New Member, worried about looking like a kit

Mr. Wolfe

Mr. Wolfe

Registered Member
Joined
15 November 2011
Messages
20
Location
Above Pittsburgh
Hi guys,

I am new(ish) to the NSX scene and would like to take a second to introduce myself. I am an avid M3 fan who has a (very) growing interest in the NSX. Well, I have for a few years now. A driver's car is paramount to me, not big hp numbers so I think the NSX and I are a great fit together. I am going to take the next 6-12 months to research this forum, narrow down what I am looking for, and then continue onto my NSX search. Thanks nsxprime.

I love the classy lines of a stock-bodied NSX, but have toyed with the idea of widebody. I think the project may intrigue me just as much as owning an actual wide-body so I have some time to decide and ponder this small detail and decide if it is for me. Anyways, 1 small thing catches my eye every time I see a widebody. The thickness of the inner fenders can look a little kit(ish) at times to me. Obviously, more prominent on lighter color cars. I was wondering if anyone has done anything to address this or am I in the minority here? I am guessing that trimming that area would jeopardize it's strength, but has anyone ever painted it black, just leaving maybe 1/2" of color? I hope I am making sense.

I borrowed a picture of Brad Simon's car in Coz's thread (I hope you guys don't mind! If so, let me know and I will remove it) showing what I am talking about. He left his car black, so this is a non-issue with his particular car.

Fitting2.jpg


Basically, the top picture is the original, the 2nd picture has a yellow line showing the black paint, and the 3rd picture would be the completed project. Would you guys give me your opinions on this or am I just crazy?

Anyways, I appreciate any insight and hopefully in the near future, I will be able to give back to the forum. Good day.

Mr. Wolfe
 
Well, a large, properly offset wheel will cover that area 99%. You could always cover that area with black vinyl to protect from rock chips too.

Personally, I hate that kit you posted. Looks like @ss.

I like the Sorcery one though.
 
SWIFTVISION said:
Well, a large, properly offset wheel will cover that area 99%. You could always cover that area with black vinyl to protect from rock chips too.

Personally, I hate that kit you posted. Looks like @ss.

I like the Sorcery one though.
Click to expand...

Hmm, never thought of that.

I wasn't picking on 1 kit, I was thinking all of them had the extra thick fender wells, but I could be wrong. Anyways, thanks for your insight. :thumbsup:

Mr. Wolfe
 
Thank God I'm not alone in noticing the the Emperor has not clothes! :D

I have always felt that all these wide-body, flared-out, decked-out body kits make the normally exquisitely beautiful NSX look like a red-neck, hack-job KIT CAR!

Not the mention, for those so dearly wanting a faster car, these kits adding soooo much weight!!! How counter-productive can you get?


Shields up...fire suit on. :D

.
 
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GBL1 said:
Thank God I'm not alone in noticing the the Emperor has not clothes! :D

I have always felt that all these wide-body, flared-out, decked-out body kits make the normally exquisitely beautiful NSX look like a red-neck, hack-job KIT CAR!

Not the mention, for those so dearly wanting a faster car, these kits adding soooo much weight!!! How counter-productive can you get?


Shields up...fire suit on. :D

.
Click to expand...

Wow, I don't think I would take it THAT far. :eek: I think there are some very tasteful widebody NSX's on here, but I am leaning towards the smooth lines of the stock body. Thanks for your opinion.

Ric said:
Look into the Madonna kit. Me think it looks awesome
Click to expand...

Just looked it up; very sleek. Thanks for the info.!

Mr. Wolfe
 
Mr. Wolfe said:
Wow, I don't think I would take it THAT far. :eek: I think there are some very tasteful widebody NSX's on here, but I am leaning towards the smooth lines of the stock body. Thanks for your opinion.
Click to expand...

O.K., maybe I'm still in a coffee V-TEC mode...

Corrected:

Thank God I'm not alone in noticing the the Emperor has not clothes!

I have always felt that all the body kits make the "looks great just the way it is" NSX look like a kit car. Not the mention the weight the body kit adds.

:)
 
It saddens me to see so many cosmetically modifed NSXs out there. I don't like the kits at all. None of them. It is almost unfortunate that NSXs are affordable. It is too easy for people to mess with Honda's beauty. I see the ones for sale, and think no way would I buy someone else's view of the NSX.

I suppose it comes down to this for me - it doesn't improve the car.

I know it is your car, your money. Do with it as you wish. But Honda's original vision is just soooo right. I think we have always seen unmodified NSXs are worth more.
 
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I see what your talking about Mr.Wolfe, I myself like the look of the 3rd picture. There are easy ways to fix that pretty easily, like wrap as someone else mentioned, paint etc...
One thing I've noticed as a newbie in here is that there are a lot of different points of views, tastes and overall opinions. Sometimes words aren't mixed with opinions here, but that to me is another really cool thing about this forum and the NSX. That there can be so many different styles to do so many different looks and so many different opinions..
I think Swift is spot on that the wheel will hide a lot of that. Good luck with your search
 
You'll need a set of custom fender liners, front and rear diffusers and connections for all the duct and vents to have it all "make sense"... if you want that finished look.
 
Personally, I think widebody kits belong on race cars. I have not seen any kit that made the NSX look better than the stock lines. If I was going to do a widebody car, there are plenty of Fiero and MR2 kits out there. I wouldn't do this to a NSX.

But, it's your car. I say do whatever makes you happy.
 
Not a fan of wide bodies; however, I am a fan that you're taking your time and will eventually be a NSX owner.
 
itrsteve said:
Not a fan of wide bodies; however, I am a fan that you're taking your time and will eventually be a NSX owner.
Click to expand...

Same here... I like the NSX the way it is from the factory. This is a low production car and it may become a collectable someday. So I am not going to put any kits on it. Maybe just a slight drop with some nice wheels.
 
GBL1 said:
O.K., maybe I'm still in a coffee V-TEC mode...

Corrected:

Thank God I'm not alone in noticing the the Emperor has not clothes!

I have always felt that all the body kits make the "looks great just the way it is" NSX look like a kit car. Not the mention the weight the body kit adds.

:)
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Just exploring options and I am sure my opinion on many NSX related topics may change over the years as I am learning the car.

hofffam said:
It saddens me to see so many cosmetically modifed NSXs out there. I don't like the kits at all. None of them. It is almost unfortunate that NSXs are affordable. It is too easy for people to mess with Honda's beauty. I see the ones for sale, and think no way would I buy someone else's view of the NSX.

I suppose it comes down to this for me - it doesn't improve the car.

I know it is your car, your money. Do with it as you wish. But Honda's original vision is just soooo right. I think we have always seen unmodified NSXs are worth more.
Click to expand...

Many great points, thank you. You are correct, the more affordable a car becomes, the more impurities you will see. It happens with every car and it is very hard for the purist to see unfold. I have been there and know exactly what you are talking about. I can't argue that the stock NSX body looks incredible... it is also the route I am leaning towards.

Sleek said:
I see what your talking about Mr.Wolfe, I myself like the look of the 3rd picture. There are easy ways to fix that pretty easily, like wrap as someone else mentioned, paint etc...
One thing I've noticed as a newbie in here is that there are a lot of different points of views, tastes and overall opinions. Sometimes words aren't mixed with opinions here, but that to me is another really cool thing about this forum and the NSX. That there can be so many different styles to do so many different looks and so many different opinions..
I think Swift is spot on that the wheel will hide a lot of that. Good luck with your search
Click to expand...

Thanks, there is a lot of diversity, which is a good thing!! People feel very strongly about these cars so opinions will become more prominent. I understand that. Not everyone has the same vision for their own cars, but I am trying to mold "my vision" of the car.

VRoooM said:
You'll need a set of custom fender liners, front and rear diffusers and connections for all the duct and vents to have it all "make sense"... if you want that finished look.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight. By the way, your car is on my desktop as we speak. :wink:

blue_myriddn said:
While I personally prefer the pure look of the NSX, I have seen a few nice modifications. The lovely grey TRXST Comptech widebody here and here comes to mind.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am a big fan of that car. Thanks for the links. I have never seen that gorgeous interior though.

Honcho said:
Personally, I think widebody kits belong on race cars. I have not seen any kit that made the NSX look better than the stock lines. If I was going to do a widebody car, there are plenty of Fiero and MR2 kits out there. I wouldn't do this to a NSX.

But, it's your car. I say do whatever makes you happy.
Click to expand...

My opinion is starting to follow this exact thought.

itrsteve said:
Not a fan of wide bodies; however, I am a fan that you're taking your time and will eventually be a NSX owner.
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve. I understand the like and the dislike of widebody NSX's. Obviously I am on the fence about it, but seriously leaning towards the stock body. I brought this thread up because I have seen widebody NSX's for sale and I am asking myself the question, "do I eliminate those cars from my search?". As of now, I can't say that I will totally eliminate them.

nis350 said:
Same here... I like the NSX the way it is from the factory. This is a low production car and it may become a collectable someday. So I am not going to put any kits on it. Maybe just a slight drop with some nice wheels.
Click to expand...

This is a perk, but not my main objective when buying this car. My main goal when buying this car is to drive it and learn what I like and dislike about the car. At that point I will decide if I need to mod anything. Let's just say that I enjoy modifying cars, but I am not going to do it, just to do it.

Thank you everyone for replying to this noobie. I look forward to learning as much as I can. I almost forgot how much there is to learn about a new prospective car. In 6 years of being involved in e46 M3's, I feel I am very experienced and can give back to the forum. This is a whole different experience. :biggrin:

Mr. Wolfe
 
Mr. Wolfe said:
This is a perk, but not my main objective when buying this car. My main goal when buying this car is to drive it and learn what I like and dislike about the car. At that point I will decide if I need to mod anything. Let's just say that I enjoy modifying cars, but I am not going to do it, just to do it.

Mr. Wolfe
Click to expand...

This is the best thing you could have said. For example, when I first bought my NSX, I was convinced- convinced that I was going to do a full NA2 NSX-R conversion on it to make it look just like Vance's 2003. But, I held off and drove the car for a while and decided I like the pop-ups better and I love the Ivory interior color against the black. I ended up going in a much more subtle direction with my mods: JDM gears, NSX-R diff, NA2 headers, 2002+ wheels, etc. So, I think you should drive the car for a year as is. Like me, you may decide you want something else out of it than what you thought going in.
 
Honcho said:
This is the best thing you could have said. For example, when I first bought my NSX, I was convinced- convinced that I was going to do a full NA2 NSX-R conversion on it to make it look just like Vance's 2003. But, I held off and drove the car for a while and decided I like the pop-ups better and I love the Ivory interior color against the black. I ended up going in a much more subtle direction with my mods: JDM gears, NSX-R diff, NA2 headers, 2002+ wheels, etc. So, I think you should drive the car for a year as is. Like me, you may decide you want something else out of it than what you thought going in.
Click to expand...

^^^^this. I am sure I probably have not had my car quite as long as you, but I am in the same boat already. My wish list changed quite quickly actually after actually owning the car. When I wanted to buy an NSX I wanted all kinds of things done to it that I no longer want. Once I finally got the car and studied the history of it a bit more I decided to go a COMPLETE different route.

As for the wide body kits I am going to have to agree with the guys who like the NSX just the way it is as far as body panels and stock body lines. I am all for modifications, but there are not ANY wide body kits that I like more than the factory look. Front lip, side skirts (02 OEM or Stacys or something), and rear valence etc is about all it takes to update the look. As mentioned earlier up in this thread I'd just build a kitcar for anything other than.

GOOD LUCK!
 
Last edited:
The bottom line is, if you put a kit on an NSX then it is always going to look like a kit because it is a kit. NSX owners and fans will see it a mile away and know it for what it is, regardless of little tweaks to inner fenders and the like.
 
Honcho said:
This is the best thing you could have said. For example, when I first bought my NSX, I was convinced- convinced that I was going to do a full NA2 NSX-R conversion on it to make it look just like Vance's 2003. But, I held off and drove the car for a while and decided I like the pop-ups better and I love the Ivory interior color against the black. I ended up going in a much more subtle direction with my mods: JDM gears, NSX-R diff, NA2 headers, 2002+ wheels, etc. So, I think you should drive the car for a year as is. Like me, you may decide you want something else out of it than what you thought going in.
Click to expand...

I agree.

btan08 said:
^^^^this. I am sure I probably have not had my car quite as long as you, but I am in the same boat already. My wish list changed quite quickly actually after actually owning the car. When I wanted to buy an NSX I wanted all kinds of things done to it that I no longer want. Once I finally got the car and studied the history of it a bit more I decided to go a COMPLETE different route.

As for the wide body kits I am going to have to agree with the guys who like the NSX just the way it is as far as body panels and stock body lines. I am all for modifications, but there are not ANY wide body kits that I like more than the factory look. Front lip, side skirts (02 OEM or Stacys or something), and rear valence etc is about all it takes to update the look. As mentioned earlier up in this thread I'd just build a kitcar for anything other than.

GOOD LUCK!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input. That information actually solidifies a few things for me. As far as kits, I am starting to agree. Not that I dislike them, but they do change the lines of the car. Speaking of kits, I have a little bit of knowledge since I just finished building a Factory Five roadster last year. I am not anti-kit, but I am anti kit-looking.

heySkippy said:
The bottom line is, if you put a kit on an NSX then it is always going to look like a kit because it is a kit. NSX owners and fans will see it a mile away and know it for what it is, regardless of little tweaks to inner fenders and the like.
Click to expand...

Touché.




On a side note, is it wrong for a non-owner to post in the owner thread? Just wondering what the gentlemen's rules are. Thanks.

Again, thanks for ALL of the input.

Mr. Wolfe
 
Last edited:
heySkippy said:
The bottom line is, if you put a kit on an NSX then it is always going to look like a kit because it is a kit. NSX owners and fans will see it a mile away and know it for what it is, regardless of little tweaks to inner fenders and the like.
Click to expand...

Exactly. A body kit won't make anyone think the driver has a Mclaren. It will look like an NSX with a body kit.

Other affordable cars, like Corvettes, get modified regularly. But I don't see many modified 911s, which are in the same price class as NSXs. Why?
 

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