The scene, if you can imagine, is nearly dark. A terrible combination of rap music and bad 80's rock ballads are blasting through the speakers, strobes are popping off left and right, and Amber Jung, a saucy young female who has joined us on this year's Tour is telling me how great her boyfriend Dean Cristofori's car is. I nod as if interested, but with the constant bombardment of female entertainers in the room and the occasional liquid refreshment, one should not be blamed for answering with nods and smiles. We are reaching the wee hours of our overnight stop in North Carolina, but the only thing I can think of is how great the feeling will be once I get some shut eye. Feature cars? Let's talk tomorrow morning.
As the night turns into day and my stomach begins to hate me because of what I did to it just hours before (Can I get a "Whoa Team Waffle House?" - JN), I find myself bumping into Dean and Amber once again. On cue, we all exchange pleasantries sluggishly, but in a flash I'm reminded of more about last night than breasts and liquid-induced gag reflexes. There's that Prelude, staring me in the face. It's the one people whispered to me, "500 horsepower." And with the gullwing doors propped wide open, that 500 horsepower might even be enough to propel the car up off the ground. But those power ratings seem off. 500 isn't common for a street-driven Honda, much less a Prelude. A gutted Civic hatchback with a built B18? Maybe, but the H22?
Seeing how Preludes weren't being modified as much as the other Honda models, Dean still found plenty of promise with this black sheep chassis. A lack of aftermarket support meant everything had to be custom and in his case, nearly $50,000 worth, most of which went to the engine bay. But as you can see, the money's well spent with the H22 now fully built and turbocharged to powered excellence. JE Import Performance was the shop responsible for tearing the motor down, stroking it to 2.4 liters, then reassembling it with Eagle connecting rods, Endyn pistons and rings before having it balanced and blueprinted. The block also has Golden Eagle sleeves, a Cometic head gasket to bring the compression ratio down, and a Moroso oil pan to hold a greater capacity of, well, oil. ARP head studs were then used to tighten the cylinder head back down, but then a custom equal-length turbo manifold was bolted on to accept a T4 Precision SC-61 turbo with modified internals and a S-cover with a 4-inch inlet. The turbo kit also uses a Turbosmart Megasonic blow-off valve for loud and necessary pressure discharges and a TiAL 44mm wastegate redirects exhaust gases, keeping them from reaching the turbo's turbine blades. A Precision intercooler fills the Ground Design front bumper and a custom setup of A'PEXi N1 universal mufflers fills the back bumper.
Dean also modified the factory fuel system to accommodate a set of 1000cc Precision injectors, an AEM fuel rail and fuel regulator, and a Walbro 255LPH in-tank fuel pump. With fine tuning done only through a Turbosmart e-Boost boost controller, Dean's H22 now sings to the tune of 510.7 whp and 398.8 lb-ft, as tested on a Dynojet. The factory transmission needed the necessary equipment to handle the power increase, so a pair of Stage 5 axles from the Drive Shaft Shop were installed to stop any premature axle failure, followed by a lightened Fidanza flywheel, ACT XT-SS clutch, and a Quaife differential to hook up both front wheels while burning out before making its way down the track.