Comptech Wide Body

[Maxtuning]

AnyBody have any info on how i can purchase a Comptech WideBody NSX, Been looking far and wide without any luck, I know i can buy the 7 grand kit and have it installed but i was looking for an out of the box kind of thing. THX for the help.

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www.maxtuning.com

 

[Lud]

The CTech wide body kits aren't very common. One thing to consider is buying a car with body panel damage cheap (vandalism or maybe a light roll-over) and putting the body kit on.

 

[Maxtuning]

Thanks, I've looked into it. Just had trouble finding one with out too much structure damage. One more thing has anybody out there actually purchased the kit and had it installed.

 

[David]

I have one on my car- it's nice having 335s under the rear end!

Contact me if you want details. <[email protected]>

 

[Maxtuning]

Thanks, 335's so your taking the rears off a viper, What kind of wear time have you gotten on those tires. I guess what i want to really know is how much did it cost to get it installed, the Comptech site says 160 hours, does that include painting and the such or is that just for installing the body kit...

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www.maxtuning.com The Ultimate Stop for Import Tuning Information and Resourcews on the Net

 

[maomaonsx]

I'd say if you are ready to add 100lbs to your PERFORMANCE car, than go ahead and get the CT bodykit. Oh yeah, and those 335 is not helping you go faster either, and probably is screw up the handling because they are way to heavy for the NSX without some extensive chassis modification. Just my opinion.

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Please visit my NSX tuning page! Mods, Japanese NSX related stuff, pics!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/6073/index.html

 

[David]

I will run my 'heavy' widebody car with its too big 335s against your car any day. I had 285s under the rear and all the car did at the drag strip was float around. Now at least (with 315 drag tires) I can hook up and actually put the power to the pavement. Aslo, the handling is significantly BETTER now that I have enough rubber under the tail end to control the throttle over-steer.

They may be fine for 270 hp (less than a Mustang has) but when you have forced induction and NOS, the stock rear tires on the NSX are pitiful.

 

[maomaonsx]

I really doubt that your car handles better than a narrow bodied NSX. The kit is at least 100lbs heavier, and those rims and tires is at least another 50lbs if not more, and we are still talking about static weight. Imagine throwing an extra 200lbs around the corners. Ha, that's why you need 335 rears....You may have more grip with 335 rears, but does it really HANDLES better? Handling is not just about grip, you know. I'm just someone who really hates weight, that is why my car is 100lbs LIGHTER than a stock car. It means that when I take a corner, my tires doesn't have to work as hard as yours to keep the tail from coming around, that means I don't need 335 rears.

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Please visit my NSX tuning page! Mods, Japanese NSX related stuff, pics!
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[David]

I have been building racing cars for over fifteen years; I have a pretty good idea of what 'handling' is.

Stock, an NSX is set up to understeer because Honda knows they are going to be bought (mostly) by dentists and lawyer types. (Evidence of the difference between NSX drivers and other sports car target markets is the rarity of any seriously modified NSX.) Understeer is the best way to keep people who don't really know how to drive from doing something too stupid on the road. In general, it makes the car pretty safe and easy to drive. Unfortunately, the NSX has just enough hp to cause severe transition (throttle) oversteer when driven hard. The same 4:55 R&P that helps give me such wonderful acceleration exagerates this problem. The best way to counter that is by changing the roll rate (modified sway bars) and by going to larger rear tires with lower air pressure. I also have the non-compliance rear suspension, different shocks and springs, threaded spring perches, etc. One of my good friends won the Viper challange a year ago and my car will stay pretty close (well, kind of close) to his GTS on the track. A stock NSX would be a marker within two laps. I know, I have seen them on the track with us. By the way, his Viper is heavier than both of our cars and will significantly out handle both of them.

Yes, your car is lighter, but that is not why it does not need 335s. The 200hp or so difference is why. The type of power I get when the car comes on boost would overwhelm your rear suspension in a tight corner, no matter how light your car is.

I do wish my car was hundreds of pounds lighter! Who wouldn't want that? But given the choice, I'll take the traction any day. I have run both set-ups (narrow and wide) on the track extensively and I like this one a lot better. Besides, the widebody is a real looker, especially parked next to a stock one.

If you like yours better, that's great! That is the beauty of setting up the car yourself. Until you have driven my car or the Comptech car, however, please don't assume you can out-handle them. ; )



[This message has been edited by David (edited 13 April 2000).]

 

[Lud]

I'd have to agree with David that for an NSX putting out a lot more power than stock you need wider rears.

I've never driven one with 335s before so I can't comment on that size specifically. But the JGTC NSX race cars run about that size (the Mugen car uses 330/40-18 and runs around 450-470 max HP) and weigh a lot less.

 

[David]

Good example, Lud, I had forgotten about those cars. Also, one of the first (and only) criticisms you will see in NSX magazine reviews by good drivers is that it is under-tired for a car of it's performance level.

 

[maomaonsx]

245 rears--yes, that is under tired, 335 is a bit over tired I'd say. You cannot compared the JGTC NSX to a street or even modified NSX. The reason they need huge tires is because they are going a lot FASTER, a lot faster than any NOS/turbo/super charged NSX. I don't understand why would you want to work against what the Honda engineers intention--a light-weight sports car, that is why the aluminum construction, the small-ass wheels(15/16) and the small V-6(Honda originally was going to put a 4banger in it). The only benefit of the CT wide body is that it looks "better," which is very objective(personally think it looks ugly)
You argue that your car is a lot more powerful than a stock NSX, but do you really need 335rears? I mean there a lot more Supras, GTRs that a LOT more powerful than your modfied NSX, I dont see them running 335 rears. I think all in all, it is just a personal preference thing.
IMHO
IMHO
IMHO

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Please visit my NSX tuning page! Mods, Japanese NSX related stuff, pics!
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[David]

You are arguing against yourself now. Let's see, the JGTC cars need wider tires because they are going faster - yes, they can go faster in a road race because they handle better! That is the whole point. If all they wanted was top speed, they would use the skinnest tires possible; wider tires theoretically have more rolling resistance would slow them down. That is a fact. They are set up to handle, but with less hp than I have to deal with.

You are also arguing against yourself with the Supra example. There are several 600hp + Supras locally and they all have the exact same problem at the strip -- they can't hook up. Look at the high-powered Supras that do well (the PowerHouse car, for example); they use wide slicks.

Using the high hp Supra example in a handling debate is spurious anyway, because they handle like pigs with their stock tires. They run me at the drag strip, but I absolutely humilate them on the track.

[This message has been edited by David (edited 13 April 2000).]

 

[maomaonsx]

Are you saying your car has more power than the JGTC NSX? You kidding me? A McLaren F1 GTR runs in the same race, and that car has nothing on the NSX, not even competetive.
And your arguement makes no sense to me, perhaps you misunderstood my post. You perfer over-weight with over-sized tires to compensate for the increased mass, I perfer lighter weight with sufficient tires. I try to take a step further from the original intention of the Honda engineers(lite weight), you are taking a step backwards, but if that makes you happy, it's all that matters. But still I say, it's too objective to argue about it.

Also, I don't remember any Auto journalist report that the NSX needs more tires, some of them even mention that the chassis could use another 100HP.

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Please visit my NSX tuning page! Mods, Japanese NSX related stuff, pics!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/6073/index.html

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

I agree with David. The NSX does need bigger tires. I run in the track with 255 in the rear (R1 tires) and IMHO it is under tires. And my car does not have that much mods (Chip, Muffler, Header and Intake only). The wider tires are mainly use for transmitting the power to the ground, however with the better traction they improve the speed you can gain taking corners. With such speed taking corners you need all the traction u can get. Even with bigger tires, without the proper down force, they will not be able to grip properly. Just for information Indy and formula 1 cars in excess of 120 mph generate so much down force that if they are running in a tunnel, they can run upside down and hung on the ceiling.
The benefit of having such big tires with enough power are greater than having a lighweight car. And I do believe with a twin turbo and Nos, NSX have enough power to handle the 335. (I driven an twin turbo)

BEsides, I love the look of Comptech widebody. Seen it in person and definetly the best kit for NSX. Don't mind the wider tires as well. Even for my underpower car

[This message has been edited by Andrie Hartanto (edited 13 April 2000).]

 

[GruppeM]

I am not sure why you think David's post makes no sense maomaonsx. I think both of you have valid arguments there.. and David did listen to what you've said, lighter weight is better, but given the choices of less weight or better handling, he'd take handling anyday. It's arguable wheather or not 335 is over-sized depending on the actual power that his NSX produces, since I've never seen it, and I doubt you have either, we can't really comment on that. You said that he perfers over-weight with over-sized tires to compensate for the increased mass. That's what doesn't make any sense here. He prefers "over" weight and "over" sized (are they really over?) tires for better handling, not to compensate for the increased mass (tires don't make your car run any faster!!!!)

Anyways, I do wish that I did get bigger tires than what I've just got, 215/40/17 front, 265/35/18 rear BridgeStone S-02 tires, though my NSX doesn't have as much power as some others (only DC sport headers, GruppeM intake, ARC titanium exhaust, and ECU with modified chip for performance mods), but I do feel that my tires are under-sized for the power it produces.

 

[maomaonsx]

I think you guys are forgetting something here: bigger tires will not cure the negative handling characteristics of the NSX, such as snap oversteer. I think attention should be paid more to fine tuning the suspension rather than slapping on huge rubbers.

To GruppeM: lighterweight always equals better handling, you dont choose between lighterweight or better handling.
Maybe you should look at it this way:
if you get to choose to remove 200lbs of weight and keep the 245 rears; or, widen the car with CT bodykit which adds 100lbs, and huge rims/tire-another 100lbs. Which would you choose?



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Please visit my NSX tuning page! Mods, Japanese NSX related stuff, pics!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/6073/index.html

 

[G-man]

OK, OK, OK! You are both wrong! And both right!

Let's take a look at the physics involved here. The reality of the situation is that the car has dead weight that it must rest of 4 tires. The size of the tires has less to do with the effect than the shape and dynamics of the "contact patch" (that part of the tire the car is actually resting on). As the tires heat up, the head dissipation also plays a major role in the effectiveness of your tires. Uniform heat transfer and effective heat dissipation is critical once the car is in motion. So it is not only the size but you pick but the tread design and the compound.

Anyway, as you add fatter tires, you increase the contact patch, but if the weight of the car remains the same or even gets less relative to the "RATIO" of patch area to weight, then the car will handle worse even with fatter tires.

Likewise, if you remove weight and leave the stock tires you also reduce the weight per square inch of contact area and the car will also handle worse.

So, depending on how much surface area you add in tire size, how much weight you add with the body kit and mods or how much weight you want to remove... it all comes down to maintaining that ideal "sweet spot" ratio that the Honda Engineers wanted so desperately.

So, actually, you are both wrong. Or, I guess you are both right. It all depends of how close you came to maintaining that ratio. In many cases if you do the widebody and really add the rubber, you might want to ADD a bunch more weight just to keep the car in that sweet spot.

Regardless of how the car is setup, you still can't get away from the undenyable laws of physics.



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Gordon G. Miller, III
Y2K NSX #51 Yellow/Black
[email protected] http://www.g3.com

 

[PUREVIL]

Hey David I have two questions for you. One, where can I see pics of your X? Two, what mods are you running and how much Hp are you making?

 

[Teej]

The JGTC NSX's are far lighter also because every body panel is made of Carbon Fiber and then painted over. Man, what I wouldnt give to see one in person right in front of me. It is said that no amount of money can purchase you a JGTC kit from the Japanese. It is just that sacred or whatever to them. Thats too bad because if I had the loot, I'd offer them anywhere from $500,000 - $1,000,000 just to have an NSX with a carbon fiber JGTC kit sitting on some HRE 540 rims. The car of course would be show only.

 

[David]

I am going to take some pictures in a couple of weeks because I promised Mark Johnson at Dali that I would show him what his two-scoop hood looks like on the Comptech widebody. Three weeks at the outside. The car is in Dallas for at least another week because Bob Norwood is doing some adjustments to the Motec program. I will give you dyno numbers when he is finished.

There is a really crappy picture of my car in the current issue of Turbo & High-Tech Performance magazine. It is a really poor shot, however and you really can't see how nice the body looks. They snapped it while I was running a drag event at Texas World Speedway. It's in the two-page 'Drag Wars' ad on pgs. 118 & 119.

Norwood called me laughing the other day because he has five or six Ferrari's in his shop (including an F40 and an F50) and people kept walking right past them to ask him "what the hell is this silver car and where can I get one?"

[This message has been edited by David (edited 27 April 2000).]

 

[EndLeSS]

David: Your Comptech NSX is in silver? Whoa, thats nice then. All of the pics i've seen of the Comptech kit are yellow NSX's (which i'm not a big fan of), but in silver, its actually nice.
But imo the best body kit is still the K&N Japan Group M one (which i think GruppeM has) The other japanese body kits for the NSX are just too strange. IMO.

l8z

 

[David]

One of the Acura corporate service managers told me that the Comptech body kit was actually designed several years ago by the SoCal Honda design studio as an excercise to see what an updated NSX would look like. According to him, they presented it to Japan, they didn't want to spend the money to retool, so the designer gave it to Comptech, because of their very strong Honda/Acura factory ties.

Don't know if it's true, but if so, it would explain why it is so professional-looking/factory-like vs the other kits.

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

David, Is it your car in the newest edition of Turbo magazine. There is a silver comptech widebody NSX in the ads for Drag racing event. Look sweet. Don't forget to post your picture as soon as u get it.

 

[David]

Yes, that is my car. Crummy picture, though. It is a lot nicer looking in person. The photo doesn't show the wide sweep of the body.