My new 15k mile 2005

[centerpunch]

Picked this up a few days ago- mint, with only 15k miles. Has kinda loud exhaust (taitec lightweight, I think) and Zanardi shocks. (I may put oem exhaust back on, and was planning to put Bilsteins on, now not sure).

I’ve had a bunch of Honda bikes (currently have ‘89 Transalp and ‘77 550F), but haven’t had a Honda car since the ‘78 Civic CVCC 5-speed I bought new. (Wife has had a few MDX’s, in fact found and bought a 2006 - her favorite - with only 38k miles this spring.)

Stopped in NC on my way back to OH, met up with member @JohnWayne (is that how I tag him?) yesterday, great guy who will be a great resource for this old (65) newbie.

I’m actually thinking about (warning: do not read the next part!) all season tires- Michelin’s new pilot sport all season 4 will fit if I downsize the fronts an insignificant 10mm to 205/40-17.

(I tried to upload pics here with no success, put a few on flickr, but not sure how to display them in the thread.)
.
https://flic.kr/p/2k9hebj


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[neuronbob]

Congrats! What region of OH are you in? I’m near Cleveland. (Ie which Cars and Coffee am I going to have to road trip to, in order to see this? LOL)

 

[centerpunch]

Congrats! What region of OH are you in? I’m near Cleveland. (Ie which Cars and Coffee am I going to have to road trip to, in order to see this? LOL)

Thanks! I’m at the other end of the state- Cincinnati.

 

[neuronbob]

You are super-lucky. You live close to Source One, which is in Maineville. If you are not aware of Brian Urlage and his crew, they do a lot of NSX work. They’ve worked on mine multiple times, and for me have been worth the three-hour drive. Strongly recommend.

 

[DocL]

Congrats. Too bad you waited so long to get an NSX, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Going to a 205/14/17 will be too small and the tire will have a little bit of a stretch to it. Try to find a good performance tire in the correct size to enjoy the full benefit of the design fof the car.

 

[docjohn]

nice purchase best of luck. And I second Source 1 for all your needs...

 

[alum04org]

Congratulations :smile: I know you found a GREAT one!

 

[docjohn]

Just read closely...65 as a first timer puts you in a small but classy bunch..

 

[The King]

Enjoy in good health! You have the best colour that's for sure!:cool2:

 

[centerpunch]

Thanks for the replies- I found out about Source One from Neal (thanks!), I’ll check them out.

Not trying to start a tire size discussion, but 205’s will clearly be fine, even if not the official size. The difference from 215 (see typical dimensions below) is tiny, and they’ll fit fine on the oem front wheel.

Curious to hear thoughts on Zanardi vs Bilstein shocks. When I picked the car up I found it has Zanardis, but I had already purchased a set of Bilsteins at a great price via my daughter who until last week was an engineer there (her new career path is stay-at-home mom, with my first granddaughter.)

Another question- does the round Type-R shift knob require a different shift boot?
.

 

[neuronbob]

I’ve had Bilstein shocks on stock springs for almost five years. I have them set to the lower perch which lowers the car 0.8”. You’ll be fine with them. Ride is mildly firmer than stock, but not uncomfortably so. Unless you are going to track the car, you don’t need more than that. I have considered upgrading recently, but that gets us into a whole other discussion. TL;DR: use the Bilsteins.

I know you don’t want to get into a tire discussion, but DocL has specific previous experience with what you’re suggesting. As far as front tires, you really should stick to 215/40-17s. There are a few good choices in that size. There are people who use 205/45-17 (not 40) for the NSX, but this is 1/2” larger wheel diameter and may cause a traction control error. You may want to do a site search before you buy. Hint: use Google, enter [search term] site:www.nsxprime.com instead of using the built in site search, it’s lots easier.

Good luck!

 

[centerpunch]

DocL has specific previous experience with what you’re suggesting. As far as front tires, you really should stick to 215/40-17s.

Thanks, found that post. http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/4480-205-40-17-front-255-40-17-rear-problems

However, I do not like any of the available tire choices in the oem sizes, and as I said, I want to run all seasons, so I’m gonna take my chances with a sidewall that’s a near-microscopic .15” (slightly more than 1/8”) shorter.

 

[furinax]

Congrats and welcome to the club!

 

[RPM217]

I think that you're part of a group that own two of the best, handmade, all aluminum, mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports cars. I call one of them, the scalpel, and the other the machete! Welcome, and enjoy the newest acquisition, I've had mine for 18 years, and almost 86,000 s(miles).

 

[neuronbob]

However, I do not like any of the available tire choices in the oem sizes, and as I said, I want to run all seasons, so I’m gonna take my chances with a sidewall that’s a near-microscopic .15” (slightly more than 1/8”) shorter.

Fair enough. Choices are somewhat limited in NSX-friendly sizes, unfortunately, so sometimes ya gotta do, what ya gotta do.

 

[Old Guy]

Welcome to ownership. 2005 with 15,000 miles is a nice find.

All seasons are a good choice if you plan on driving in cold weather because Extreme Performance tires 'don't do cold' and are not keen about wet either. I have a 2000 and faced a similar front fit issue. The original size is 215/45R16 and getting matching front and backs is difficult. You are generally limited to Extreme performance tires - not exactly matching up with your desire for an all season tire. On the 2000, dropping to a 205/45R16 is pretty much the go-to solution if you are retaining the OEM rims. Reality is that the contact patch on newer design 205 section tires is just about the same as on the original 215s fitted to the car. If you can find the data for the OEM tires you can compare rolling radius numbers to the new tires you are considering. That will give you a handle on whether you will create a TCS mismatch problem - I expect not.

The R does have a different style shift boot - the early ones were leather rather than faux leather. The boot can be fit to a non R knob; but, requires some fiddling so I expect that means that the R knob is different.

Genuine NA1 NSX-R Shift Boot - NSX, 1991-05 - Interior Accessories - Interior Products - NSX, 1991-05 (scienceofspeed.com)

There is also a later mesh R boot. Do you know what vintage R knob you have?

Honda NSX-R Mesh Shift Boot with Carbon Trim Panel - NSX, 1991-05 - Interior Accessories - Interior Products - NSX, 1991-05 (scienceofspeed.com)

 

[Single Samurai]

Huge Congrats!

Congrats on your Lovely NSX! She's a Beauty!
Welcome to the NSX Madness! Enjoy!:biggrin:

 

[JohnWayne]

An excellent example of a NSX!! Glad it ended up in your hands. Look forward to crossing paths again. Safe travels!

 

[VANSXTC]

Welcome and Congratulations

What a nice purchase. I can provide a few thoughts on tires and options as well as the Bilsteins. I'll start with the latter. I have run Bilsteins on my 91 since 2001. When coupled with the OEM springs, they offer a nice ride and do give a slightly more "tight" feel. I can't say how they compare to a Zanardi/Type-S damper setup, but I have found them comfortable enough to drive 400, 500, and sometimes over 600 miles comfortably without having to put my chiropractor or dentist on speed dial...or feeling like somebody has been doing a number on my kidneys. Plus they offer the flexibility to remain at stock ride height or to lower the car 20mm.

As far as tires, I also run all season tires on my 91 being that I live in Colorado and like to drive year round unless the roads are actually covered in snow or slush. I have a BBS LM II 17/18 set up and run General G-Max AS-05's (205/40-17 fronts, 255/35-18 rears). I think in Cincinnati, you have made a good choice with all seasons as well if you want to try and get more a a "year round" usage out of the car. For a 2005, the stagger ratio for TCS is 5.3% +/- 5%...so as long as the rears are 0.3% - 10.3% bigger than the fronts in diameter (or circumference) then you will be okay. Most "old hands" will like to keep the ratio as close to stock as possible, and use a +/-3% tolerance band to allow for wear and inflation issues and not have TCS "freak out".

Stock tire sizes on an 05 is 215/40-17 fronts and 255/40-17 rears. Going to a 205/40-17 in the front will take your TCS stagger ratio to 6.7% and you will be fine.
And you could also drop your rear tire size to a 245/40-17 rear. This, with a 205/40-17 front will take the TCS stagger ratio to a 5.4%...almost identical to stock.

If you look at a 205/40-17 & 245/40-17 combination, you have your choice of Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires at $679.96 for a set of four, OR you have the General G-Max AS-05's available to you for $431.96 for a set of 4...and General is a subsidiary of Continental Tires...

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself how are you going to use the car? - Daily driver, weekend "cars and coffee" warrior, highway cruiser, mountain pass/canyon carver, hard core track. That will give you a good idea of what kind of tires you can go with.

Couple of final tips I have learned after 20+ years of ownership. Take time to enjoy the car right now. Resist the urge to do any modifications right away. Drive for several months and several thousand miles (and no, one single week of cross-country driving isn't enough...) in various conditions should be done before you do any modifications. Find out what you really like about the car and what you want to improve upon. Then start doing modifications to accentuate what you like and improve upon what you don't. And when you do your modifications, don't worry about what anybody else thinks. It is YOUR car and it should bring YOU the enjoyment you want.

Okay, I'm now going to break my rule about waiting on modifications. Here is one that you should do right now. Get yourself a Davis Design Fab coil guard system. One weakness of the NSX design is the rear hatch vent/garnish. It allows water to run off the hatch and into the engine compartment. That water can then drip onto the rear cylinder bank valve cover. And if the gasket on the coil cover leaks, the water can collect in the spark plug wells causing misfires and corrosion on the coil packs. I know people that go as far as to put a towel over their engine when washing the car to prevent the water from getting onto the rear bank valve cover. And then they are super duper careful with the hose when spraying water on the car. Since I installed this kit from Mike Davis at Davis Design Fab, I have just hammered the rear hatch area with the hose when washing my NSX and the rear bank has remained bone dry. He offers two versions...they are functionally the same, but the more expensive version has a piece that is purely cosmetic but makes the kit's appearance much better in my opinion. The base version is $55+S/H...the "deluxe" version is $67+S/H. This goes on my "Mount Rushmore" of modifications/aftermarket parts for an NSX....

Here's a link to Davis Design Fab's coil guard kit: http://davisdesignfab.com/coil-guard/

Here is a good tire size calculator tool to test various size combinations: http://powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi

If you have any questions about the NSX, I'm sure somebody in this forum can either directly answer or knows who to ask to get an answer, so don't hesitate to reach out!!!

Again, WELCOME!!!!

 

[centerpunch]

Thanks for all the helpful responses, especially @VANSXTC.

Tires: I've ordered Michelin Pilot Sport all season 4 tires, in 205/40 and 255/40. I considered going to 245/40 on the rear, but on this specific tire, the 245 is (bizarrely) slightly taller than the 255.

Springs/shocks: I misunderstood the car's seller- actually the car has Zanardi/S springs with oem standard shocks. I've purchased Bilsteins via my daughter's employee pricing, but now I'm wondering if I'd be happier reverting to OEM springs, since the Zanardi's are so much stiffer. (The oem springs didn't come with the car, so I'd have to buy those.) Maybe with the oem springs I'd use the lower Bilstein perch location, but with the already lower Zanardi springs I'd certainly use the higher location.

Other mods: Since the car is mint, I'll probably do clear film on the front of the car, the mirrors, and maybe the side scoops. I've ordered a GROM adapter so I can bluetooth music in, and I'll add a better cupholder or two, but that's about it for now. Oh, and a metal shift knob, maybe an S2000 one instead of the expensive R NSX one. I'm going to leave the aftermarket exhaust on for now, but will evaluate it after the first road trip, and return to oem if necessary.

I will add the coil guard as you recommend, sounds like a good idea.

I just picked up a 1997 manual and 2005 supplement on ebay. Probably I should get a 2002 supplement also.

The plan is, like you say, to enjoy the car. The A/S tires greatly extend the usable season for the car, and it will make more than a few road trips every year.

 

[VANSXTC]

OEM Springs

Keep a close eye on the various NSX market places...OEM springs are kind of like OEM exhausts...they are not that expensive as many times guys will keep them "in case they ever want to go back" and then after years of taking up space in the garage they realize they aren't ever going to "go back" and just want to get rid of them...

Here are some thoughts I cobbled together after I replied last night...there is probably some good info somewhere in there....

Cup holders...always a quandary in the NSX as the OEM cup holder (my 1991 didn't have one) isn't the best. I run the "Ultimate Cup Holder" and it works great. I also have them in my 01 E39 M5 (another car that didn't believe in cup holders that are worth a darn...)

https://www.ultimatecupholders.com/

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...to-new-NSX-Owners-(and-maybe-some-not-so-new)

 

[centerpunch]

Thanks again.

My suspension shop is very knowledgable ( http://performance-alignment.com/about/ ), so unless they have a different idea, I’ll start with putting the Bilsteins on the existing Zanardi springs.

Also just realized the new Michelin A/S 4 is the standard tire on the new C8 Corvette, so it’s probably a good choice.