No insult meant bud, but if it goes through a whole quart every 3K mi and you don't see any leaks anywhere from the outside of the engine, then he is leaking it somewhere INSIDE the engine. I'd much rather have an external leak then an internal. Coolant likes nothing more than...what's that?...oh yea, ENGINE OIL. Or perhaps he likes a "James Bond smokescreen" effect when he drives.

Either way, he needs to take care of the problem. Slippage past the rings in minutely small amounts is understandable. 1 quart? Wow. But thanks for easing my mind about the recurring problem within most Preludes.

Did I mention that my roommate doesn't keep ANY extra fluids in his boot? Better have AAA!

 

Check my previous post. Every Honda certified technician I've talked to says the exact same thing as well. These engines have an oil consumption tollerance. Not an exorbitant amount, but mabe a little more than average. And yes, I've seen 5th gen Preludes with 130,000 miles that burn the same as ones with 13,000 miles, so it doesn't increase as the engine gets older and more used. That's the key.

 

My d16y8 civic ex does the same thing but not nearly as much as the h22. I burn about half a quart every 5k miles and I'm on the average of 3000rpm.

The extencive burnning of oil is also a factor depending on how fast you drive and with the Hondas they are 4 cylinder and gain their Hp/Torque at high rpm. People that own 5th+ gen Preludes with built in stock H22/H23 blocks pay alot of money for the car in general are not going to drive like old ladies. Because of that they aren't going to be like me averaging at 3k rpm so oil burning faster then average is of no supprise between changes.

 

This isn't an age or bad seals/gaskets/bearings issue. The reason Prelude engines burn a little is when VTEC hits, the valves extend deeper and stay open longer. When I don't use VTEC, and I have driven the duration of an oil change without using it (three times, actually, too prove this point), the engine doesn't burn a drop. The design of Prelude VTEC engines is 10 years old, so I'm sure on newer VTEC motors they have remedied this concern. Now, if your Civic was a 1998 SI, and you only used it at 3000 rpm or less, I'd ask what you bought the car for. But Prelude owners need not worry. I've never seen a Prelude VTEC that didn't puff a little smoke when it hit VTEC. This is an issue that people have lost sleep over, but there is no need to. It is the way the engine is designed, and there is nothing to fix. But remember, we're only talking about 1 qt per 2-3 months. More than that, and you do have problems. I've seen that too. But only on engines that were modded to death.

 

thanks to the other prelude owners who have direct experience with this.

sometimes people should just simply learn from those with first-hand knowledge.

 

So what if someone has a Civic SI and only averages ~3k rpms? Just because you don't drive it like a crazed lunatic, doesn't mean that you can't enjoy and appreciate the car. This simply proves that the owner actually cares about the car's life. As long as it is driven a little rough every month or so to burn off any residue, he seems like a brilliant driver. Most of these incompetant drivers who blow valves/pistons/rings, overheat their engine, deteriorate the life of their engine would all benefit from how DarkInfluence cares for his investment. That's right kids: Investment. Obviously a little fun must be had every so often; however, racing from stop light to stop light to prove that you have a uni-testicle and an IQ of 9 is just plain immature and right out stupid.

To imply that oil consumption in an engine is perfectly feasible, even at larger amounts, is quite a close-minded statement, isn't it. If it is the way the engines are designed as you say, then their design team needs to be shot in the head.

Automobile manufacturers have become more and more lax in developing their products and keeping them uniquely appealing by means other than having a "cool" spoiler. There is something to be fixed: A new Design Team Manager. He must lead with positive authority, not by letting consumer problems pass right through his hands.

There really is no way for any competant person to deny that statement.

 

To deny it ... no. But argue it - yes!

Historically, oil consumption has -always- been feasible in auto motors, from the very very beginning. If you shot every car designer who allowed a design flaw through, we would have no cars. Can you name a perfect engine? Even Ferrari and Porsche engines, with their infinite design and precision and TLC have some issues. Some cars run hot due to narrow water jackets, some are fuel inefficient, some burn a little oil, some pollute more than others - it's a trade-off. Occasionally you'll find an engine like the one in your Jaguar (assuming it has no other problems), which is both exceptional and lucky.

With their invention of VTEC, Honda discovered one of the byproducts of changing valve timing is minimally increased oil consumption. It was minor enough that the average, unknowing driver wouldn't really notice it between changes, and VTEC-using drivers who push the cars tend to check fluids more often would top things off. I don't think Honda has a lax attitude - instead, I think they made a conscious choice to allow the performance-oriented Prelude to have maximum gain with a small trade-off. Lax would be if a non-VTEC engine burned oil routinely - because there is no solid engineering-based reason why that should happen. Ford has lax engineers - hence all the investigations in the Focus having collapsing suspensions, etc. Honda has always kept this pretty highly prioritized, from my understanding and experience.

So I wouldn't call this a design flaw ... 1) it was never reported as such, or complained about and 2) it's never been changed. My only criticism would lie in the fact they didn't publish this publically. But I suspect this was because the common driver associated any missing oil with "bad engine"... and wouldn't easily understand the need for this to occur with the valve extension and whatnot. The H22 is just like that. On the plus side, it's extremely efficient, gets great power-per-liter and torque, and lasts forever if decently maintained.

I agree, cars are investments... the Honda Prelude is listed as a blue chip investment in a complete list of such cars from 1930-2000 published by the editors of Consumer Guide. But just because it uses ~1 qt. of oil every 3k miles doesn't invalidate it's unique and very popular design... it's just part of that car's nature.

 

It's obvious you 1.) have no clue what VTEC is, 2.) don't know that a Civic SI, or Prelude for that matter, doesn't even get it's peak hp untill 5600RPM, and 3.) VTEC has an acceptable oil consumption, and it has absolutely nothing to do with abusing the engine...... they do this straight from the factory. Please, before you begin arguing with us about the VTEC design, learn about it! You tell me that my competence is limited, yet you PROVE yours by talking about something you obviously have no clue about. Get a book. Buy a Honda. Learn how these engines work (differently than most engines), then get back to us. Ha. Honda needs a new design team? You're lucky you haven't posted in the Automotive News and Rumours forum. They'd rip you a new one for sure with that implication. Damn, I don't know why I'm arguing with you in the first place. Waste of my time.

Oh, yeah..... a Prelude that burns ~ 1 qt per 3000 miles has a higher return % in the used car market than any GM or Ford with the possible exceptions of a Corvette or SVT Cobra Mustang. Ask anyone. Preludes hold tremendous value.

 

it's called "real world" testing. sometimes what looks good in R&D and in the publics eyes, arent all that great when subjected to real world conditions. but of course, this is one of many reasons why the H series motor is no longer in use by Honda.

as for your statement, it is not the responsibility of the "design team manager" for consumer problems.

it took over 30 years for Jaguar's design team to finally figure out how to make a reliable car... use a Ford Contour.

so instead of knocking on each other, why dont you simply accept the experience of the owners of the same type of vehicle in question?

 

You, sir, have earned my respect. Opinions set aside, you gave examples in a non-emotional manner and conducted yourself like a gentleman. The world needs more people with the patience and sense of humor that you hold.

For everyone else: You'll get an ulcer if you take comments like mine to heart. Please...calm down...for the children.

:chuckles: