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Midnight_Raven's Build
- Thread starter Midnight_Raven
- Start date
For the sake of documentation just wanted to update on some small updates/mods I've done this month. I replaced the sway bar end links with TiDave's front and adjustable rear sway bar end links. I think I actually notice a difference in feel after doing the update. Not sure out to put it but the car felt a little more smoother but maybe it is in my head.
Also I just purchased a works bell quick release setup to replace my unknown (most likely taitec) hub. Will be installing that today or tomorrow.
Also I just purchased a works bell quick release setup to replace my unknown (most likely taitec) hub. Will be installing that today or tomorrow.
So I finished installing these small mods last weekend. Additionally I ordered and installed a pair of NSX-R extended seat belt receivers to replace the stock ones I modified to make work with my DF-R seats. I've never seen a picture showing the difference in the receivers, so I added it to the build so people can see what makes the receiver different from stock. I didn't take picture of length because I had shortened my stock one previously so I couldn't really compare it in that sense.
Work Bell parts arrived.
Works Bell parts installed. I have to say works pretty well the only thing that sucks is that the unlocking ring which is not standard in the setup will scratch up the main quick release housing when installed. It uses a retaining ring to hold the part onto the body of the quick release. There is a bend at the end of the ring that touches the body of the quick release so when you pull it, it forms a scratch on the body. Not too bad since it only one location but not perfect either.
Pictures of receivers side by side. As you can see from the first picture the NSX-R receiver is a little thinner in height (I would guess 1/4" difference) but is also a little wider than the stock receiver. The body length is slightly shorter as well but not by much. The stalk itself seem longer than what I remember the stock ones being at but not sure by how much. I installed these and yes it does seem that when you plop yourself into the seat you will feel the receivers but once in the seat it should be high enough that you won't feel it anymore. If you still feel it I think making the seat cushion maybe 1/4"-1/2" thinner would fix the problem. Either way I'm happy with the setup. so I can't complain.
One last thing I ordered a knock bush for my car and waiting for that part. It'll be the only thing I do this winter on the car besides that it's just a long wait until next spring since it's getting too cold out to really drive it, since I have summer tires on.
Work Bell parts arrived.
Works Bell parts installed. I have to say works pretty well the only thing that sucks is that the unlocking ring which is not standard in the setup will scratch up the main quick release housing when installed. It uses a retaining ring to hold the part onto the body of the quick release. There is a bend at the end of the ring that touches the body of the quick release so when you pull it, it forms a scratch on the body. Not too bad since it only one location but not perfect either.
Pictures of receivers side by side. As you can see from the first picture the NSX-R receiver is a little thinner in height (I would guess 1/4" difference) but is also a little wider than the stock receiver. The body length is slightly shorter as well but not by much. The stalk itself seem longer than what I remember the stock ones being at but not sure by how much. I installed these and yes it does seem that when you plop yourself into the seat you will feel the receivers but once in the seat it should be high enough that you won't feel it anymore. If you still feel it I think making the seat cushion maybe 1/4"-1/2" thinner would fix the problem. Either way I'm happy with the setup. so I can't complain.
One last thing I ordered a knock bush for my car and waiting for that part. It'll be the only thing I do this winter on the car besides that it's just a long wait until next spring since it's getting too cold out to really drive it, since I have summer tires on.
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I really dig this build. I remember seeing those dampers for sale a few months ago and wondering who got them. Looks like they went to a good home.
I also very much love how those model 5's look on there. They may be a bit heavier than the RE30's, but damn do they look good.
I also very much love how those model 5's look on there. They may be a bit heavier than the RE30's, but damn do they look good.
Oh sh@t, I did not realize when I wrote my online signature here that a member was named midnight Raven. I will go change it now. Don't wanna knock your style. Love the build thread too!So I finished installing these small mods last weekend. Additionally I ordered and installed a pair of NSX-R extended seat belt receivers to replace the stock ones I modified to make work with my DF-R seats. I've never seen a picture showing the difference in the receivers, so I added it to the build so people can see what makes the receiver different from stock. I didn't take picture of length because I had shortened my stock one previously so I couldn't really compare it in that sense.
Work Bell parts arrived.
Works Bell parts installed. I have to say works pretty well the only thing that sucks is that the unlocking ring which is not standard in the setup will scratch up the main quick release housing when installed. It uses a retaining ring to hold the part onto the body of the quick release. There is a bend at the end of the ring that touches the body of the quick release so when you pull it, it forms a scratch on the body. Not too bad since it only one location but not perfect either.
Pictures of receivers side by side. As you can see from the first picture the NSX-R receiver is a little thinner in height (I would guess 1/4" difference) but is also a little wider than the stock receiver. The body length is slightly shorter as well but not by much. The stalk itself seem longer than what I remember the stock ones being at but not sure by how much. I installed these and yes it does seem that when you plop yourself into the seat you will feel the receivers but once in the seat it should be high enough that you won't feel it anymore. If you still feel it I think making the seat cushion maybe 1/4"-1/2" thinner would fix the problem. Either way I'm happy with the setup. so I can't complain.
One last thing I ordered a knock bush for my car and waiting for that part. It'll be the only thing I do this winter on the car besides that it's just a long wait until next spring since it's getting too cold out to really drive it, since I have summer tires on.
Thanks Erick,
Yeah I have no regrets switching to the Model 5s. They just look so right for the NSX body.
Okay so a little update. If you noticed in the parts for sale section of the forum, I sold my works bell quick release and flipper. I messed up and installed it incorrectly. Doing so damaged the finish of the QR and I was not happy about it. I installed the flipper backwards because I didn't look at the Japanese instructions, which I can't read either way, but I should of looked at the diagrams. Either way I bought another QR without a flipper and just installed that. I don't like the way the flipper is suppose to work when installed properly (you need to twist and pull vs just pull) and the chrome finish didn't match my interior either. I think the plain black quick release looks better with my interior setup.
Additionally since I got my tax refund back I decided to just use a small amount of it to upgrade the NSX one more time this winter. I bought and installed Pride 300 cell HF Cats. I was able to save 12.6lbs compared to the stock cats setup. Interesting thing to note. The heat shield is the majority of the weight difference when you do this mod. The unshielded stock cats were only 5lb heavier than the Pride high flow cats. The heat shield are 7.6lbs on their own. I also did a comparison on sound level and there is no difference at idle of the high flow cats vs the stock cats. I was getting max readings of 82db for both at idle. Haven't really driven it so I don't know how sounds changes at higher RPM. Hopefully not too much louder since I think my car is loud enough. Also I bought titanium hardware (Bolts, Washers, nuts) for this install. My stock cats were a pain to remove because the bolts were all rusted. With the titanium hardware the bolts now should never rust and are a little lighter than stock so that should help. Either way that's my final winter update.
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A few more shots of your car from the side, please? I just joined the Advan AVS Model 5 club. I purchased gunmetal and also have a silver (though mine is Kaiser) car. A side shot of your car will give me an idea of what I've gotten into color-wise.
Yours looks gorgeous in that picture and so things are very promising so far.
Yours looks gorgeous in that picture and so things are very promising so far.
earlier in the thread.
[MENTION=4282]docjohn[/MENTION] Thank you sir! I'm at work and didn't have time to go through the whole thread. That looks really, really, really good.
A few more shots of your car from the side, please? I just joined the Advan AVS Model 5 club. I purchased gunmetal and also have a silver (though mine is Kaiser) car. A side shot of your car will give me an idea of what I've gotten into color-wise.
Yours looks gorgeous in that picture and so things are very promising so far.
Congrats on acquiring a set of Model 5s. I'm certain it'll look great on a Kaiser.
Here is one from the same shoot taken from the side.
Thanks! Can't wait to put them on. Hoping this relatively mild winter ends early so I can do so in the next few weeks.
Although I stated last year that I was going to stop working on the car after some consideration, I've decided to fast track my plans and do the color swap of the car this spring. So with that said I've ordered an OEM 02+ rear valence and DF front wide fenders with no side markers. I've already talked with pbassjo about it and he is just waiting for me to drop the car off at his shop. Car will be repainted Magnum Grey Pearl. We plan to paint the interior section of the car (front section, engine bay, and passenger compartment) black which will help for future paint work if I ever get tired of the Magnum Grey Pearl and decide to change to another color (Not very likely but possible)
I have received the valence already and am waiting for DF to ship the fenders. Hopefully I can drop the car off the first week of April so Joe has the whole spring/early summer to work on it. I'm super excited since this has been the setup I've been dreaming of since I was 13 years old. A good 16 years later it's finally going to happen. I'll give some update in the upcoming weeks on how things progress with the plan.
I have received the valence already and am waiting for DF to ship the fenders. Hopefully I can drop the car off the first week of April so Joe has the whole spring/early summer to work on it. I'm super excited since this has been the setup I've been dreaming of since I was 13 years old. A good 16 years later it's finally going to happen
. I'll give some update in the upcoming weeks on how things progress with the plan.
Awesome to hear. Maybe pm me before you head up to Joe. Would love to take a ride and take pic with a fellow Sebring owner before she goes under the knife for a color change.
Thanks guys.
DreamPowered,
I was actually going to pull the majority of the interior prior to delivering it to Joe so unfortunately it won't be a pretty car to look at or drive in when I do go over there. Just trying to minimize the work Joe has to do so he has less to worry about while taking my car apart. Also it's just less stuff taking up Joe's floorspace when he does take it apart.
JDMcb7,
My Accord was a rusted up beater I had for winter duty. I actually junked it a year ago and forgot to update my signature lol. I have a 2015 Honda Fit now.
UPDATE:
I've been talking to a couple of buddy's of mine I think maybe I should take their suggestion and not do a color change. The color combo I have now is actually very nice and just painting the panels that need fixing would be better money spent than doing a color change. Also doing it sooner than later makes no sense since I would end up damaging it more when I track it and take it out for autox which I had planned to do even after the paint job. I guess if my car was a garage queen where the paint won't see much damage a color change would make sense but since I do plan taking it to NSXPO and a couple of track events this year it seems like painting it would be a bad idea. So with that said I guess I'll won't be going Magnum Grey Pearl at least for now. Just need to wait it out and see how things go I guess.
DreamPowered,
I was actually going to pull the majority of the interior prior to delivering it to Joe so unfortunately it won't be a pretty car to look at or drive in when I do go over there. Just trying to minimize the work Joe has to do so he has less to worry about while taking my car apart. Also it's just less stuff taking up Joe's floorspace when he does take it apart.
JDMcb7,
My Accord was a rusted up beater I had for winter duty. I actually junked it a year ago and forgot to update my signature lol. I have a 2015 Honda Fit now.
UPDATE:
I've been talking to a couple of buddy's of mine I think maybe I should take their suggestion and not do a color change. The color combo I have now is actually very nice and just painting the panels that need fixing would be better money spent than doing a color change. Also doing it sooner than later makes no sense since I would end up damaging it more when I track it and take it out for autox which I had planned to do even after the paint job. I guess if my car was a garage queen where the paint won't see much damage a color change would make sense but since I do plan taking it to NSXPO and a couple of track events this year it seems like painting it would be a bad idea. So with that said I guess I'll won't be going Magnum Grey Pearl at least for now. Just need to wait it out and see how things go I guess.
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Forgot to check on the build thread. crxcess you are correct I could do that but I heard you need to wait like 3-4 months after paint is applied to be able to do that or you prevent the paint from out gassing. That would waste my whole summer plan of doing track events and autox events. I will get in contact with Joe in the winter and plan to do it then. He can take his time and I won't be driving it so it wouldn't matter then.
So with that said I've been enjoying my car a bit so far this summer. I've done a couple of events so far and still have many more planned. Thompson Speedway with COMSSC in July, maybe Caanan with BMWCCA in August, Watkins Glen with Ferrari Club for labor day weekend, and Sebring for NSXPO in November. Throughout that some autox will be thrown in the mix. Here are some videos of the events I've done this year.
First AutoX of 2016. It was raining, cold, and kind of miserable to be honest. But went out there regardless and spun out a bunch lol. Oh yeah I should mention we a buddy of mine and I co drove together in this event. I wanted feedback from a good driver more experienced driver but the crappy weather kind of ruined that.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kujsPp6XeKE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Next was my first track day with the car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Super fun and definitely felt the NSX is more suited to this than autox. Felt very good and I was nowhere near it's limits (braking very early, not pushing too hard into the turns).
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9vomiaZnuBE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My 2nd autox event on Saturday this past weekend. Tested out Nitto NT01 on my RE30s and discovered they are not that great for autox. I think I am going to try them out at the next track event July 15th at Thompson and see how they do.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIeKKbTZC4I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My 3rd autox event on Sunday this past weekend. Threw the ZII on the Model 5s since it was going to rain that day. Car felt great with these tires.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tXy_f1gvzxI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
So with that said I've been enjoying my car a bit so far this summer. I've done a couple of events so far and still have many more planned. Thompson Speedway with COMSSC in July, maybe Caanan with BMWCCA in August, Watkins Glen with Ferrari Club for labor day weekend, and Sebring for NSXPO in November. Throughout that some autox will be thrown in the mix. Here are some videos of the events I've done this year.
First AutoX of 2016. It was raining, cold, and kind of miserable to be honest. But went out there regardless and spun out a bunch lol. Oh yeah I should mention we a buddy of mine and I co drove together in this event. I wanted feedback from a good driver more experienced driver but the crappy weather kind of ruined that.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kujsPp6XeKE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Next was my first track day with the car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Super fun and definitely felt the NSX is more suited to this than autox. Felt very good and I was nowhere near it's limits (braking very early, not pushing too hard into the turns).
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9vomiaZnuBE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My 2nd autox event on Saturday this past weekend. Tested out Nitto NT01 on my RE30s and discovered they are not that great for autox. I think I am going to try them out at the next track event July 15th at Thompson and see how they do.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIeKKbTZC4I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
My 3rd autox event on Sunday this past weekend. Threw the ZII on the Model 5s since it was going to rain that day. Car felt great with these tires.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tXy_f1gvzxI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Did another two track days this past weekend. Went to Thompson Speedway in Connecticut. Might do one more autox before Watkins Glen in September. Looking to spend the month of August just fixing the car issues. I am having a strange vibration in my steering wheel and I can't find the source of the problem. Happens with both set of wheels/tires. One set was recently balanced so it takes that out of the question. Need to take it to the local NSX specialist to see if they can figure out what is wrong. Also planning on just removing and repainting the bumpers, fenders, and valance as well. Need to stop tinkering with the car and do more performance driving instead.
Here is video of my Thompson Track day footage.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aL_pXMC12Bs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Here is video of my Thompson Track day footage.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aL_pXMC12Bs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Well I guess before anything else here is some track day footage from Watkins. Tried out a dual camera setup which I think came out pretty good. Man I love how this car sounds.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tf6uNMcKM1U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Additionally I got a major update coming up.
A little back story about this. Back in 2002 I shared my plans for my NSX. My mistake was not placing "future" before NSX. At the time I didn't have an NSX and many well known members here labeled me an imposter/slandered me. To be bad mouthed by the guys I really looked up to was kind of devastating for me as a 15 year old kid (I admit after reading my old threads I was kind of annoying lol). I think that situation motivated me to prove to myself to strive for my dream, even if it is a dream that many here will hate. Eventually that led to me purchasing this NSX. That was only one part of that dream. The eventual dream is a Magnum Grey Pearl Marga Hills widebody NSX, modified to be what I think is the perfect street/track NSX.
Unfortunately I kind of gave up on the Marga Hills part of it, because I heard they were not making parts anymore or their business had shut down (something along that idea). Also as you guys know I gave up on the color change as well because the paint is fine as is, on my stock panels, and I wanted to spend more time/money on track days.
Then one day in August this year I started to wonder and reminisce... I started to look online at pictures of NSX with the MH kit and to my surprise I eventually found out that Marga Hills has a working web site. It's all in Japanese so I pretty much have no way to communicate with them. Out of pure curiosity, I decided to send the contact email on their site a message asking if parts are still available, even if he would not understand my message. To my surprise Kazz responded and it was in pretty decent English! The old fire of a dream that had nearly died inside me lit with renewed intensity. I didn't care that I gave up on the color change, I didn't care that I'm wasting money, and I didn't care that I'm loosing out on track days. All I could think of was, that I'm going to be able to achieve my childhood dream.
I purchased a nearly complete MH widebody kit (I didn't order their hood or wing) and it took them 4 weeks to make/ship the parts. I opted for FRP parts for all but the rear diffusor which is made from carbon fiber. I also asked them to not cut holes for the antenna hole or the side markers so yeah the body kit is a little custom made for me. He shipped the parts this Sunday and it was delivered to my house 9/27/2016. I snapped some pictures while I unboxed everything to make sure nothing was damaged during transport. All parts arrived undamaged. Now I still have some more autox to do but after that I'm going to start to tear down the car and test fit these panels. Should be an interesting winter. Additionally I have a Voltex Type 5 wing being made for me. Unfortunately Voltex is extremely backed up so I'll need to wait until early 2017 for that to ship.
Here are some pics I took.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tf6uNMcKM1U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Additionally I got a major update coming up.
A little back story about this. Back in 2002 I shared my plans for my NSX. My mistake was not placing "future" before NSX. At the time I didn't have an NSX and many well known members here labeled me an imposter/slandered me. To be bad mouthed by the guys I really looked up to was kind of devastating for me as a 15 year old kid (I admit after reading my old threads I was kind of annoying lol). I think that situation motivated me to prove to myself to strive for my dream, even if it is a dream that many here will hate. Eventually that led to me purchasing this NSX. That was only one part of that dream. The eventual dream is a Magnum Grey Pearl Marga Hills widebody NSX, modified to be what I think is the perfect street/track NSX.
Unfortunately I kind of gave up on the Marga Hills part of it, because I heard they were not making parts anymore or their business had shut down (something along that idea). Also as you guys know I gave up on the color change as well because the paint is fine as is, on my stock panels, and I wanted to spend more time/money on track days.
Then one day in August this year I started to wonder and reminisce... I started to look online at pictures of NSX with the MH kit and to my surprise I eventually found out that Marga Hills has a working web site. It's all in Japanese so I pretty much have no way to communicate with them. Out of pure curiosity, I decided to send the contact email on their site a message asking if parts are still available, even if he would not understand my message. To my surprise Kazz responded and it was in pretty decent English! The old fire of a dream that had nearly died inside me lit with renewed intensity. I didn't care that I gave up on the color change, I didn't care that I'm wasting money, and I didn't care that I'm loosing out on track days. All I could think of was, that I'm going to be able to achieve my childhood dream.
I purchased a nearly complete MH widebody kit (I didn't order their hood or wing) and it took them 4 weeks to make/ship the parts. I opted for FRP parts for all but the rear diffusor which is made from carbon fiber. I also asked them to not cut holes for the antenna hole or the side markers so yeah the body kit is a little custom made for me
. He shipped the parts this Sunday and it was delivered to my house 9/27/2016. I snapped some pictures while I unboxed everything to make sure nothing was damaged during transport. All parts arrived undamaged. Now I still have some more autox to do but after that I'm going to start to tear down the car and test fit these panels. Should be an interesting winter. Additionally I have a Voltex Type 5 wing being made for me. Unfortunately Voltex is extremely backed up so I'll need to wait until early 2017 for that to ship. Here are some pics I took.
Thanks guys,
I'm super anxious to do this, just three more weeks and I can start working on the car.
You are going to love it man. The NSX is so at home on the track, it becomes that much better out there. Have fun!
I'm super anxious to do this, just three more weeks and I can start working on the car.
You are going to love it man. The NSX is so at home on the track, it becomes that much better out there. Have fun!
So I did my last autox of the season on Saturday 10/31/2016. It rained most of the day but I managed to get 2 dry runs in. Here is video footage of my fastest run and my fastest wet run which I was kind of pushing more than I should of to get the car to slide a bit.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djgvUlGEKec" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
With the ;ast autox done for the year I decided to start the widebody test fitting on Sunday. I managed to remove all the old body panels and put on at least the driver side front and rear fender. I also tested the side skirt but I'm having some difficulty getting that on. I think I may try to modify the piece and maybe add some custom brackets to get a more clean installed look.
Driver front fender fit pretty good. I think it may need a little tweaking but I think it fit pretty well.
Driver Side rear fender fit pretty good too. Looks like I may need to shift the front a little higher to get it to be in line with the door. The front end of the trunk also needs to spaced up I think since the fender sits a little higher than that end of the trunk.
Pic with both Fenders in it.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djgvUlGEKec" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
With the ;ast autox done for the year I decided to start the widebody test fitting on Sunday. I managed to remove all the old body panels and put on at least the driver side front and rear fender. I also tested the side skirt but I'm having some difficulty getting that on. I think I may try to modify the piece and maybe add some custom brackets to get a more clean installed look.
Driver front fender fit pretty good. I think it may need a little tweaking but I think it fit pretty well.
Driver Side rear fender fit pretty good too. Looks like I may need to shift the front a little higher to get it to be in line with the door. The front end of the trunk also needs to spaced up I think since the fender sits a little higher than that end of the trunk.
Pic with both Fenders in it.
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Update: I installed the other two fenders today started packing away some of the stock pieces in the same boxes these fenders came in . Initial impression the kit fits "ok" but definitely needs tweaking/modifying to have a better fit. For example front fender upper door edge sits about 1/8"-1/4" higher than door on both sides. I may need to raise my door up a little to get it to line up but not sure yet. Either way I can already see it coming together and next up would be the front bumper. I also discovered a spinning rivnut on the passenger side so I need to fix that before I can really proceed any further. Must of happened when they previously resprayed the car.
. Initial impression the kit fits "ok" but definitely needs tweaking/modifying to have a better fit. For example front fender upper door edge sits about 1/8"-1/4" higher than door on both sides. I may need to raise my door up a little to get it to line up but not sure yet. Either way I can already see it coming together and next up would be the front bumper. I also discovered a spinning rivnut on the passenger side so I need to fix that before I can really proceed any further. Must of happened when they previously resprayed the car.
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Update from yesterday. I kind of mock up mounted the driver side skirt. Definitely needed trimming and adjusting to make it work. Maybe that is why people say it not a great fitting kit. Seems like the fenders go on okay it's more the side skirt that doesn't really work well. Either way it's slowly going on. I think I'm going to make some custom brackets to secure it differently as intended to make it a cleaner install. Need to go to home depot tomorrow to buy some 1/8" x 1" aluminum bar to bend and make these custom brackets and mount both sides. Maybe even attempt to do the rear bumper as well. I'll update the thread again some time Saturday or Sunday.
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