My 1998 project...

[ty423]

Here is my introduction thread below.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...ner-1998-NSX-T-6-Speed-in-Southern-California

The last few weeks of owning this car was basically all cleaning and some repairing. Been experimenting with the Griot's G15 long throw buffer and their fast correcting cream. Fixed the radio volume knob crackling noise. Cleaned up the leather with 2 step clean & conditioner with leather brush. Removed seats and cleaned back side of seats and vacuumed and shampooed carpet. Redid carpet after I saw it dry wasn't happy so it's a little better now than in the pics below. Only did driver side so far and waiting to put seat back in to flip the car around in the garage. The week before I got the gauge cluster, climate control and radiator fan control back from BrianK and resintalled everything. Today also got to put some tires on the TE37SL. Dunlop Direzza ZIII.

 

[Honcho]

Yes! A new build thread!

Seats look great!

 

[Hass]

Wow nice job on the seat!

Got pics of the car next to it?

 

[ty423]

Yes! A new build thread!

Seats look great!

Thank you.

Wow nice job on the seat!

Got pics of the car next to it?

Thanks!
Porsche turbo with headers, high flow cat and exhaust. I recently got the Cobb AP w/ PDK but waiting to decide if I want to go any further in adding power mods before custom tuning. Have Bilstein B16 on order for lowering and BBS E89 in spanish gold on order.

 

[RYU]

new build thread! I'm ready!

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

Welcome! Glad to see you're not afraid to tear into things a bit, you've taken care of plenty of important items already it seems. You really must be a long-time lurker joining in 2012

To your P/N question, the push clips are 91560-SL4-003 or 91560-SL0-T00. Buy a bunch because the new ones break too. There are some push clips on the rear rectangular panels as well, reference https://www.amayama.com/en/catalogs/honda/nsx/1-coupe-right-1990-1/body-parts-6/rear-panel-trim-2171 for the right parts. I use that linked site for ordering most of my parts, just note that it's for RHD cars.

Windshield pitting is not repairable, you can polish glass with felt pads & cerium oxide but it's not the same as polishing paint; it doesn't really remove noticeable scratches or chips. I wouldn't be afraid of going at the front end paintwork with a DA polisher, it's difficult to remove too much clear and I'd be more concerned about the clear condition on the upper surfaces of the car, especially being black (B-pillars, roof, door handles). I used Dr. Colorchip on my red one and it works great and is surprisingly durable. AMMO has a great video with touch-up techniques here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJnqiBxKtg. The artist pen or syringe is a must-have for chips, those aren't fixable by polishing unless you want to use an orbital sander to strip all the paint off .

It might be worth taking a closer look at your brake system soon, anywhere from pads & rotors to making sure the calipers and pistons are in good shape with a full rebuild to preclude any pulling that you're experiencing. Otherwise, make sure your tires are in good shape tread & age-wise and at the correct pressures (I'm sure your new TE's and tires will take care of that. Very nice BTW). Like others have said in your intro thread, be very careful with the gas when the road is wet, I've already experienced one scare and that was even at low speeds.

I've also been holding off on the EPS rack rebuild mainly because of the price, though everyone vouches for how effective it is. Unfortunately, one of the owners of the repair company Matt recently passed away but Charles will continue to run the business.

Steering feel is also heavily influenced by your alignment settings, so if you haven't already it would pay to get a true pro (like track shop) laser alignment and tweak to your liking. Steering feel being slow is hard to diagnose, I'll say that all NSX racks have pretty slow steering so it might be worth asking to drive another owner's car to compare, it's not like most modern steering setups you might be used to. The '98 EPS unit should be better performing than the earliest versions, but the sum of the interactions between the (plastic) internal rack gear that feeds data to the EPS computer, mechanical backlash, and the assist motor kicking in could be natural causes for your description of laggy response. Apparently the earlier racks have a normal & noticeable few ms delay before the assist kicks in which can be mistaken for a "knock" in the rack.

 

[ty423]

Welcome! Glad to see you're not afraid to tear into things a bit, you've taken care of plenty of important items already it seems. You really must be a long-time lurker joining in 2012

To your P/N question, the push clips are 91560-SL4-003 or 91560-SL0-T00. Buy a bunch because the new ones break too. There are some push clips on the rear rectangular panels as well, reference https://www.amayama.com/en/catalogs/honda/nsx/1-coupe-right-1990-1/body-parts-6/rear-panel-trim-2171 for the right parts. I use that linked site for ordering most of my parts, just note that it's for RHD cars.

Windshield pitting is not repairable, you can polish glass with felt pads & cerium oxide but it's not the same as polishing paint; it doesn't really remove noticeable scratches or chips. I wouldn't be afraid of going at the front end paintwork with a DA polisher, it's difficult to remove too much clear and I'd be more concerned about the clear condition on the upper surfaces of the car, especially being black (B-pillars, roof, door handles). I used Dr. Colorchip on my red one and it works great and is surprisingly durable. AMMO has a great video with touch-up techniques here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLJnqiBxKtg. The artist pen or syringe is a must-have for chips, those aren't fixable by polishing unless you want to use an orbital sander to strip all the paint off .

It might be worth taking a closer look at your brake system soon, anywhere from pads & rotors to making sure the calipers and pistons are in good shape with a full rebuild to preclude any pulling that you're experiencing. Otherwise, make sure your tires are in good shape tread & age-wise and at the correct pressures (I'm sure your new TE's and tires will take care of that. Very nice BTW). Like others have said in your intro thread, be very careful with the gas when the road is wet, I've already experienced one scare and that was even at low speeds.

I've also been holding off on the EPS rack rebuild mainly because of the price, though everyone vouches for how effective it is. Unfortunately, one of the owners of the repair company Matt recently passed away but Charles will continue to run the business.

Steering feel is also heavily influenced by your alignment settings, so if you haven't already it would pay to get a true pro (like track shop) laser alignment and tweak to your liking. Steering feel being slow is hard to diagnose, I'll say that all NSX racks have pretty slow steering so it might be worth asking to drive another owner's car to compare, it's not like most modern steering setups you might be used to. The '98 EPS unit should be better performing than the earliest versions, but the sum of the interactions between the (plastic) internal rack gear that feeds data to the EPS computer, mechanical backlash, and the assist motor kicking in could be natural causes for your description of laggy response. Apparently the earlier racks have a normal & noticeable few ms delay before the assist kicks in which can be mistaken for a "knock" in the rack.

Thank you for all the information. I did go to Acura and the parts guy is a car guy and chatted about cars for a bit. He looked up the clips and bought a total of 3 for $18. Seems a bit ridiculous for what they are but whatever. The square pair of panels all the clips are still ok. Someone else mention Dr.Colorchip and might have to look more into that option. I did hear about the passing of Matt and sad to hear. I'll hold off and give them some time. I'm not looking forward to removing anyways and the price is a bit on the high side.

Here is the passenger side I finished cleaning today.

Also ordered some hubcentric rings for the TE37 from SoS. I'll wait to put those wheels on so I don't have to do it twice. I really don't want to put the wheels on until I get some lowering suspension. Still haven't decided which coilover to get.

 

[ty423]

I'm doing paint correction at home. I'm still a beginner at this. I had a Meguiar's DA but it just sucked using it no matter what pad and compound I used. Watched some youtube and settled on a Griot's G15 Long Throw. Using Griot's Fast Correcting Cream and Perfect Polish all BOSS (Best Of Show System) and their white and yellow 5" pads. The Rupes DA is just too much money for a DYI guy like me. For wax I have a lot of different ones but using Meguiar's Tech Wax 2.0 which is very old but looks like it still works. When I bought the car it had a lot of small scratches everywhere and a good amount of rock chips in the front. Trying to get all the small scratches out and possibly fix some of the big chips. Today I got to do the rest of the passenger side door and side skirt. Doing a panel or two per day. I'm only on the buffing stage for now and will move on to polishing later. I decided to take the wing off to be able to get underneath the wing and top of trunk. Had to use a heat gun to soften the two double sided tape on each side. Then used a long box cutter to push at the tape and not try to slice it. Maybe a long thin non-marring tool would be best but I was tried to be as careful as I can and took my time. I did struggle a little trying to take the connector out but managed. I got tired and decided to attack the trunk tomorrow night. Here is a few pics.

 

[ty423]

I forgot to mention... My mechanic friend snooped around my car and he pointed out the radiator is failing. I did notice a coolant smell a few times when I drove it. He pointed out to the passenger lower corner where it was all crusted up with dried coolant and the top of the radiator plastic had discolored to a brown. He explained the plastic is toast and will crack. I've looked at some aftermarket options and I decided to go OEM Honda.

 

[ty423]

Wow nice job on the seat!

Got pics of the car next to it?

Just got the Porsche weeks before the NSX. Waiting on parts for that car because of supply chain issues. NSX is consuming all my time for now.

Porsche Turbo:
Bilstein B16 Damptronic (back ordered but on order)
20" BBS E89 spanish gold (6 month wait on order)
Cobb AP w/ PDK (Installed)
20" BBS FI-R w/ Michelin PS4S (Haven't installed yet...not sure if I want to put it on)
OEM Aerokit Turbo (Need to order but searching for best price but hear it's a 4 month wait)
Kline Header (installed)
Kline 100 Cell Cat (installed)
Kline 76/70 Exhaust (installed)
Full PPF
Huper Optik tint

 

[JohnWayne]

I forgot to mention... My mechanic friend snooped around my car and he pointed out the radiator is failing. I did notice a coolant smell a few times when I drove it. He pointed out to the passenger lower corner where it was all crusted up with dried coolant and the top of the radiator plastic had discolored to a brown. He explained the plastic is toast and will crack. I've looked at some aftermarket options and I decided to go OEM Honda.

The OEM radiator will do the same thing again eventually. I would get a Koyo for best bang for buck

 

[NSXnZ]

Nice project. She’s gonna be a stunner with the care and time you’re putting into it. I’ve used Dr colorchip a lot. On 3 of my previous cars. It gets your chips and scratches to 90%+ if you’re patient and don’t mind repeating etc. I’ve even tried wet sanding Dr colorchip paint instead of using their liquid solution. Both techniques seem to work fine but the paint does seem to take a while to cure before wet sanding if that’s what you’re after. I had gouged my old Audi and instead of paying someone to respray, I used Dr colorchip for that and turned out ok. It works even better on rock chips if you have the patience. Color matches have always been spot on. For me anyhow.

I don’t know if you like the product you bought but I LOVE the 3 stage 3m stuff I use on my projects. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MZ83AZ9?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
If you ever need an alternative. Can’t wait to see the final paint correction. Are you planning to ceramic coat also?

 

[ty423]

The OEM radiator will do the same thing again eventually. I would get a Koyo for best bang for buck

I took your opinion into consideration and decided you are right...It's an upgrade for sure and a tasteful one. The all aluminum end tanks is what sold me and the price is good. I have it on order and arriving possibly 10 days.

Nice project. She’s gonna be a stunner with the care and time you’re putting into it. I’ve used Dr colorchip a lot. On 3 of my previous cars. It gets your chips and scratches to 90%+ if you’re patient and don’t mind repeating etc. I’ve even tried wet sanding Dr colorchip paint instead of using their liquid solution. Both techniques seem to work fine but the paint does seem to take a while to cure before wet sanding if that’s what you’re after. I had gouged my old Audi and instead of paying someone to respray, I used Dr colorchip for that and turned out ok. It works even better on rock chips if you have the patience. Color matches have always been spot on. For me anyhow.

I don’t know if you like the product you bought but I LOVE the 3 stage 3m stuff I use on my projects. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MZ83AZ9?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
If you ever need an alternative. Can’t wait to see the final paint correction. Are you planning to ceramic coat also?

Others have recommended to me as well. I put an order in and will try and fix the big ones or at least make it less of an eye sore. Thank you.

 

[Honcho]

I took your opinion into consideration and decided you are right...It's an upgrade for sure and a tasteful one. The all aluminum end tanks is what sold me and the price is good. I have it on order and arriving possibly 10 days.

The OEM radiator is a very good unit and, while the plastic end tanks will eventually separate from the aluminum core, these radiators last a long time. The radiator for the NSX is considered to be a consumable item and should be replaced around 100,000 miles. While the OEM is great if replaced on schedule, most of us have gone over to the Koyo, since it is less expensive, has more cooling capacity and eliminates the plastic tanks that cause most failures on the NSX.

If your radiator is leaking, please also consider replacing your coolant hoses. Many NSX engines have been lost due to bursting hoses. There is no way to visually tell if they are bad unless they are dangerously fatigued (ballooning out, splitting, etc). If you don't know whether they have ever been replaced on the car, I would do it now since you will already have all the coolant drained to do the rad. Several vendors sell the full hose kits. You'll be sorted for at least the next 10 years.

 

[ty423]

Today I picked up my KW V3. I decided to clean up the garage to make space to work on the car. I started with the fronts because my friend told me the rears are cake but the fronts are harder. I raised both front sides with 2 jacks after lifting hand brake and wheel chalks. I tackled driver side first. At first glance it seems like a simple job and thought my friend was trippin'. Yeah...he was right. Anyway after trying multiple methods without consulting with the forum search beforehand I think I may have figured out a way without removing too much. I have some old spring compressors...the cheap kind from harbor freight. I compressed the spring in the middle section as much as the tool can compress and that allowed the last 1.5 coil to be able to compress with a pry bar. Long story short I used 2 pry bars. One on the upper control arm to press the arm down with my left hand. Other bar used the upper control arm to pivot and push up on the lower perch of the shock allowing the shock and spring to compress to make it overall shorter strut. It allowed the bottom of strut to clear the ears. Also before all this the brake line bracket needs to be moved upwards toward the lower strut perch and that requires the nut and bolt to be removed. Reason is when using pry bar method the bracket hits the upper control arm. I'll try and take pics later.

 

[ty423]

ok...just realized KW uses the stock top mounts. Install on pause until my SOS top mounts come in.

 

[ty423]

SOS top mounts came in. I originally only ordered a set of 2 and they emailed me letting me know KW V3 don't have top mounts for both front and rear so I canceled and reordered 2 sets. Was told it will take 3-5 weeks but came sooner then that. Last night got around to installing the top mounts onto the KW. Both were very well made. Will be installing soon. Just so people know the threads on the coilovers are very sharp with tiny burrs. Cut my finger pretty good. I'll wait a little until it heals some before install.

On another note...I installed the Koyo radiator. It was a very straight forward easy install. Just a little messy with the coolant.

 

[ty423]

Past few days worked on putting in the KW V3 and wheels. Honestly I thought the NSX would be easy but it actually wasn't. The shocks are very long. I read the rear is easy but it wasn't for me. I had to take the upper control arm off and putting it back was a bit challenging. I was worried about cross threading the whole time. Then ran into problem with lower bolt/sway bar link. Taking the swaybar off the subframe made life much easier. Front suspension I used a spring compressor while in the car and grabbed about 2-3 coils and compressed as much as I can and it allowed me to use a pry bar to compress the entire strut to a shorter length to clear the bottom ears.

 

[JohnWayne]

Past few days worked on putting in the KW V3 and wheels. Honestly I thought the NSX would be easy but it actually wasn't. The shocks are very long. I read the rear is easy but it wasn't for me. I had to take the upper control arm off and putting it back was a bit challenging. I was worried about cross threading the whole time. Then ran into problem with lower bolt/sway bar link. Taking the swaybar off the subframe made life much easier. Front suspension I used a spring compressor while in the car and grabbed about 2-3 coils and compressed as much as I can and it allowed me to use a pry bar to compress the entire strut to a shorter length to clear the bottom ears.

View attachment 171628

There are a couple other threads on prime about shock removal. I personally have a long 2x4 and wedge it between suspension and the body and then push down and that will allow the suspension to travel down and you can slip the shock out that way. Im not sure if my description makes sense but there are pictures somewhere on prime.

Glad you got it done regardless

 

[ty423]

Dialed in the suspension some more after adding the lip. It was just too low and needed something to be able to go places. I still scrape but that is expected. Seibon wing is on too. After a full day of driving my ABS light turned on. I can hear the pump running for awhile and it sounds not normal. I tested the solenoids and they all click and the resevoir bubbled and foamed until there was no more. When pump is activated it doesn't suck down the fluid at all. Reset ABS and light goes out but turns back on after pump runs for a good 1.5min. Decided instead of trying the accumulator I'll put the money towards the 2000+ upgrade. On order along with the rubber antenna conversion and new OEM front lip for later if this lip goes to hell or if I sell the car.

 

[Honcho]

Yeah the 2000+ upgrade is the way to go. You can rebuild the original unit for about $100 in parts, but it really is a night-and-day difference between the systems.

 

[ty423]

Today the items I ordered from MITA Motorsports came in. Took about 3 weeks and actually surprised it got here so fast. Installed the antenna and it reminds me of a walkie-talkie antenna.

 

[BMAN16]

Looks great! Was the spoiler hard to install?

 

[ty423]

Looks great! Was the spoiler hard to install?

Not really...Only hard part was the double side tape from factory. Used a panel remover tool wrapped with some electrical tape and used a heat gun and slowly pried it. All 6 bolts lined up and just bolted it in. I did use the foam seal Seibon includes with the wing to try minimize any water from getting in. You will have to either cut or splice into the factory wires for the third brake light. You could just cut the connector on the wing portion so it just clips in but I opted to not do that and just spliced it in with my soldering iron. I just stripped away maybe 1cm of wire insulation and soldered it in. All good.

 

[NSXnZ]

Love your progress. Car looks great! Love those wheels and the stance. I had about the same experience with the stock suspension swap for kw v3s. I went into it thinking it doesn’t look that bad. Lol. I attempted to install stock height Koni shocks before the kw3s and they were nearly impossible. Took me 3 days of cursing and contorting my body to finally finish them. If I ever go back to stock, I’m not touching it. What’s your TE37 spec?