Time Attack CTSC NSX

[Dimer]

I already have two build threads, but the last one dates back from 2009, so I thought it might be easier to make a new one

Here's the long story short: My NSX used to belong to my dad, NSX Prime member gerardvansanten. We used to travel across Europe to race in the European NSX & Honda sportscar Trophee.

Going up L'Eau Rouge (2003)

Spa-Franchorchamps (2004)

Going up L'Eau Rouge (2005)

Then in 2005 my dad crashed the NSX with over 200km/h against a wall at Blanchimont. With the help of our amazing team we fixed up the car and even took the win!

After the crash we decided to build the car up again with a widebody. I ordered a Taitec 2000 front bumper, Taitec rear fenders, Yokota front fenders, Marga Hills sidesteps and a Taitec GT500 wing.

Not long after the rebuild my dad's back got worse and he couldn't drive the NSX anymore (he just bought a standard '91 NSX, so I guess he will be posting here anytime soon again ). Now it was my turn to drive this incredible car, a true honor! I quickly added some new parts from Downforce (diffuser, intake scoop and some other carbon bits) and a Taitec C3 Model 2 exhaust.


Honda NSX by dimervansanten, on Flickr


Honda NSX rig shot by dimervansanten, on Flickr


NSX-2 by dimervansanten, on Flickr


NSX-3 by dimervansanten, on Flickr


NSX-4 by dimervansanten, on Flickr


NSX-5 by dimervansanten, on Flickr


NSX-7 by dimervansanten, on Flickr


Honda NSX by dimervansanten, on Flickr

But then the trouble started. First the starter broke off:

We quickly fixed it, but all of a sudden I lost my clutch pressure. It turned out the master and slave cilinder and the clutch line were shot:

I hoped this would be it, but when while replacing the transmission oil we found parts of a broken ring. Could this be.....

This was quite a setback. But then Rising Sun Performance came along and asked me if I would like to join their Time Attack team. This car was built to race, so I didn't have to think twice and I sent the car to RSP to get it ready for the Toyo Tires Time Attack.They replaced most gaskets and pulled out the gearbox and sent me these pictures:

Not only the snap ring broke, but the clutch plates needed to be replaced as well. They sent the gearbox to a Honda transmission specialist to get it fully rebuilt. We bought a brand new transmission casing (both sides) and new gears and an extra used gearbox. Monday they will receive the new parts and will start building one good gearbox out of all the parts. In the meantime I have ordered new clutch plates and have received an AEM ECU from Science Of Speed. Together with a new fuel pump, 550cc injectors and a high boost pulley, this will get installed and by the end of next week the car will get tuned. We also have a carbon fibre splitter waiting to be cut to measure.

Today I have received new wheels. Varrstoen 18x10.5 in the rear and 18x9.5 in front. With Toyo R888 wrapped around them. Here we are test fitting the wheels:

The first race of the season is next sunday at the TT Circuit Assen. But first we will have a race against the clock, because there is much to be done. We hope to transform the car into a real Time Attack beast, after I gain some experience on the track, but I will keep my car street legal, as I want to keep driving it on the street.

I will keep you guys posted on the developments

Speclist of the Time Attack NSX:

Engine

Comptech Supercharger
Gruppe M carbon/kevlar intake
Downforce intake scoop
Super Taitec C3 Model 2 exhaust
Comptech headers
Comptech testpipes
Comptech fuel pressure regulator
AEM ECU
550cc injectos
Walbro fuel pump
High boost pulley
Close ratio gears
Exedy ceramic clutch

Exterior

Taitec JGTC 2000 front
Custom carbon splitter
Taitec JGTC 2000 rear fenders
Taitec GT500 carbon wing
Yokota JGTC front fenders
Marga Hills sideskirts
Gruppe M carbon sidevent
Downforce carbon GT diffuser
Downforce carbon decklid
Downforce carbon bezel

Suspension

Tein RA coilovers
Dali racing race swaybars front
Dali racing race swaybars rear

Wheels and Brakes

Varrstoen 18x10.5
Varrstoen 18x9.5
Toyo R888
Porsche GT2 front calipers
Brembo discs
Movit steel brakelines

Interior

Sparco EvoII seats
Sabelt 4 point belts
Sparco pedals
Momo steering wheel
Zanardi shift knob

 

[docjohn]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

very nice!good luck with the series.also apreciate the review of the car as a historical perspective for new readers.

 

[RYU]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

This was a fun read. Can't wait to hear more about your progress

 

[myclue]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

good luck with everything!

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Some updates

I just got the new wheels in (wrapped around with Toyo R888's):

Just in time before the first Time Attack race, Rising Sun Performance installed the new gearbox. As you have read in the first post, we have been facing some transmission problems. Not only did the snap-ring broke, some gears and synchromesh rings were also damaged. Luckily we could source a brand new OEM transmission case, bearings, gears, synchromesh rings and a starter on very short notice:

The Exedy carbon clutch plates were totally worn, so we had to replace these as well. Another challenge, as the delivery period for these plates is quite long. Luckily Exedy was willing to ship the plates with lightning speed and we got them within a week.

Today we will be tuning the car, so we had to finish a couple of things, like installing the Walbro fuel pump, new spark plugs and smaller supercharger pulley. We will put the 550cc injectors and the AEM ECU in when the car is on the dyno. After the new gearbox was mounted we haven’t had the time to start the car, so we gave it ago yesterday. For some reason the brand new starter jammed. Eventually we had to swap the motor with the old one. Once the starter was in place we could fire up the engine. It was great to hear the NSX growl after such a long time. After testing the gears we started working on the fuel pump.

After everything was in place we started on the front splitter. First we had to make a design on a large cardboard. This was easier said then done. We took off the front bumper and laid it down no the cardboard and started drawing.

After a while we had a shape we were pleased with and we cut it out. After placing the bumper back on the cardboard, it didn’t fit, so we had to make some changes to our design. I will hope to post a finished product today.

 

[RYU]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Love reading about your build but I believe you image host is asking for a password. I cant see images

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

I have fixed the pics

On April 1st the first official Time Attack race was held at the TT Circuit Assen. For the last month, Rising Sun Performance has worked very hard to get the NSX ready for this race. The transmission was fully rebuilt, the new ceramic clutch plates were installed and more modifications were made. Saturday we wanted to finish the last few things, like tuning the motor, aligning the suspension and cutting out the carbon fibre splitter. For still unknown reasons one of the coil packs stopped working at 4.000rpm, but when we changed everything back to how it was, everything worked just fine. After testing the car all day, we decided to call it a day. In the next week we will try to resolve this problem and get the car tuned properly. Because tuning took longer than we hoped, there wasn’t enough time left to get the suspension properly aligned and the splitter cut. In the end the suspension was aligned by eye and we hoped for the best!

Since this was the first time I took the car on the track, we decided to take it slow in the warm-up round. My dad also competes in the same class with his Honda NSX, so I just followed him to get to now the track and the car at the same time. After seeing him race all these years, the feeling was undescribeble to drive behind him at the track. But I couldn’t resist to overtake him when I had the chance. Overall the car felt great. It had lots of power and was very responsive and felt very stable in the corners.

Chasing my dad:

In the qualifying round I felt more confident with the car and the track so I wanted to put down some fast laps. After the second lap I suddenly saw the engine temperature rising in the corners, but on the straights the temperature went down again. In the next lap the rev limiter already kicked in at 7.000rpm and the temperature went up again so I slowed down and drove the car back to the pit box.

When I drove down the pit-lane I saw lots of steam coming out of the engine room. Upon inspection we found that the radiator was damaged and something was blocking the flow of the coolant. One side was still cold, while the other side was boiling. We didn’t have a spare radiator, so we had to call it quits. We hope to receive an aluminum Koyo race radiator this month, so we will be back up and running soon. Next race is at the end of April at the legendary race track Zandvoort. This week we will tune the engine again and have the car properly aligned.

More pictures can be found here: http://racing.dimervansanten.com/media/#419

 

[topolone]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

nice report , I'd really like to see your car . she is A W E S O M E !

 

[racer9x]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

congratulations, car looks great and it must be awsome to be on the track with youre dad. Will be looking forward for an update of the next event, hope the new radiator takes care of the cooling problem.

 

[Nefarious]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Simply an awesome thread. I love the pictures and reading about the racing. Looking forward to future updates. The car looks beautify with its wide body and concave wheels.

 

[wahsaihin]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Driving the car as it was meant to be driven. That is beauty in itself!

 

[Honcho]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

What a great thread! I remember watching your dad's videos of racing the NSX at Spa in the rain- awesome!

 

[TURBO2GO]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

I love following your story, your father was great on here so I am glad he will be back with another NSX. Why didn't you upgrade to a 6 speed while at it?

 

[PHOEN$X]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Amazing. Keep up the good work!

 

[CB72]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Hi Dimer,

I used to race with your father in those years and I'm glad to see that you will continue the tradition.
After following your father's example, I also installed a CTSC in my NSX but as you will quickly notice the performance will drop significantly after a few hot laps
The reason is heat soak by the compressor...
I moved on to a LoveFab stage 2 turbo and discovered a new world.
No problem holding up with the 997 GT3s anymore.
Best of luck and my greetings to your father:smile:
John

PS: are you planning to come to the Le Mans outing in August this year?

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Thanks for the nice replies

It's really cool to race together with my dad. I'm really happy he found an NSX that he can enjoy again. I'm sure he will make an appearance here on Prime anytime soon.

We have thought about installing a 6 speed, but I got a very good deal on a complete 5 speed and a brand new transmission casing with extra gears, synchromeshes, bearings, starter-motor and other parts and within The Netherlands as well. So we could pick it up within an hour once the deal was made.

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Hi Dimer,

I used to race with your father in those years and I'm glad to see that you will continue the tradition.
After following your father's example, I also installed a CTSC in my NSX but as you will quickly notice the performance will drop significantly after a few hot laps
The reason is heat soak by the compressor...
I moved on to a LoveFab stage 2 turbo and discovered a new world.
No problem holding up with the 997 GT3s anymore.
Best of luck and my greetings to your father:smile:
John

PS: are you planning to come to the Le Mans outing in August this year?

Hi John!

Yes, I remember your car I have to check, since I'm on holiday in August. Maybe my dad will go. Over the years he has always stayed in contact with Jean-Claude.

I have been thinking of going turbo as well. But first I have to get used to the car and make some fast laps as it is now. But the turbo is calling

 

[A.S. Motorsport]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

To bad your radiator is broken, RSP called me today.
I hope you can get everything running before the 28th.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

But the turbo is calling

So is some safety gear... you guys are really putting yourselves at some level of risk each time without enough safety gear. I don't care that much if the NSX isn't around anymore, I do care if Dimer isn't.

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

So is some safety gear... you guys are really putting yourselves at some level of risk each time without enough safety gear. I don't care that much if the NSX isn't around anymore, I do care if Dimer isn't.

Yes, you are right. The next big update will also be a full roll cage. In the class Im driving now a roll cage is not mandatory. If I move up to a higher class it will be. Like I said, I don't need more power. First I need to get to know the car more and get comfortable with it as it is.

 

[Nick.]

Beautiful, great work man!

 

[Dimer]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Yesterday we had race number two of the season. I'm not sure where to start... In the end we had some problems again on the dyno, it seems one of the injectors is broken. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to get it fixed and tuned again, so again, we set everything back to OEM. Another sat back was the radiator. Koyo informed us that the radiator was delayed and we only had three days before the race. Luckily an NSX Prime member (PINK_DANNY) from Belgium had a spare radiator I could borrow, so that was one problem out of the way. Now we only had to get the car aligned and have the splitter mounted. When I was at the shop I remembered a strange sound coming from my right rear wheel, so we decided to check out the CV joint. Bad news... the bearings were broken. Fortunately I had a spare CV joint, which wasn't in the best shape, but we managed to make one 'ok' joint so we could race. But it has to be replaced with a new one. Once everything was fixed there was no more time to get the car aligned or have the splitter mounted..

During practice I wanted to start slowly and get a feel of the track and the car. The car felt very stable and fast. After I took over two/three cars I had room and stepped on it a bit more. Then on the straight at about 200km/h the engine cut off, my speedo needle dropped and I lost brake pressure. I managed to steer the car to a safe place on the grass and I had to wait for the tow truck. In the pitbox we found the problem, the fuel pump fuse jumped. We replaced it for a stronger one and I was good to go for the qualifications. This time I didn't even could finish one lap.. At 200km/h the same thing happened and I had to be towed back again. It meant the end of the racing day. In the next days/weeks we will check everything and try to find the cause of this problem.

My dad also took his car out on the track for Time Attack and qualified 2nd in his class! Then he got a bit too exited and in the flying lap in the finals his brakes locked up and he went off track.

It was a very fun, exciting and great day none the less. We have a lot of work to do for the next event

A friend of mine made a small movie, not a lot of action, since I only drove three laps over the whole day...

http://youtu.be/J0G-p42HjsA

Pics:

Dad:

 

[nsxinohio]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

what size tires are you running on your new varsttoen setup? i ordered advans in similar sizes and love the way your tires look on the wheels

 

[felixR]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Nice update. Subscribed.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Re: RSP Time Attack CTSC NSX

Great pics. Hope you get it all sorted out.