its a sohc motor, this car like i stated before is not a race car, its a daily driver, if you really want to make this prelude go fast, go to ebay and order the 400$ turbo bolt on kit, specially made for preludes. the motor in it now does not leak, or shake or make any funny noises, it does not even burn oil. My motto is if it aint broke dont fix it, thus this car runs great and is ready for a daily driver