nsx- gt
great question
-when i purchased the car i prefered the pop up headlights and i wanted as low miles as possible, no paintwork, na2 (6 speed, 3.2l) white nsx with black interior. as i modified it i realized first that i prefered the 02+ rear valence, then i realized i liked the newer side skirts and door extensions, and finally i realized that i liked the front end. Most non nsx owners i believe like the pop ups, but i think as you own the car and then the longer you look at it, the more you can fall for the 02+ look. that is what happend to me.
keep in mind i also own a stock 05 nsx that i'm leaving alone. here are my observations
Advantages to starting with a 97-01 na2 and converting the front
-i don't like how the factory attached the door extensions on the 02-05 cars. they used ds tape at the top, with 6 or so clips to firmly hold the extensions to the car. the problem is that when you look down the side of the door you can see the dimples in the extensions where they clips hold them to the car. when you put the factory extensions on a pre-02 nsx you use ds tape only to hold them on, so they are perfectly smooth and the fit and finish is much better.
-I don't like how the factory rear under spoiler (the small spoiler underneath the rear wing) is attached on the 02+ cars. in the center their is a 4.5 inch round hole where the center attaches to the trunk lid. this is way over kill and the nsxr doesnt have this piece. (so you cant get rid of it easly on an 02-05 nsx) the nsx gt did have it.
-my o5 nsx and any 01 + nsx is ulev and they (like the s2000s of the same vintage) used and auxillary air pump and air injection to reduce emissions. you hear this air pump from time to time when you drive the car (especially at idle at a light) i prefer how my car does not have this air injection. My 08 s2000 does not have it (it was done away with in 06 and if they would have had an 06 nsx would not have had it either. I prefer not having it on my white nsx and wish my 05 didn't have this system, but in reality it is not that big of a deal
-the 97-99 nsx uses the same part number 6 speed as the 04-05 nsx.. which seems to have reduced incidends of rough shifting.
-the fit and finish of my 0em honda dry carbon nsx-r hood is half the hood to fender gap as a 02-05 stock nsx aluminum hood.
advantages of starting with an 02+ na2 nsx
-i prefer the silver stiching on the dash and door panels of my 05 and any 02-05 nsx
-i prefer the lighter silver dash and door panel trim compared to the darker trim on the pre o2 cars.
-i prefer the smaller, simpler and improved abs of the 01 and newer nsx.. i will add this to my nsx-r project (this is still on my must do list)
-i would have preferred to not have to modify my headlight buckets to fit the 02+ headlights. (the 02+ nsx has a slightly reshapped headlight bucket for the height adjuster on the headlight) you can avoid modifing your pre 02 nsx bucket by not having headlight height adjustment, but to me that is sillly so i modified mine.. wish i wouldn't have had to do this, but my change looks oem.
-from a purely econonic standpoint it is cheaper to sell the early car and just buy an 02+ car if using all honda oem parts is important to you (i have 20K in the front end bumper, beam, dry cf duct, headlights, honda hids etc nsx-r hood- most of the money was the hood, and then an extra 2k on the sides and 1k on the rear).. it is way more cost effective to just start with an 02+ nsx versus converting.
but in the end i'm happy with how it came together and the fit and finish on my nsx-r clone is better then my unmolested 05.
thanks and please keep the comments coming[/QUOTE]
Great answer
That just answered alot of my questions?
The only one I would like to re ask was:-the 97-99 nsx uses the same part number 6 speed as the 04-05 nsx.. which seems to have reduced incidends of rough shifting.
Now what about 01 - 03?
Thanks Shawn