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Down Under NSX project.

Joined
23 April 2011
Messages
168
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Ok so i seem to have a lot of time on my hands lately so I thought I would do my own production/progress thread, hope you enjoy.


The reason I ended up with an nsx in the first place is due to my first Honda, a 1999 S2000, which i owned for a total of about 12 months, not very long in the whole scheme of things but long enough to know I had a soft spot for these particular vehicles. It was fantastic fun to drive, quite regularly went on cruises with mates, till eventually I hit the track for the first time, Until you go on a race track with a car such as an s2000 or NSX I dont think it can be described how much fun it really is, my first time on the track was one of the most exciting days of my life to date and from then I knew I wouldnt stop.


I Spent a bit on just basic mods for the s2k:
-J's racing Headers
-Buddy club pro Exhaust
-test pipes
-BC br coilover's


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so 1 year down the track of owning my s2000 I decided to part ways with it, Since I purchased it the car had hail damage, most of which I repaired but some panels where going to be a bit expensive to fix which i never got round to doing, I also wanted a bit more power and orverall something a bit newer.....you can assume that didnt happen.
I set off with the intention of buying either a e46 m3, or an ap2 s2k with the intention of going F.I. The m3 idea went out the window quite quickly after going for a test drive in one, it had power sure but the delivery wasnt anything like the way vtec cut in. and the handling i thought was very sedate where as the s2000 felt more alive. So with that in mind I set off with the intention of buying an ap2.....or so I thought.


Now a few weeks later I got a message from MLCnsx offering for me to have a look and possibly a drive of his nsx...I was pretty shocked to say the least but did not hesitate at the offer.
After seeing an nsx in the flesh the car was extraordinary witch is also a credit to the owner for keeping it looking so immaculate, and after a drive I was in love, the way the car felt, drove, the sound was all just such an experience. Now having seen the car I knew it trumped s2000 and the m3 wasnt even in the same league, but due to the fact that it was out of my price range I had to wait roughly 6 months till I was able to get a hold of one but eventually I managed to talk the owner of a red 1991 man nsx down enough that I couldnt refuse it.


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When I first got the car there where a few issues that had to be addressed such as the climate control not working, nor was the entire sound system. At first I just thought the the fuse was the issue for the speakers so i replaced that only to find the headunit becoming an interior chimney through the casset player =/
Now I'm not the best with electronics so I had to get some help testing out all the wiring but eventually came to the conclusion that each speaker amp was gone along with the headunit, so I replaced the lot. A few weeks later I threw it all together Only to find the replacement headunit was a dud, but luckily some how my old man managed to come accross a brand new orgional bose head unit stored deep in the back of some alpine factory....quite lucky really but fixed the sound system nonetheless and i must say for a 20+ yr old car it is quite the decent sound system.
The climate control was a simple fix, I was recommended by a fellow prime user to send it off to get fixed in the states (cant recall the name or company right now) but a couple of weeks later I got that back and the car was running great.


So I figured it was time to start refining the car to suit my tastes, so with that in mind I replaced the factory springs with eibachs, and purchased a set of volk ce28n genesis on r-rubber (bridgestone re-55s) with the intention of taking it to the track. These where the first photos I got of the car resting lower on the ce28's.


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After this My next mod needed to be the exhaust just to give it a bit of a louder note.....and to replace those god awful factory exhaust tips. I decided to go with a custom make, A friend of mine usually tinkers around with exhausts in his spare time and has become quite the expert over the last few years so I thought I would let him have a crack at the nsx....and it turned out to be a good challenge. We decided to upgrade both cats to a single 100cel and go from the exhaust manifold into a single 3" pipe then split out the side although the end result was very droney and not that pleasing, overall the guy made about 3 different exhausts to end up with the final result needing 2 large mufflers to shut the drone up but I am happy with the result, its a bit raspy from about 3.5k rpm till it hits vtec then the rasp dissapears and its slightly louder than stock but soooo much more free flowing than before, I was quite happy with the extra response the car gained.




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Now I figured It was time to make use of those tires and finally hit the track, So I went about getting a full service for the car including timing, tappets, and the clutch.
After getting a lot of assistance from the motorsport director of the wrx club director down here I hit sandown race course. It wasnt a timed event but more of a practice day for others and a good way for people reasonably be new to the track such as myself to get use to the rules and lines of the track.


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After Sandown I was hooked, the car didnt miss a beat all day, the engine was brilliant and the car got alot of attention which I was a little surprised about when its in the company of porsches, gtr's and ferrari's.
Next stop was phillip island for my first properly timed event, never being there before I was told to bring a change of pants as going into the first blind corner at 200+ km/h is quite freaky.
So before the event I figured the lowered spring's werent gonna cut it and opted for a set of bc coilover's I know there not top of the range and not perfect for street use, but they would be all I needed for the track. Along with some pads and discs I was good to go. Turned out with a proper alignment and corner balance the coilovers actually road extremely well on the road, I was really impressed.


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After being to 3 different tracks it was quite obvious that phillip island wasnt even in the same category as the others, the track was amazing, so smooth and not a single rut or bump all the way round and the feeling of going flat stick through a corner in 4th is unreal, the car stayed so balanced and yet again didnt miss a beat which really does show the work of art honda created when the produced this car, the car went well all day.That is until my last session of the day, probably my 2nd last lap doing 230 down the main straight when my RHR tire blew, big black chunks flew out the rear resulting in my inner guard linner getting torn up pretty bad, safe to say I shit myself, first thing that came to mind was I think I blew the motor due to the violent vibration I was getting, but after seeing no smoke and the engine was revving fine I calmed down a bit and pulled off seeing what really went on, all I can say is thank god it didnt happen on the corner leading on to the main straight.
But overall it was a great day and I'm slowly learning to push myself further and trying to find the limits of the car.


Im gonna take a break from the track for a few months now as ill need to save up for a new set of tires, and probably invest in a baffled sump and hopefully get my hands on some extractors, then ill be back hopefully for winton, or another stint at phillip island. Hope you enjoyed reading along, and ill update the thread if any changes are made.


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Great post and very nice car! What do you think about the BC Racing coilover? any good? I did have a set on my 350Z and I was positively surprised about them, but what are they like on the NSX?
 
I like them, I was a little hesitant at first becuase they where quite a harsh ride in my s2000, but they have been perfect for the nsx, not as much body roll at with the standard suspension and the ride comfort is still there.
 
Why did you make a custom exhaust when there are so many great exhausts on the market?
It looks like a monstrosity.
How much does it weigh?

I dont care how the exhaust looks underneath cause you cant see it anyway, its all ss so not that much. If you can find me an exhaust for the same price or less than this in Melbourne let me know because once you start adding shipping its gets expensive.
 
Great write up. Nice looking NSX too.
 
Hi Brendan,

Thanks for the write-up! Great to see you enjoying some track time!

Now about those tyres... How old were they??
 
Great looking car! What are the specs on your wheels and tires?

Wheel sizes are 17x8.0 +38, and 18x9.5 +34, tires are 215/40 r17 and 265/35 r18. (If memory serves me correct)

Hi Brendan,

Thanks for the write-up! Great to see you enjoying some track time!

Now about those tyres... How old were they??

Yeah loving the track time the nsx was made for it, really sticks it to those higher hp cars.
The tires where approx 4-5 months old with about 20% tread left when the rear one popped, although Since the re-surfacing of P.I there have been a few instances of the RHR tire delamanating.
 
So its been a while since ive updated this thread, just recieved my new taitec extractors and gtlw (yes i know the custom made exhaust wasnt ideal after all) the car will be off the road for a week or two, to fit the exhaust, fix the steering rack knock and sus out an oil leak.
Also have been offered a set of kw v3's which would replace my bc br's, does anyone recomend them, I know v3's are a great coilover but how much better than bc's, has anyone owned both??

 
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