Surprised there's no RAS (rear axle steering) in conjunction w/SH-AWD?
NSX NC1 - Track Review Laguna Seca - Randy Pobst
- Thread starter RYU
- Start date
I would have been happy like a clam with that 3.5L 500HP ICE with the 9 speed DCT and e-diff on the NSX2.0 with about 3150-3200lbs of weight.
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eek, memories of the 3rd/4th gen Prelude's
Just thinking of Nissan's HICAS system and all those failures which lead to epic crashes...
I would have been happy like a clam with that 3.5L 500HP ICE with the 9 speed DCT and e-diff on the NSX2.0 with about 3150-3200lbs of weight.
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eek, memories of the 3rd/4th gen Prelude's
You never know. It's always easier to subtract/simplify things...
fastaussie
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two things, first of all Randy is a level of professional driver incomparable to the other bloke. he is going to be driving the car harder everywhere, and pushing it further, therefor the car is going to be more out of shape because it is going faster, and is closer to, or beyond, the limits of itself and most other testers thus far. Randy is a friend of mine, i know his personality well, and he is absolutely assessing the car as well as can be assessed by anyone. he is extremely adaptive, he can get in anything and take it immediately to the edge of its abilities. and this is why he has the job that he does testing the fastest road cars on the planet.
and here's the other more pertinent thing. the NSX is not the lightest Supercar. it is not the fastest Supercar. it is not the best handling Supercar. it is not the best looking Supercar. it doesn't appear to be the greatest of the current crop of Supercars in any one particular category. hell, it doesn't even get the best highway fuel mileage with all of its future tech and 9 speed transmission. obviously some want more than anything in the automotive world for the new NSX to be the world crushing, dominating Supercar of this time. but it unfortunately is not. and to keep having the discussion about maybe it was the tires, or maybe the guy driving sucked, or maybe it was the humidity or the weather, or maybe someone accidentally left the car in street mode is a bit silly. the car just isn't as good as the others, and looking for non-existent excuses won't change that. and thinking Honda will just turn up the boost and pop in another 100 horsepower next week is absurd. it doesn't work that way. and Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren and the rest aren't going to wait for the NSX to catch up. this is the same argument about the dismal and embarrassing McLaren/Honda F1 debut almost three years ago, "just give it a few races, Honda will be winning, 'cause they're the best." well, they're still not winning 3 seasons and 50+ races later. and Mercedes, Ferrari, Williams, etc. aren't hanging around waiting.
of all the tests performed, in all the magazines, in all the parts of the world, and on all the tele and youtube comparison shows, the car is finishing roughly in the same spot, behind a few of the others. we all know which ones they are. so one must simply surmise that this is the NSX's relative finishing position.
Honda came up a bit short, that's just how it is. or, Honda built exactly what they wanted to, and they don't care where it fits on the performance totem pole?
I think it's the latter. They apparently didn't want the best of any category, but a balanced car that totted the SH-AWD. It's like the first NSX all over again. It was never the fastest of any metrics on paper. There were 3000GTs, Rx7s, and even turbo I4s from Japan that could match it in acceleration times. Deja Vu.
fastaussie
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match it yes, but not beat it. and when it came to backroad or race track performance, they weren't matching the NSX...
The nsx is fast enough for 99% of people who want to try a different approach to a super car. Honda went a different route. Sales will show if it was a success.
fastaussie
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i agree...
I would have been happy like a clam with that 3.5L 500HP ICE with the 9 speed DCT and e-diff on the NSX2.0 with about 3150-3200lbs of weight.
Same here!
I SERIOUSLY think that the Generation 1 NSX with a 500 HP ICE and DCT with a good suspension setup and somewhat bigger tires could still be pretty competitive in comparison with todays breed of 500+ HP sportscars.
A 38, MAYBE a 37 with his new spoiler. Not bad for 300hp.
The original NSX best the Ferrari 348 in almost every performance metric (Including acceleration), and was a better handling car that did more with little.
According to MT in 1997, the NA2 with less power equalled the 355, Corvette & VR4 and bested the TT Supra 0-60 and was 1/10th off the Vette & 355 while beating the VR4 & TT Supra in the 1/4 mile. In 1999, the Zanardi bested the above cars in almost every metric
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Diddo. We believe Ryan's time is the result of 1)skills 2)tires 3)Penske's by EMI which allowed him to extract the most out of the chassis not thru more HP. We are setting our car similar to his but 500 lbs. less so someday we should let him give it a go at LS and see.
You forgot Aero.
seat time and car setup too.
For sure. In terms of sales, I do worry that the NSX suffers from an awareness problem and the huge period of absence from the marketplace. Not a lot of people I have encountered know a lot about the NSX. Cars like this are aspirational-- kids grow up with posters of Ferrari's and Porsches on their walls. I think a car and/or brand that you've been lusting after for a decade will seem like a more natural purchase for many. Also, people looking for a narrowly-focused tool, like "best track toy" aren't going to choose the NSX. The fact that the NSX did NOT spank the competition "by-the-numbers" means that it won't get the accompanying viral buzz of "It's faster than all the cars you've been lusting after."
For me, I love the car and feel like I got exactly what I wanted: A unique car that looks awesome, drives awesome and is "world beating" in the diversity and technology it brings--- it is an outlier in its class for people looking for a different kind of car. I'm just not sure if there are enough people like me to make the car a success. I suspect that this "Gen 2.1" car will do ok at modest volumes, but I also think this platform has a lot of room to improve. I expect the Gen 2.2 car to surprise some folks in terms of performance. There seems to be some significant headroom on the thermal envelope for the current car, with no apparent heat problems on the track in 100+ Deg ambient temps.
I have driven a 355. It's faster than the first gen NSX in every way, it's just not as reliable. They are close in metrics, but the edge is to the Ferrari much like the 488 edges the new NSX compared to the old 458.
There are Rx7s and MR2s along with EVOs and STi from that generation that could match the metrics put out by the other 280 hp JDM cars. It's all relative in that time period.
My experience with a 355 spyder was exactly the opposite...no faster than my 96....sounded faster...but didn't move any quicker.
I got to ride in Ryan's car at Thermal during NSXPO. It was really nice of him to show me what hauling ass is like.
My takeaways:
-I've been a coward in the brake zones.
-Maybe rethink the eternal need for more power.
My takeaways:
-I've been a coward in the brake zones.
-Maybe rethink the eternal need for more power.
Well I'll admit, the exhaust note does make it seem like it is faster. I am of course basing it off of back to back butt dyno, which is not very accurate.
However, a typical 355 dynos around 280-300 whp. A typical NA2 dynos ~260-270 whp. Given they are similar weight, the edge goes to the V8.
F355s sure are more dramatic and sound & feel faster, but they are ~200lbs heavier than an NSX. Through various magazine tests, the NA2 NSX was dead even with the F355 to 60 and 1/10th off in the 1/4 mile, but the lighter Zanardi beat it.
Wow so do you think the 918 has a better design on the front axle?
I really liked the sound and feel of the F355, but I would definitely choose the NSX over it personally. It's just a better overall package considering value, reliability, looks, and build quality. I personally think the NSX is more timeless and better looking than the F355, inside and out. Now today's 458s and 488s are much harder to compete with...
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The 918 emotors pack a much greater punch. It has 200 hp from the 2 motors. The NSX is only getting 37 hp from each front motor and not so much from the rear pancake motor. In total peak hp, only 73 hp is being contributed from the hybrid tech as opposed to the ~200 hp for the 918.
fastaussie
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purely a matter of opinion. many enthusiasts, journalists, and ordinary people alike consider the 355 to be one of the best looking and sounding Supercars of the modern era. the last of the classic looking, and sounding, mid-engined Ferrari's...
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