RE: PH Heroes: Honda NSX

[senninha2]

All the support for the NSX in this thread is great to read as a fortunate owner for almost 5 yrs now. This support of the NSX is bourne out by the number of PHers that want to see and talk about the car at the Sunday services I've attended, Thank you.

I've also done a number of drive outs with mixed supercars (GT3, Gallardo's, 360's etc), some led superbly by Trackdemon - You must do at least 1 more before you sell Steve!! And whilst the modern machines like the GT3 with ceramics can easily out perform in the braking department on our wonderful b roads, I've often had the owners of these cars saying they simply cant shake me off point to point. As many have already written, this isn't down to power (the NSX will almost always be many HP adrift), its down to the remarkable chassis balance and steering feel.

I saw a regular question raised about which is the 'best' one to buy? My response would be the best one your budget allows and with as much history as you can find. The owners club is a close community and knows of most cars in the UK, so if you find one, pop along and enquire at www.nsxcb.co.uk We're a freindly bunch and do try to get these cars out and about for others to see/enjoy. To my knowledge theres 3 Type R and one Type S in the UK so dont set your heart on one of these. Good 3.0 manuals really are from around £20k, Targa's arrived in 95/96 but most are autos which are a good drive but not everyones choice (I'd love one as a daily). The 3.2 (NA2) arrived in 98 and recieved the fixed light facelift in 2002. Probably the rarest of the standard NSX models is a 3.2 Targa with pop-up lights .... and I enjoyed driving it yesterday

Senna input was in a number of areas, most noticebly chassis stiffness, wheelbase extension for stability and for tyre choice of the original cars.

I know I'm fortunate to be an owner. I hope a few more of you get to enjoy the experience. There a couple of seemingly good Targa's on PH right now, and a couple of nice ones mentioned earlier in the thread that would be worth a look if they come up for sale this year.

regards,

Edited by senninha2 on Monday 24th January 21:13

[Sudesh]

If comparing any NSX-R to a standard NSX, then there are many differences! some visible some not.

Heres some info on my NSX, its a JDM NSX which are remaped differently from factory production in Japan. JDM 3.0l NSX's have roughly the same BHP as UK 3.2's, they also came as standard with the close ratios unlike earlier UK cars.

Spec of my NSX to date,

NSX-R Style Engine Cover
NSX-R Instrument Cluster
NSX-R Style/Momo Tuner Steering Wheel
NSX-R Horn Button
NSX-R Horn Button Trim Ring
NSX-R Steering Boss
NSX-R Steering Colum Surrounds
NSX-R TCS Blank
NSX-R Door Pocket/Coin Tray [deletes electric mirror switch]
NSX-R Console Pocket
NSX-R Gear Knob
NSX-R Mesh Gear Gaiter
NSX-R Gear Lever
NSX-R Style Mesh Side Vents
NSX-R Clutch Pedal
NSX-R Damper Delete
NSX-R Coolant Tank Cover
NSX-R Centre Complete Centre Console with Stereo Delete Plate
NSX-R Wheel Studs
NSX-R Style Front Bumper Vent Grills
NSX-R Centre Tail Light Panel
NSX-R Style Centre Arm Rest
NSX-R Style Black Carpets
NSX-R Engine Plate


Carbon Rear Hatch Vent/Garnish
HEL Stainless Brake Hoses
EBC Redstuff Pads
Induction Scoop
Varley Red Top Light Weight Battery
Light weight sound system [now gone]
Stainless Dual Canister RR Exhaust
Zeal Suspension

No power Steering
No Electric Mirrors
No Cruise Control
No Airbags
No Electric Aerial
No Front Fogs
No Sound Deadening
No TCS
No Spare Wheel - Carrier - Brackets
No Radio, Speakers

Think thats it, may ahve left some stuff out. But Still more to come lol

[Insight]

Garlick said:

Frimley111R said:

Totally irresponsible article. After reading I am now scanning the adverts to buy one.....

I regret not buying one a few years ago. The prices are creeping up now, and us running articles like this doesn't help.....

Aside from the well known fact that Senna helped design the chassis, I don't think anything else in the world has even done as much for the re-sale values of all the NSXs in the UK than this very article. I think I now want one more than an F40!

[Sudesh]

havoc said:

GlenMH said:

havoc said:

As people may have seen, GlenMH lives in the right place to see NSXs, even -Rs!
(Glen - am assuming the -R was an NA1 if they only wanted $120k???)

Did the NA1 have non-pop up projector headlights?

NA1 is the original 3.0, NA2 the later 3.2 cars. So NA2s can have pop-ups but NA1s can't have projectors.

So if the car you saw was a projector, it was an NA2 Type R. Don't just go by bodykit (front bonnet and rear spoiler most obviously) though, as these are not-uncommon retrofits/copies - check:-
- seats (ultra-expensive racing buckets, usually red, although the Type-S also had more bucket-like seats with colour-coded centres),
- wheel (momo, IIRC),
- gear-lever gaiter (fabric mesh not leather),
- engine bay cover (mesh, possibly CF mesh)
...and about a dozen other little tweaks which the true afficionados from NSXCB will know better than me - believe the wheels were lightweight imitations of the normal 17"s as well.


...so I may be wrong (Sudesh will be along soon to tell me I am), but $120k for a genuine NA2-R is a good price.

If it was 120,000 dollors and a real NSX-R then yeah, must be pre-facelift. I've seen a few pre-facelift NSX-R with the facelift conversion thought!

[robsco]

CampDavid said:

How do other road users respond to an NSX?

Just thinking that it probably doesn't garner the Porsche effect like it's rivals.

I'd like a silver one please, like Mr Wolf

I think that people "in the know", like the people on here, have possibly more respect for a car like an NSX than, for example, a 911. My heart rate certainly increases when I see one on the road. The footage of the late Ayrton Senna giving the NSX a bit of a beasting round Suzuka sends shivers down the spine.

[Grovsie26]

Johnnytheboy said:

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Haven't got the figures in front of me, but I'm fairly sure it's got almost the same headline figures as the Mk2 Focus RS.

Might be worth checking the figures. The NSX was 15 mph quicker at VMax than the Focus.

From Autocar (first the NSX, then the Focus):

Top speed: 159 vs. 163

0-60: 5.8 vs. 5.7

Standing 1/4: 14.2 vs. 14.2

0-100: 13.7 vs. 13.9

(thanks to my old man for slaving over his archive)

So to all intents and purposes identical.

has anyone actually taken a Focus RS to it's top speed of 163mph? or whatever it is, because IMO it's bull. Don't they come out at 275bhp or close on dyno's, and the front is hardly aerodynamic. Your figures are wrong, all wrong, a NSX does more than 159.

[Harry Monk]

I love seeing an NSX. They are quite an event and an NSX owner always gets my respect.

But they do attract a quite rabid fanboyism from those who have never driven one. Heavy scene tax too.

[Sudesh]

senninha2 said:

Probably the rarest of the standard NSX models is a 3.2 Targa with pop-up lights .... and I enjoyed driving it yesterday

Even more rare in your color!

[NoelWatson]

Johnnytheboy said:

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Haven't got the figures in front of me, but I'm fairly sure it's got almost the same headline figures as the Mk2 Focus RS.

Might be worth checking the figures. The NSX was 15 mph quicker at VMax than the Focus.

From Autocar (first the NSX, then the Focus):

Top speed: 159 vs. 163

0-60: 5.8 vs. 5.7

Standing 1/4: 14.2 vs. 14.2

0-100: 13.7 vs. 13.9

(thanks to my old man for slaving over his archive)

So to all intents and purposes identical.

Get your old man to check the archive for anything but the very first NSXs. 0-60 in around 5.2 and ton in around 12 (the quickest was the 02 car - 0-100 in 10.9 and 171 round the bowl).

http://www.amazon.com/Honda-Acura-NSX-Ultimate-Por...


Furhermore, if the Focus can do 163, my name is Norbert Dentressangle - it does around 150 tops (Autocar managed 146 IIRC), which ties in with its power and CdA. The one at VMax was getting mid 140s which makes sense - we were mid 160s.

[NoelWatson]

Grovsie26 said:

Johnnytheboy said:

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Haven't got the figures in front of me, but I'm fairly sure it's got almost the same headline figures as the Mk2 Focus RS.

Might be worth checking the figures. The NSX was 15 mph quicker at VMax than the Focus.

From Autocar (first the NSX, then the Focus):

Top speed: 159 vs. 163

0-60: 5.8 vs. 5.7

Standing 1/4: 14.2 vs. 14.2

0-100: 13.7 vs. 13.9

(thanks to my old man for slaving over his archive)

So to all intents and purposes identical.

has anyone actually taken a Focus RS to it's top speed of 163mph? or whatever it is, because IMO it's bull. Don't they come out at 275bhp or close on dyno's, and the front is hardly aerodynamic. Your figures are wrong, all wrong, a NSX does more than 159.

It is reasonably easy to work out approx top speed, and IIRC the Focus would need mid 300s to do 163.

[1832]

i have an autocar magazine from 2005 that recored a 2002 nsx 3.2 manual 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and 0-100 in 10.9 seconds, which they also recorded the exact same times for an m3 csl.. i have a new formula red 2003 nsx and have had so for 5 years and my friend had a csl, these cars are the exact same in performance from a standstill and i think the honda has a better top end. i have had my car for 5 years as stated and love it to pieces it has turned into a garage queen now though as i have an e46 m3 vert as everyday transport (which is nothing in comparision to the honda) .. i cannot recommend one of these cars enough!! i prefer the facelift myself but others disagree but i think a manual gearbox is a must! great article that represents a true motoring icon that is becoming rarer and rarer by the day and its values are only goining to go 1 way.. UP!!

[havoc]

Dagnut said:

...secondly you didn't say list price...

:cough:

Dagnut at 17.31 this afternoon said:

havoc said:

NoelWatson said:

I'd say it is fast enough for UK roads.

And then some. Redline it in third and you're starting to risk your licence, and then you get into fourth which feels just like 3rd except the scenery is going by rather quicker!
(I've not yet found out what 5th can do...)

It's also got plenty of poke throughout the rev-range (unlike most other VTECs), and empirically-speaking my 3.0 is as quick on the road as an E46 M3 cabrio. You're still looking at north of £50k list-price* to find something genuinely and noticeably quicker...

* Caterfields and trackday specials excepted.

bit of a stretch there you can buy a 996 turbo for 25k..any number of TVR's..Nobles...E92 M3... Corvette...XKR...a number of AMGS...I could go on

Dagnut said:

Anyway that's not what the NSX is about so in principal you're right, I would be all over one if a I could afford it.

Oh - Kambites - fair 'nuff, the Exige-S is under £50k granted...but see my * above - I guess it just about squeezes into 'normal car' territory, but I don't think I'd want to do ~700 miles back from France in one day in one. Certainly wouldn't get the wife joining me, anyway...


Finally - yonex - yep, if you wanted to you could do all that. Not sure I'd bother spending that much doing that sort of thing though...I'd probably just get a Caterham and a trailer instead!


PS - see, told you Sudesh would be along to expand on the list of NSX-R differences!

Edited by havoc on Monday 24th January 22:03

[Sudesh]

havoc said:

PS - see, told you Sudesh would be along to expand on the list of NSX-R differences!

Thats whats on my car lol

There are more differences between NSX-R and standard NSX, plus between NA1 NSX-R and NA2 NSX-R.

[nigel rouse]

hi all ive had the nsx na2 since 04 i cant praise it enough the looks and power and handling is peach here is mine to wet your appetite, will be at the sunday service at oxford nigel

[AAGR]

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Haven't got the figures in front of me, but I'm fairly sure it's got almost the same headline figures as the Mk2 Focus RS.

Might be worth checking the figures. The NSX was 15 mph quicker at VMax than the Focus.

From Autocar (first the NSX, then the Focus):

Top speed: 159 vs. 163

0-60: 5.8 vs. 5.7

Standing 1/4: 14.2 vs. 14.2

0-100: 13.7 vs. 13.9

(thanks to my old man for slaving over his archive)

So to all intents and purposes identical.

Get your old man to check the archive for anything but the very first NSXs. 0-60 in around 5.2 and ton in around 12 (the quickest was the 02 car - 0-100 in 10.9 and 171 round the bowl).

http://www.amazon.com/Honda-Acura-NSX-Ultimate-Por...


Furhermore, if the Focus can do 163, my name is Norbert Dentressangle - it does around 150 tops (Autocar managed 146 IIRC), which ties in with its power and CdA. The one at VMax was getting mid 140s which makes sense - we were mid 160s.

Some people will not acknowledge a fact if it comes up and bits them on the bum. Johnnytheboy quotes the actual, the real, the authentic Autocar road test figures from 19 December 1990, which also told us that the test car had done 14,000 miles when it was tested, and that the max was recorded on the bowl at Millbrook.
Autocar's tests are widely acknowledged as the most accurate in the business - which explains why (I believe) they were the only magazine trusted with testing the McLaren F1 and the Jaguar XJ220.
I for one believe their figures, as opposed to 'claims' made by anyone else.

[stephen300o]

NoelWatson said:

Grovsie26 said:

Johnnytheboy said:

NoelWatson said:

Johnnytheboy said:

Haven't got the figures in front of me, but I'm fairly sure it's got almost the same headline figures as the Mk2 Focus RS.

Might be worth checking the figures. The NSX was 15 mph quicker at VMax than the Focus.

From Autocar (first the NSX, then the Focus):

Top speed: 159 vs. 163

0-60: 5.8 vs. 5.7

Standing 1/4: 14.2 vs. 14.2

0-100: 13.7 vs. 13.9

(thanks to my old man for slaving over his archive)

So to all intents and purposes identical.

has anyone actually taken a Focus RS to it's top speed of 163mph? or whatever it is, because IMO it's bull. Don't they come out at 275bhp or close on dyno's, and the front is hardly aerodynamic. Your figures are wrong, all wrong, a NSX does more than 159.

It is reasonably easy to work out approx top speed, and IIRC the Focus would need mid 300s to do 163.

There's a guy who posted on the NSX site who has driven his stock NSX well in excess of 170mph(gps) on an autobahn.

[Sudesh]

nigel rouse said:

hi all ive had the nsx na2 since 04 i cant praise it enough the looks and power and handling is peach here is mine to wet your appetite, will be at the sunday service at oxford nigel

Very nice Nigel! Looks to have the dark red interior?

You a pilot by any chance?

[Harry Monk]

v8will said:

Lovely car and just so much more special than the Nissan Skyline Rxx or Supra. This car is on my dream list.

Pity it didn't sell like the 911

Although to be fair, it was twice the price of the latter pair. And a Skyline trounces it in most objective regards. But you're right about it feeling special.

[KM666]

there was a 400bhp ex HKS demo car in maxpower ages ago (not picked up max power in at least 3 years) looked very nice! i absolutly love these cars and people saying 'oh a hot hatch could keep up with them easily nowadays' big whoop most hot hatches will pass E30 M3s and porsche boxters doesnt make them any lesser of a car tho. im sure if you shod it in 255 front 285 rear the tables would be turned again and with say a 15-20% power increase itd really come into its own moreso then it does with 276bhp, dont forget those jap cars were limited by the 'gentlemans agreement' and same as skylines 300's etc the chassis can take a whole lot more then is asked of it in standard form, sure a focus RS has decent on paper credentials but its nigh on near the limit of the componants that put that power down, 500bhp+ skylines are faily normal the RS's engine might be able to make 500bhp but it wont know what to do with it. considering even a 172 clio has 195 profile tyres standard mechanic grip is better on modern cars and isnt comparable with cars shod in 'vintage' oem tyres.

[Harji]

I went to the motor show at the NEC a few years ago (quite a few) and no one could understand why I was more interested in the white NSX they had on show than the usual Ferrari/Porsche/BMW where the crowds were flocking round.

I only wish they did more to the interior, given it more of a special feel.