Late20 Guide: Fifth Gen Honda Prelude (Type SH)

"Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney" (braddelaparker) 01/28/2019 at 11:56 • Filed to: late20, late20guide, honda, prelude, type sh

4

8

The fifth generation (1997 to 2001) would be the Prelude’s last, but its futuristic lines and high school parking lot ubiquity made an indelible mark upon the Prelude’s legacy.

Though without 4WS and down on power compared to its JDM counterpart, the US Type SH Prelude had its own party trick: Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS). In a nutshell, ATTS was a torque-vectoring differential installed in place of a proper limited slip, an innovation that predates by over a decade the appearance of torque vectoring diffs in everything from McLarens to the Focus RS.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

interstate366, now In The Industry > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 12:17

1

Fun fact: these did have 4WS available in other markets, but the 4th gen’s system’s problems caused it to not be offered in the US after 1994. The ATTS is really cool, and was of course the precursor for Acura’s SH-AWD (the SH stands for Super Handling in both cases), but was very finicky and trouble-prone as it aged. A lot of SH owners eventually did transmission swaps. I used to have an SH that had had its ATTS removed and replaced with a 4th gen Si transmission. It still handled well. My current 5th gen is a base with its original transmission but at some point I want to swap in a JDM LSD transmission for it.

Nothing > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 12:34

1

My buddy bought a pearly white ‘97 for his wife for their anniversary, thankfully replacing an old Saturn SL. Since 4 of us couldn’t squish in my CRX Si, we routinely stuffed ourselves into the Prelude. I couldn’t get him to stop talking about how cool VTEC was, yo!

They moved to Colorado a couple of years before I did. The poor Prelude was rearended and totaled by a Miata. Yet another Prelude in my life got replaced by an SUV, as she then bought a new S10 Blazer. I’m guessing by then, GM had dropped the S10 moniker as there was no more full size Blazer.

Now that I think of it, I replaced both of my CRXs with SUVs...the 85 was replaced with a lemon of an ‘85 XJ, and the ‘89 with a lemon of a ‘96 Yukon. Note to self, don’t replace fun Hondas with SUVs.

phenotyp > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 12:39

1

Think back to 1997. You old enough? I was 20. When I first saw that new Prelude, I thought it was a big step back from the previous gen, which looked like THE FUTURE.

In 1999, I finally drove one. It’s still the best-driving FWD car I’ve ever driven. Just beautiful.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > interstate366, now In The Industry 01/28/2019 at 12:40

0

Man, the “JDM got it, US didn’t” narrative is a recurring them throughout the Hondas I’ve done from the 80s and 90s, moreso than almost any other Japanese brand I’ve covered my research for so far.

The one cool reverse scenario I found was that the the third-gen Prelude was wider in the US market than the JDM cars because an element of the Japanese tax structure penalized vehicles over a certain width. Honda wound up selling something like 3,000 USDM-width cars in Japan eventually.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > phenotyp 01/28/2019 at 12:44

0

I was 7, so it’s funny to see the difference that perspective can make. Growing up the fourth gen cars looked to me like a bloated Del Sol, never did care for that shape!

phenotyp > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 13:15

1

But that interior was straight up Star Trek TNG. It was the hotness.

I didn’t know shit about cars until I was about 20 or so. So seeing those square headlights looked like a stupid throwback to the old Honda. Turned out that they were ahead of the game. Funny how that works.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 13:19

1

Yep. The SH itself was a softened version of Japan’s Type S, which was kinda-sorta-not-really-a-Type-R because the Prelude’s size meant it was looked at more as a luxury car in Japan. It had the suspension upgrades, sunroof delete, and more powerful engine, but the ATTS instead of an LSD and an exclusive stitched leather interior instead of the more spartan looks and Recaros of the Type R’s. Goo-Net usually has a handful of them for sale and prices vary wildly . Here’s one that looks very clean, but the red badges and rear Type S logo aren’t original...the front Type S badge is correct though.

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/HONDA/PRELUDE/700050407430181223001/index.html

I’ve read about the Si States. One thing it had over the USDM cars is that it had both 4WS and ABS, while in the US you had to choose between one or the other, or neither. I happened to find one on Goo-Net today; this is the first time I’ve ever seen one for sale. Also of note, we didn’t have the rear wiper available here and I’m jealous.

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/HONDA/PRELUDE/700090380730180502007/index.html

vicali > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 01/28/2019 at 14:14

1

As a student with a 4x4 Toyota SR5 the 5th gen Prelude was my ‘one day’ car.. Once I was out and working and ready to buy I couldn’t find one. Eventually a 97 Jetta GT came along right when my euro imagination was peaked and the Prelude was never to be..

Now when I see one they still look good- but there aren’t many around that aren’t beat.