I wish they offered source in the S...congrats. You will enjoy the build quality and smoothness of the NC1, you may miss the modded GTR power..
Thank you. Any silver would be a breath of fresh air after the labor of love that is a black car. The source silver however has a nice depth and extreme variance with light that really accentuates the body lines.
congrats on the purchase and welcome to the club.. I am truly curious to learn your likes and dislikes and direct comparison to the gtr and nsx.. I always admired the grr from afar and still one day may add to the stable.. safe driving
Stock vs stock, the NSX feels faster and smoother than the GTR. They have similar power to weight ratios but the NSX benefits greatly from the torque assist of the electric motors whereas the GTR has some turbo lag in stock form.
In general, the NSX is much quieter and smoother. The suspension on the NSX does a much better job soaking up road imperfections. The electric drive for the front wheels is very quiet and engine and transmission are both nestled compactly behind the driver. In quiet / sport mode, the NSX is an incredibly comfortable cruiser. The GTR has it's engine in the front and transmission in the rear for weight balance, so there is a drive shaft running from the front to the rear, and a second running back up to the front for the front wheels. With two drive shafts and a rattly bell housing the GTR is known to make a lot more mechanical noises, clunks and thunks that are usually concerning to new owners but its just par for the course. The GTR can really make it's way around the track in a hurry thanks to AWD and torque vectoring but there is no comparison to mid-engine feel on turn in due to the simple physics of having your mass centralized. I've also owned an S2000, a couple of Boxster S, a 911 S and a ZR1, The S2000 was incredible in the corners, the Boxsters even more so. The NSX feels like a Boxster in the corners but with more instant power on tap like the ZR1. The weight of the NSX does not show as it remains flat, has no lag and stops incredibly fast with the CCB and re-gen. It behaves like a much lighter car.
Where the GTR really shines is the aftermarket support. It's a tuners dream as their is virtually no limit on how fast you can make them other than the depth of your wallet. I'm still friendly with the local GTR club and I have a few friends making in the 12-1300 WHP range, a friend with a 1,700 WHP GTR and a few guys are even making north of 2k WHP. GTRs cleaned up this year at TX2K, besting even the underground racing twin turbo Lamborghinis. Bang for the buck, they are tough to beat if you want to go fast in a straight line or around a track. I really had no complaints with the platform other than just getting the itch to try something different after driving 2 of them over 6 years. The GTR community is great and I'm still friends with all the local GTR owners. The GTR was a tad more practical too if it were your only car as the trunk is much bigger and the back seats were nice for my two boys. I have a couple of Jeeps they love riding in too so this wasn't a deal breaker. I wish the NSX had back seats but so far my boys have been good about taking turns riding up front in a booster. I would consider having another GTR one day but perhaps in trade for one of my Jeeps so I can keep the NSX
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As compared to my personal GTR stock NSX is a bit slower at the moment. I had basic bolt ons, injectors and tune on 93 octane gas so it was good for about a ~10.7 @ 130mph. If I would have added flex fuel kit and tune it would have run ~10.2 @ 135mph. With a mild turbo upgrade, stock engine and transmission I've seen another forum member run 9.6@144. Beyond that the sky is the limit but you need to build the engine and transmission and it gets expensive in a hurry (just ask droptopp). I think the NSX should be able to match or beat my old pump gas FBO GTR with a JB4, downpipes and exhaust but the NSX is reportedly faster still off of the line before the electric motors shut off (ruining 1/4 mile and 60-130 stats). This should be plenty fast for the street but it bugs me slightly that this is the ceiling at the moment. I know there is a lot more potential in this car but it will never receive huge aftermarket support due to limited sales numbers and market size. The new Ktuner full ECU tune is promising though. I inquired about being a beta tester but was told release is imminent. They are just finalizing packaging. Apparently a NSX with just Ktuner only (stock downpipes and exhaust) ran a 10.4X. With downpipes, exhaust, intercoolers and Ktuner, I'm hoping we see low 10s. Also, it would be amazing to get E85 flex fuel support or perhaps support for a mild turbo upgrade. It's a shame the ECU wasn't cracked until now. I feel like the NSX would have sold more if this had been achieved earlier as it opens up a lot of potential for the platform.
Overall, I am very impressed with the NSX. I wasn't even hunting for one and came across it by chance. I test drove a few 991 turbos, a GT4 and a gen 2 R8 V10 but it was the NSX I spotted on one of the dealer lots that won me over. The NSX styling looks much better in person and the driving dynamics have to be felt to be appreciated. It gets a lot of flack for being a hybrid but it is mostly from people who have never driven one. In my opinion, the hybrid tech really makes this car great. It's not like the NSX has an underpowered engine like the I8. The 500HP 3.5tt is plenty fast in its own right. The electric motors just fill in the power band to eliminate lag, improve handling and fuel economy. The only thing not to like is the price. I suspect if they had made a lower tier entry level NSX with just the ICE engine only and priced it in the lower six figure range, they could have kept the hybrid as a higher end model and the entry level model would have sold very well. I have not seen a bad review of the NC1 NSX by an automotive journalist. It really is a great car in spite of its poor sales figures. I think the high MSRP just held it back in a market where people are only looking at performance per $ unless you have strong brand recoginition. I believe eventually the market will appreciate for these misunderstood cars given the ultra low production numbers, timeless design and great driving characteristics but time will tell.
