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Import Racer magazine article on R.J. de Vera's NSX

Lud

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http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Media/magazines/2001-oct_importracer.htm
 
Lemme see -- that cars been beat up at least twice since '97, and who knows what before then.

I'll keep my stock '94, thank you.

-Bob
 
I saw the car once as I was driving on the freeway. Very nice car, but didn't realize that it was in so many accidents. If import racer had left out all the accident details (which made me kinda cringe)I would be more impressed with the car.
 
I think the car is beautiful, but 12.8 with nitrous is SLOW! C&D ran a stock 2001 in 12.9!

Since he picked up the NSX at age 20.. I really must be doing something wrong!!!



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NetViper -= 100% Stock EBP 2000 Civic Si =- Still looking to get an NSX, but at least I can live life at 8,000 RPM!
 
No flames here please, but I imagine if you are going to spend that much on mods, especially major body work w/comptech kit and all new paint, wouldn't you want to start w/a less than perfect car for price reasons? Most everything is new I imagine, as long as the frame was not bent probably is ok, besides, RJ has the hookup on most anything I'm pretty sure
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. Just my .02

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Jason
 
Who is RJ?

Can RJ send me a photo on his centre console (and may be more photos on other parts of the car). I want to get the carbon fibre overlay and see how he handles his 1-din stereo.

Also I like the suede leather seat, it will be a good alternative if the seats were worn out becos of time (I think it is quite practical as well).

I like his wheels too.
 
Regarding 12.8 with an 80 shot of nitrous being slow..

I'm not so sure it's that slow considering the mods he has..

Unless I missed something in the article.. Power-wise, his car is fairly unmodded.. He's got a 91 w/ 5 speed, so he's starting in the very low-14 quarter mile range, maybe a very high 13 on a good day.. His only real additions appear to be an air filter, an HKS exhaust, and an 80-shot of nitrous.

If the nitrous is truly giving him 80hp, then 375hp (quoted from the article) minus the 80 shot = a 295 hp engine. His engine appears to be just 25hp over stock w/o the nitrous. Add on the extra weight from the body kit, etc, and you've offset a good portion of that 25hp gain.

So, that 80 shot of nitrous is taking around a full second off his quarter mile time. Seems about right to me. (The general rule of thumb is that adding 100hp takes about a second off.)

Remember, nitrous really can't be used in first gear and typically isn't used throughout 2nd. 3rd and 4th gears are the primary beneficiaries of the NOS. A forced-induction setup on the otherhand gets all its extra power in each and every gear. Considering forced NSX's tend to be only a few tenths to half a second faster than 12.8 in the quarter and aren't usually pulling the extra weight of this car.. Again, the 12.8 seems to make sense..

Someone tell me if I'm missing something in my reasoning or missed something in the article
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-Marc
97 NSX-T Twin Turbo



[This message has been edited by SpeedDemon (edited 25 September 2001).]
 
Originally posted by SpeedDemon:
Regarding 12.8 with an 80 shot of nitrous being slow ..... Considering forced NSX's tend to be only a few tenths to half a second faster than 12.8 in the quarter and aren't usually pulling the extra weight of this car.. Again, the 12.8 seems to make sense..

Someone tell me if I'm missing something in my reasoning or missed something in the article
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Now, this is what I call constructive criticism.
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Originally posted by RyRy210:
...If import racer had left out all the accident details (which made me kinda cringe)I would be more impressed with the car.

I don't get it. If the guy wanted to paint it a different color, much less do the body kit thing, then any notion of a virgin car is nonsense anyway. So what possible difference could it make if it had suffered a hundred superficial accidents?

I'll never understand the whole "tainted" thing, but would you be more "impressed" if he had butchered a perfect car?



[This message has been edited by sjs (edited 25 September 2001).]
 
My point exactly sjs. You couldn't have said it better. Not that I think it's butchered, I have seen the car in person, looks pretty good to me.
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Jason
 
***Remember, nitrous really can't be used in first gear and typically isn't used throughout 2nd. 3rd and 4th gears are the primary beneficiaries of the NOS. ***

Hey Marc. I use NOS in 2nd gear all the time.
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I used it in first once, but it's not something I would like to repeat.
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I guess I would have to be at a drag strip to use NOS in 3rd or 4th because that would easily put you over 100mph.

With a wet system the power comes on smoothly so I have had no problems with wheel spin or breaking traction. A 2nd gear shot is all I can ever really do on the street.

However, Marc is right. You get more continuous power with forced induction. You lose time between shots and it's more difficult. I'm sure a professionally set up car for drag racing with nitrous could eliminate that, but there are more factors to running a faster time if you are running NOS.
So when are we going to Carlsbad?
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Ilya, Did you switch your dry setup over? Can you tell me what you ran into in terms of cost, install, reliability? I assume you went to a bigger shot (125, 150), how does it feel compared to the small dry shot? Always lookin to upgrade my NOS...hitting the juice in first, better hang on
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Jason

[This message has been edited by Jason Weaver (edited 25 September 2001).]
 
Originally posted by Jason Weaver:
My point exactly sjs. You couldn't have said it better. Not that I think it's butchered, I have seen the car in person, looks pretty good to me.
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I didn't really mean butchered in a negative way except to the extent that some people would think anything other than original paint is a bad thing (I disagree). The CT wide body kit is the only major kit I've seen that I would consider, and then only with a monster engine like David's.
 
I never had a dry shot, always a wet system 100 shot... not too much. I could do more, but would probably need to upgrade the fuel pump.
It cost close to 1K in labor and parts for everything I had to do because of my setup.
My nozzle is hidden under the engine and goes directly into the intake manifold. That means the top block had to be removed so a hole could be drilled. I did take the opportunity to completely clean out the whole block as long as it was off. In fact, if I was more technically inclined and had the time, I would have ported the whole thing since it was all apart anyway. If I were to do it again, I would take the time to do it.
The cost included $120 for gauges I bought, $100 for more 02 sensors and welding, and also some Iridium spark plugs at $21 a piece (can get for much less, but we were short on time).
Also, add in a $200 Vortech Super FMU ($300 retail). Unnecessary but helpful for tuning.
Part of the low cost is because Larry tends to undercharge for work.
$200+$100+$120+$126= $526. So really, I paid less than $500 in labor for at least three long nights of work... at least 15 hours, probably more. I was the first to have it done this way and he has done a few since, so I'll bet he gets it done even faster now. I was the guniea pig.
The best part was spending the entire time watching and helping as he runs an open shop which I love. I'm always interested an eager to learn so that policy is a big factor in where I choose to go. I don't BS him too much, watch, learn, assist and ask occasional questions. I've spent an entire day there and enjoy it.

There are other ways to do a wet system without going through all that work. Apparently, there is a big benefit to doing it this other way. Someone would have to get an explanation from the source, because I could not explain it without butchering it.

It has something to do with distributing an equal (approx) amount of NOS to every chamber and a very short travel distance.
As I said, the power is very progressive. There is no jolt, at all. I was able to use it in first gear once (hit at 4K RPMs) when testing and had no problems with traction.

We also have a purge valve rigged to eject NOS and air from the driver side intake vent.
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In time, since so much is done, I guess it would be pretty cheap for me to upgrade to a 125 or 150 shot and a fuel pump. I don't see a purpose as I wish I had more opportunities to use it as is. If I knew how little I would use it I may have not even spent the money.
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Originally posted by ilya:
There is no jolt, at all. I was able to use it in first gear once (hit at 4K RPMs) when testing and had no problems with traction.

Are you sure you're getting 100hp out of it? Sheesh, I get 3/4's of the way into the throttle in 1st gear now and my 285 SO2's go up in wheelspin around the 5000rpm range...
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But yeah, your point about having some traction with the 100hp shot actually underscores that the 80hp shot isn't going to hurt traction so badly.. (Not like a 150+ shot.. Grin) Like ya said though.. More continuous power is achieved w/ forced induction. NOS always wins on most bang per buck though (how many bottles would you have to go through until you've gotten to the price of a forced induction setup?)
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Re: Carlsbad... I have a day in mind! I'll post to the SoCal NSX lists soon.. (Email me if I don't do that in the next couple days.. I'm in crunch mode at work so it's easy to forget...Sigh)
 
Originally posted by ilya:
There are other ways to do a wet system without going through all that work. Apparently, there is a big benefit to doing it this other way. Someone would have to get an explanation from the source, because I could not explain it without butchering it.


It has something to do with distributing an equal (approx) amount of NOS to every chamber and a very short travel distance.

What you are referring to is a direct port setup. It is the "best" but is overkill for any of the lower-HP applications being discussed.

BTW, for anyone put off by the labor involved and drilling of the intake manifold, anyone handy with basic DIY stuff can install a dry 70-100 shot kit in an afternoon and all you drill is the tube going into the intake. A wet kit has advantages, but I think they are pretty negligable under 100 HP on an NSX.
 
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