lets face it the 1st generation nsx is a slow car

[llacap]

After playing around on some private street. I realize that the car is slow... I basically cannot pull against a 2009 mustang GT and basically got killed by a Dodge Charger SRT.

In the looks dept, there's no comparison. but when it comes to brute speed, I think the only ones that have the bawls against the newer cars, are the FI nsxs.

We were doing around 120+ on a private street.

 

[Cartoon]

After playing around on some private street. I realize that the car is slow... I basically cannot pull against a 2009 mustang GT and basically got killed by a Dodge Charger SRT.

In the looks dept, there's no comparison. but when it comes to brute speed, I think the only ones that have the bawls against the newer cars, are the FI nsxs.

We were doing around 120+ on a private street.

if your after staright line speed you have no chance but put them on a track where you have to turn corners and you will come out infront

 

[goldNSX]

Running only straight is for idiots. Why did they mount a steering wheel in the car? :tongue:

 

[NSXrunner]

The car is 20 years old, what do you expect? Some people seem to forget that. Now answer the next question, would you rather be seen in a Mustang or a Charger SRT? If the answer is yes, then why are you in this forum? :wink:

 

[NeoNSX]

i second what NSXrunner posted -- it's an old car; its unfair to compare it to modern cars.

 

[LJSB]

As this car comes closer to vintage status and ages there is going to be a time when some may need to re-evaluate what they like about NSX ownership and their personal needs. Time does not stand still.

Just like a once great professional athlete there comes a time when the glory is in the past and the new young crop passes by.
For this car, it is and has been happening for a some time.
The time is coming when this car will be for the person who loves what it was and loves what it is and does not expect more.

That is why it is now within reach for so many here on Prime, including myself, it not longer filled the bill for the original owner.

I find it odd and boorish that some after a while become disenchanted and insist on pounding folks who love the car into the ground with their comparison threads and statistics rants. They expect me to wake up and buy something else they can prove is better, faster.

A vintage car will not win races with modern cars. For example, take a Ferrari 308 owner. Who's his car going to "pull' on in the 2009 world of cars?

The same is happening gradually for the NSX. I have no illusions about the car. I like what it is or, was.

 

[s14_tat]

you make a 425hp boat like the SRT8 seem slow. the last time i remembered back in high school having 200hp was a lot of freaking power, and 280 hp was almost ungodly. Every ones goal was to hit 100mph in the 1/4 mile, now having a car with 300 hp barely produces a yarn, but a lightly modded na1 and a stock na1 is still neck to neck with a srt8. Also remember that it was only like 3 years back that you would get kicked off the drag strip if you ran 11's and did not have a roll change. Do you know how many stock cars now would get kicked off the track?!!? That use to be a huge accomplishment for a very very modded street car to run 11's without a cage for safety. Boy have times change.

 

[rbilder]

I love my NA1 NSX.

Plenty fast for me...

Plenty fast to get me locked up and have my license suspend for some time.

Maybe I appreciate the vintage status... because I've been getting slower and more vintaged myself.

Speed is kind of relative. It depends what you compare it to... there is a 57 Chevy Truck with two rocket engines strapped into the bed (25,000 hp)... it goes from 0-300 mph in 8 seconds. Not much else on the road compares... then again straight line speed... I doubt it corners very well :biggrin:

 

[javajohn]

I love my NSX and wouldn't trade for any other car but it is just hard to believe it only has 270 HP. Most of the people that talk to me about my car have no idea what it is. They all assume that it is a very fast car because of the way it looks. To many the NSX is a poiser car. That makes me feel bad because it is so perfect in every other way. My wifes G35 has more HP but if you see them next to each other in the garage you would never think so. Honda dropped the ball on power.

I don't drive fast and don't need more power but I want it.

 

[DocL]

I guess that those people who pay millions of dollars for vintage Ferrari's must be ashamed also that their cars are slow.

Unfortunately you just don't understand that most of us enjoy the car as a whole, not for straight line speed. If you really feel that the NSX is slow, rent a Mustang GT for a week and don't drive your NSX. Then come back and give us your real impressions of each car.

 

[javajohn]

I guess that those people who pay millions of dollars for vintage Ferrari's must be ashamed also that their cars are slow.

Unfortunately you just don't understand that most of us enjoy the car as a whole, not for straight line speed. If you really feel that the NSX is slow, rent a Mustang GT for a week and don't drive your NSX. Then come back and give us your real impressions of each car.

Yes, I do understand.

It is just my opinion that Honda should have increased the engines power
during the production run more than they did.

I am being honest. I suspect from your response that you feel the same way I do. I wish everyone liked my car as much as I do. I am very defensive of my car and I don't like people putting it down. I feel that it is OK for NSX owners to discuss likes and dislikes about the car they love because we have a common understanding.

Sorry if I stepped on a nerve.

 

[Dhalsim]

ha ha ha...........if you bought your NSX for straight line speed you made a very foolish error..........

 

[rbilder]

It is just my opinion that Honda should have increased the engines power
during the production run more than they did.

I doubt you will find much argument on that statement, even here on prime.

I suspect most of us believe the same and believe that if Honda would have continued to keep up with the performance advances made on other cars during the 90's and early 2000's then the NSX could still possibly be in production.

There are other costs associated with Honda's decision to stop production. But most buyers couldn't justify the cost of a new NSX compared to some other models that came out with better performance for less money.

 

[Dhalsim]

I doubt you will find much argument on that statement, even here on prime.

I suspect most of us believe the same and believe that if Honda would have continued to keep up with the performance advances made on other cars during the 90's and early 2000's then the NSX could still possibly be in production.

There are other costs associated with Honda's decision to stop production. But most buyers couldn't justify the cost of a new NSX compared to some other models that came out with better performance for less money.

I agree with much of this but I think you need to define "better performance". On the street you cant even begin to approach the limits of the NSX. Take it to the track and enjoy its true potential which is way beyond most cars made today.

 

[R13]

A vintage car will not win races with modern cars. For example, take a Ferrari 308 owner. Who's his car going to "pull' on in the 2009 world of cars?

The 308/328 is a perfect example. Beautiful cars, very entertaining to drive, taking one out is always an "event", but as a result of the world into which they were born (post-gas-crisis/new emissions standards 70's & 80's) they had no chance to actually be fast at all. Owners still show up to F-club track days and have a blast though (even if they have to watch their mirrors more than some others).

My stock MR2 Turbo will run circles around all but the fastest 328, but I know which one I would rather jump in and drive.

I agree that the NSX only really comes into its natural element on a track. I'm sure in Japan/Continental Europe (autobahns aside) it make much more sense with the winding A & B roads, vs. the City/Suburban grid that we see in most cities in the 'states. East Tennessee, where I live is actually a pretty nice NSX-owning environment. Plenty of winding backroads as you get up in the foothills to the Smoky Mtns.

 

[sptrader]

There will ALWAYS be a faster car out there, than the one you own, any red-neck can stick a hemi in an old truck and blow the doors off of any new car in the straights. The question is what is the best ALL-Around car with styling, handling and acceleration. For the money the NSX is very hard to beat.
A friend of mine was recently on a track with his Murcie and several other exotics- including an NSX, guess which one was the fastest on the track ?, the NSX blew them all away.

 

[Jetpilot3]

Haha...I wonder if you can drive? Hate to be a hater here and not because I'm a NSX fanboy but I beat my 08 Jeep SRT8 from a standstill and rolling at 60km/h. It was 1 car length...and the Jeep was driven by my mate who also has his own SRT8.

Then we put my NSX up against my mates Audi RS4 and I beat him too. I think alot comes down to the driver.

Regardless, the NSX is a 18 year old design and what else would you expect? See this is the problem now that earlier NSX prices have gone into the 20's...ever dick and harry now thinks "I've got a NSX and expect it to be the be all end all"...

 

[pgilliam1]

I can't believe you are comparing an NSX to a Mustang and a Charger. You must have no knowledge of the history and development of the NSX (Is there any aluminium at all in either of those cars?). I think you have missed the entire story of what makes a car great and what makes a car ordinary. It sounds like to you it's meerly the engine (I wonder if those other cars engines would make it to 8000 RPM). Sorry you got beat around the block.

 

[ryneen]

As this car comes closer to vintage status and ages there is going to be a time when some may need to re-evaluate what they like about NSX ownership and their personal needs. Time does not stand still.

Just like a once great professional athlete there comes a time when the glory is in the past and the new young crop passes by.
For this car, it is and has been happening for a some time.
The time is coming when this car will be for the person who loves what it was and loves what it is and does not expect more.

That is why it is now within reach for so many here on Prime, including myself, it not longer filled the bill for the original owner.

I find it odd and boorish that some after a while become disenchanted and insist on pounding folks who love the car into the ground with their comparison threads and statistics rants. They expect me to wake up and buy something else they can prove is better, faster.

A vintage car will not win races with modern cars. For example, take a Ferrari 308 owner. Who's his car going to "pull' on in the 2009 world of cars?

The same is happening gradually for the NSX. I have no illusions about the car. I like what it is or, was.

Well said.

By the way, my car has a bone stock motor with I/H/E, short gears, coil overs and r compounds. It is incredibly fast on the track and usually one of the fastest cars in any HPDE Advanced group. Z06 and other high HP car owners have trouble believing it has only 280hp... which is fun to brag about in the pits when we're all comparing lap times.

The NSX is a brilliantly designed road car and for that reason, it's incredibly quick on a race track. Unfortunately it doesn't have high HP, but it can still easily eat other sports cars for lunch on the racetrack. That's why I love mine.

That being said, the only car I would personally replace it with is a GT3RS, but I'd still have trouble selling my beloved NSX, so I might have to just keep it in the garage.

 

[goldNSX]

I don't think we should say it's 18 years old because the car was ahead of it's time back in 91. Automotive developement was just about to speed up then. Nowadays you can buy a very small car which costs only a fraction of and NSX and are in trouble justifying the money for the NSX.

I think pbassjo and DocL sum it up. The ones who view the car as a whole like developement, F1 history, manufacturing and so on will adore it. But the best thing of all is simply driving it.

Those who just want a fast car they jump on something else.

For those who blame Honda for not more than 290hp go FI.

 

[mlambert890]

Yes, I do understand.

It is just my opinion that Honda should have increased the engines power
during the production run more than they did.

I am being honest. I suspect from your response that you feel the same way I do. I wish everyone liked my car as much as I do. I am very defensive of my car and I don't like people putting it down. I feel that it is OK for NSX owners to discuss likes and dislikes about the car they love because we have a common understanding.

Sorry if I stepped on a nerve.

You didnt step ona nerve, the post just doesnt make a lot of sense and yet is repeated every 16 hrs on the forum (for the past 6 years that I remember). Why didnt you buy an NA2 then? You think that the 20 year old 1991 should have been faster in 1991? It was as quick as a Ferrari 348.

I saw a thread on another forum recently talking about how "slow" a Ferrari 355 is. The NA2 was aimed at the F355 and does well against it, but I guess they're both "slow" now.

On the topic of the OP, I guess I just dont understand why people for whom this is such a big concern (street cred, street races, big bawlin HP, bench racing, etc) gravitate to these classic cars at all. Why not just pretend they dont exist?

Is it because there was some fantasy about these cars from youth and its taken this long for them to devalue enough to afford them? Thats an incredibly bad reason to buy one unless your appreciation has matured enough that "getting killed in 120MPH street races" is no longer on the menu.

I give a +1000 to what Joe said... The NSX is a classic car and should be appreciated as such. Arguments about what Honda should have or could have done in 1994 are silly.

New Mustangs can be bought for close to nothing. They are readily available and Ford would love to sell anyone interested one. The tuners would love to help anyone make them into "STOMPIN STREET MONSTERS!!! YEAH!!!!" that you can then fly up to 140MPH in (and hopefully not kill innocent people in the process). I just never understand why so many people come to the forum and ask "X vs Y" threads pitting the 1991 NSX (I guess people STILL cant afford the NA2 even?!) against cars that are brand new.

If you actually love the NSX for what it is, then why do you care what other people think about your car? I know I dont.

People are expecting something that just doesnt happen in life. They want to "get away with something" by looking like a rich baller in an exotic and yet still having world beating performance. The only way thats going to happen is to buy a new one which 99.9% of the population cant afford. So either you accept that performance is going to have to take a backseat to image, or you drive a used C5 Vette or new Mustang like 25,000,000 other people, OR, you actually evolve your sensibilities beyond any of this nonsense and learn to appreciate automobiles for what they are, then find one that speaks to you in a genuine way, and then aspire to own it. When you finally do you dont worry about whether or not it is faster than a new Civic.

As an example, I just chose to go back into the NSX over buying a pretty new Viper because *for me* the driving experience of the NSX is just something I havent been able to match in any other car. The NSX just really speaks to me the way the Ferrari 308 speaks to owners of the classic Ferrari 308. Of course the gen 3 and 4 Vipers destroy the NSX (and most everything else) when it comes to "beating guys to 120 on a closed street" but really, who cares? If YOU care, the NSX is OBVIOUSLY not the car for you. It wasnt that car IN 1991 and the Ferrari 430 ISNT that car today.

I have a friend who similarly chose to buy a pristine 993C2. Friends of ours didnt understand how he could do that when a "BADASS!!!" 996T could be had cheaper. They just didnt undertand the idea that there is anything beyond straight line performance and that someone could have an apprecation of the qualities of an automobile that goes beyond Motortrend test scores.

 

[Richallstage91]

The NSX is a much better car, then I am a driver, but I'm working on closing the gap. I bought this car for what it is, a top notch hand built super car that was ahead of it's time. Not what if could have, or should have been or become, that is just fantasy and a wast of time. I love this car and if I stop loving it I will look for something else, but I won't. If it's not giving you what you want or need, sell it to some one who will love and respect it for what it is, like I and so many others here do.:smile:

 

[docjohn]

Thank God you guys convinced me that the nsx is worth keeping,I almost cried out, on my knees, in the garage wailing and lamenting:frown: my slow car.......:wink:

 

[CL65 Captain]

Fun is more important than fast. At work I go 540 mph and it's not fun.

It is not how fast you go, but how well you go fast!

 

[Big_D]

I disagree. It sounds like maybe you should pony up some $$$ for some performance upgrades.