'91 to '97 and now back to a '93.

[PKim]

Well guys,
As some of you know I've had a '91 that was totaled back in 2005 (friend was driving, long story:frown. this allowed me to get into a '97 which I got in NY and had it shipped to CA. Loved the car but I did not like the T-top, I'm more of a coupe type person and I really didn't like the squeaks and wind noise at high speeds. I also knew that I wanted to go FI, so I decided to sell it and get a clean '91-'94. I ended up picking up a '93 of all places E-bay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280527994548&viewitem=
I know, I normally would not buy on e-bay but I talked with the owner, and John was awesome. http://onemansblog.com/2006/10/29/the-nsx-begins-the-journey-home/ He started the onemansblog. Great guy, even gave me a garmin navigator so I don't get lost on my trip home from Texas. Took me a little less than 19hrs.
Well since owning a '91 and this '93, I can objectively give an opinion of NA1 vs. NA2. I'm not going to debate the fixed head light vs. pop ups. I've only owned pop ups and I think that although the fixed headlights definately makes the car more modern the lines look better on the pop ups.
The 2 main thing that I mostly missed about the '97 is the 6 speed and power steering. I think these are a big improvement over the NA1 that I took for granted. Definately the 6 speed really makes the car feel faster since your always in the powerband and I forgot how much I hated the long 2nd gear on the NA1. Powersteering is really convenant for parking and slow speed turning. I would say that the NA2 is a better car except for being a t-top. I guess for me the ultimate would be a NA2 Coupe:biggrin:
Here are my mod plans for the '93
1. CTSC
2. aftermarket Exhaust/headers
3. Rear '02 valence with mode 4 diffuser
4. NSXR carbon fiber hood.
5. KW V3 Suspension.
6. 6-speed trans? JDM short gear? still thinking about it.
7. Chassis front brace?
8. Wheels 17/18 really like the Advan RZ
9. BBK prefer stoptech

If anyone has these items for sale let me know.. :wink:

This is it so far, will let you know how the upgrade goes...
Picture of the car leaving Texas, and then home all washed and cleaned.

 

[PKim]

KW V3 suspension upgrade. I got the suspension from Peter from Downforce http://downforce.biz/cart/home.php?cat=265, he was great to deal with as always, also ended up buying an '02 rear valence, and a downforce intake scoop.
KW suspension took me about 3.5 hrs
downforce scoop took me about 30 mins

Pics car lowered on KW.:biggrin:

 

[oscar_driver]

Hot photo, you are really enjoying yourself ha? very nice write up! *subscribing*

 

[tbromley]

How do you like the V3s? Are they a vast improvement?

 

[PKim]

Tim,
I'll have to let you know when I get to the track. I've only taken it out for a test drive to make sure everything is okay. First of all, I've had Teins, SOS JIC and bilsteins and have to say these do feel like OEM. the spring rate on these are not harsh. stiffer springs do not necessarily equate to better suspension, we all know that there is a balance. I will need to make some adjustments to the compression and rebound but so far, I'm very happy with it. The Teins are very bouncy. The JIC are nice but they are thicker shocks and mine use to rub on the tie rods.
I think these are much better than OEM, you can see that with OEM the nsx looked like a 4x4. The V3 is height, compression and rebound adjustable. I think if you just want to lower the car I would go with bilstein on a lower perch and be done with it.

 

[Soap]

Pkim I love your 97 blk/blk that you had for sale. It was very well done in my opinion. if I had the $$ it would be sitting in my garage right now. I am excited to see what your 93 will turn out to be. good luck and post as many pictures as possible.

 

[PKim]

Thanks Soap,
I kinda miss my '97. funny how you start missing things when they are gone. Hopefully the '93 project will be fun. I'm really excited about doing the CTSC thing. The '97 had a lot of little upgrades that you really don't notice. ie. brakes were better, 6 speed, powersteering. But I can tell you that this '93 is just as clean if not cleaner than my prior nsx.. :smile:

 

[N Spec]

You got one hell of a deal. Congrats.

 

[rbilder]

Yeah very nice 93'

It looks great.

I use to think I would want the NSX-T, but now after I hear about some of the issues, I believe I'm happy owning the coupe.

But there are days it would be very nice to run around with the top off.

Then again, I have already had some skin cancer removed from one of my ears, so I'm best left covered up :smile:

- Rod

 

[RYU]

i love your car but I think i'm envious of your garage space!

 

[PKim]

RYU,
Thank you for your complement on my garage. I built it several years ago, prior to that all I had was a 2 car carport for 7 years..
I turned the car port into a media room, and built a detached garage. I figure if I build the garage might as well build the biggest that the space will allow it turned out to be 1700sqft. Yes! I love it. and guess what? my wife likes it too...:biggrin: she has the smaller side all to herself. If anyone's interested I can post more pics.

 

[jorligan]

Well guys,
As some of you know I've had a '91 that was totaled back in 2005 (friend was driving, long story:frown. this allowed me to get into a '97 which I got in NY and had it shipped to CA. Loved the car but I did not like the T-top, I'm more of a coupe type person and I really didn't like the squeaks and wind noise at high speeds. I also knew that I wanted to go FI, so I decided to sell it and get a clean '91-'94. I ended up picking up a '93 of all places E-bay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280527994548&viewitem=
I know, I normally would not buy on e-bay but I talked with the owner, and John was awesome. http://onemansblog.com/2006/10/29/the-nsx-begins-the-journey-home/ He started the onemansblog. Great guy, even gave me a garmin navigator so I don't get lost on my trip home from Texas. Took me a little less than 19hrs.
Well since owning a '91 and this '93, I can objectively give an opinion of NA1 vs. NA2. I'm not going to debate the fixed head light vs. pop ups. I've only owned pop ups and I think that although the fixed headlights definately makes the car more modern the lines look better on the pop ups.
The 2 main thing that I mostly missed about the '97 is the 6 speed and power steering. I think these are a big improvement over the NA1 that I took for granted. Definately the 6 speed really makes the car feel faster since your always in the powerband and I forgot how much I hated the long 2nd gear on the NA1. Powersteering is really convenant for parking and slow speed turning. I would say that the NA2 is a better car except for being a t-top. I guess for me the ultimate would be a NA2 Coupe:biggrin:
Here are my mod plans for the '93
1. CTSC
2. aftermarket Exhaust/headers
3. Rear '02 valence with mode 4 diffuser
4. NSXR carbon fiber hood.
5. KW V3 Suspension.
6. 6-speed trans? JDM short gear? still thinking about it.
7. Chassis front brace?
8. Wheels 17/18 really like the Advan RZ
9. BBK prefer stoptech

If anyone has these items for sale let me know.. :wink:

This is it so far, will let you know how the upgrade goes...
Picture of the car leaving Texas, and then home all washed and cleaned.

Nice list of upgrades. Good luck finding an NSX-R hood unless you go with a VIS hood which isn't as deep as the regular R hood. Maybe Downforce will start making them again otherwise, it is the Taitec (Unfinished bottom) or the Procar. I have the NSX-R brace with the STMPO rear brace and the STMPO front strut brace. The biggest difference was the strut brace. I also have the KW coilovers and the front compliance clamps so if you can get away with having only a single windshield wiper, I would really recommend the strut brace. The JDM short gears have broken in the past with high torque so you might want to be careful, factory 6 speed may be the best.
Tim

 

[PKim]

Hey Tim,
I already bought a downforce nsxr hood and Mike at MV design is putting it in, but I have to wait since he is so busy. As soon as I get it done I will post pics. Just the other day I bought the STMPO front chassis brace, I'm going to wait on the FSTB. What about the rear? do I need a stiffer sway or brace there? I know some are just running oem sway and going for stiffer sway on front. Chris at SOS is selling a used 6 speed with JDM gears, I'm thinking about that one. I only want to get about 400 bhp is that considered too much for a JDM short gear? thanks.

 

[jorligan]

Hey Tim,
I already bought a downforce nsxr hood and Mike at MV design is putting it in, but I have to wait since he is so busy. As soon as I get it done I will post pics. Just the other day I bought the STMPO front chassis brace, I'm going to wait on the FSTB. What about the rear? do I need a stiffer sway or brace there? I know some are just running oem sway and going for stiffer sway on front. Chris at SOS is selling a used 6 speed with JDM gears, I'm thinking about that one. I only want to get about 400 bhp is that considered too much for a JDM short gear? thanks.

Now I am jealous. I tried to buy the CF hood from Downforce and they said that they weren't available. I have a Taitec hood but wanted to have the finished bottom, painting the top. I have a Targa and the addition of the FSTB was a huge difference. I have NSX-R front sway bar and a Dali rear, front clamps, NSX-R front chassis, front and bottom with the KW. Changed to the Comptech rear brace and it helped. Changed that to the STMPO brace and that helped more. Added the FSTB and almost no cowl shake. More importantly, it tracks into turns much smoother, just feels more precise and the car is now really neutral. I really liked the neutrality of the Noble and was working to get something similar or possibly with slight oversteer. I would think that the JDM gears should be OK with 400 bhp but the 4.23 R pinion clearly seemed to be a weak link.

 

[PKim]

Added the STMPO front chasis bar. the only pita was removing and replacing the plastic shroud, everything else was easy. I painted the ac line black and moved the horn higher so it is not so obvious.

 

[CL65 Captain]

FYI: Bent my horns back so they are parallel to the ground.... the push on the horn hard and the bracket will bend. :smile:

 

[PKim]

hey captain,
I thought about that but decided to just raise it up, unless you get down and look up then you'll see it but if your standing it's pretty much hidden. I wonder if anyone has hooked up an aftermarket horn, the OEM horn noise is so lame, kinda stenotic..:frown: it has this little girl tone to it, "excuse me sir can you move out of the way?" tone. I'm looking more for a "get the &^%$#! out of my way".

 

[vtecNSX1]

man you're making me miss my nsx even more!

 

[PKim]

Derick,
What happened to your NSX? Does Nick have an NSX now?

 

[tbromley]

man you're making me miss my nsx even more!

Is it the car you miss or the girls???? I mean!

PKim, I'm feeling the need for something to add a bit of traction to the rear but the V3s might do that. I'm really interested in hearing how you car handles on the track! Good luck with it all.

 

[PKim]

I've waited almost 5 months to get these wheels. just arrived yesterday. Can't wait to put them on. Will post pics on the car soon. Got them from Dave at www.wheelsto.com I will post more pics when I get the wheels mounted...sorry for the tease.

Yokohama Advan Racing RZ
Vehicle: Acura NSX
Bolt Pattern: 5x114.3
Specification: 17 x 8 +37
Color/Finish: Dark Gun Metal

Advan RZ Yokohama Advan Racing RZ
Vehicle: Acura NSX
Bolt Pattern: 5x114.3
Specification: 18 x 10 +35
Color/Finish: Dark Gun Metal

Tires
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Specification:215/40/17
Specification: 275/35/18

 

[ashdatank]

your cars coming out great! can't wait to see the wheels on :biggrin:

 

[nbuch001]

Derick,
What happened to your NSX? Does Nick have an NSX now?

Yes I do and I am loving it! Sadly I fell victim to the snap ring. New transmission should be here next week:smile:

 

[Meeyatch1]

RYU,
Thank you for your complement on my garage. I built it several years ago, prior to that all I had was a 2 car carport for 7 years..
I turned the car port into a media room, and built a detached garage. I figure if I build the garage might as well build the biggest that the space will allow it turned out to be 1700sqft. Yes! I love it. and guess what? my wife likes it too...:biggrin: she has the smaller side all to herself. If anyone's interested I can post more pics.

Can you post those pictures of the garage for us to drool over, please?

 

[PKim]

Okay just updating some pics.
Carbon Fiber NSX-R Hood and '02 Rear Valence. these were both purchased from Downforce and I have to give two thumbs up to Peter, very nice to deal with and reliable. I like the downforce rear valence better than the OEM, I think that DF is more aggressive looking. Got the mode4 Diffuser. The first hood I got from Peter didn't fit right so he made me a new hood without the hardware holes. Mike at MV designz did all the work, he aligned the hardware to my car and drilled them perfectly. the fit is as good as OEM, no gaps or offsets. It took me awhile to get these done since Mike was so busy with LA car show and stuff but he fit me in and I have to say thanks, Mike.