Hello there Prime. I'm finally getting around to starting my build thread, albeit very late. Apologies for that, even though this build will likely do nothing a multitude of other builds haven't already done. That being said, here goes.
I purchased the car (documented in my intro thread here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/189595-New-Owner-1991-Formula-Red-Black-in-Southeast) in May 2015 in Cincinnati. I drove it as much as I could when I was home (I work out of state), and several months later I slipped down the slope and started buying parts. In reality, I had purchased 2 sets of period-correct BBS LM wheels before I even took delivery of the car. But we won't talk about that part.
Unfortunately, I didn't take as many photos as I meant to when installing parts. Mostly because I get excited like a little kid and just want to turn wrenches without the burden of documenting everything.
First order of business was getting back in touch with the guys at Source1 for a set of KW V3 coilovers and 2 pairs of 8k Swift springs. I also ordered a set of iLift top hats to replace the stock items.
When I ordered the suspension, I also ordered a some Hawk HP+ pads, Stoptech cryo-treated slotted rotors, a Uni foam filter, and a used DF intake scoop as well. The slope was rather slippery, as I mentioned before.
Uni filter went in easily enough, and the oiling process is pretty simple.
I pulled out some rubber covered metal coping and put it over the leading edge to finish it off and reduce the potential for hard edge on hard edge contact.
Also supplied by Source1 was this gorgeous piece of metalwork, a Pride V2 dual tip exhaust. I loved the sound I had heard in videos, and it definitely doesn't disappoint in person.
My car came with a longer Metra antenna, which worked fine but was a little too long for my taste. I ended up buying a 2" metal replacement from Blox. I don't like the logo, but I definitely like the size.
The beginning:
The comparison:
The final result:
I waited a little, and then ponied up the the bar at SoS. I ordered one of their Type S style shift knobs, a matching e-brake button, some DF FRP brake ducts, and a long Works Bell steering hub.
I also found a Spoon steering wheel here on Prime to tie the whole thing together.
While amassing parts, I took a drive with another NSX friend (shoutout to Rob Latham) and his group in early August with the Blue Ridge Gathering. Killboy got a really nice shot of my car on the Dragon that trip.
Next post to include large amounts of refinished LMs, more parts, and a trip to Cars and Coffee.
- - - Updated - - -
I won't go into too much detail, but I had a very bad experience with a particular wheel shop in South Florida. I paid for a complete wheel refinish and reverse mount, but got shoddy work sent back from them twice. Very not cool.
My search for the perfect set of 17/18 LMs started when I stumbled upon OyATL's build thread during my early days on Prime. His setup was perfect to me in every way except one; the diameters. I wanted 17/18 to maintain a more period-correct look and to keep a more "performance" focus.
I originally bought a set of 4 17x8+45 and a set of 2 18x9+42 and 2 18x10+50 BBS LMs to make what is in my opinion the perfect set of LM sizes for this car. I had them reverse mounted during the refinishing process, and the new offsets ended up being about 17x8+31 front and 18x10+37 rear. Because of the pad thickness on the back of the 18s, I ended up using a 10mm H&R spacer for an effective offset of 18x10+27 rear.
After that debacle, I went back to another shop I had heard about from a local Knoxville BMW shop. Renewed Finishes in Pennsylvania did a killer job fixing all of the problems the first shop created, and is the true embodiment of professionalism and high quality work for a good price. I would not hesitate to use them for every set of wheels I ever have.
I used a BMW silver for the centers, had the lips polished, the barrels coated in a light grey, and the bolts coated a flat black.
Next came the meaty parts. Enter the 215/40-17 and 265/35-18 Dunlop Z2 Star Spec tires. Installed on the wheels with original center caps and new valve stems and hubcentric rings from BBS.
I installed all the parts I had accumulated, and then bought some more. I ordered a '97+ front lip so I could preserve the stock '91 flat lip and installed it. I also ordered some Cedar Ridge sway bar end links for my alignment guy to use during the setup trip I made in late October. Shout out to my local shop away from home Keisler Automation and the owner/operator Andrew Keisler.
Once she was all prepped for her coming out party, I unveiled all my hard work and empty wallet at the October 2015 Cars and Coffee in Knoxville, TN. Got some love on Facebook from local guys (and all from the same angle, haha), but no big photos from the organizers because I parked in the boonies.
Next update will include a rainy yet still awesome mountain trip with TougeFest in November 2015, and a time warp that sends us to sometime in February for the steering wheel install.
- - - Updated - - -
The next time I was home for a weekend, my wife and I went to the 2nd annual TougeFest based at Fontana Village outside Robbinsville, NC for a weekend of cars and camaraderie of new friends. The only bad part was the weather. Too much rain. But much fun was still had by all.
This was a great little Willows cabin at Fontana Village.
We made a long loop to visit some waterfalls and a little piece of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We traveled into the Pisgah National Forest, ate a great BBQ lunch at Highlands BBQ Company in Highlands, NC, and chased a newer Mustang for no reason. I can’t find the damn photos of the car under Bridal Veil Falls though.
Blue Ridge Parkway:
Mustang chasing:
Breakfast at the lodge before heading out Sunday:
Being chased on the Sunday drive out to the Cherohala Skyway:
Before I put her up for the winter, she needed a bath and a detail. Shout out to the amazing crew at Knox Details in Knoxville. Tim always does a great job for me, and this time was no different.
Enter old man Winter. Hibernation begins. Until an abnormally warm February day lights a fire under my butt and I get back to the garage to finally install my steering wheel.
Remember that SoS shift knob and e-brake button I mentioned? Well here they are for your viewing pleasure, along with my freshly installed Spoon wheel.
Next update includes a great test and tune day on the Dragon to welcome the impending arrival of Spring, and some love from Killboy, King of the Mountain, and others.
- - - Updated - - -
The next chance I got I took the car up to the Foothills Parkway and the Dragon to get some miles on the massaged front fender liners to eliminate the high load rubbing I encountered on the last trip up there. No rubbing this time; success!
Killboy got some great photos of my comings and goings on the Dragon.
I took a few myself at an overlook on the Foothills Parkway on the way back home. I love that view.
I even made it onto the weekly highlight reel that Killboy posts to Facebook! Big surprise to me!
That photo got some sharing on the NSX Prime and NSX Owners Group Facebook pages. Thanks for the support everybody!
Stay tuned for more updates, as myself and Rob are headed to the Riverside Spring meet next weekend, and my wife and I are headed up to the Dragon again in late April for the S2ki.com Wake the Dragon event. I’m also hoping to find time to get a few more parts ordered and try for an HPDE event in the Summer. Thanks for following along!
I purchased the car (documented in my intro thread here: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/189595-New-Owner-1991-Formula-Red-Black-in-Southeast) in May 2015 in Cincinnati. I drove it as much as I could when I was home (I work out of state), and several months later I slipped down the slope and started buying parts. In reality, I had purchased 2 sets of period-correct BBS LM wheels before I even took delivery of the car. But we won't talk about that part.
Unfortunately, I didn't take as many photos as I meant to when installing parts. Mostly because I get excited like a little kid and just want to turn wrenches without the burden of documenting everything.
First order of business was getting back in touch with the guys at Source1 for a set of KW V3 coilovers and 2 pairs of 8k Swift springs. I also ordered a set of iLift top hats to replace the stock items.
When I ordered the suspension, I also ordered a some Hawk HP+ pads, Stoptech cryo-treated slotted rotors, a Uni foam filter, and a used DF intake scoop as well. The slope was rather slippery, as I mentioned before.
Uni filter went in easily enough, and the oiling process is pretty simple.
I pulled out some rubber covered metal coping and put it over the leading edge to finish it off and reduce the potential for hard edge on hard edge contact.
Also supplied by Source1 was this gorgeous piece of metalwork, a Pride V2 dual tip exhaust. I loved the sound I had heard in videos, and it definitely doesn't disappoint in person.
My car came with a longer Metra antenna, which worked fine but was a little too long for my taste. I ended up buying a 2" metal replacement from Blox. I don't like the logo, but I definitely like the size.
The beginning:
The comparison:
The final result:
I waited a little, and then ponied up the the bar at SoS. I ordered one of their Type S style shift knobs, a matching e-brake button, some DF FRP brake ducts, and a long Works Bell steering hub.
I also found a Spoon steering wheel here on Prime to tie the whole thing together.
While amassing parts, I took a drive with another NSX friend (shoutout to Rob Latham) and his group in early August with the Blue Ridge Gathering. Killboy got a really nice shot of my car on the Dragon that trip.
Next post to include large amounts of refinished LMs, more parts, and a trip to Cars and Coffee.
- - - Updated - - -
I won't go into too much detail, but I had a very bad experience with a particular wheel shop in South Florida. I paid for a complete wheel refinish and reverse mount, but got shoddy work sent back from them twice. Very not cool.
My search for the perfect set of 17/18 LMs started when I stumbled upon OyATL's build thread during my early days on Prime. His setup was perfect to me in every way except one; the diameters. I wanted 17/18 to maintain a more period-correct look and to keep a more "performance" focus.
I originally bought a set of 4 17x8+45 and a set of 2 18x9+42 and 2 18x10+50 BBS LMs to make what is in my opinion the perfect set of LM sizes for this car. I had them reverse mounted during the refinishing process, and the new offsets ended up being about 17x8+31 front and 18x10+37 rear. Because of the pad thickness on the back of the 18s, I ended up using a 10mm H&R spacer for an effective offset of 18x10+27 rear.
After that debacle, I went back to another shop I had heard about from a local Knoxville BMW shop. Renewed Finishes in Pennsylvania did a killer job fixing all of the problems the first shop created, and is the true embodiment of professionalism and high quality work for a good price. I would not hesitate to use them for every set of wheels I ever have.
I used a BMW silver for the centers, had the lips polished, the barrels coated in a light grey, and the bolts coated a flat black.
Next came the meaty parts. Enter the 215/40-17 and 265/35-18 Dunlop Z2 Star Spec tires. Installed on the wheels with original center caps and new valve stems and hubcentric rings from BBS.
I installed all the parts I had accumulated, and then bought some more. I ordered a '97+ front lip so I could preserve the stock '91 flat lip and installed it. I also ordered some Cedar Ridge sway bar end links for my alignment guy to use during the setup trip I made in late October. Shout out to my local shop away from home Keisler Automation and the owner/operator Andrew Keisler.
Once she was all prepped for her coming out party, I unveiled all my hard work and empty wallet at the October 2015 Cars and Coffee in Knoxville, TN. Got some love on Facebook from local guys (and all from the same angle, haha), but no big photos from the organizers because I parked in the boonies.
Next update will include a rainy yet still awesome mountain trip with TougeFest in November 2015, and a time warp that sends us to sometime in February for the steering wheel install.
- - - Updated - - -
The next time I was home for a weekend, my wife and I went to the 2nd annual TougeFest based at Fontana Village outside Robbinsville, NC for a weekend of cars and camaraderie of new friends. The only bad part was the weather. Too much rain. But much fun was still had by all.
This was a great little Willows cabin at Fontana Village.
We made a long loop to visit some waterfalls and a little piece of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We traveled into the Pisgah National Forest, ate a great BBQ lunch at Highlands BBQ Company in Highlands, NC, and chased a newer Mustang for no reason. I can’t find the damn photos of the car under Bridal Veil Falls though.
Blue Ridge Parkway:
Mustang chasing:
Breakfast at the lodge before heading out Sunday:
Being chased on the Sunday drive out to the Cherohala Skyway:
Before I put her up for the winter, she needed a bath and a detail. Shout out to the amazing crew at Knox Details in Knoxville. Tim always does a great job for me, and this time was no different.
Enter old man Winter. Hibernation begins. Until an abnormally warm February day lights a fire under my butt and I get back to the garage to finally install my steering wheel.
Remember that SoS shift knob and e-brake button I mentioned? Well here they are for your viewing pleasure, along with my freshly installed Spoon wheel.
Next update includes a great test and tune day on the Dragon to welcome the impending arrival of Spring, and some love from Killboy, King of the Mountain, and others.
- - - Updated - - -
The next chance I got I took the car up to the Foothills Parkway and the Dragon to get some miles on the massaged front fender liners to eliminate the high load rubbing I encountered on the last trip up there. No rubbing this time; success!
Killboy got some great photos of my comings and goings on the Dragon.
I took a few myself at an overlook on the Foothills Parkway on the way back home. I love that view.
I even made it onto the weekly highlight reel that Killboy posts to Facebook! Big surprise to me!
That photo got some sharing on the NSX Prime and NSX Owners Group Facebook pages. Thanks for the support everybody!
Stay tuned for more updates, as myself and Rob are headed to the Riverside Spring meet next weekend, and my wife and I are headed up to the Dragon again in late April for the S2ki.com Wake the Dragon event. I’m also hoping to find time to get a few more parts ordered and try for an HPDE event in the Summer. Thanks for following along!
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