Front bumper thing? Anti shock damper? - Page 2 - Honda Prelude Forum

DudewithaLude · 11-04-2003, 11:24 PM

thanks for informing us that it's a repost. though I find the act of leeching another forum's smiley kinda...

98Ludatic · 11-04-2003, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DudewithaLude
thanks for informing us that it's a repost. though I find the act of leeching another forum's smiley kinda...

well the smiley is from my own storage and linked from my acct. so there is no problem~! I did go ahead and add another smiley too

but thanks so much for trying to play 007

DudewithaLude · 11-04-2003, 11:44 PM

haha, you're lucky I didn't quote you

KENLUDE97 · 11-05-2003, 05:49 AM

Like it has been said before... It is not just that one part that weighs 8 lbs... It is all the parts together that you remove from the front of the car that makes the difference. So if you can pull ~10 lbs here and ~10 lbs there it really starts to add up. before you know it there is 100 less lbs on the front end and you have a car that MIGHT viborate a little more that has better overall front to rear balance.
And as soon as i get arround to get a lsd then the CF hood is soo to follow. There is between 10-20 lbs off the front wheels.

Daemione · 11-05-2003, 07:00 AM

Just weighed it - 8.3 pounds.

fmshaw1971 · 11-05-2003, 07:12 AM

This has nothing to do with safety and nothing to do with engine vibration. This is a harmonic damper. It dampens the vibrations of wind and road hum at highway speeds. That's all it does. You can remove it without any ill effects, but you might get more road hum on highway cruises.

Daemione · 11-05-2003, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fmshaw1971
This is a harmonic damper. It dampens the vibrations of wind and road hum at highway speeds. That's all it does.

How would in the world would it reduce road hum? And wind vibration? What is that?

Alright, a challenge - somebody with a damper installed meet me somewhere, and we'll set up an experiment. You'll take 20 test drives using your car (so you're familiar with how it usually feels). 10 of which I'll remove the damper for, and 10 where I'll leave it in - and you won't know. We'll keep a log, if you can determine correctly by the amount of vibration whether it's in or not for more than 15 or more of those test drives (75%), I'll buy lunch/dinner for the both of us. If not, the meal's on you . . .

Any takers?

fmshaw1971 · 11-05-2003, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Daemione

How would in the world would it reduce road hum? And wind vibration? What is that?

Wind passing through or over the bumper causes it to vibrate at a certain frequency. This can contribute to that annoying constant droning at certain speeds. The bumper may also vibrate from the imperfections of the road at highway speeds.

Honda obviously found the proper mass to dampen these vibrations from the bumper. It's so heavy because you need mass to dampen the relatively light bumper. Look where it's mounted. It can serve no other purpose than to stop the bumper from resonating at an annoying frequency.

Daemione · 11-05-2003, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fmshaw1971
Wind passing through or over the bumper causes it to vibrate at a certain frequency. This can contribute to that annoying constant droning at certain speeds. The bumper may also vibrate from the imperfections of the road at highway speeds.

Honda obviously found the proper mass to dampen these vibrations from the bumper. It's so heavy because you need mass to dampen the relatively light bumper. Look where it's mounted. It can serve no other purpose than to stop the bumper from resonating at an annoying frequency.

Sorry, I don't buy it.

It's listed as "shock absorber, fr." not as a harmonic damper. The bumper is pretty heavy, and solidly bolted onto the frame - I can't imagine any scenario where it would vibrate from the wind.

It think the most logical intent was to reduce engine vibration at idle. And I don't think it's obvious at all that Honda got it right - not when there's there's zero difference by removing it.

Also - could you resize your sig, it's a little tall. thanks . . .

KENLUDE97 · 11-05-2003, 10:58 AM

Well i'm getting ready to hit the road to Boston Ma. I will take it off and see what happens. This is a long highway trip at higher speeds so i will report back and let you all know how it feels?

Red Baron · 11-05-2003, 11:13 AM

Aaahhh S***!!! Who cares? Take it off if you want, or leave it in if you want! :-D

-Andy

bleacht · 11-05-2003, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Daemione
As far as anyone knows it's some kind of vibration damper. I took mine out & felt zero difference - same goes for anyone I've ever talked to. Go for it.

i thought it was listed as a vibration damper, not shock absorber? if its listed as a vibration damper. wouldn't it be used for what fmshaw1971 said?

RPerro · 11-05-2003, 11:34 AM

Again, for those who didn't read the other thread, here is the "official" description from Honda:
"A rubber-suspended steel mass, called a dynamic damper, has also been installed just behind the front bumper (the Accord has a similar damper built into its bumper). The damper accounts for an approximately 5 dB reduction in lowfrequency vibration at idle."

nighttime · 11-10-2003, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by KENLUDE97

And as soon as i get arround to get a lsd then the CF hood is soo to follow. There is between 10-20 lbs off the front wheels.

Actually, the LSD is going to add a few pounds back if its a Quaife. IIRC, my Quaife weighs about 13 pounds, the stock differential weighs about 8. Of course, thatâ€™s a weight gain Id take any day, its one of the best mods Iâ€™ve done, you'll love it.

fmshaw1971 · 11-10-2003, 06:42 AM

Move the battery to the trunk, get a CF hood, take out the vibration damper, and remove the stock intake, and you'll be taking a lot of weight off the front.

Lenin · 12-12-2003, 12:34 PM

take out everything in the engine bay... install a mast and a sail... BAM... isntant weight reduction!

KENLUDE97 · 12-12-2003, 01:55 PM

Cronos51101 · 12-01-2012, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daemione

How would in the world would it reduce road hum? And wind vibration? What is that?

Alright, a challenge - somebody with a damper installed meet me somewhere, and we'll set up an experiment. You'll take 20 test drives using your car (so you're familiar with how it usually feels). 10 of which I'll remove the damper for, and 10 where I'll leave it in - and you won't know. We'll keep a log, if you can determine correctly by the amount of vibration whether it's in or not for more than 15 or more of those test drives (75%), I'll buy lunch/dinner for the both of us. If not, the meal's on you . . .

Any takers?

In engineering, we call this a tuned mass damper. It's a real thing that produces real results. They often put bunches of them in cars, tall buildings, bridges, power lines, and anything else where a resonant vibration could cause problems. Hell, you can see them on some the lamp posts here in Erie.
Tuned mass damper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interestingly enough, the stiffer a system is, the greater the amplitude of the response. So in something stiff like a bumper assembly where you can't soften it up, for structural reasons of course, you can add a mass and damper that is tuned to the system to soften vibrations. You can probably get away without it here, but just know that some poor engineer had to sit there and figure out the exact specifications required for that little 10 pound weight.

mwalker56@me.co · 12-02-2012, 05:48 PM

Well said Daemione
LOL
Removed mine damper years ago.

White91Prelude · 12-03-2012, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daemione

Well, nor would you think Honda would use a POS cam seal, or an autotensioner that craps out, or balance shafts that provide no noticeable reduction in vibration, or VTEC cam profiles that peak right at the cross-over, or a PCV valve that sucks in oil at WOT, or rear shocks that knock, or a headliner that ticks, or a faulty ignition, or trunk torsion bars that scrape against the rear speakers, or an engine that inherently burns oil, or an ECU that gradually detunes itself and runs phenomenally rich at WOT . . . .

Let's face it, the engineers that design our cars are not the mythical genius figures in white lab coats that they're sometimes made out to be. There are faulty items & useless features designed in our cars, and this is one of them.

No, of course 8 pounds isn't going to make a measureable difference in your time slip or lap time. And by itself, nor will the 20-30 pounds saved by a cf hood. Or the 20 pounds by taking out the spare & jack. Or the 40 pounds by replacing the moonroof with a plug. Or the 40-50 pounds by swapping in lightweight seats.

But just because any one or two of those items won't make a measurable difference, does that mean you won't see an improvement by doing all of them? Of course not. And that's not even starting to strip the interior or remove comfort items.

Bolt on mods are similar - the difference an exhaust, or pulleys, or even an intake makes is practically negligible by itself, but you don't see many people not bothering with those items because they're not that effective by themselves.

Or as even better examples - how about bypassing the coolant to the throttle body & blocking the EGR? Just because the effects are tiny by themselves, is that any reason not to do them? Certainly not - especially when they're so easy & inexpensive to do. Pulling that front damper falls into the "why wouldn't you?" category along with them, in my opinion.

Exceptions, of course, for those looking to qualify in a specified autocross class.

I'm only saying this because you're posting this information on a public forum. It is important to verify with newer users that what you posted is based on biased opinion and not on fact.

Cam Seals - most cars have them, most cars leak from them. They can be difficult to install, but when installed correctly they will not leak.

Timing belt Automatic Tensioner - Again, most cars have them, some models fail more than others. It's not related to Honda's engineering nor is it specific to the Prelude H22A model engines.

Balance Shafts - Most vehicles with four cylinder engines that are larger than 2.0L have them. They work, and they are used for obvious comfort improvements. When disabled or removed, the engine can output more horsepower and torque. The prelude already has quite a bit of that and therefore eliminating the balance shafts is not a necessary function of engineering.

VTEC Cam Profiles - Honda technicians designed the prelude to be driven in multiple driving conditions and their choice in VTEC profile is well suited for the Prelude. If it wasn't, the prelude wouldn't be a good choice of vehicle for street use, but it is.

PCV Valve - Honda has been using the same PCV system that most automotive manufactures have been using since the beginning of the design. That's many, many years of design and re-design. It works well. If you're upset about the amount of oil vapor that the intake manifold is exposed to then you have the choice to do something about it. For street use, however, it works perfectly.

Shock Knock - Most people who complain about the "infamous" shock knock are actually experiencing the noise due to other issues that are referenced in the TSB released by Honda on how to properly fix this.

Headliner - Common issue among vehicles that utilize a motor-operated sunroof.

Ignition Switch - Another common issue among automotive manufactures that employ well-designed anti-theft devices in their vehicles. Honda did fix this.

Oil - All engines burn oil. High-revving engines will burn more than others. The H22A series engine built by Honda is not at fault - technology is.

ECU - Electronic Control Units may or may not "detune" the vehicle from time to time because of driving conditions, geographic locations, status of engine operating parts/parameters, etc. This is how it was designed to operate and it does it extremely well. It is another reason the Prelude is such a great car. If you'd like to squeeze more "performance" out of your Prelude then replacing the stock ECU might be in order.

Honda engineers deserve their credit. They make some of the best vehicles in the world, and they have done it for tens of years.

It sounds like you're complaining because you bought the wrong vehicle to suit your needs. Either way, be careful about what you say on the internet. People are going to find what you post later and they won't be able to learn from it.

EDIT: For more information - 5th Generation FAQ