Picked up my car last Friday and wanted to share my opinions on my new mods.
I. Quick background
- daily driver 1996 NSX-T
- no previous engine or drivetrain mods
- I've never driven a racing clutch before, so your experience may differ from mine
II. Mods and price (parts/labor)
- OEM JDM NSX-R short gears ($999/$1000)
- Exedy clutch ($1700/$188)
- Carbotech Panther Plus brake pads ($235/$145)
- Bridgestone S-03s 225/45YR-16 Fronts & 255/40YR-17 Rears ($722/$50)
III. Reviews
- OEM JDM NSX-R short gears : What more can I say...this is the way our cars should have been shipped in the first place. The gap between 1st and 2nd gear is reduced and the car is a lot more fun to drive. Highly recommended upgrade for those that can afford it. BTW - because the tranny was already open for the gears, the labor for the clutch was amazingly cheap.
- Exedy clutch : As mentioned before, this is the 1st racing clutch I've ever tried, so when I picked it up from the dealership, I couldn't even drive it. At first, it felt like an "on/off" clutch with no slip at all. But after about 100 miles or so of practice, either the clutch broke in or I adjusted my driving ways (or both) and I learned to really enjoy the feel. The clutch is actually not an on/off type and has a little bit of leeway to ease into. The sweet spot is CONSIDERABLY smaller on the Exedy than on a stock clutch, but it's a very streetable clutch IMO. Also, if you drive it hard, it really grabs strong and I'm sure it will perform wonderfully on the track. Another plus is that the pedal pressure is only slightly heavier than stock which I think is perfect. My biggest complaint is the horrendous clutch chatter. For those of you not in-the-know, clutch chatter sounds a little like hard diesel engine knock when you depress the clutch pedal. Depressing the clutch releases the pressure on the plates and they start rattling away. It's pretty embarrassing driving around in a very noticable car with a VERY noticable rattling. If Exedy can remove/reduce the clutch chatter, I would recommend it to everyone considering a new clutch. But as it stands, I'm getting a new stock clutch put back in. A small sidenote : Chris at scienceofspeed.com is installing an Exedy clutch on another car and said he would give me a call with the post-operation diagnosis. If he doesn't post them, I'll put his findings here as well.
- Carbotech Panther Plus brake pads : Effective and cheap little updgrade to add some extra stopping power. These pads flat out outperform the stock pads, but dust and wear the rotors a little more (see science of speed's handy little chart : http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/braking_performance_parts/NSX/carbotech/ . Also, I've heard that some race pads squeal, but I haven't heard one peep out of these Panthers yet. Unless something dramatic changes over time (i.e. they eat away my rotors or some study finds they cause cancer), I'll be sticking with these great pads from now on.
EDIT (9/26/2002) : After 2-3 more days of driving since my initial review, the pads have started to slightly squeal now. It's hardly noticable, but the squeek is there. Also, the pads dust a lot more than the stock pads. Even after 1 day of driving you can wipe away a fine layer of dust. However, the gunk comes right off with a hose quite easily.
- Bridgestone S-03s : Haven't had a chance to drive them in the rain yet, but they are doing great in the dry. However, I think my previous stock Yoks had a much better look to them. Can't really say much more about these with only 200 miles on them so far.
IV. Thank you section
- big shout out to Chris at scienceofspeed.com for his help pre AND post sale.
- many thanks to Alex at acrmotorsports.com for his help with the clutch questions.
V. Clutch for sale
- Selling my very slightly used Exedy clutch. It should have less than 500 miles on it by the time I get the stock clutch swapped back in. Brand new they retail for $1700 plus shipping...I'm asking only $1200 shipping included. Nothing wrong with the clutch at all. Only selling because the clutch chatter is unacceptable to me for my daily driver. Will post this sale in the marketplace forums as well, so please respond there.
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'96 Black/Tan NSX-T : Dali Street/Race SwayBars
[This message has been edited by Soulstice (edited 26 September 2002).]
I. Quick background
- daily driver 1996 NSX-T
- no previous engine or drivetrain mods
- I've never driven a racing clutch before, so your experience may differ from mine
II. Mods and price (parts/labor)
- OEM JDM NSX-R short gears ($999/$1000)
- Exedy clutch ($1700/$188)
- Carbotech Panther Plus brake pads ($235/$145)
- Bridgestone S-03s 225/45YR-16 Fronts & 255/40YR-17 Rears ($722/$50)
III. Reviews
- OEM JDM NSX-R short gears : What more can I say...this is the way our cars should have been shipped in the first place. The gap between 1st and 2nd gear is reduced and the car is a lot more fun to drive. Highly recommended upgrade for those that can afford it. BTW - because the tranny was already open for the gears, the labor for the clutch was amazingly cheap.
- Exedy clutch : As mentioned before, this is the 1st racing clutch I've ever tried, so when I picked it up from the dealership, I couldn't even drive it. At first, it felt like an "on/off" clutch with no slip at all. But after about 100 miles or so of practice, either the clutch broke in or I adjusted my driving ways (or both) and I learned to really enjoy the feel. The clutch is actually not an on/off type and has a little bit of leeway to ease into. The sweet spot is CONSIDERABLY smaller on the Exedy than on a stock clutch, but it's a very streetable clutch IMO. Also, if you drive it hard, it really grabs strong and I'm sure it will perform wonderfully on the track. Another plus is that the pedal pressure is only slightly heavier than stock which I think is perfect. My biggest complaint is the horrendous clutch chatter. For those of you not in-the-know, clutch chatter sounds a little like hard diesel engine knock when you depress the clutch pedal. Depressing the clutch releases the pressure on the plates and they start rattling away. It's pretty embarrassing driving around in a very noticable car with a VERY noticable rattling. If Exedy can remove/reduce the clutch chatter, I would recommend it to everyone considering a new clutch. But as it stands, I'm getting a new stock clutch put back in. A small sidenote : Chris at scienceofspeed.com is installing an Exedy clutch on another car and said he would give me a call with the post-operation diagnosis. If he doesn't post them, I'll put his findings here as well.
- Carbotech Panther Plus brake pads : Effective and cheap little updgrade to add some extra stopping power. These pads flat out outperform the stock pads, but dust and wear the rotors a little more (see science of speed's handy little chart : http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/braking_performance_parts/NSX/carbotech/ . Also, I've heard that some race pads squeal, but I haven't heard one peep out of these Panthers yet. Unless something dramatic changes over time (i.e. they eat away my rotors or some study finds they cause cancer), I'll be sticking with these great pads from now on.
EDIT (9/26/2002) : After 2-3 more days of driving since my initial review, the pads have started to slightly squeal now. It's hardly noticable, but the squeek is there. Also, the pads dust a lot more than the stock pads. Even after 1 day of driving you can wipe away a fine layer of dust. However, the gunk comes right off with a hose quite easily.
- Bridgestone S-03s : Haven't had a chance to drive them in the rain yet, but they are doing great in the dry. However, I think my previous stock Yoks had a much better look to them. Can't really say much more about these with only 200 miles on them so far.
IV. Thank you section
- big shout out to Chris at scienceofspeed.com for his help pre AND post sale.
- many thanks to Alex at acrmotorsports.com for his help with the clutch questions.
V. Clutch for sale
- Selling my very slightly used Exedy clutch. It should have less than 500 miles on it by the time I get the stock clutch swapped back in. Brand new they retail for $1700 plus shipping...I'm asking only $1200 shipping included. Nothing wrong with the clutch at all. Only selling because the clutch chatter is unacceptable to me for my daily driver. Will post this sale in the marketplace forums as well, so please respond there.
------------------
'96 Black/Tan NSX-T : Dali Street/Race SwayBars
[This message has been edited by Soulstice (edited 26 September 2002).]
