Lucky you, slow day at work! I've got the time this morning to really get into this. :smile:
Question is, if you had to do it all again (and money is an object) would you go with a SC and its relative ease or would you stick with turbo and go nuts?
Hell if I had to do it all over again, I would have never bought the NSX, did any mods, and bought a Lambo G instead. :smile: But I don't regret what I did. Everything has value. Do I have a pretty unique and crazy fast NSX that will keep up with just about anything on the road. Yup. Did I learn more about the NSX then I ever thought I would. Yup. Did I learn a lot from the frustrations and headaches of the turbo build. Yup. The point being is that you will always get something out of what ever path you take and it will always be a learning experience. Will the turbo kit come with more complication and problems than an SC? Possibly. Will you be able to put out more power with a turbo than SC. Yes. It's all a trade off. There are no free lunches in life. If you want to run with the big boys, you'll need to pay to play. Not just money, but time, energy, frustration etc. A turbo setup can possibly have more risk of issues than a SC. But it will have more power potential. That's the tradeoff. You have to ask yourself, is it worth that tradeoff? Also, note that there is an exponential scale of complications/problems versus pushing the limits of power. To get 400 whp, is not super difficult. To get 500 whp, it becomes a lot harder and a lot more expensive. To get 600 whp it get's really hard and really expensive. To get to 700 whp... well hope you have some sponsors... :smile:
I have narrowed down my turbo selection to:
To be frank/honest with you, I wouldn't be so concerned with the actual kit. I've seen enough on these kits that I don't think you can go terribly wrong with any of them. Are some more efficient or have better weld quality? Sure, possibly. However, weld quality and design isn't going to necessarily going to blow up your engine. Your tune or a malfunctioning part, like fuel pump, will blow up your engine. Turbo kits are just pieces of metal and parts. For the most part they use the same/similar pre-manufacturered parts. They all purchase a pre-made blow off valve, turbo, wastegate etc. All that's left is the interconnecting tubing. So the only real distinguishing aspect is the quality of the welds of the interconnecting tubing and the rough design. Some design are marginally better than others, but really they all essentially work. If there was a fundamental flaw in the design of a setup, it would be exposed right away. These are all proven turbo designs and any one you pick should be fine. Think of it this way. A turbo kit is like a car. There are many cars out there and some are slightly better than others, but for the most part you get what you pay for. Your tuning is like the driver. The car itself isn't going to blow up or wreck itself. The driver is in control of that. If the driver is bad, no matter how nice the car is, he can still wrap it around a tree. Conversely a good driver can make the most of a crappy car. The bottom line, don't fret over which kit to buy. Pick one that has good support, good quality, good price, good instructions and if one supplier is close by (bonus!)
1. The NSX is my daily driver - so I would like for it to feel comfortable
2. If I am spending this much money I would like to see serious power, even if I don't always use it.
3. I do use my car aggressively - and I always feel like its lacking acceleration... car looks fast and just isnt
4. Reliability is important to me, I can't be tinkering with it constantly
5. I plan on having either cody at lovefab or chris at SOS do the install and tune.
6. I have a targa top, and love taking it off, so if I go with a SC'er Id need to put it in the trunk I guess
7. I have a 3.2L with 41,700mi (97)
1. You can have a turbo'd NSX as a daily driver. If you stay off boost, the car will act very similar to stock. But as you add more power it does complicate things. And remember there are just other things you have to keep in mind. Typical turbo will not pass emissions. They are loud. You can gain speed much faster than expected.
2. Serious power is all relative. When I first started 400 whp was serious power. 6 months later 450 whp was serious power, 6 months later, 500 whp was serious power. Fast forward to today and 550-600 whp isn't cutting it. Here's the thing, the cost/complication goes up exponentially as you add power. Something to consider. Say you want something like 550+ whp. Well to be safe you should have something like 1,000+ cc fuel injectors. Those are huge because they need to be sized to flood the bejesus out of the engine with fuel for wide open throttle. But think about it, just how good do you think 1,000+ cc fuel injectors are going to be at idle or partial throttle (which is 95% of the time). Not great. It's like trying to water your plants with a fire hose. Like I said, there are always trade offs. If you are expecting a 500+ whp beast but also a compliant, comfortable, fuel efficient, daily driver, then get a GTR. But trying to transform an NSX into one is not easy nor is very cheap. The big breaking point is around the 400-450 whp mark. At that point you need to consider building your engine (piston, sleeves, rods etc.) That is expensive but will give you the peace of mind that the engine can hold that power reliably. The next level is around 525-550 where you need to consider axels and transmission.
3. Yeah a turbo will cure that.
4. Again tradeoffs. If you tinker with your car, you will HAVE to get used to additional hassles. It comes with the territory. I'll put it to you this way. If you had a wheel, then all you have to worry about is if that wheel broke. If you added an axel to that wheel, then you have to worry about the wheel or the axel breaking, in addition to the interface between the wheel and axel. Adding one part added two more things you need to worry about. When you add a turbo, you are adding multiple parts. Therefore you are adding hundreds, if not thousands, of additional things that could possibly go wrong. Throw in a tune, and now you've added a bonus kicker multiplier of variables. In summary, greater reliability, less power. Less reliability, more power.
5. No direct experience with either of them, but both seem very competent and reliable installers. I would have no reservations with using either one of them.
On top of whatever advice you have to offer, please answer these two questions:
1. Would you upgrade the suspension, brakes, clutch first.. then do the turbo?
2. Did you install the SOS sport clutch - how do you like it?
1. If you can afford it, I would do it all at the same time.
2. I have the RPS twin disc clutch, which SOS basically name branded. It is an excellent choice for turbo cars. I love it.
Sorry, I realize this post is all over the place. There was so much more I wanted to say and mention, but my alzheimers/ADHD/dyslexia/sleep deprivation kicked in and I forgot what I was going to say. I hope so far what I wrote helps, but if you have additional questions, just post them here. I think what should help is if you know exactly what your goal is: i.e. 500 whp, budget etc. Let me know exactly what those are and I'll tell you the best way to get there based on my trial and errors (many errors). :smile:
