Pick one: short gears+4.23 R&P or I/H/E?

[Number9]

So I'm clearly in the minority here, but the I/H/E gives better ACTUAL performance than the short gears/RP everywhere except 0-60, so it would seem a no brainer to do the I/H/E first. If you want bang-for-buck, just do the H. BTW, I just came back from autoXing Viper GTS vs. Formula Dodge, and the one that seemed faster wasn't...

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by Number9:
So I'm clearly in the minority here, but the I/H/E gives better ACTUAL performance than the short gears/RP everywhere except 0-60, so it would seem a no brainer to do the I/H/E first.

Well, **I** agree with you.

If you want the mod that makes it feel like it's a lot faster (even though it's only a little faster), do the gears. But if you want the mod that only makes it feel like it's a little faster (even though it's actually a lot faster), go for the I/H/E (particularly the H/E).

If I had to buy one or the other, I would go for the actual gains. But there are some who care more about the perception (just like some will buy an exhaust more for the sound than the hp gains), and that's fine too.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 22 June 2002).]

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I guess it all comes down to what you're looking for.

When it comes to the "I" and "E" part of the I/H/E modification, it's pretty much agreed that the actual gains are nil and the the purpose for doing those two upgrades are mostly aesthetic in nature. People swap out the factory air box because a XYZ intake sounds cool...and as Ken points out, that's fine.

It does seem that the pre-97 cars benefit more from headers and exhaust but it's still just on the order of 10-15 horsepower or a 5% improvement for $2K or thereabouts.

I did a search on "headers" and found that the improvement might not be all that significant. In the following thread, dswartz had less impressive times with his I/H/E upgrade than he had with the stock setup. Of course, there might have been other variables.
http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001281.html

However, I really don't think anyone's proven or even simply shown that headers or headers/exhaust will make any NSX "actually a LOT faster."

I'm not one who gives a one whit about "perception." My recommendation on the short gears had really nothing to do with performance or perception. It had to do with real, actual and tangible driveability issues. Unfortunately, there's no real metrics to illustrate how much better the 1-2 shift is with the short gears. Although perhaps that big BOG of a black hole that disappears with the short gears is a "perception" issue.

Perhaps the answer is this...

If you're concerned about real performance in a pre-97 NSX, install headers and possibly the exhaust. It's about the only affordable performance mod that's less than $5K you can make other than nitrous.

If you're also concerned about driveability, making your car more enjoyable to drive and also interested in gaining a bit more additional performance, install the short gears and a lower R&P (i.e. 4.23 or 4.55).

If you have a 97 NSX with a six speed, ignore all this and if you need more performance go the forced induction route.

-Jim

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1992 NSX Red/Blk 5 spd #0330
1991 NSX Blk/Blk Auto #3070 (Sold)
1974 Vette 454 4 spd Wht/Blk
Looking for 76-79 Honda Accords

 

[multisync23]

I had the short gears and the 4:55 R&P. The engine stayed in VTEC most of the time, and was very responsive.

If you drag race, though, the shorter gear ratio puts you in an odd spot in the RPM band as you cross the speed traps.

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