Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance 7th Gen Celica GTS or 5 gen Prelude?

Hey i'm new here although I did register in august but have never been here since august. I'm a member on 6gc.net.

My name is Tommy and I drive a 97 Celica GT Convertable. I'm getting tiredof the car because the lack of aftermarket products and its slow. So planning on selling the car this spring.

My problem is I don't know which car to pick between a 7th gen GTS or a 5th gen (97-01) Prelude. They both perform about the same stock vs stock some where in the mid-low 15's. I'm also a member on Honda-tech.com for close to a year now and learned that I/H/E with a set of falken Azenis can get the prelude into the mid 14's. Would it be the same for the GTS? Does the 1zz react well to mods? My plans if I get the GTS is Greddy Evo/AEM CAI/and DC Sports 4-1. high 14's maybe?

the GTS has a 2ZZ-GE engine, the GT has the 1ZZ. a good driver in a gts can get high 14's, i believe. i think you may be a little disappointed at the lack of aftermarket support for the celica as opposed to the 'lude. do some research (as i see you have been) on the availability of aftermarket parts and such so you know what's available.

well, weightwise, the GTS is much lighter. 5th gen prelude is slower than the 4th gen, from what i've heard.

Compared to the Prelude, the GTS has a few aftermarket support.

Handling on the Celica is fucking sweet in stock form.

no doubt the 7th gen Celica owns many a car in handling, and no lack of aftermarket there in suspension components.

power-wise, it's not so much that the 7th gen needs a lot of products...just a few really good ones. AND a company called TPR will be introducing very soon some of the finest products available for the 7th gen. aftermarket is growing. the non-drive-by-wire manual Celicas already have the PowerFC standalone ecu, which dominates. an even better standalone ecu may well be coming out for drive-by-wire Celicas. cams are right around the corner. and there is at least at the moment one very good company doing turbo kits for the GT or GTS (C2Power.com). the 7th gen also has internals available from several companies if you want high boost. the tranny is there by C2Power to handle the boost. we got the clutches of all different stages and we got the flywheels of all different weights depending on N/A or turbo application. If you have the money, it is possible to make a 400-500 whp 7th Gen. I call that reasonable aftermarket. Remember it's not about quantity in aftermarket, it's about quality. Get the right products, and you won't be disappointed.

Just ask first on this forum what to get. A lot of people buy the wrong stuff and then complain later on this forum.

Use the knowledge and experience on this site.

Well i'm not looking for anything major, just basic bolt ons like I/H/E. I just want a nice fairly quick car. My goal is mainly aiming for the mid 14's with some nice tires.

A good driver in the GTS can manage high 14's, then the basic bolt ons would get me somewhere in the mid 14's correct? I/H/E i'm guessing would add about 15 ish HP? with some Falkens mid 14's is in the range or even better. What do you guys think?

it is tough from what i've heard to land the GTS in lift in every shift (and damn near impossible in an '02), so you should, with i/h/e, be around high 14's.

Get an 01 GTS and mod the hell out of it.

hmmm..am i the only one who heard that the h22 has a lot of problems when it hits high mileage?

I don't know about the H22 having problems when it its high miles. Yes I think Hondas IMO aren't as reliable as Toyotas, but they are close.

What is the difference between the years? 00,01,02, etc... Why is it harder to get lift in an 02 that other models? And why is the 01 better to mod? or are you suggesting that I get it because it is cheap and use the extra money to mod? I was planning on gettin an 00-01, your plan seems like the best so far.

Other than I/E, drop the header, I heard they don't work well with I/E. what other mods can I do.

CAI, Cat-Back Exhaust, Underdrive Pulleys, Lighten Flywheel, Short Shifter.

What others would you guys recommend so I can do some research on them.

GTS, basic bolt-ons, tuned, drag radials =

13's w/ awesome driver.

(and the best bolt-ons aren't here yet)

damn i always forget, but is the celi exhaust syst. cat? or axle?

I own a 00 celica gts, and have previously owned two hondas ( 00 civic si, 99 gsr). As far as reliability goes, I'd say the honda motors have toyota beat hands down. The only reliability issues I've heard about with the preludes is with the shiftronic tranny going around 100k. I've never had any problems with hondas, but have had frequent CELS on my toyota. Their's nothing wrong with the celica, but the 2zz engine is a little tempermental sometimes.
The reason you dont want an 02 celica is because they changed the rev limiter down to 7800 rpms from a previous 8350 in the 00 and 01. The 03+ celicas have a drive by wire which limits the ecu mods possible.
Aftermarket support for the 5th gen lude isnt much stronger than the 7th gen celica. I currently have a I/E and ran a 14.8 w/ 17" wheels in the 1/4 to give you an idea. I've heard preludes are harder to launch, but could produce comparable times. The celica is also more high strung w/ all the power coming over 6k rpms, while the lude has more low end torque.
Both are nice cars, either one you'd be happy with.

So from what your saying is that they are basically the same cars. Well not the same, you know what I mean. In that case the GTS is my pick because the exterior is a little better than the Lude and the interior IMO is a lot better than the lude.

most aftermarket ones are axle (imaginary) which bolt to the flange. the Kazuma is cat back and needs welding.

whoa...the exterior is only a little better than the lude?

IMO, the 7th gen Celica w/ body kit is one of the best looking cars in the world short of an exotic. It is truly unique and has absolutely beautiful lines. The lude doesn't come close.

just curious, but what were the codes on the CELs?

I've only had intake-related CELs on my '02 GTS and that's not the engine's fault.

thanks I was going nutz

i get a random cylinder misfire about once a month and have to clear them, or cylinder 2 misfire. Its frustrating because i have to clear them all the time.

^^^ now how does 1 have this problem all the time?? what causes this??

compare:


with

The 5th gen Prelude's body style looks like it causes a lot of drag force, even with a body kit.

I dont have to say much for the Celica.

well im biased hey but if you chose a 'Lude, thats one less Celica we have to worry about in terms of competition

gts

I personnaly like the look of the 5 gen preludes. Its just a matter of preference. Both cars have good lines. The interiors are another story. Celicas own most cars in the class with their interiors. Also the celi has a six speed if you get a gts. The prelude sh only has a 5 speed. You dont really need a 6 speed when you have enough torque but its still damn fun. And if you get a celi get a gts. Its worth the extra 1 to 2 grand expecially if youre staying NA.

stick with the GTS everything is going for it

go GTS man

Yeah thats what I was going for. The GTS with basic bolt ons.

actually it's not just the lines that make the Celi beautiful, it's the curves too. my baby's got the complete package. on any block she's the best looking. ok, if no other Celi's are around haha.

why are you still even thinkin about this?> GTS!!!!!

The GTS is all modern looking, the 5th Gen Prelude was designed to look more like the older preludes. I like the 4th Gen way better, with the electro luminecent gauges and sleeker styling, I think it looks better then the 5th GEN, even tho' its older. The interior in the 5th Gen is way plainer/old school looking too. Handling, braking, GTS is far superior. The only thing the 'lude got going for it, is that the H22A is highly moddable, plus power is more usable with more torque. There is tons of aftermarket support for the lude, and mild support for the GTS.