John@Microsoft said:
I would second that.
In the absence of a formal web presence, I also haven't ever noted anyone else at FX detail a thread lately on each of their current engine offerings / services/schedules, pros/cons, ecu's, general drivability compromises, CRM service issues, turn-around time, pricing, reliability data, etc..
Most of the information comes in second hand from locals in the area or from event results and seems to just come in quantified with 1/4 miles times or dyno charts. Understandable as I would think they are a smaller outfit.
I recall a thread awhile back whereas Mike mentioned personally going through good $$ and time in engines, clutches, trannys, and other components doing drag racing & general R&D which I realize is popular down there in the Las Vegas area. Also a few threads from customers on engine rebuilds and tweaks.. all which makes me most curious about the general reliability behind their various FI offerings given frequent street & road course usage, and general customer experiences for those whom shelled out the 10-25 grand for custom NSX engine building services over the past few years. From what I've read and members I've spoken to- it sounds as if you need about three/four or so FX500's to achieve normal 150K mile reliability on a street/track application entirely disincluding everything else non-withstanding.
The new work being done on a 9K RPM Turbo FX500 for road course use may be compelling and could be of broader community interest particularly coupled with a sequential tranny option for mere twice the price. Perhaps Mike can chime in then with his various offerings and thoughts.
Many of these issues and details you bring up in our opinion are better answered via a phone call and conversation. Primarily as we prefer not to post everything we have done and do on a public board. In addition, since the re-organization we are only taking in a few cars a month to work on. Our attention to detail, organization, follow up, and overall performance has improved dramatically from that of the past two years.
The amount of time and money spent on the FX500 system has been quite substantial, especially once we started making bigger numbers. It is truly a labor of love and our competitive spirit that drives us. It also helps that we are die hard NSX enthusiasts:smile: We initially ran quite a bit of quarter mile times to back up the power we were making as many individuals / competitors questioned the validity of the dyno sheets. An ancillary benefit was we love drag racing:biggrin: In fact during that time we did everything we could to bring out the other FI owners that expressed these doubts, when the time came to put up no one showed up.
In our eyes the reliability of the system is not in question as long as it is properly cared for. We have logged tens of thousands of miles on a single FX500 system that was created over two years ago both on and off the strip, street, road course, and unfortunately desert trails…
Higher output engines (600+hp) require different clearances and specifications therefore asking it to go 150k miles is ridiculous, we are asking components to withstand forces two to three times the amount it was designed to do. If someone wants 150k miles of reliability stick with an OEM engine. However, if a client wishes to spend the money in the right places in the engine build they should have a bullet proof engine that will last for quite sometime. This is of course is dependent upon the goals of the individual and their ability to stay within those parameters. In addition, it depends on the quality of the aftermarket parts used. A few years back we once believed we could reliably produce x amount of power on an FX500 without making changes to some of the components. The result was that of a lost motor, which we took care of no questions asked.
Inevitably, as word got out, rumors circulated, and opinions were formed. Some were accurate, others we blown out of proportion or created just out of spite. Therefore, the decision was made to enter some third party publicly announced road course events to further prove the durability of the system. The goal was not to create a “race car” for these events, but instead a street car that has the ability to be participate competitively on the road course. The results have been quite promising thus far. We participated in the Best Motoring American Touge 2 shootout (
www.bestmotoringvideo.com) and ended up as a finalist. We then ran a few other road racing events, with the latest being the Super Street Time Attack Qualifier (
http://www.superstreetonline.com/eventcoverage/130_0605_time_attack_qualifying_round_one/index.html) in which we qualified in the top 4 in 97 degree heat!(Thanks Trevor) The highlight of the event being to the disbelief of some other NSX owners swapping on a set of street tires and driving the FX500 NSX back in 90+ degree heat for 300+ miles. After that event we performed a leak down test and was happy to see we were still within 2 percent of the original leak down. Also, due to the success of the American Touge 2 shootout we recently have been selected to battle it out with Japan’s best NSX tuners.
The bottom line is, when you are looking to make in excess of 500rwhp you are essentially purchasing a “race motor”. Most aftermarket performance engine builders offer little to no warranty on the motors as they are being specifically built for performance. The quality control of the aftermarket parts are not always that of OEM thus some parts failures occur even though we may have done everything needed to support the power. There are way too many variables that come into play to offer something that you would get from an Acura dealership. Our policy is to offer a limited warranty that covers any damages that occur to the engine from improper engine assembly.
The new motor mentioned, is what we consider a full race motor and will be installed in our FX500 for testing in the near future. This engine will probably require a tear down every two seasons and may only be of interest to those dedicated track guys. Other engine packages are available to those daily guys, with a plethora of options.
Here’s an idea to further prove the reliability, I would be willing to drive the same FX500 NSX that we have been running, from Las Vegas to Miami if someone could map out a strip club and hotel with a good happy hour every 500 miles along the way, pay for the entertainment and take care of our fuel
