The NSX always puzzled me why it never showed up to events and why no one ran one nationally. Based on pure numbers it should be able to do just fine and even win. S2000 is down on power, has no torque, 200lbs less, and has better gearing for short courses. The Solstice GXP Z0K has the same power, torque, weighs less, but has to wait for the turbo. I've never driven one with the Z0K so I can't speak to the handling, but the turbo punches you in the face when it spools. Not to mention you'd look a lot better driving an NSX than anything else in its class.
Vivek, thanks for the PM. Again this is preliminary discussion, but I'll drop you a line when I am less busy. I have three wedding weekends in a row plus I plan on getting my project car started up and running very soon and that's taking up my evenings.
the NSX is within striking distance... but is an underdog for several reasons:
1. the power advantage is not as great as you would think. an autocross-prepped B-stock NSX weighs right around 3000 lbs., and puts out around 255-260whp. by contrast, a fully prepped s2000 CR weighs around 2700 lbs., and puts out 210-215whp. so in terms of power to weight ratio... the NSX is pushing 11.5 lb/hp and the CR is pushing 12.5 lb/hp. advantage NSX for sure... but that's not much.
2. despite weighing 300 lbs less than the NSX, the CR can actually fit MORE overall tire than the NSX. on the stock rims, i can fit 245s in the front and 295s in the back. the s2000 CRs fit 275s all the way around. their peak/sustained g's around a sweeper destroy the NSX (confirmed by data logging my car vs. a national level driver in a CR).
3. the NSX is surprisingly good in transitions. despite being a couple of inches wider than the s2000s, it does not lose much ground to them in slaloms. attribute this to the stability of the MR layout.
4. the s2000 has a 5.5" shorter wheelbase. that is significant! shorter wheelbase means less steering input needed for the same maneuver, which means less work for the tires, which means higher cornering speeds.
5. while the s2000 is way down on torque, the AP2/CR is geared rather short which means it's rpms dont drop as significantly as the older AP1 s2000s. the NSX digs out of a corner better... but the CR is really not that bad either.
having driven both cars extensively... my rough estimate is that:
- for every 2.5 seconds of FULL throttle acceleration, the NSX picks up 0.1 seconds over the s2000 (in the 30-60mph range). given that national's type courses tend to have 15-20 seconds of full throttle time, that translates to a 0.6-0.8 seconds advantage to the NSX based on acceleration.
- the s2000 is 0.1-0.3s quicker in every sweeper. longer gentle sweepers seem to be closer, but tight 90s are the NSX's bane... and the s2000s (because of their short wheelbase and high peak grip) pivot through those elements effortlessly.
all in all... i think the NSX has a fighting chance... but it is an underdog. it all depends on what your goals are. if your goal is to win a trophy at nationals... it is totally doable in the NSX. i have trophied at multiple national events, and even won a couple of pro solos! but if your goal is to win at the national championships... then it is going to be a massively uphill battle.
at this year's nationals (coming up in 5.5 weeks!!!)... if i am not able to coax the car to a top 3 finish, i am probably going to quit autocrossing the NSX seriously (i still will locally). i am driven to win a national championship, and i have put a lot of work into dialing a setup and adjusting my driving... so if i am not able to do it this year... it may be time to stop beating a dead horse
. last year for the pro finale, while my car was down for the season, i jumped into an s2000 CR that i had never driven before and won the class by 9 tenths (and beat the car owner, who won the solo national championship)... so while i have improvements i want to make to my driving... i can drive fairly quickly.
i guess my point is... figure out what your goal is... and determine a plan of action from there
