Something wrong with my NSX?

[sgvnsxrated]

My brother and I both own NSX's. Mines a 91, his a 92. His is completely stock while mines has comptech exhaust, bilstein w/ eibach, RPS clutch, and Volk wheels. But when we traded cars for a day I noticed his was a noticeably quicker than mines. He said he noticed mines was slower too. It felt like his just picked up faster.

My NSX doesn't have any weird noises or anything wrong that I know of, could it be the mods that make it seem slower? Could my VTEC not be working?

 

[DRIFTER]

Stock wheels on his? No two engines are the same. Some engines put out more power then others. But big wheels will make a huge difference. That is why most people run the OEM wheels at the track.

 

[sgvnsxrated]

yes stock wheels on his. 18/19 volks on mines

 

[docjohn]

Swap wheels and drive again.:wink:

 

[JeffShoots]

Swap wheels and drive again.:wink:

+1

 

[MANIACura]

Swap wheels and drive again.:wink:

+1

Just weighed my wheels with tires. Rear is 19" and it weighed 56.4 pounds

From other posts I've seen the 16" stock rear wheel with tire weighs around 40 pounds.

I didn't weigh the fronts yet but I'm assuming similar results. So about 16lbs X 4 is 64 lbs more unsprung/rotational weight.

There may be other factors but your wheels ain't helping.

 

[tom4416]

Unsprung mass has a very detrimental effect on acceleration and handling on a high performance automobile designed around handling. I always get a good laugh at the Civics at the track with heavy, aftermarket 18" wheels, massive tires and no acceleration and the poor kids can't figure out why they can't roll with that combination.

As to the VTEC, I can feel mine go on the cams, I would think it would be kind of obvious if the actuator wasn't working.

I've seen stock cars at dyno runs vary by as much as 7% in RWHP. Years ago, it was estimated that about 1 in every 10,000 cars just ended up with a blueprinted engine right from the factor, purely by chance. I would assume that as technology has progressed, tolerances are tighter and variances less but you could still have a 10-15HP difference coupled with the wheels and I bet his car would feel noticeably faster.

 

[davidf]

Does your brothers car have short gears?

 

[Zishan]

I got my money on the wheels. My car feels notably faster with my OEM wheels and slower with my 18/19's. :redface:

 

[Jetpilot3]

I agree with the wheels too. When I put on my 16" stock rims with slicks the car felt better and seemed faster - but then again I was at the track.:redface:

 

[oscar_driver]

Dude, that sounds so cool to have a brother with an NSX .. anyways ... you both should go and dyno your NSX's ... it can be wheels and many other factors that are making you a bit slower ... even OIL can make a difference .. i can tell you b/c i dynoed my S2k 3 weeks ago with 10 or more S2k's (half Ap1's like mine) .. the Ap1's around me, all pulled 190-200 @ the wheels (all of them with exhaust + intakes etc) .. while mine did 207 .. why? i only have exhaust + K& filter .. but that's about it .. but i always use Royal etc ... so .. go dyno BOTH and see what it's the result .. you might consider bring your stock exhaust for your last pass .. just to see if you're really losing or making HP ...
good luck ..

Oscar

 

[4AU4LIFE]

Does your brothers car have short gears?

uh

His is completely stock

:wink:

 

[davidf]

uh




:wink:

:redface:

 

[ediddynsx]

yes stock wheels on his. 18/19 volks on mines

LOL

Are you serious that you did not know that 18/19 wheels will make the car a lot slower?

Thats like running 19s on a civic that comes with 15s or 16s......anything more than one or two inches over oem specs will really slow the car down. I had 18/19s myself and I noticed the acceleration loss versus 17/18s......I ended up going back to 17/18s and noticed a difference again.

18/19s are great if you want looks and you don't care about speed.
If you still want looks and performance then 17/18s are the way to go or 17/17s for some......I prefer the 17/18s look.

 

[prestonmay]

you have your answer about the wheels....I had 17/18 OZ wheels.....Flew like a bat out of HELL....ctsc.......Put on some 18/19 for looks and 0-60 was slower by
0.39999 (gtech) went with Light Flywheel and short gears gained 0.61 off 0 - 60 times avg over 3 runs . I am not a serious track person, so the diff without the mods didn't matter as much....but then again my car is sc----SO I am sure that more then make up the diff vs stock.........

ITS A BUMMER WHEN YOU DRIVE SOMEONE ELSE CAR THEN REALIZE YOURS IS A LIL LESS THEN PERFECT....happens all the time...

Change to OEM for track days if needed

 

[docjohn]

The other small details we sometimes forget when driving opn(other peoples nsx):wink: that can make a difference in feel is having ac on,tcs on,worn tires will add nvh so much so you might think the car is outa wack.

 

[BD]

Swap wheels and drive again.:wink:

When you go from stock to those giant 18/19, you are slowing the car down and potentially have some over steers.

When I borrowed a set of Volk from local primer for the car to be use in FF4, I noticed the car drove terribly.

 

[striker525]

I'm happy with my 17/18

 

[tosugrad]

Its the wheels.

 

[nis350]

My brother and I both own NSX's. Mines a 91, his a 92. His is completely stock while mines has comptech exhaust, bilstein w/ eibach, RPS clutch, and Volk wheels. But when we traded cars for a day I noticed his was a noticeably quicker than mines. He said he noticed mines was slower too. It felt like his just picked up faster.

My NSX doesn't have any weird noises or anything wrong that I know of, could it be the mods that make it seem slower? Could my VTEC not be working?

I once drove a completely stock 91 and it also seemed faster than mine with eibach & 17/18 wheels.

The ride was also much smoother....

 

[latzke]

Just weighed my wheels with tires. Rear is 19" and it weighed 56.4 pounds

Unsprung mass has a very detrimental effect on acceleration and handling on a high performance automobile designed around handling.

I think the larger diameter/circumference of the wheels has a lot more impact on acceleration than the added weight.

 

[Tony Montoya]

I see a future price increase for stock 91 wheels.:biggrin:

 

[sgvnsxrated]

I guess it's time to start looking into buying some 17/18 wheels. Or maybe mod it more to offset the difference. Can't be driving around knowing my little brother's NSX is faster. :biggrin:

 

[Vega$ NSX]

According to this unofficial test, the difference in wheel weights was nearly negligible. At least in my mind it doesn’t seem to explain the large difference as described by the OP. Even in my own official tests between super heavy 3 piece SSR’s vs. super light Volks, I noticed no appreciable difference.

My speculation would be a combination of wheel weights, coupled with differences between engine specs and that the OP hadn’t taken his massive morning dump, whereas his brother did. Also the dead hooker in the trunk didn’t help either. :tongue:

 

[Big_D]

Maybe your air filter or fuel injectors are clogged.