Love/Hate Relations: The Good, The Bad, and the Damned Sexy

[LandLawMan]

I’ll bet that if I started this thread in, say, 1993, the Gen-1 NSX owners would be ranting and raving about how fantastic their new NSX’s were. And with very good reason.

But I wonder: Will we Gen-2 guys rave with equal enthusiasm?

I’ll start.

I LOVE the attention this thing gets. And it’s all the good kind. Even the police seem to just sense that I’m not going to tear out of Cars-n-Coffee on cold tires, placing bystander’s lives at risk. Totally different vibe than in a 570-s or a Huracán.

I HATE The infotainment system. It’s bad. Embarrassingly so. 1998 Garmin called: They want their guidance system back. [I have to admit that once properly tweaked, the sound produced by this slow, clunky system is among the best I’ve ever heard in any car at any price.]

So....be honest. Tell us what you’re finding to be really frustrating, and what you’re finding to be extraordinarily good.

 

[dshinke21]

I still will never understand why people haven't adopted android auto/apple carplay more. There is zero need to even attempt to use the factory Nav or infotainment other than to change sound and vehicle settings which you might do a few times when you get the car and then basically never touch them again. Even people who complain about having to plug their phone in really don't have a complaint. I mean seriously whose phone doesn't need a bit of a charge throughout the day. Its not that hard to plug it in and set it in the armrest while you let the engine warm up for a few seconds anyways.

I love:

1. The steering and the steering wheel are by far my favorite part of the car. Incredibly confidence inspiring during spirited drives but very comfortable during around town driving. I love the 1.9 turns lock to lock, limits hand over hand movements both on track and around town.
2. Goes along with #1 but the torque vectoring of the electric motors up front. Very easy to feel confident when driving this car even near the limit.
3. It's unique. Not many of them around and a surprising amount of people know next to nothing about the car. I love people's reactions when I start telling them about how the car works and the benefit of this system.
4. The looks. I think they found an excellent balance with the lines on this car and I find myself staring at it for extended periods of time. Also the looks that I get nearly everywhere I go and from a very wide variety of people.

I dislike:

1. Sound. I love the sound in the cabin but I wish it sounded a bit more exotic from the outside. Also wish you didn't have to drive it hard before it starts to sound good. A bit of tuning and exhaust work could really make it sound special. Knowing how conservative Acura is I doubt that will ever happen.
2. Missing features. Optional power folding mirrors, front end lift, 360* camera (and better camera quality), blind spot, air conditioned seats, etc. Some sort of "touring" feature package would benefit this car a lot.
3. I wish there was 1 more drive mode. Rename "sport" mode to "comfort" and then give sport mode the open exhaust valves and steering feel of sport+, slightly less sensitive throttle feel, never/rarely shut down the engine completely, and shift at a more normal RPM so I can leave it in auto when driving normally. I find myself driving in sport+ but going to manual mode and then doing a whole lot of shifting so it's not sitting at 4-5k rpms while cruising.

I hate:

1. Interior storage. What are the massive armrests in the doors for if there isn't a flip up lid for some sort of cubby in there?
2. Also I hate the interior door handles. Very large and a strange placement as they block the trunk and gas cap buttons. They could have integrated a pull into the armrests of the doors or designed it differently and put it in a different place. Go minimalist and give me a leather strap for all I care.
3. No holder for sunglasses in the roof. How are hard would it be to add the flip down compartment for a pair of sunglasses that every other Acura has? Doesn't interfere with headroom at all and seems like an oversight.
4. I mentioned this earlier but not ventilated seats? Not sure I have ever used the heated seats but seeing as this car will basically only ever get driven when the temperatures are north of 50* it seams like they could be a standard feature and just do away with the heated seats. Probably more likely that they get added as an option but still a frustrating one.

All in all, I love this car and I think it's just a few minor revisions and updates from being one of the best and most daily drivable car's in the segment. I would love to see some more luxurious and touring package features added as well as a performance variant of the car. This will make the car more appealing to a wider audience and could really improve sales. I would not be shocked to see an infotainment system and some features being added as updates for 2021 along with potentially minor exterior updates.

 

[Axxlrod]

As any owner with aftermarket exhaust will tell you... let me downshift into 1st gear!

 

[LandLawMan]

Gen-1 guys: Please share YOUR thoughts on the Gen-2. Loves/Dislikes/can’t stands?

Dshinke, that was a thoughtful and detailed write-up. Thank you. I’m trying to talk a buddy into buying a new NSX. So all of your honest opinions are going to be welcomed by him.

I’ll bet almost all of the Gen-2 guys love the Gen-1s. But if I was a long-time owner & lover of a Gen-1, I’m not sure I’d be head-over-heals in heat for the Gen-2.

Gen-1ers?

 

[LandLawMan]

As any owner with aftermarket exhaust will tell you... let me downshift into 1st gear!

And something else odd (and scary) related to your comment. I was getting seriously jiggy with it up in the twisties this week. Going very fast into a right corner in Track Mode, I downshifted from 3rd to 2nd. Apparently the computer thought that my revs were too high to allow a downshift at that precise second....even though I was mashed into the woah pedal.

So so there I was, ankle-deep on the binders, fully expecting the downshift that I ordered [whenever the computer thought that revs were sufficiently low enough for that downshift]. But the downshift never happened. I ended up still in 3rd, with no engine braking AT ALL, and I skidded into the oncoming lane. Not by much. But enough to have caused unpleasant intestinal discharges had there been any traffic in that lane. (Actually, through-The-corner visibility was total, and I wouldn’t have entered that corner so aggressively had the visibility not been thus.) All of this was happening within like half a second, so there was no time to logically sort it all out. I was afraid to hit the downshift paddle AGAIN, because in my mind, I was like: Am I going to end up in FIRST?!?!

So...lesson learned: If the computer rejects your downshift demand at the instant you downshift, then you won’t get the downshift AT ALL. That sucks.

My Beemer’s computer occasionally rejected a downshift at the exact millisecond I engaged the paddle. But the downshift WOULD happen, once the revs were sufficiently low..... usually a few fractions of a second after the downshift was done on the paddle.

Does anyone else else think that that’s weird?

 

[DocL]

Dshinke, that was a thoughtful and detailed write-up. Thank you. I’m trying to talk a buddy into buying a new NSX. So all of your honest opinions are going to be welcomed by him.

I’ll bet almost all of the Gen-2 guys love the Gen-1s. But if I was a long-time owner & lover of a Gen-1, I’m not sure I’d be head-over-heals in heat for the Gen-2.

Gen-1ers?

Do you really want to hear the truth. I owned a 1994 NSX for 15 years. It was an unfortunate incident that caused it to get totaled. I probably would still have it.

On the other hand, I'm glad to be getting rid of my POS NC1. There is no way I'd ever consider owning one after the warranty expires. So let's see which one of you skirts reports this to the mods.

 

[Tom239]

Gen-1ers?

I'm on my 16th year driving an NSX. It's more in line with my tastes than the current model is.

The original NSX is fast enough for me and is sized right. I like that it's not wider, longer, and heavier than it is. The NA1 scrapes on driveways easily enough, I don't need a car with even less ground clearance.

I like analog gauges, I like pop-up headlights, I like doing most of the routine maintenance myself, I like tires with a fair amount of sidewall rather than the low profile tires in fashion now, and I like having a spare tire. Feel free to tell me I'm stuck in a time warp.

The styling of the NC1 has grown on me but I still like the look of the first gen better.

 

[The King]

I'm on my 16th year driving an NSX. It's more in line with my tastes than the current model is.

The original NSX is fast enough for me and is sized right. I like that it's not wider, longer, and heavier than it is. The NA1 scrapes on driveways easily enough, I don't need a car with even less ground clearance.

I like analog gauges, I like pop-up headlights, I like doing most of the routine maintenance myself, I like tires with a fair amount of sidewall rather than the low profile tires in fashion now, and I like having a spare tire. Feel free to tell me I'm stuck in a time warp.

The styling of the NC1 has grown on me but I still like the look of the first gen better.

I concur with everything stated here. I obviously like the fixed light first gen along with the pop-up cars.:smile-freehand:

 

[LandLawMan]

I couldn’t agree more. I was totally in lust with the new NSX, then did a bunch of research, then pulled the trigger. Now that I have, Iiiiieeeeee kinda sure do think one of those first gen cars needs me to own it.

 

[docjohn]

I think having both is kinda cool...different experience and mindset....makes for a fun car/show/meet experience if you can bring both.

 

[DocL]

I think having both is kinda cool...different experience and mindset....makes for a fun car/show/meet experience if you can bring both.

Guess which one gets stranded on the side of the road?

 

[docjohn]

the lotus....:tongue:

 

[DocL]

the lotus....:tongue:

Nope. The NC1 was towed more times than my Esprit.

 

[NSXY.]

I like how unique the car is. It gets attention everywhere and is rarer than most of the other exotics. The sound is great, but exhaust could've been sightly more aggressive. The car is crazy consistent at the track at the 1/8 and 1/4. Great hard tire class car and bracket racing. Obviously very fun on the road course as well. One thing that really separates it from the crowd is how easy it is to drive and how comfortable it is to drive. Some other cars in this class and price point are just uncomfortable after awhile. I took a 9 hour 600 mile drive with no issues. One of the best long drives.


Some improvements they could've been made maybe more storage, vanity mirrors, and power mirrors that fold. I really wished they got a little more aggressive with the electric power considering the Pikes Peak car they had was using 4 250hp EV motors. They could've made this car a monster, but were conservative. Overall this is one of my favorite cars and I plan on keeping it for awhile. I think overtime they will be appreciated once production stops which might be soon. I almost look at this car as a Japanese Ford GT and a Budget 918.

 

[PrimeMvr]

So...lesson learned: If the computer rejects your downshift demand at the instant you downshift, then you won’t get the downshift AT ALL. That sucks.

Does anyone else else think that that’s weird?

That caught me off guard at first, but after some track days I've come into the habit of tapping it repeatedly well into braking except for the few corners that are fast enough to stay in third. Works well and ensures you're in second for the apex. It becomes unconscious.

Good: transmission is second to none, sound of high rev downshifts, brakes are insane, comfortable for any length of drive, hard and predictable corner exits.

Bad: build quality isn't as perfect as I expected but not surprising in the first year, the Adaro paint is really soft PPF is a must, trunk gets too hot for some travel items, no power folding mirrors, no BSD (but mirrors are excellent)

Sexy: all of it. my opinion and you can't say an opinion is wrong

Doc's situation was a mess and there have been several others as well. What car company doesn't have them? Acura botched a lot with the delivery of this model, but the car itself is fantastic, interesting, unique. I have 8500+ miles and seven hard track days on the clock and I love it every time I get in. I haven't even taken the Porsches out of storage yet this season. That makes part of me sad now...

 

[NbyNW]

I’ll bet that if I started this thread in, say, 1993, the Gen-1 NSX owners would be ranting and raving about how fantastic their new NSX’s were. And with very good reason.

But I wonder: Will we Gen-2 guys rave with equal enthusiasm?

I’ll start.

I LOVE the attention this thing gets. And it’s all the good kind. Even the police seem to just sense that I’m not going to tear out of Cars-n-Coffee on cold tires, placing bystander’s lives at risk. Totally different vibe than in a 570-s or a Huracán.

I HATE The infotainment system. It’s bad. Embarrassingly so. 1998 Garmin called: They want their guidance system back. [I have to admit that once properly tweaked, the sound produced by this slow, clunky system is among the best I’ve ever heard in any car at any price.]

So....be honest. Tell us what you’re finding to be really frustrating, and what you’re finding to be extraordinarily good.

Looks like you have a twin of my car. Love it - same as what you said. And just back from a trip out west with nothing but positive reactions. Plus fantastic drives!

Guess you tweaked the basic stereo settings? Base, treble, etc. I can’t get mine to sound decent. Seems to be very dependent on the recording too with some songs rich and full. But mostly it’s very tinny sounding and lacks base. I haven’t turned on Neural yet. Does it do anything?

 

[dshinke21]

Looks like you have a twin of my car. Love it - same as what you said. And just back from a trip out west with nothing but positive reactions. Plus fantastic drives!

Guess you tweaked the basic stereo settings? Base, treble, etc. I can’t get mine to sound decent. Seems to be very dependent on the recording too with some songs rich and full. But mostly it’s very tinny sounding and lacks base. I haven’t turned on Neural yet. Does it do anything?

Yes! Neural is the most important setting to turn on. It enables the simulated 5.1 surround sound. I always tell clients that the system will not sound good until this is turned on.

 

[NbyNW]

Yes! Neural is the most important setting to turn on. It enables the simulated 5.1 surround sound. I always tell clients that the system will not sound good until this is turned on.

Excellent, it’ll be on today. Thought I searched the manuals and didn’t find anything on it.

 

[RyanRA]

That caught me off guard at first, but after some track days I've come into the habit of tapping it repeatedly well into braking except for the few corners that are fast enough to stay in third.

Have you tracked the car in automatic? Curious to know how well it shifts on its own.

 

[LandLawMan]

Have you tracked the car in automatic? Curious to know how well it shifts on its own.

Thought I’d chime in.

Sadly, I haven’t had mine on the track yet. [And I won’t, until I can replace those pathetic Conti’s, with some Sport Cups.] But I have a few places around here where I can really get on it. And I’ve done so in both automatic, and manual shift modes.

In automatic, the car’s downshifts depend on the intensity of braking. Of course. When you really get on the binders hard (and by “hard”, I mean literally to the floor, with ABS only marginally preventing lock-up), the downshifts are timed as well as I could do manually. And that’s really, really impressive. In whatever gear you end up in when you start to ease off the binders, automatic mode puts you at about 4,000-5,000 rpm after braking, ready to punch it out of the corner. It’s really impressive. Have I mentioned it’s impressive?

If you’re driving at less than HOLY-CRAP!, the drive is much more satisfying if downshifting manually, in my opinion.

However, if you’re relatively new to aggressive driving, automatic is the place to be. It downshifts really well. And because downshifting becomes one less thing to have to focus on at corner pre-entry, you’re more likely to remember the absolute number one most important thing to do: Keep your eyes up, looking intensely at a point BEYOND the apex.

Thats my take.

 

[Heavymetals]

The way the car downshifts convinced me manual transmissions and I are not going to be together anytime soon.

 

[PrimeMvr]

Have you tracked the car in automatic? Curious to know how well it shifts on its own.

LandLawMan's response is spot on. I will add that I prefer manual on the track because every track has a few corners that aren't quite right in the gear that the computer picks. Sometimes you want to get the tail to rotate with a very late downshift as you start to turn in, some long corners you want a gear higher to make throttle modulation less sensitive or vice versa. One thing I do love about auto mode is slamming on the brakes hard and having the car go straight from 5 to 2. You can't do that manually and it's pretty cool.

I think what this conversation points out most is how versatile this car is and how many different ways there are to drive it to suit your style and circumstance.

 

[NbyNW]

No track stuff for me - been there and done that with a previous car. Tons of fun but easy street stuff now. Plus watch that Mustang t-bone a GT3 at VIR, saw it on the Pcar site, on u-tube.

I played with the paddles a few times early on but the car shifts so perfectly for me I haven’t touched them since. Yes... very impressive. And around here it’s so green and overgrown with limited sight distances and so many bicyclists on back roads I have to creep around corners. Out west on big open twisty roads it’s awesome.

 

[NbyNW]

Yes! Neural is the most important setting to turn on. It enables the simulated 5.1 surround sound. I always tell clients that the system will not sound good until this is turned on.

Turns out I already had Neural on. I bumped up the sub, treble, and bass. Hope that helps.

 

[LandLawMan]

Turns out I already had Neural on. I bumped up the sub, treble, and bass. Hope that helps.

A couple of my custom-fitted monitors. The brown ones are specifically for helmeted motorsports. And the funky ones have five speakers each, two cross-overs, and are just stupid expensive. To call me an Audiophile, is to call a Ferrari “transportation” — a bit of an understatement. So please take my word for it that you just need to tinker with all of the settings. You’ll find industry-leading acoustics...eventually.

Also note that there is actually a BIG difference between the system’s output in BLUETOOTH, versus the exact same song played hard-wired in Apple Play Mode. So, when you tinker, try playing in both modes.