New owner needs advice

[dmartin149]

Hi all. I just got my "new" 92 NSX yesterday, and I'm LOVING it! One thing I'm not loving is having to be so careful with the front lip. I'm thinking about taking it off. Have any of you here done that? If so, how did it look? Do you have pictures that you could post?
Thanks, Dan

 

[Honcho]

Hi all. I just got my "new" 92 NSX yesterday, and I'm LOVING it! One thing I'm not loving is having to be so careful with the front lip. I'm thinking about taking it off. Have any of you here done that? If so, how did it look? Do you have pictures that you could post?
Thanks, Dan

Welcome to Prime Dan!

Most NSX owners run a lip of some kind because the lower bumper piece is very expensive to replace and paint compared to the lip, which is just a hundred bucks or so. The car is so low that the flexible lip acts as a sacrificial barrier to protect the bumper from damage. If you run without the lip, the bumper will take the brunt of any scrape or impact.

 

[dmartin149]

Oh I see. Are there different depth lips? Is it possible to get a thin lip? Sorry if that's a stupid question, but I think I saw a mention of a thinner lip somewhere.

 

[Honcho]

Oh I see. Are there different depth lips? Is it possible to get a thin lip? Sorry if that's a stupid question, but I think I saw a mention of a thinner lip somewhere.

There are two OEM versions: the 91-96 "thin" lip and the 97+ "tall" lip. It's about 1" difference on the corners. Sadly, Honda discontinued the thin lips, so you're kinda stuck with the tall ones if you buy new. I think some of the aftermarket lips are thin too, you may want to reach out to a vendor like Science of Speed or MITA, who can give you more info about height/durability, etc.

If your 92 has its original lip, you already have the thin one!

 

[dmartin149]

IDK if it's original or not. I kinda doubt it. It's about 1 3/8 in the center and about 2 1/2 on the ends.

 

[Old Guy]

Keep the lip on. That is how you learn how much / little clearance you have. If you remove the lip, learning is going to be more expensive because you will end up learning off of something that it involves paint and hard surface repair.

I have a 2000, so I can't comment on the early lip. Unless you have managed to tear a chunk out of the lip, it is not too hard to refurbish the lip to a good appearance. On my 2000, the surface scratches will sand out fairly easily with an orbital sander and hand finishing. I then do a complete surface sand to scuff it up, spray on some adhesion promoter and then apply the final coat of paint designed for flexible surfaces. Lots to choose from in that last category. The adhesion promoter that I use claims to have the ability to fill small surface irregularities - seems to do the trick. The refinish may not be like new; but, it is good and the repair will not be obvious unless you get down there and look. Finish durability has been good. I need to touch it up every couple of years because I appear to need to relearn how little clearance I have, not because the paint has failed.

If the lip has been whacked, get under there and check the mounting clips. Some may have been pulled right out of the lower bumper so that may require repair or at least replacement of any missing clips.

Significant gouges in the lip can be repaired. There are flexible fillers around that will do this; but, it requires some skill / experience beyond sanding and using aerosol spray bombs.

 

[dmartin149]

Thanks guys. That all makes good sense. I'll follow your advice, and just be extra careful.

 

[Honcho]

IDK if it's original or not. I kinda doubt it. It's about 1 3/8 in the center and about 2 1/2 on the ends.

Here is my original 92 "thin" lip for reference. It's about 1.25" on the ends. I refurbished it along the lines of what @Old Guy said.

 

[dmartin149]

Yeah, that is thinner than mine. I'll just get used to being careful. My car is nice, but not a show car. Some scrapes on the lip won't be the end of the world.

 

[docjohn]

Thanks guys. That all makes good sense. I'll follow your advice, and just be extra careful.

don't give us any more lip

but do post a pic of your front splitter...it may be far from oem..

 

[dmartin149]

Here's mine.
http://carsandbids.com/auctions/361PDqny/1992-acura-nsx

 

[esqu1re]

Congrats on your purchase. I was watching that auction.

I would say don't worry too much about damaging your lip. Your 92's lip might be cheaper than lip replacements for the 2002+, but the cheapest lips I could find were actually from the dealer. They didn't charge me shipping to pick it up from them (after they ordered it from some warehouse). The other sites are "cheaper," but once they include shipping, the total price was much higher than the dealer. Enjoy your ride.

 

[DA NSX]

Very nice ride OP. You’ve got a good driver there. I agree with all the lip comments - the lip is easily replaceable and it’s there to take the primary impact of a mistake on taking a bad angle on the pavement. Mine is scratched in places and I considered getting a new one right off the bat when I got my ‘05, but I figured I should “learn” on the scratched one first to see how I do in various parking lots and speed bumps.

Congrats on the new car.

 

[Honcho]

Here's mine.
http://carsandbids.com/auctions/361PDqny/1992-acura-nsx

Dan, you scored a really nice example. You definitely have the 97+ tall lip. I had one on my 91 and you just need to be a little more careful on high curbs and speed bumps- just take them at an angle. It's really not that bad.

 

[dmartin149]

Scraped it crossing a road this morning, at a stop sign. I could see that there was lots of crown in the crossroad, so I went really slow.
Do you remember when you first got your driver's license? Any excuse to drive, LOL

 

[Superhatch]

I've seen these advertised for lower cars but haven't seen anyone use them.

SLiPLO Universal Bumper Guard Scrape Skid Plate Protector Kit

One size fits all bumper scrape guard protection kit designed to protect virtually any car from steep driveways, parking curbs, potholes and speed bump damages.

sliplo.shop

I don't know if we have enough lip on the bumper with the black lip removed to even use those.

Have you driven a lowered car before? If not you kind of need to treat the NSX like one and approach from angles rather than head on, and plan your route a little bit. Once you get used to it I'd bet you scrape a lot less.

MITA currently has lower lips for $310 shipped, and that's about as cheap as you'll find them (SOS sells them for 250 but shipping is more than it is from Japan?).

OEM Honda / Acura NSX Front Lip Spoiler – MITA Motorsports | NSX, S2000, Integra Specialists

www.mitamotorsports.com

71110-SL0-003 Genuine Acura Front Air Spoiler

Genuine 71110-SL0-003 Front Air Spoiler fits 1991-2001 Acura NSX. AcuraPartsWarehouse offers 71110SL0003 for $190.16.

www.acurapartswarehouse.com

^ They have them listed for 190 + 220 shipped, says MSRP is 271. So $300-ish seems like the best you can do?

 

[dmartin149]

Thanks Superhatch. I'll get used to it. Probably order a new one just to have for future use. Mine came with a crack in it, and it really doesn't bother me at all. It's a driver.

 

[Jerry@Mobile]

Congrats on the car. Get into the habit of backing the car into parking spaces. Jerry

 

[esqu1re]

^ They have them listed for 190 + 220 shipped, says MSRP is 271. So $300-ish seems like the best you can do?

That adds up to $410, shipped. The total price at your local dealer is cheaper if you pick it up.

 

[dmartin149]

I wonder if I can order through a Honda dealer. Acura is about an hour away.

 

[MotorMouth93]

When I bought a new OEM lip I got it on Amazon. Shipping took several months but it was free shipping on a large part so no complaints. Not sure if that trick still works or not though.

Then of course I scraped it the first time driving out of my garage after installing it.

Now I just treat the front lip as a sacrificial part to protect the bumper.

Honda USA usually won't let you order Acura-specific parts but it doesn't hurt to have the part number in hand and ask.