Changing religions

[JohnK]

I didn't realize that I've changed religions...

 

Back in the 60's, learning about motorsports via street-legal road racing motorcycles (we called them 'cafe racers' back then). there was NOTHING lower than a "rice grinder", and the lowest of the low was HONDA (anybody remember what it was like to step off a tricked-out Norton Atlas and try to drive fast through the twisties in your local park on a Honda Dream?)

 

In the "engine weights" topic I rued the facts that the S2000 engine+trans in my car weighed in at 409 lbs. and was TALL, and envied that wisp of a mill that those running Rover engines enjoyed. HOWEVER, the performance of the Honda S2000 engine in Mr. 7even's car suggests that maybe that weight and height of that engine were buying something, and certainly didn't seem to hurt the car's drivability. Now, skimming the results of the very wet Indianapolis 500 for this year, the results state that EVERY CAR ran an engine built by Honda, and that there were NO FAILURES due to mechanical problems - 33 cars, every engine built by Honda, NO mechanical failures*. And that was exactly the same thing that happened last year, AND the year before. "Hey buddy, know where I can find a good price on a rice grinder?"

 

*Update: "In 2009, a total of 40 drivers and teams completed 202,210 miles of practice, qualifying and racing, with only a single in-race engine failure – the result of a broken alternator wire aboard Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car at Infineon Raceway in August. "

Edited July 9, 2010 by JohnK
update

[slngsht]

Hey, that's what i've been saying all along, on a slightly bigger scale

 

Yes, the extra mass does get you something on a properly designed engine. It gives you either a factor of safety (reliability), or room to expand on the power output, depending on how you want to look at it.

[southwind25]

well..we just bought a honda lawnmower, and have a honda outboard on our sailboat..

 

 

[slngsht]

We've had 2 Hondas over the years. First was an '88 Prelude Si my wife had when we met. I loved that car. Something about the low dash, driving position, and engine. F***ing timing belt broke at 130K miles because the stealer had not replaced it at the maintenance interval. We kept that till 180K miles before selling it.

 

2nd is our current Odyssey. Pretty happy with it, although, at 4600 lbs, it's a damn pig. Again, the engine is very nice.

 

I will just have to have a high revving 4 banger and a lumpy V8 in my fleet though. Something about the brute force keeps me coming back, and my LSx engines have also been very reliable - and they live a hard life.

[powderbrake]

There is no replacement for displacement

:_deadhorse:

 

 

one of the things that attracted me to the Ultralite was the Honda engine. After several Honda motorcycles and cars, I had come to the conclusion that Hondas are bulletproof.

[Mondo]

 

 

:iagree:

 

 

 

[solder_guy]

I donno .. My wife's VTEC Accord 5 speed is burning oil after only 115k miles .. ??

 

Rob

 

[scannon]

Honda makes great, reliable cars, no doubt. BUT, they aren't perfect. I bought a new 1983 Accord back when you paid a deposit, got on a list and they called you and told you when your car came in and what color it was. If you didn't want that color you got pushed down the list.

 

I didn't even get to test drive it, I had to complete the sale before driving it. Within 500 ft of leaving the dealer I knew the car had problems.

 

I brought it back to the dealer at 600 miles with 26 items on my list. The service writer refused to believe me, said Honda doesn't make lemons. Three trips to the dealer over a couple of months got about 1/3 of the items fixed.

 

They never could get the hesitation on throttle tip in fixed which was the most annoying problem along with a nasty tendency for the rear to step out on right hand turns.

 

After the 3rd visit I sold the car for a small loss and it was not until the CRX Si came out that I bought another one.

 

Some of the items they replaced:

gas tank - had a loose baffle rattling around in it.

rear window - half of the defroster wires didn't work.

door seals - the heater couldn't keep up with the cold air coming in around the door.

stereo - wouldn't pick up FM stations.

 

Skip

[slngsht]

If it makes you feel any better, my vette had to be towed back to the dealer with 12 miles on the clock according to GM warranty records :lol:

 

 

[Mondo]

I'm sure all the new motors are very reliable... with computer/fuel injection etc..

It's just the honda is supposed to be 240hp bone stock and over 300 at the rear wheels with bolt on SC (closer to 400 if you've got the resources for custom ECU & tuning etc..).

Plus WCM uses the engine/transmission & ECU; pretty much the whole drivetrain except for the subaru independant rear end.

 

I'm not trying to hype WCM, just the reasons why I bought it. I think the interior/weatherkit of Caterhams & Birkins are much more refined (of course Powder's S2K interior is pretty nice;) ). Not to mention their resale value etc.. There's lots of reasons we buy or build different makes. Obviously we all like to be different or we wouldn't have these cars or be on this site

[gjslutz]

Back in the day, I had a stock 650cc Triumph Bonneville when the 3 cylinder 2 cycle rice grinders arrived on the planet. I had to do the Routts 800cc kit & 6 & 9 grind cams with the light 500 valve gear to stay in front. I also had a Norton Comando at the time. I think Routts were in Baltimore, MD. I made a few $$ on the street back then.

 

Yes Honda's are good. I still lust after a WCM, thanks to Loren & Jerry.

[kennyrayandersen]

these days just about any Japanese engine is pretty reliable -- wish I could say that for the last Ford I'll ever own. 2 Hondas, 1 Toyota, and a Mazda later -- there's no going back. Big three got some work to do.

 

BTW, I do own a Chevy pickup that I'm pretty happy with!

 

Also, to me that's what makes the S2K (and the Westy/Miata, to a lesser degree) look so appealing.

[WestTexasS2K]

When Kevin and I ran 1 lap a few years ago we were talking to a QC engineer from Honda. He said they would pull engines off the assy line and bolt it to a dyno stand. They would run the engine for 8 hours at 30% redline. Change the oil and then run the engine at redline for so many hours. Change the oil and run at redline again. I cant remember what the total hours were, but we were shocked at how long they would run. I seems like it was 45 hours for a passing grade.

He had told us that he had run an s2000 engine for the normal test. He stated they had some gas that was getting old so they wanted him to burn it up. He left the engine on the stand and ran it for over 100 hours total at redline before it blew. I am not sure how accurate the story is ,but that is what he said.

[7evin]

Actually at 700 hours it was still running but cylinder 4 had lost 8 psi on the compression test.

The other 3 cylinders were fine. He was amazed himself that it was still running so strong.

He stated that the standard test was to run the motor at red line for 50hrs then compression test it and mic the the bearings.

Run it another 50 hours and do the same thing. There could be no compression loss

and some ridiculously small amount of bearing loss.

(this is a standard test on all honda motors)

All of this at read line and max torque load.... I was floored.

 

If you were in 5th gear (not 6th) and you could hold it at red line (aprox. 150 mph)

you could travel to and from Savannah Ga and LA just over 6 times. (15000 miles)

 

Cheers

7evin

Edited September 8, 2009 by 7evin