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Power vs. Price vs. Practicality

Joined
6 September 2001
Messages
2,229
Location
Florida
Ok, Ok- so there are a few options available to us in the world for those that crave more raw power from our 3.0 or 3.2 engines.

However, by dropping 10 or 15 grand on a supercharger or turbo setup respectively I'm really not seeing the extra performance as being worth the investment on the NSX to be honest. Even 10K for a CT SC installed is about $170/hp - screw that! I'm seeing a lot of profit taking and a little return to be frank about it. I mean cheese- there are supra's and 3000GT VR4's running up and down my street with 700+ hp under the hood. I have drove all manners of supercharged/turbocharged NSX's and they are faster but not enough for me to start writing out checks that big.

Money aside- what about getting it installed?
Superchargers are not a really big deal because I can run over to any acura dealer and have it bolted on in a few days. Worst case scenerio I pay mark Basch to fly out and put the thing on. However, the turbocharger route (while providing more power and voiding my warranty) would mean dropping my car off to someone for weeks or months on end while they try not to blow up my engine while getting me at least 6 or 7psi boost... [makes my stomach churn]

So here is my question- are there any tuning options such as cam work, injectors, etc... that can be done to get me the same extra 60-80hp that throwing on a comptech supercharger will provide? Perhaps some other, often overlooked upgrade? What about getting one of those GT500 race engines sent over here? What about this new SC coming out an NSXPO that I heard was like 5 grand installed. Now dollar for dollar that's more my speed...
 
Power v. Price v. Practicality - pick any ONE <g>

Race engines are fine if 1) You are a race team so a builder will actually sell you one and 2) You don't mind rebuilding it about as often as most people change their oil. So that clearly loses on practicality, and I expect the price would be through the roof as well.

If you want big power, the best route is to beef up the stock block, drop in low compression pistons and new fuel management and run a high compression turbo. You can do a very nice setup for under $20k and put 500+ HP to the wheels. But you are going to be without the car for a while. You are the only one that can decide if that is the kind of money you want to spend, but it will give you the best power and practicality.

If the new SC kits coming out interest you, wait and find out the details. But if the current kits are not even close to enough power for you, I don't think you're going to be much happier with these. Those are going to be the best price, but I expect power to be in the same ballpark as what's out there now - maybe a bit more but not over 400 RWHP - and practicality won't be any different than doing the big turbo setup described above.

[This message has been edited by Lud (edited 11 October 2001).]
 
On the subject of a big turbo setup, I will be posting some pics and charts tomorrow as well. Supposedly Larry has one ready to go as well and already has Dyno charts to show us tonight. I'm definitely excited about tonight and will post that info up tomorrow for anyone interested.
Not that I could afford that setup.
redface.gif
 
If you could get vehicle weight down in the 2700's and put 400 horse to the wheels,I cant see someone wanting more than that.My Supra puts 400 to the wheels and weighs in at 3440.I couldnt imagine how fast it would be if it weighed close to 2700.

Joe

------------------
97 NSX-T
93 Supra TT
92 Talon AWD ( For Sale )
 
Obviously every person is different in what they want from their car. Some are more than happy with the stock setup, some want a fully race prepared car. I would suspect that most people on this board are somewhere in between.

I went with the Comptech SC for a number of reasons. Not necessarily in this order:
1. Easy installation
2. Proven reliability
3. More horsepower and more torque
4. Doesn't void warranty

I installed the SC on a '00 NSX-T that I felt was lacking on power. Now the car is perfect for me. Since this is my everyday car, (when the weather is nice) I didn't want to sacrifice reliability for more power.

I will be the first to agree that the cost of the Comptech SC is prohibitive, it was worth it to me for based on the list above. I am sure you will find something worthwhile based on what you are looking for also.

Good Luck!
 
4. Doesn't void warranty

This is a misconception, based on the fact that Acura has made arrangements with Comptech to sell Comptech parts through Acura dealers.

The Comptech supercharger is treated the same for warranty purposes as any other aftermarket modification. The warranty on the supercharger itself is provided by Comptech, through whom any problems would be addressed. The warranty on the rest of the car remains in place; however, if any problems arise that are caused by the Comptech supercharger, they are not covered by the Acura warranty.

Theoretically, this means that - just to cite one example - if the transmission were to fail due to its inability to handle the additional power, Acura would not be obligated to cover the repair under warranty.

In practice, warranty coverage of repairs are often treated on an individual basis, and may be affected by the customer's relationship with the dealer, the dealer's relationship with American Honda, the persistence of either of these parties, the mood of the district service manager, etc. And individual repairs may (or may not) be covered on a "goodwill" basis (where some recompense is provided without stipulating that the warranty is involved), either in part or in whole.

There are lots of ancillary issues in this area - like whether you can "prove" that a mod caused a problem. It is not my intention to speak to those issues here, but only to note that the Comptech mods are treated the same as any other mods for warranty purposes.

These statements are not intended to reflect in any way upon the reliability of the Comptech supercharger, which has been the aftermarket unit installed on the most NSX's.


[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 11 October 2001).]
 
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