Reason for counterclockwise engine rotation

Second Generation Honda Prelude topics

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Randal58
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Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:55 pm
Prelude Model: None, regrettably
Location: Tasmania, Australia

Reason for counterclockwise engine rotation

Post by Randal58 »

This may have been discussed before, but I was wondering why it is that the Prelude engines, along with various other Honda engines, spin counterclockwise. For a two-shaft (plus final drive) transmission the engine will rotate the same way as the front wheels so the question becomes why did they put the engine on the left? Does this go all the way back to the original Civic? The packaging is slightly neater for a RHD car, with room above the transmission for brake master cylinder, clutch cable, etc, but surely even in the 1960s Honda would have had ambitions to sell a lot of cars in LHD markets. Running the engine in reverse would have brought the risk of confusion among mechanics, difficulty in adapting existing automatic transmissions and changes to minor components such as oil seals and clutches. Does anyone know why they took that route?

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spiffyguido
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Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
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Re: Reason for counterclockwise engine rotation

Post by spiffyguido »

I have a very vague memory of reading something about this before, but I can't recall the reason. It's a very interesting question.



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