mmarshall / CK6Speed-

Be advised I would not recommend doing what I did. I did that in the NV desert when I was young, single, & stupid. But I did have solid high-speed driving under my belt. If I had the chance to do that legally (i.e., the Silver State Classic) I'd do it. But I would have the car safety inspected, and wear a helmet!!! It's just very intoxicating in the NSX to go FAST!!!! I love the sound of that hydraulic clutch shifting from 4-5 @ 135 & 5-6 @ ~ 150!!

 

I have a 2004 NSX, and I have driven the SC400. I had a 2003 SC430, and I realize that the SC430 is more tame than the original SC400. The SC400 is a fantastic car, but comparing it to the NSX is apples and oranges. The NSX is SO light and nimble. It loves to be tossed around and it's very difficult to break the rear end loose. It doesn't have a lot of torque or horsepower, but the 290 HP it has is wonderful from 50-130 MPH. Not many cars in the world can hang with it in that area of performance. The motor behind your head is awesome and when the VTEC kicks in, the sound is crack cocaine addictive. There is a video of the NSX-R against the Gallardo, Murcielago, Ferrari F360, Porsche 911 turbo, BMW M3. The NSX leads most of the laps, but gets passed by the Gallardo and MUrcielago in the last 1 or 2. The Murcielago beat it fair and square, but the Gallardo got in there IMO because the brakes of the NSX overheated and the driver had to back off. Everyone of those cars has had several generations of improvements in the NSX's time and it still beats most of them. I know I'm biased, but it was WAY ahead of its time and only now is it being surpassed by other cars in the world. The president of Honda says the next NSX will be at least as groundbreaking as the original. I'm already saving for it.

 

I was going to mention you having an NSX, Doc......but I didn't know if you still had it. Dave's girlfriend, I think, had one also....but now has a Porsche.

 

You can mod... most cars to.. out handle stock sports cars..

In southern Arizona this dude with a Fiero, with what looked like 305's racing tires in all corners and a swapped 350 V8 PWNED everyone at the autocross.... looked like a skate board. IT posted thefastest times that is for sure but I wonder what kind of feedback itd give the driver.

I wish they made aftermarket steering.. racks for our cars.. Then I again I wish this crappy slushbox and stall converter never EVER found its way into the SC300... worst tranny ever.... at least with a peaky 2jz-ge it is.

I've done over 140 in the SC300.. much more stable when compared to other cars I've driven. But I would imagine against a NSX its no contest.

 

Here's my fiance going 188mph in her (former) NSX





.... on the dyno in top speed mode

 

good writing there chris! so the nsx has much tighter steering feel? not sure if you have driven bimmer, or any of the m series. i wonder how it compares with each other?

i agre with you as well. if you get a porsche 911, i know it's very easy to oversteer coz' of teh rear mounted engine, that's why it's hard to first drive that car. but the nsx with the mid mount engine, i actually think it's more neutral?

i thought the nsx engine overheated not the brakes? the brakes overheat was on the m3 or the 360 i forgot? but regardless, i saw that video and till now i am still at awe about the nsx-r. i mena, please don't forget about the murcielgo with 600hp and gallardo with 500hp, where the nsx-r has less than 400hp. that's the best way to show engineering and how the nsx is as a car overall. on straight, yes the lambo dust away the nsx, but on corners, the nsx completely catches up!

 

This opinion has perked my interest in NSX. I've seen plenty of them, but not until this post that I started giving it more attention as it might deserve.

Many young asian kids here buy used NSX rather than 911, maybe there's some valid reasons to that after reading this thread. What the reasons are is beyond my auto-knowledge, but this is a very good thread that wet an amatuer like me's automotive appetite.

 

well believe it or not a good used nsx would cost quite a lot less than a 911 of close comparable condition, so i am not surprised.

 

Now you are selling, and I like it

 

man, a decent nsx could be had for 30s i think, not bad at all

 

I've never spent much time behind the wheel of an M car, but if I recall the steering feel is about the same as in the non M cars. Anyway, if you compare my E36 BMW to the NSX the BMW steering is pretty light. My NSX is equiped with the manual rack steering. I was always worried about this before I got the car, but the manual rack gives awsome feeback. Once moving at anthing above 5-10 MPH or so you can one hand steer the car so it really isn't a problem. Parking in tight parking spaces you can definately feel the wieght, but you can still manhandle it with one had, or just use two hands and it's not a problem. This may be all in my head, but the feedback from the NSX is such that I believe I can feel the camber and toe changes as the car goes over dips in the road. It doesn't pull you one way or the other, but I can feel it in the steering wheel when the toe changes. Anyway, my car is lowered so it is barely within spec. When I hit big dips it could be that the alignment goes way out of spec so that may be why I can feel the changes.

The NSX is more neutral IMHO than the 911 by the mid engine design. However, the 911 has such big fat rear tires that it kind of balances out. From what I learned, mid engine cars are easy to rotate. Snap oversteer comes when you are pushing it beyound its limits. Another problem is if the rear looses traction suddenly like if you hit a wet spot around a corner. Since the car is so easy to rotate, recovery for most is very difficult. I think that is where a lot of the scary stories of crashing NSX's come from.

 

The main problem is that so few were sold in the American market as new cars that , unlike 911's, they are rather difficult to find as used ones. I went out not long ago to a local Acura dealership to look at a used one for a prospective buyer out of state, and that was the only one there.

 

I also have an older NSX w/o power steering. It takes a little effort at low speed, but it's not too bad. As CK6Speed has mentioned, feedback and control is amazing. The only thing that I don't like about the steering is that the turning radius is pretty large. So in low speed U-turns, you're cranking the wheel with some effort, and you'll still have to make a 3 point turn. My 2nd gen GS was much more maneuverable even though it was much larger.

But once you get going, there's no comparison.

 

One reason for that wide turning radius is the wide tires and wheels in those low-slung front fenders and the way the nose droops down between them......there is not a lot of room for them to turn left or right without rubbing and scraping.

 

The tire and rim is not that wide though. Stock front 91-93 rims are 15X7 with a 205/50/15 tire. The 94-2001 is a 16X7 using a 215/45/16. You are right though, the room up front is tight. I personally have a 18X8 running 225/35/18 tires, but it is very tight. I don't believe it is a lock to lock steering angle problem, but the steering rack ratio they choose. This probably has a lot to do with tracked tuned vs street tuned. As good as the NSX is for daily driving, it really is a better track car.