Team-BHP - Honda Prelude

Honda Prelude

Seen this Honda Prelude in my area scores of times. Luckily I had the cam with me when I saw it parked. The car is quite maintained although the engine bay was looking a "little" dusty. Interiors were also a little dusty but well kept and overall the car was in good condition.

The 1996 Honda Prelude is available in three models: S, Si and VTEC. Standard features for the S model include a 135-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, dual airbags, a power sunroof, power windows, a tilt steering wheel, cruise control, air conditioning, and a rear window defroster. The Si upgrades the S with alloy wheels, a 160-horsepower 4-cylinder engine and an anti-lock brake system (ABS). The VTEC sports a 190-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, a 7-speaker stereo system, leather interior, and a rear deck spoiler. Dealer-installed accessories include a CD player, an integrated cellular phone, a sunroof visor and fog lights.

Source: MSN Autos
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My guess is that this is the Si model with 160 horses under that hood. Here is the pic

Dipen, the car featured above is an automatic
Dippy, I think I've seen a 1982 Honda Prelude in Mumbai, although I'm not sure about it

Stratos, I didn't know it had a four wheel steering system. Anyways, for those who don't know I found this:

What is Four-Wheel Steering (4WS)?
Four wheel steering is a system that allows the rear wheels to turn for maneuvering, rather than just follow the front wheels. 4WS isn't new, you might remember it as an option on Honda Preludes in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

A computer determines how much and in which direction the rear wheels should move, and whether the rear wheels should turn the same direction as the front wheels or in the opposite direction.The movement is variable up to a couple of inches.

At slow speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front wheels. This makes for easier parking. On the other hand at high speeds, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels. This is to ensure great maneuverability for lane changing. This system is now being installed on trucks, pick-ups and trailers.

Source: www.about.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stratos

Shan2nu.... u are forgetting something.!!! Prelude was the first car to have 4 Wheel Steering!!!

You're partially right - The Prelude was the first production car to have an ACTIVE 4 Wheel Steering. This was done using a complex series of servos, electricals & an on-board dedicated computer. At low speeds (parking, for example) the wheels would turn in the opposite direction to those in front. At higher speeds however, they would turn in the same direction, with a lower rate of turn than the front wheels.

Porsche AG had pioneered the concept back in 1978 with their Wessiach Axle, which used physics & mechanical suspension geometry to slightly turn the wheels in the opposite direction of the front wheels. This gave the already extremely stable 928 even more stability.

Moreover, note that both the Porsche & Honda systems turned the wheels only slightly, nothing close to what the front wheels turn on full lock.

Honda discontinued this feature a few years later as there were very few takers for the cost & complexity of the system... the fact that it added almost 3000 pounds to the cost of car made for dismal sales reports.

Ciao! ;)

the prelude certainly was a success for honda ..however its production has been discontinued 2 yrs back..the best prelude came in it wid a 2.2l ivtec pushing 200bhp ... i got a chance to drive a 2001 vtec prelude 2 yrs back in mi 1st year of university .. it pulled a 130 in 2nd wid utmost ease ..its a light car ..amazing traction ..throws u back each time u shift up ...never got a chance to go above 3rd though .. i was driving wid a learners liscense ...so i cudnt drive on the higway .. it was sucha pain to be using the right hand to change gears .. another gud discontinued honda car was the Honda - Legend i sat in it a few times but never got to drive it ..

cheers