser figure was realistic, the upper 'quote-me-happy'

I think a true 240hp / 31hp peak gain over standard (A7 is 209 in the ATR?) is possibly a bit optimistic with bolt ons & a map.

Having experience with ATRs- those I've seen have been a sniff over 200bhp as standard- breathing mods & map taking them to ~220-225. Mid range vastly better however.

[Jack]

That's what I wanted to hear! So it's just a case of plugging everything back in? Cheers

4ws and ABS ECUs talk to each other, but not to the ignition ECU at all (on a 4g). So fill your boots with any engine ECU.

As for vtecdirect, I know of someone that had them do an engine swap in a prelude and they have made a total drokking pigs ear of it, with all sorts of problems with the engine running properly after, so... my advice would be not to go anywhere near them with a prelude, if yours doesn't run right after you've worked on it.

Happy days then, that's ideal!

Dark red/burgundy one? I've seen that in and out of VTD a lot lately, they mentioned they were having issues with it. It's auto if I'm not mistaken? I live 5 minutes from them, and to be fair over the last 3 years they've always quickly got to the bottom of any issues that I've taken my Civic, ATR and Prelude in with. In theory I only need a couple of wires extending and I'm golden.

With a proper map on a P28 it should be a true ~220bhp I reckon

240+

Hmm- dyno lottery dependant I guess

My old Integra DC2 made 188 (fw) on one dyno & 216 on another. Spec was identical between runs. The lesser figure was realistic, the upper 'quote-me-happy'

I think a true 240hp / 31hp peak gain over standard (A7 is 209 in the ATR?) is possibly a bit optimistic with bolt ons & a map.

Having experience with ATRs- those I've seen have been a sniff over 200bhp as standard- breathing mods & map taking them to ~220-225. Mid range vastly better however.

I won't be chasing numbers, but I'll be very happy with anything over 230. If it feels fast and is fun to drive, that'll do me. It should be the fastest car I've had so far, actually....

In other news:

IT RUNS! I AM A MECHANICAL GENIUS!

Really didn't expect it to be so easy to get running, all the headaches with stuff being incompatible between the Accord Type-R and Prelude had set me up to expect disappointment

Turned it over for a few seconds with the dizzy unplugged to build a bit of oil pressure (engine hasn't ran since I removed it from the donor ATR around February, plus I've drained the oil and replaced it and the filter etc)

Plugged the dizzy in and attempted to start it (after dealing with a few fuel leaks) - nothing but starter motor....

The dizzy I was using was fine when last used (when the tensioner went on my old Lude) but thought as it was the easiest, most obvious thing to try, I swapped it for the brand new one that had been supplied with this Lude. Fired straight up!

Ran for 10 seconds or so and then cut out, seeing as it was 1am Sunday morning I didn't bother investigating further.

Sunday night I had a poke around, MAP sensor wasn't plugged in. The Prelude has the MAP sensor on the bulkhead and is operated via the vacuum system, the ATR has it on top of the throttle body. Simply unplugged the Prelude one and plugged the wire into the ATR sensor and now it'll run fine.

It hunts really badly, 1-2krpm but that's cause the IACV isn't plugged in yet. In theory I just need to get the wires extended, plug it in and it should work.

Throttle cable bracket needs modifying as when it's bolted down it on't allow the throttle butterfly to fully close, shouldn;t be too much of a problem to do tomorrow.

Hopefully it'll get down the road under it's own power tomorrow!

[wurlycorner]

good work.

Yep, that's the lude in question.

[Jack]

I first took it on the road on Thursday night, it was really difficult to drive - jerky and very jumpy but fast. Got my mate to extend the IACV and IAT wires and took it out, it still doesn't idle properly (no exhaust so no lambda).

It drokking flies! Really aggressive VTEC kick and a nice surge of power with it. It's only on the Prelude ECU at the minute but it's still really impressive. I've had ATRs (still own 2) but this feels quicker/more aggressive, maybe something to do with the noise. Also an ATR hits VTEC at around 5600rpm IIRC, and is quite hard to keep in VTEC. Because the Prelude ECU activates it at 5k you don't drop out of VTEC on gearchanges.

Overall I'm mega happy with it, just gotta get a chip off @nucleustylzlude and then get it mapped. Few things to sort, cruise doesn't work as I haven't even looked at the vacuum lines yet. It sounds like an old 306 D-Turbo with the boost turned up at low revs due to all the vacuum leaks

[mercutio]

seating position also helps with the feeling of speed in the lude you sit in it not on it like in the accord and your quite low to the ground as is the cog