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One of the criticisms I keep hearing about my decision to go with the Comptech wide body is that it would add a LOT of weight and make my car much more bovine (or porcine). So, out of curiosity, I put it on my friend's digital scales and even with the relatively large wheels and tires (18x12 rear w/335s, 17x10 front w/235s), it weighed in at 2948 lbs. I have done nothing in particular to lighten the car, except ditch the spare, which I can't use anyway. I don't think that's especially heavy for a daily driver NSX.
 
Not bad David.

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I wouldn't care if the comptech kit added 1000 pounds to the car... it looks too hella cool. Definitly on my future to-do list. David can you tell us about how much install/paint cost you for the kit? Thanks
 
David,

Is the CT wide body kit a simple bolt on kit? Or do you have to do some bonding of some sort? I would think it's simply a matter of removing the OEM fenders, bumper, spoiler, and what not, then installing the "new" parts. I wish CT would show the installation process.

Thanks

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Richard
NSXTASY
 
The fiberglass is heavier than the aluminum. David, are there any other weight reductions done to your car other than removing the spare such as different header system, removing cats, smaller exhaust...etc? I believe you have brembo aluminum calipers which are much lighter than stock calipers, which weigh around 15-20 pounds each. The larger wheels with tires alone should add at least 20-40 pounds and thats not including the weight of the body kit. However the added weight of the body kit should be no more than 10-20 pounds.

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NSX Modified
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[This message has been edited by NSXMODIFIED (edited 01 April 2001).]

[This message has been edited by NSXMODIFIED (edited 01 April 2001).]
 
Originally posted by FAQ Nazi:
the added weight of the body kit should be no more than 10-20 pounds.

According to the FAQ, the full body kit adds 65 pounds to the weight of the car and reduces top speed by 7-10 mph.

Unless there's an error in the FAQ (which occasionally happens, but not often).

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Accessories/bodykits.htm

I guess I was conservative with my estimates then. My estimates were based on the GT NSX Fiberglass body kit.


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NSX Modified
17222 Gothard Suite E
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714)842-9135
Larry Garcia(NSX Master Tech)
Alex Chiu(Parts& Appointments)
 
Originally posted by DOHC3L:
David can you tell us about how much install/paint cost you for the kit? Thanks

I can't give you an accurate estimate of the installation, as I had it done under special circumstances. I was bumped on the freeway in the rain and the car spun into the guard rail, hitting every body panel twice. They were not damaged very much, mostly creases, but it was enough that they all needed to be replaced. The CT kit cost less than the factory replacement parts for my situation, so I got it instead. Ended up costing me about $2K out of pocket after USAA paid for the estimate to put it back to stock. The kit itself cost me $7K.

It bolts into the stock points, but you also need to bond it. Fiberglass does not have the same torsional strength as aluminum, so you want to mount it using all of the contact area. On a bodywork scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it as an 8 in difficulty. Any really good shop used to working with glass could do it, but I wouldn't trust your corner collision specialist. One of the main things to do (as with any fiberglass work) is properly prep the panels so they take paint well. The last thing you want is to be messing with pinholes after the first coat of paint.

I have not done anything else to lighten my car except lose the spare. I have a pretty light exhaust, however, as it is just pipes and a turbo. That probably helps a bit, but the air to liquid intercooler and the extra oil system parts probably offset most of the gains from the exhaust.

As far as the few mph it might lose at top speed, that is just not relevant to me. I rarely run the car over 150 mph and if I was after absolute top end, I would not have put in the R&P. Also, I think I have enough hp to make up the loss that would appear on a stock car.

[This message has been edited by David (edited 01 April 2001).]
 
Curb weight is 3010 lbs. So I would say your car is doing pretty well.

I'm shooting for 2750 eventually, I put some weight reduction analysis here: www.scienceofspeed.com/project_nsx/ (scroll down to 'weight reduction'

-- Chris

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I also like to remove excess weight in my cars, but we are all missing one important weight savings measure. How many of us can afford to lose 10-20 lbs? This is just another thing to think about in the search for gaining extra horsepower , and the best part is that it cost nothing at all! Well, it looks like I'm back on Atkins in the morning.
 
There is not much weight reductioin that can be done for free. You cna loose the spare, the engine cover, take out all the carpets and remove about 50lbs. and maybe more. After that, you would have to replace heavier stock parts with lighter aftermarket parts. Even weight reduction is not free.

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David:

How much gas did you have in the car when you weighed it? Do you have the stock seats? What suspension are you running?
 
The tank was pretty low, probably an eigth full, as I wanted the weight of the car itself.

The figure usually published in the specs is "curb weight", which includes full fluids. When the gas tank holds over a hundred pounds of fuel, this is important to keep in mind to permit apples-to-apples comparisons.
 
Originally posted by nsxtasy:
The figure usually published in the specs is "curb weight", which includes full fluids. When the gas tank holds over a hundred pounds of fuel, this is important to keep in mind to permit apples-to-apples comparisons.

That is why I didn't call it curb weight. Also, I was interested in what the car weighed as it would run at the track, where I would not have a topped off tank.
 
I have some additional info on weight savings I can share after spending some time at Larry's shop yesterday.
He's big on retaining the value of a car and he suggested a cheap weight reduction that pulls off at least 70lbs with no visible change. He told me this came about while working on weight reduction for Doug's car a couple years back.

This only works for older models. The front and rear bumper beams from the newer models (NSX-T) are made of aluminum versus steel. They did this to save weight for the NSX-T. According to Larry they can be replaced for less than a few hundred dollars. He showed me their location in the service manual. I thought he was referring to the outside bumpers... but these are just an aluminum beam on the inside of the bumpers (sort of, hard to explain).

I told him to hurry up and get me some so I can be his first customer.
biggrin.gif


I'm looking for any way to save weight without devaluing the car and this sounds like a great idea. 70 lbs is a lot of weight for such a low cost.
You're still putting in stock parts, just from a newer model. Once I do this with him we will make sure to do a full weight comparison and I'll post it here. If it really saves as much as he says and the cost ends up being low, it could be a cheap weight saver for a lot of us.

Also bought the magnesium GruppeM shift knob while I was there. I love it!
 
Originally posted by ilya:

Once I do this with him we will make sure to do a full weight comparison and I'll post it here. If it really saves as much as he says and the cost ends up being low, it could be a cheap weight saver for a lot of us.

Remember that nothing of a substantial nature (parts wise) is "cheap" on an NSX. Someone in SF did this a few years ago and I think his net weight savings was ~ 30 lbs total for both ends added together. It will be interesting to see what you come up with.


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Originally posted by NSXGOD:
Remember that nothing of a substantial nature (parts wise) is "cheap" on an NSX. Someone in SF did this a few years ago and I think his net weight savings was ~ 30 lbs total for both ends added together. It will be interesting to see what you come up with.

To answer my own post/question, here is the info you need - I will refrain from making any comments that I might be thinking about Larry's price estimating skills.

Front Bumper Piece:
$391.12 List / $293.34 Dali Price
Rear Bumper Piece:
$614.94 List / $461.21 Dali Price
or both for $740.00 Dali combo price

all prices plus labor and tax in CA of course - if Larry can do that for "a few hundred dollars" as you quoted him before, I'll be next in line after you. I'd bet that if you got out the door for $1,000.00 it would be a killer deal.

JMO,


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