Future Plans 1
After speaking with some knowledgeable people at NSXPO and other of my contacts, it seems Honda may be accelerating the sunset of our NSX. The original planned date was 2040, which is 50 years since the debut of the NA1. This was based on a directive from Mr. Honda before he died, where he demanded that the NSX last for 50 years. However, the world has changed since then. Honda as a company has set a laser focus on electrifying the entire product line and sunsetting their ICE technology. All future Hondas will either be EV, PHEV or FCEV, leaving no room for cars like the NSX. Now, it's looking more like 2030 or even earlier. It is possible Honda may decide to continue limited parts support for our cars, but the sentiment right now in Japan is no, since all resources should be put toward EV. There is an "adapt or die" mentality in the auto industry right now and Honda is no exception.
That means we need to start thinking about what the car may need in 10 or even 15 years. Of course, that also means we as owners need to make a decision about ownership. For me, I will keep my NSX. I made the mistake of letting my first one go and almost immediately regretted it. I won't do that again. I may have other performance cars in the future (I'm currently looking at a DB11 as my daily), but my NSX will always be in the garage. I'm comfortable with that decision, which means that I can start planning for the future.
Considering my NSX was almost fully restored, I'm starting from an advantageous point. Still, there are things that will need to be addressed in the future and it's time to consider what I need. For my NSX, it falls into roughly two buckets: (1) key maintenance items; and (2) NSX-specific parts that can fail and likely won't ever be produced again. With that in mind, boxes have been arriving from Japan.
I will break these out in more detail for other owners to reference, but here's an overview. I assume the car will need one more engine refresh sometime around 2034. Otherwise, it's mostly just basic maintenance until then.
Box Number 1 - Full engine refresh parts (every piece of rubber, new bolts, gaskets, crank pulley, seals)
Box Number 2 - More TB/WP parts (timing belt, water pump, all coolant hoses, coolant tank)
Here is the timing belt and crank position sensor. Note the part numbers. This belt is -315, which indicates an update from the previous -305 belt. I wonder what they changed? Also note the JDM TB service sticker. I like that it is sealed in a bag until use, compared to the US Acura part, which is just bundled open like a fan belt. The crank sensor is -A03, which means it's the third version of the part. My guess is they used a tougher potting material after the original units melted all over the timing covers.
New lower timing cover.
Brand new water pump.