A lesson in Hondas ingenuity

There are two main things that the Nsx and Prelude have in common. Popup lights, and frm.

If you haven't read any of my car posts, or any information past the basic honda motor specs, you may not know what FRM is.

FRM stands for fiber reinforced metal. Now, you may ask yourself “the heck is this honda fan boy going on about”
But FRM is an important piece of honda history.
When you say a car has FRM, you’re talking about the cylinder walls. Reinforced
In the third generation prelude, (late 80s early 90s) honda had one engine in the prelude and that was a 4cyl non-vtec, 109hp motor called a b20. The prelude being hondas top of the line model, had the most advanced technology of the time. Popup lights, cruise control, an equalized stereo, moon roof and some models even had four wheel steering! But honda still need something a little better than the measly b20. So they came up with the idea of boreing it out, and strengthening the block by reinforcing the piston cylinder walls with carbon fiber and unicorn-daycare. This lead to the DOHC 140hp b21a1 and it’s special model; the prelude SI.
Great idea. More power same block, right? Wrong. The engine may have produced more horsepower, and torque, but as these cars began getting older,(around 100k-150k miles) Honda, and the prelude owners, starting noticing that the cars started burning a whole lot of oil, and losing power. Enough to require total rebuilds under 200k miles. This is outrageous for honda!
By this time, Honda had already included the technology in the design of the next generation of prelude. The stunning nsx even had these technological advancements added in 1997 when the NSX received an upgraded v6. They went from a 3.0l v6, pushing 270(C30a) to an upgraded 3.2l V6 with FRM and 290hp. (C32b)
The last car this was used in was the legendary s2000, pushing 247hp on the F20c.
Honda has been advancing technology since the release of their early cars. They were the first car company to meet the harsh 70’s emissions regulations without using an expensive and power suffocating catalytic converter. I hope this long read has inspired you to be like honda, and invent something that’s great now but ends up being a hole for money later.

About me; I own a 91 (told everyone it was an 89 on accident. Sorrrry.) Prelude SI, I’m a 17 year old senior in high school with an empty wallet, three hondas, and a goal to be in college by this time next year.