I created an introduction thread but felt an actual "build" thread would be a more appropriate thread going forward. As most, I'd like to keep this as an on-going history of my NSX. Besides, these are always fun to follow and look back to in the future. As my screenname and license plate suggest, I am married and no it doesn't mean I'm on my second marriage or that I'm not happily married lol. In fact, my "number one" wife is my biggest supporter! You'd be surprised at the wide array of reactions I get to my plate lol.
I continue to look forward to making long-lasting relationships with great people along the way! Enjoy!
Introduction:
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself as I do in all the forums I join. My name is Fernando, I live in the NYC area and I enjoy all types of car related events: Cruises, Shows, Fun Run's, X-country road trips, Tech Days, etc and just spending time with like-minded individuals. I was in the market for an NSX for a few months in 2015 while deciding whether or not I wanted to sell my 2007 New Formula Red S2000 with 45K miles. After discussing with friends and family, it just made sense to bite the bullet and own a truly incredible piece of automotive history while I could. This of course after receiving the wife's stamp of approval lol.
Unlike most of the intro threads I've seen on Prime, most will say it has been their childhood dream to own an NSX. In my case, I actually never really saw the car as attainable and was comfortable with that. With hard work I knew that one day it could be a possibility but in the interim, I made sure to enjoy all different types of platforms that I saw as "attainable".
Background:
I've gone through a number of cars (which ironically enough), the more I think about it, the more I realize they've all led up to the NSX. Of course it starts with any car you can get your hands on, regardless of what it is! For me it was a hand-me-down 1991 Dodge Caravan and then a 1988 Honda Accord I bought with my own money while in high school.
It then continues with your first "expensive" car. The car you can truly say you purchased on your own. You had an idea, you did the research, you secured the funding, located the car and then made it happen. For me, that was a 2001 Honda Prelude in Pearl White that I purchased in 2006. It was a prestine, low mileage example with 15K miles. Beautiful in person. In my opinion, still one of the greatest styled Honda's with the long nose. Too bad they're severly under-powered, but still sexy!
Problem with the Prelude was that it was an automatic. Thus came my quench for a manual car. It came in the form of one of the best AWD sedans of all time, the Mitsubishi Evolution. A buddy of mine let me drive his brand new MR in 2006 and I was immediately hooked. I sold the Prelude in 2007 and bought a 2006 Evo in Graphite Grey with 11K miles. Learned how to drive stick in it and kept it for a year or two. Did most of the bolt-ons but kept the turbo stock.I then decided it was time to propose to my wife so I sold the Evo, knowing I'd own another some time.
Between that time and getting married, I went through a 1995 Nissan 240SX, 1999 Civic EK sedan, 1995 Toyota 4Runner and finally a 1999.5 GTI VR6. The amount of cabin space in that hatchback was always memorizing and the exhaust note - intoxicating.
Within a month of getting married, I kept my promise and found another low-mileage, clean Evo IX. This time it was the Special Edition. Had all bolt-ons and upgraded stock-frame turbo, pushing 400WHP/400TQ on a mustang dyno on '93 pump gas. I used that for a couple of years as my daily driver all-year around. I truly enjoyed that car. At that point my career was developing (still is) but I convinced myself that having a dedicated DD and a dedicated weekend car would be possible.
At that point in 2014, I picked up an '01 Honda CRV. This is the definition of a work-horse. Made sure to bring all maintenance up-to-date along with a valve adjustment and not a peep from her - just gas and go.
For the price of the Evo, I figured, what else could I enjoy for cruising on nice days and keep as a summer-only car? In popped the idea of owning a convertible. I had never owned one so why not now? I had never driven one before but as soon as I test drove it, I knew it was going to be a great summer! The countless reviews and first impression threads, all had it right. It is an amazing platform to truly enjoy driving as an art form. High revs, direct gear linkage, coupe, rwd and reliability of a Honda = no brainer!
After enjoying the S2K for a year (including a stored winter), I knew there would be no substitute to owning an S2000 or so I thought. I know other S2K owners ask themselves all the time, "what else could I drive instead". The saying, out of sight, out of mind, goes a long way with the S2K. Some days you feel like you're missing out on another platform. Well, that bug hit me hard and off I went doing some research and absorbing as many NSX youtube videos as I could.
My New NSX:
I found my NSX here on Prime after searching for a few weeks. As with many recent buyers, you start to hit yourself for not buying one sooner since it seems they are appreciating so quickly. My weekend baby is a 1991 Formula Red with black interior. I purchased the car with 41,000 original miles from a great previous owner out in Arizona. I had a great friend willing to take off from work to fly with me out to AZ to make the 4-day/2,600 mile road trip back home to NYC.
Details on the car:
From the seller:
First Impressions:
What an incredible machine! I'd never driven an NSX, let alone sat in the drivers seat before arriving in Arizona. As soon as I saw the car, I couldn't help but notice how low profile and elongated the rear is, especially when standing next to my rental (Dodge Dart). Once I sat in the cockpit, I noticed how roomy it was! In the S2000, as soon as you shut the door, you really don't get any wiggle room. You immediately feel enclosed because the arm rest on both sides are right there. When driving spiritedly it's definitely welcomed, but on long trips, not so much. Mind you I'm not that big of a guy (6ft, 180lbs). The cabin space in the NSX felt exactly as mentioned in the brochure book, two individual cockpits with plenty of privacy space. For the long trip ahead of us, it was perfect!
The seller walked me around the entire car, showing me all of the ins and outs of each of the switches, panels, bay, etc. Definitely felt like the VIP treatment lol. First thing I did was mount my Broadway blue-tinted rear view mirror and slap on my EZ-Pass. I then proceeded to start her up. WOW, what an awesome roar! The greatest thing I've noticed about the mods on the car, is that they all helped enhance the experience which I'm sure differs greatly from an otherwise 100% stock car. All of the bolts-ons really compliment the car and help keep the car subdued until you show the pedal some love and then the NSX shows you love back in the form of a lions roar.
Backing up from the storage garage presented little to no issue, however, every clutch is different and getting myself adjusted to the OEM twin-disc took some mental coordination. I actually didn't even about know this until I read it in the book! The subsequent traffic lights helped me quickly adjust and luckily didn't stall once. Like I had read in so many threads before, the visibility is amazing. I like how I can see the front wheel wells and then the hood just slopes off. With the softtop up, the S2000 has one of the worst blind-spots ever. With the thinner side panels on the NSX, elongated door which goes passed my shoulders and the wrap-around hatch glass, you can truly appreciate the F-16 inspired design.
The seats hugged me well and the interior feels plenty nice for me.All the necessary inputs right in front of you. Nothing felt like it was hard to reach nor placed in an ackward spot. The brushed analog cluster is beautiful and inviting when taking a glance. Even if I didn't need to, I would take a quick peak while driving just to see it. Another bonus was that the prior owner had fixed the OEM radio and converted the A/C, so we had all we needed for the road ahead.
Cross-Country Trip:
Cities Travelled: 12 States, 7 CitiesTucson, AZ (dinner) ---> El Paso, TX (slept) ---> Ft. Worth, TX (lunch) ---> Little Rock, AR (slept) --> Nashville, TN (lunch) --> Roanoke, VA (slept) --> Brooklyn, NY (home)
Total Distance: 2,600 miles
Total Time: 4 Days --> 4PM (UTC) Thursday, 8/20 - 4PM (EST) Sunday, 8/23
Summary: I had done a trip from NY to LA about 6 years ago, albeit in a 2001 Civic sedan with a trunk full of luggage and four passengers on-board, so not the most pleasant but definitely a great experience seeing all of the sites along the way. On the trip back to the east-coast, the best drive was going through the twisty highway in TN. We did get caught in some HEAVY downpour in the beginning of TN but nothing the NSX couldn't handle. I wish we would have had extra time to have driven through Blue Ridge Pkwy, Smokey Mountain, Tail of the Dragon, etc. And what would a cross-country trip in a sports car be without a run in with law enforcement? Thanks for the memento VA! Would I do it again? Hell Yeah! The ride was super comfortable and the drone was extremely bearable, if not pleasant! It would have been awesome to have had a caravan of NSX's, next time!
Back At Home:
Giving her a good wash and admiring the prestine original paint. Note my old S2K in the background.
To the Seller:
Marc, I can't thank you enough for all of the patience, help and kindness you showed along the way. The entire process did take about 2.5 weeks but you never came across as impatient. You also took the time to answer each and everyone of my questions, you paid for the PPI, gave me free bins to ship all of the stock stuff back home and even offered to join us for a parting meal (I still owe you a burger from "Lindy's on 4th"). Truly a stand-up guy and please do follow my thread as I plan on keeping all of my adventures logged here. Best of luck with your future toys! Be sure to send over some pics of your 'R' project.
Modification List (as of March 2016):
Performance:
1) Comptech Headers
2) Pride Lightweight Thick-Walled Exhaust
3) Pride 300 Cell HFC's
4) Downforce Air Intake
5) ECU Stage 2 Tune with RDX Injectors
Suspension:
1) BC Racing Coilovers with Swift Spring Upgrade
2) Zanardi rear sway bar (19mm)
3) NSX-R front sway-bar
4) NSX-R front chassis bars
5) TiDave non-compliance front pivot clamps
6) TiDave adjustable sway bar links
Wheels/Brakes:
1) Volk Racing CE28 in Gunmetal Black in 17x8+33 and 18x9.5+22 w/ center caps
2) Advan AD08R in 215/40/17 and 265/35/18
3) McGard Tuner Lug Set in Gold
Interior:
1) Honda Nav Display Pod
2) Google Nexus 7 32GB (2013 model)
3) NSX-R 2002 full black headliner conversion
4) iKonik LED set interior/exterior
5) Works Bell Quick Release Rapfix II
6) Works BOSS Short Hub
7) Momo Tuner 350mm
8) NSX-R Horn
9) SOS Type-S style shift knob
10) Broadway Blue-Tint Rearview Mirror
Exterior:
1) SOS Stealth License Plate
2) Morimoto Elite HID Kit (35W, 5500K)
3) Wifi Backup Camera
4) Moddiction Convex Blue-tinted side mirrors
5) JDM 3-Piece Taillight Set (smoked)
6) Brake Light Flash Kit (mode 5)
Future Mod's - What fun would it be if we didn't plan ahead?
1) JDM 5-speed Short Gear Set (2017)
2) NSX-R 4.23 Final Drive Kit (2017)
3) 2002+ OEM Rear Valence (2018)
4) 2002+ OEM Side Skirts (2018)
5) NSX-R wing from Pride (2018)
6) Difflow Diffuser (2018)
7) STMPO tower bar (2018)
8) 2002+ OEM ABS conversion (2019)
9) StopTech BBK Trophy Kit (2019)
10) CTSC 1.7L Autorotor Kit (2020)
"Build" threads are always fun as you can get ideas from others or simply share in the pleasure of enjoying a vehicle. With that in mind, I will keep this thread alive with updates of my NSX along the way. Please feel free to comment and provide your personal experiences.
Regards,
Fernando
"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, "okay, this is the limit". As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct and the experience as well, you can fly very high."
- Ayrton Senna
I continue to look forward to making long-lasting relationships with great people along the way! Enjoy!
Introduction:
Hello everyone! I wanted to introduce myself as I do in all the forums I join. My name is Fernando, I live in the NYC area and I enjoy all types of car related events: Cruises, Shows, Fun Run's, X-country road trips, Tech Days, etc and just spending time with like-minded individuals. I was in the market for an NSX for a few months in 2015 while deciding whether or not I wanted to sell my 2007 New Formula Red S2000 with 45K miles. After discussing with friends and family, it just made sense to bite the bullet and own a truly incredible piece of automotive history while I could. This of course after receiving the wife's stamp of approval lol.
Unlike most of the intro threads I've seen on Prime, most will say it has been their childhood dream to own an NSX. In my case, I actually never really saw the car as attainable and was comfortable with that. With hard work I knew that one day it could be a possibility but in the interim, I made sure to enjoy all different types of platforms that I saw as "attainable".
Background:
I've gone through a number of cars (which ironically enough), the more I think about it, the more I realize they've all led up to the NSX. Of course it starts with any car you can get your hands on, regardless of what it is! For me it was a hand-me-down 1991 Dodge Caravan and then a 1988 Honda Accord I bought with my own money while in high school.
It then continues with your first "expensive" car. The car you can truly say you purchased on your own. You had an idea, you did the research, you secured the funding, located the car and then made it happen. For me, that was a 2001 Honda Prelude in Pearl White that I purchased in 2006. It was a prestine, low mileage example with 15K miles. Beautiful in person. In my opinion, still one of the greatest styled Honda's with the long nose. Too bad they're severly under-powered, but still sexy!
Problem with the Prelude was that it was an automatic. Thus came my quench for a manual car. It came in the form of one of the best AWD sedans of all time, the Mitsubishi Evolution. A buddy of mine let me drive his brand new MR in 2006 and I was immediately hooked. I sold the Prelude in 2007 and bought a 2006 Evo in Graphite Grey with 11K miles. Learned how to drive stick in it and kept it for a year or two. Did most of the bolt-ons but kept the turbo stock.I then decided it was time to propose to my wife so I sold the Evo, knowing I'd own another some time.
Between that time and getting married, I went through a 1995 Nissan 240SX, 1999 Civic EK sedan, 1995 Toyota 4Runner and finally a 1999.5 GTI VR6. The amount of cabin space in that hatchback was always memorizing and the exhaust note - intoxicating.
Within a month of getting married, I kept my promise and found another low-mileage, clean Evo IX. This time it was the Special Edition. Had all bolt-ons and upgraded stock-frame turbo, pushing 400WHP/400TQ on a mustang dyno on '93 pump gas. I used that for a couple of years as my daily driver all-year around. I truly enjoyed that car. At that point my career was developing (still is) but I convinced myself that having a dedicated DD and a dedicated weekend car would be possible.
At that point in 2014, I picked up an '01 Honda CRV. This is the definition of a work-horse. Made sure to bring all maintenance up-to-date along with a valve adjustment and not a peep from her - just gas and go.
For the price of the Evo, I figured, what else could I enjoy for cruising on nice days and keep as a summer-only car? In popped the idea of owning a convertible. I had never owned one so why not now? I had never driven one before but as soon as I test drove it, I knew it was going to be a great summer! The countless reviews and first impression threads, all had it right. It is an amazing platform to truly enjoy driving as an art form. High revs, direct gear linkage, coupe, rwd and reliability of a Honda = no brainer!
After enjoying the S2K for a year (including a stored winter), I knew there would be no substitute to owning an S2000 or so I thought. I know other S2K owners ask themselves all the time, "what else could I drive instead". The saying, out of sight, out of mind, goes a long way with the S2K. Some days you feel like you're missing out on another platform. Well, that bug hit me hard and off I went doing some research and absorbing as many NSX youtube videos as I could.
My New NSX:
I found my NSX here on Prime after searching for a few weeks. As with many recent buyers, you start to hit yourself for not buying one sooner since it seems they are appreciating so quickly. My weekend baby is a 1991 Formula Red with black interior. I purchased the car with 41,000 original miles from a great previous owner out in Arizona. I had a great friend willing to take off from work to fly with me out to AZ to make the 4-day/2,600 mile road trip back home to NYC.
Details on the car:
- 40,700 original miles
- California car for 23 years before moving to Arizona for just one year.
- Clean Carfax, 3 previous owners - (1st owner for 25K miles, 2nd for 14K miles, 3rd for 2K miles)
- Not in snap-ring range
- March 2014 - Full Service including: TB, WP, Cam Seals, Valve Cover, Spark Plugs, Clutch to Slave hose replaced and R134 A/C retrofit
- Pride Lightweight thick-walled exhaust
- Pride 300-cell cats
- Comptech Headers
- Downforce Intake
- BC Coilovers w/ Swift Spring Upgrade
- RDX Injectors
- Prospeed ECU Stage 2 Tune
- Host of NSX Memoribilia: Die cast models, banners, news publications, car reviews, car cover, front bra, huge binder with FULL history, etc.
From the seller:
First Impressions:
What an incredible machine! I'd never driven an NSX, let alone sat in the drivers seat before arriving in Arizona. As soon as I saw the car, I couldn't help but notice how low profile and elongated the rear is, especially when standing next to my rental (Dodge Dart). Once I sat in the cockpit, I noticed how roomy it was! In the S2000, as soon as you shut the door, you really don't get any wiggle room. You immediately feel enclosed because the arm rest on both sides are right there. When driving spiritedly it's definitely welcomed, but on long trips, not so much. Mind you I'm not that big of a guy (6ft, 180lbs). The cabin space in the NSX felt exactly as mentioned in the brochure book, two individual cockpits with plenty of privacy space. For the long trip ahead of us, it was perfect!
The seller walked me around the entire car, showing me all of the ins and outs of each of the switches, panels, bay, etc. Definitely felt like the VIP treatment lol. First thing I did was mount my Broadway blue-tinted rear view mirror and slap on my EZ-Pass. I then proceeded to start her up. WOW, what an awesome roar! The greatest thing I've noticed about the mods on the car, is that they all helped enhance the experience which I'm sure differs greatly from an otherwise 100% stock car. All of the bolts-ons really compliment the car and help keep the car subdued until you show the pedal some love and then the NSX shows you love back in the form of a lions roar.
Backing up from the storage garage presented little to no issue, however, every clutch is different and getting myself adjusted to the OEM twin-disc took some mental coordination. I actually didn't even about know this until I read it in the book! The subsequent traffic lights helped me quickly adjust and luckily didn't stall once. Like I had read in so many threads before, the visibility is amazing. I like how I can see the front wheel wells and then the hood just slopes off. With the softtop up, the S2000 has one of the worst blind-spots ever. With the thinner side panels on the NSX, elongated door which goes passed my shoulders and the wrap-around hatch glass, you can truly appreciate the F-16 inspired design.
The seats hugged me well and the interior feels plenty nice for me.All the necessary inputs right in front of you. Nothing felt like it was hard to reach nor placed in an ackward spot. The brushed analog cluster is beautiful and inviting when taking a glance. Even if I didn't need to, I would take a quick peak while driving just to see it. Another bonus was that the prior owner had fixed the OEM radio and converted the A/C, so we had all we needed for the road ahead.
Cross-Country Trip:
Cities Travelled: 12 States, 7 CitiesTucson, AZ (dinner) ---> El Paso, TX (slept) ---> Ft. Worth, TX (lunch) ---> Little Rock, AR (slept) --> Nashville, TN (lunch) --> Roanoke, VA (slept) --> Brooklyn, NY (home)
Total Distance: 2,600 miles
Total Time: 4 Days --> 4PM (UTC) Thursday, 8/20 - 4PM (EST) Sunday, 8/23
Summary: I had done a trip from NY to LA about 6 years ago, albeit in a 2001 Civic sedan with a trunk full of luggage and four passengers on-board, so not the most pleasant but definitely a great experience seeing all of the sites along the way. On the trip back to the east-coast, the best drive was going through the twisty highway in TN. We did get caught in some HEAVY downpour in the beginning of TN but nothing the NSX couldn't handle. I wish we would have had extra time to have driven through Blue Ridge Pkwy, Smokey Mountain, Tail of the Dragon, etc. And what would a cross-country trip in a sports car be without a run in with law enforcement? Thanks for the memento VA! Would I do it again? Hell Yeah! The ride was super comfortable and the drone was extremely bearable, if not pleasant! It would have been awesome to have had a caravan of NSX's, next time!
Back At Home:
Giving her a good wash and admiring the prestine original paint. Note my old S2K in the background.
To the Seller:
Marc, I can't thank you enough for all of the patience, help and kindness you showed along the way. The entire process did take about 2.5 weeks but you never came across as impatient. You also took the time to answer each and everyone of my questions, you paid for the PPI, gave me free bins to ship all of the stock stuff back home and even offered to join us for a parting meal (I still owe you a burger from "Lindy's on 4th"). Truly a stand-up guy and please do follow my thread as I plan on keeping all of my adventures logged here. Best of luck with your future toys! Be sure to send over some pics of your 'R' project.
Modification List (as of March 2016):
Performance:
1) Comptech Headers
2) Pride Lightweight Thick-Walled Exhaust
3) Pride 300 Cell HFC's
4) Downforce Air Intake
5) ECU Stage 2 Tune with RDX Injectors
Suspension:
1) BC Racing Coilovers with Swift Spring Upgrade
2) Zanardi rear sway bar (19mm)
3) NSX-R front sway-bar
4) NSX-R front chassis bars
5) TiDave non-compliance front pivot clamps
6) TiDave adjustable sway bar links
Wheels/Brakes:
1) Volk Racing CE28 in Gunmetal Black in 17x8+33 and 18x9.5+22 w/ center caps
2) Advan AD08R in 215/40/17 and 265/35/18
3) McGard Tuner Lug Set in Gold
Interior:
1) Honda Nav Display Pod
2) Google Nexus 7 32GB (2013 model)
3) NSX-R 2002 full black headliner conversion
4) iKonik LED set interior/exterior
5) Works Bell Quick Release Rapfix II
6) Works BOSS Short Hub
7) Momo Tuner 350mm
8) NSX-R Horn
9) SOS Type-S style shift knob
10) Broadway Blue-Tint Rearview Mirror
Exterior:
1) SOS Stealth License Plate
2) Morimoto Elite HID Kit (35W, 5500K)
3) Wifi Backup Camera
4) Moddiction Convex Blue-tinted side mirrors
5) JDM 3-Piece Taillight Set (smoked)
6) Brake Light Flash Kit (mode 5)
Future Mod's - What fun would it be if we didn't plan ahead?
1) JDM 5-speed Short Gear Set (2017)
2) NSX-R 4.23 Final Drive Kit (2017)
3) 2002+ OEM Rear Valence (2018)
4) 2002+ OEM Side Skirts (2018)
5) NSX-R wing from Pride (2018)
6) Difflow Diffuser (2018)
7) STMPO tower bar (2018)
8) 2002+ OEM ABS conversion (2019)
9) StopTech BBK Trophy Kit (2019)
10) CTSC 1.7L Autorotor Kit (2020)
"Build" threads are always fun as you can get ideas from others or simply share in the pleasure of enjoying a vehicle. With that in mind, I will keep this thread alive with updates of my NSX along the way. Please feel free to comment and provide your personal experiences.
Regards,
Fernando
"On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, "okay, this is the limit". As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct and the experience as well, you can fly very high."
- Ayrton Senna
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