NSX / Z06 / Lotus --- Which would you pick??????

[Scin]

Throw in a 996 and you will have most of the cars that I considered before buying my 94 NSX.

If you are looking purely at performance the Z06 is a no brainer, however corvettes are very common and I wanted something unique. Its not too expensive to make your car handle as good as a Z06, but it cost a lot more to catch up to it on braking and acceleration.

The lotus is cool but its a total race car, it makes the NSX look like an extremely practical daily driver. I would't mind having one as a 2nd vehicle however.

Unless you are big on getting a NSX-T I would skip the advice to get a 95 - 96, those cars have the added weight without the power or six speed transmission.

FYI, do expect to fix a few things on the older NSX. I had a PPI by acura and a compression check, so I was comfortable with the engine running strong. I changed the fuel filter (didn't see it done recently in my maint records), my CCU only blew on high so I sent that to Brian K, and now it looks like my first gear synchro is going bad (my double clutching is getting much better ). I am going to try some synchromesh friction modified to see if I can prolong having the transmission pulled, however when I do have it pulled I will probably switch to the short gears. I think the newer Z06 will have the older NSX beat on maint. cost.

 

[FrEsHaZzBuRu]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1218157444012227484&q=top+gear

I don't know if anyone has seen this video yet of Top Gear, but in it has a drag race of a porsche, TVR, NSX-T, and C6 vette.

I thought it was a little funny when they said all the cars have similar HP (considering the NSX has 290 and the vette has 400)

Anyways, the NSX surprisingly beats the C6 and finishes only behind the TVR.

Enjoy

 

[TyraNSX]

The Z06 is a monster. Don't get an '01 (less power & potential ring problems). Get an '03 or '04 (don't freak trying to get comm. edition Z16 there are over 2500 made, not rare). You can do headers, maybe cam, air duct, and reprogram for kind of cheap. Easy to work on and a dealer on every corner. Just beware of leaking diff seals. I expect they will still depreciate a lot. There are several '04s & '03s near me advertised for $39-$40K, I'm sure $35-$36K would get them. Seats suck, if you get good ones (not Caravaggio, real sport seats like Sparco or Bride), there's another $1-$1.2K out the window. Lots of bang for the buck. Very common.

NSX is not cheap to buy or mod, but will hold up a lot better and does everything well. Won't depreciate like a rock & will always be a rare exotic. Great seats & interior. Tough to find someone good & local to work on it.

Elise is for midgets with no luggage. I can't see using it for a regular daily driver, but it would make a great toy. I saw a show on Speed where they looked at them after a few years and they have their share of problems with I think tie rod or CV boots & some other unexpected things failing earlier than expected. Lotus dealer is rarer than NSX tech.

I would say Z06 or NSX depending on price & your real budget & what you really want to get out of the car. Don't forget to get/make a set of jacking pucks if you get the Z06 & make sure anybody jacking uses them. There have some big boo-boos on improperly lifted Vettes. And ones falling off lifts. Don't forget frame rails too.

Good luck, whatever you get you will like. If you don't sell it & get the other.

 

[JDM7]

If you compare on price, the Z06wins
If you compare on performance the Z06 wins
If you compare on aesthetics the NSX wins
Reliability and maintenance Z06
auto cross - elise

what is most important to you in a car? look above and select.

 

[Hugh]

I purchased my 1993 NSX a little over 2 years ago. I am the fourth owner. The car had 70,000 miles on it and complete documentation. The 3 previous owners took impeccable care of her.

The car is my daily driver and has been to 4 or 5 HPDEs. She just passed the 150,000 mile mark. The only issues I've had with the car were mostly replacing consumables. The original clutch lasted until 130,000 miles, I replaced the master and slave cylinders and a window regulator. The car is well maintained and I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles.

The paint and interior still look great. When people inquire about the car and find out it's a '93 with 150K miles they are shocked.

I don't know how much driving you do but I do know that after 13 years and 150K miles the Vette and Lotus would have long before been recycled into patio furniture and paper clips.

I owned a 1986 Lotus Turbo Esprit and it fell apart after one year. The Elise is a hideous little car that looks like a Toyota MR2 overdosing on crack. Yes, the Vette has better numbers on paper than the NSX but be realistic. 99.9% of the time you'll be driving well below the potential of either car. Besides, more Vettes are built in a week than the total number of NSXs in existence.

Your choice should be obvious.

 

[my1stnsx]

NSX BABY...because people are amaze how exotic it looks and always ask if its a lambo and surprise to find out its an Acura!! The best thing about owning one is that the handling and the performance is great and once your in it you never want to get out. Also you won't see that much of them out there like vettes so it wont be so common.:smile:

 

[kreh]

Once again: There is no lack of clarity on this easy choice. Take the NSX and enjoy it. The performance is absolutely outstanding, it has timless appearance that competes with the best supercars and it performs at its best all of the time. The vette is not a supercar!

 

[ANYTIME]

If you compare on price, the Z06wins
If you compare on performance the Z06 wins In a straight line
If you compare on aesthetics the NSX wins
Reliability and maintenance <s>Z06</s> NSX
auto cross - elise

what is most important to you in a car? look above and select.

If you only drive with the pedal to the metal 24/7 (which would be impossible)

Drive all of your choices (more than the typical 2miles) and then decide which you would want to live with.

 

[jond]

I purchased my 1993 NSX a little over 2 years ago. I am the fourth owner. The car had 70,000 miles on it and complete documentation. The 3 previous owners took impeccable care of her.

The car is my daily driver and has been to 4 or 5 HPDEs. She just passed the 150,000 mile mark. The only issues I've had with the car were mostly replacing consumables. The original clutch lasted until 130,000 miles, I replaced the master and slave cylinders and a window regulator. The car is well maintained and I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles.

Thats great to hear. Sounds like my plans. Take one with ~50-70k on it and make it my daily driver/HPDE car. Unexpected repaires was a concern given the ones I'm looing at are 13-15 years old, but it sounds like its a non-issue.

Elise is for midgets with no luggage. I can't see using it for a regular daily driver, but it would make a great toy. I saw a show on Speed where they looked at them after a few years and they have their share of problems with I think tie rod or CV boots & some other unexpected things failing earlier than expected. Lotus dealer is rarer than NSX tech.

I actaully have a lotus dealer within walking distance, but my fear is I would need him way to often. After hanging out on their forum for a year, it seems they are putting up with a lot of problems I wouldnt be happy with if I paid that much money. Things like the car not starting at all, doors not unlocking, bolts rubbing through the bodywork, heater not working, condensation on the inside of the windows, etc, etc. Plus its depreciating like non-other. The elise is now off the list..

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1218157444012227484&q=top+gear

Wow. I've never seen anyone dog the vette like that. I think they were biased, but still interesting..

I think the newer Z06 will have the older NSX beat on maint. cost.

I guess it depends. With the 01 Z06 I dont think so. If you search their forum for the term 'oil' you'll see a lot of people going through 1 quart every 500-800miles!!! Its mainly a 01 problem that can be fixed, but still...

Good luck, whatever you get you will like. If you don't sell it & get the other.

Good advise. I think I'm going to go with an NSX and after 2 years if I'm ready to trade up, the 500hp z06 should have depreciated enough to even trade

 

[JDM7]

If you only drive with the pedal to the metal 24/7 (which would be impossible)

Drive all of your choices (more than the typical 2miles) and then decide which you would want to live with.

How do you figure that an Z06 is only a straight line performer?!?!?

It has a better lateral G rating then the NSX as it holds 1.0G to the NSX's .92G I believe.

Top Gear tested a new C6,(slightly less performance the a C5 Z06) and ran a lap time of 126.1 placing it 23rd on the all time list of cars tested. @ # 44 the Honda NSX Type-R ran a time of 1.31.6, and this is a better car then the regular nsx.

Also, the only reason I placed the vette higher then the NSX on maintenance/reliability is because the cost of fixing it is far cheeper and a lot easier to do. If cost wasn't an issue, they would be about equal.

also a 91 nsx costs the same as a 2002 Z06...just for measure

Oh and the Z06 will get 30MPG on the highway...dispite what someone said.

Dont get me wrong, both are great cars, but the Z06 is a better performer. The NSX is better to look at and sit in

 

[Wheelman]

The Z06 is a good car. It is comparable to a 1997 NSX and up. When I drove my friend's 2003 Z06 (405 hp), I was very surprised at the handling. I think Chevrolet did an excellent job at handling. It soaked up the bumps pretty well and felt like my NSX with Dali springs and stock shocks. My friend and I did a roll from 5mph and we were dead even all the way up to 110 where we decided to slow it down. The only mods I did were Taitec exhaust and Cantrell intake. I was very surprised but not as surprised as my friend who said "Damn, your car is fast!" in amazement.

Both are great cars, drive both and see which one lives up to your expectations and standards. I feel the Elise as a little toy go-cart for the street. After a while, it gets old.

Also, the only reason I placed the vette higher then the NSX on maintenance/reliability is because the cost of fixing it is far cheeper and a lot easier to do.

I don't think that is a correct statement. My maintenance on this car is a heck of a lot cheaper than my 2000 Honda Odyssey. I am not sure about the reliability part of that statement since the NSX was number one on JD Powers for reliability back in 95 or 96..that is of all vehicles (in front of Lexus at that time). I don't believe I have ever seen a Corvette on that list. Don't get me wrong, I like the Z06 but my opinion is that the NSX is definitely more reliable than the Z06) I don't know how much maintenance is on the Z06.

 

[ncdogdoc]

How do you figure that an Z06 is only a straight line performer?!?!?

It has a better lateral G rating then the NSX as it holds 1.0G to the NSX's .92G I believe.

Top Gear tested a new C6,(slightly less performance the a C5 Z06) and ran a lap time of 126.1 placing it 23rd on the all time list of cars tested. @ # 44 the Honda NSX Type-R ran a time of 1.31.6, and this is a better car then the regular nsx.

Also, the only reason I placed the vette higher then the NSX on maintenance/reliability is because the cost of fixing it is far cheeper and a lot easier to do. If cost wasn't an issue, they would be about equal.

also a 91 nsx costs the same as a 2002 Z06...just for measure

Oh and the Z06 will get 30MPG on the highway...dispite what someone said.

Dont get me wrong, both are great cars, but the Z06 is a better performer. The NSX is better to look at and sit in

The NSX will get the same highway mileage and better around town.

The road course will be very close until very long straights. The tranny and clutch feel are much better on the NSX. Plus, take the Z06 on regular streets and see what you think. BTW, the TopGear episode with the NSX-R was in the rain.

The fact that a 3-4 year old car costs the same as a 14-15 year old car says a bunch!!!

The Z06 is a great , cheap track monster, but not an all around car like the NSX, or Porsche, etc.

 

[Jonathan]

That's easy. NSX.

The old Z06 has a horrid interior -- cavalier cheap.

The Elise is a track car and nothing else.

Now, if you were looking 05 NSX vs 05 C6 Z06, I would go with the latter.

I don't know how much value I am adding to this thread with this, but I agree with everything in this statement. I have experience with all 5 cars (implicitly or explicitly referenced in this) and completely agree. Do not get a Lotus Elise unless you want to spank people around the track, I can't imagine driving it regularly in any other capacity.

js

 

[sahtt]

I applaud this forum for its attitude towards what almost always comes down to the classic zo6 vs NSX 'battle'. Throwing the porshe and lotus is sort of a waste, those are usually hit or misses immediately because they are unique.

First, if gas mileage actually means anything to you [which it probably doesn't], I would sincerely doubt the z06 will even get 20mpg during anything other than pure highway driving in 6th on cruise. The nsx is a 3ltr v6 with 2/3 the hp of the z06 6[?]ltr v8 400hp. On the track, this may become of some importance as the z06 starts getting 10mpg or less.

Second, the maint. issue bothers me as well. Yes, the nsx may cost more to maintain simply because it is older and the parts have very high markup, but a 91 NSX is not significantly less reliable than a 50k mile z06. You could replace all 4 tires, the clutch and pads for 2800 every year. I would expect about 1200 [not including mods or if you drive it more than the avg NSX].

Go drive the cars, it will be obvious, especially after you understand how people react to the car. I'd park a C5 [and have] right next to a minivan at the movie theatre, but the NSX is a special car that gets special attention whether you want it or not.

 

[NsXMas]

Drive all the cars you're thinking, the answer will be crystal clear.

Having driven the Corvettes, at Bondurant, hard on their track, it's no contest - NSX wins hands down.

 

[jond]

You could replace all 4 tires, the clutch and pads for 2800 every year. I would expect about 1200 [not including mods or if you drive it more than the avg NSX].

The cost of fixing the NSX was one my my biggest concerns, but I was talking to my acura dealer about this friday when I went in for an oil change and they said they just replaced a clutch, water pump, and timing belt in a NSX 2 weeks ago and he said it was around $4,000. I had the same done in my Type-R 2-3 months ago and it cost around $3,000. Thats really not that big of a difference!

Searching this forum, it seems very rare that anyone has to replace their engine short of someone leaving the oil drain plug out, and this is with several people putting a lot of HPDE miles on every year.

 

[nsxtasy]

they just replaced a clutch, water pump, and timing belt in a NSX 2 weeks ago and he said it was around $4,000.

Even that's a bit on the high side, although not unusually so. The clutch is typically $2000-2500 and the TB/WP is typically $1200-1500. So it could have been even closer to the cost of the same services for the ITR than it already was.

 

[nsxtcy85]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1218157444012227484&q=top+gear

I don't know if anyone has seen this video yet of Top Gear, but in it has a drag race of a porsche, TVR, NSX-T, and C6 vette.

I thought it was a little funny when they said all the cars have similar HP (considering the NSX has 290 and the vette has 400)

Anyways, the NSX surprisingly beats the C6 and finishes only behind the TVR.

Enjoy

That had to be one of the best displays of the quality of a vette ive ever seen. thank you for posting that.

 

[JDM7]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1218157444012227484&q=top+gear

I don't know if anyone has seen this video yet of Top Gear, but in it has a drag race of a porsche, TVR, NSX-T, and C6 vette.

I thought it was a little funny when they said all the cars have similar HP (considering the NSX has 290 and the vette has 400)

Anyways, the NSX surprisingly beats the C6 and finishes only behind the TVR.

Enjoy

But people also seem to forget that these guys hate american cars and the corvette even more. IMO there is nothing to pick apart on the new c6's interior. It's rather nice.

As far as that race goes, I don't know how the vette finshed where it did given the 12.3 in the 1/4 mile that they run. Perhaps they didn't know how to drive it or just didnt want it to do well....Also for comparison the c6 is far cheeper then any of those other cars, esp the TVR.

Now the C5 Z06 runs 11's stock with the current record being 11.7@117mph. Granted this car wasn't raced in the video, but the comparison between the NSX and Z06 is important information to this thread. There is a big difference in straight line acceleration. I personally have been in an NSX and a Z06. I have also seen a few races and they're not really close at all when it comes to straight line acceleration.

The good thing about video is that it shows that when they gave the vette to "the stig" the corvette finishes with a very impressive lap time. To which Jeremy try's to put down, but whatever you can't deny the time.

Don't get me wrong, i'm an NSX guy, but you have to be objective. The Corvette is a better performer.

 

[jond]

But people also seem to forget that these guys hate american cars and the corvette even more. IMO there is nothing to pick apart on the new c6's interior. It's rather nice.

Don't get me wrong, i'm an NSX guy, but you have to be objective. The Corvette is a better performer.

Yeah I drove a base vette a few months ago, and a Z06 yesterday. Two different cars. The Z06 is pretty impressive. I honestly couldnt find very much wrong with it. The interior wasnt that bad. I didnt like the stereo, or climate control, or shift nob, but thats kinda knit picking. The seats in the z06 are different then the base vette. They're thinner and seem pretty nice.

Acceleration was wicked. Almost too much. I want to floor it and feel some satisfaction of the car going, but with the Z06, I floored it, and I was doing over 90 before I could even think. Cool, but almost too much...

I really want to find someone to give me another ride in a NSX
Anyone in VA/DC/NC/MD here? I'll pay ya for your time

 

[2slow2speed]

Drive all the cars you're thinking, the answer will be crystal clear.

Having driven the Corvettes, at Bondurant, hard on their track, it's no contest - NSX wins hands down.

BTW: Not sure if you know this, but the C5's that are being used by Bondurant for their classes are "detuned" and tailored more for reliability as well as slightly easier handling for those not used to pushing the car to it's limits.

A stock C5 with a good driver can be as fast as a stock NSX on the track.

When it comes down to all the other factors like reliability, ergonomics, build quality, etc, it's no contest like you said

 

[FrEsHaZzBuRu]

Now the C5 Z06 runs 11's stock with the current record being 11.7@117mph.

Oh don't get me wrong, the C6 Z06 will detroy the current NSX, completely. I just found that video and thought it was pretty amazing how the NSX finished before the base c6 vette in the race. The current C6 and the C5 z06 is ALMOST equal in performance, which is why i thought i'd add it to this thread.

anyways, back on topic, the best way to choose is to set up a time with two owners to let you drive their cars back to back in the same day a few times. That way you'll have a better impression of either car from the other since there isn't a big gap of time between them.

Good luck!!


PS: another consideration would be to buy a 3rd gen RX7 (FD) and swap an LS1 into it. Then you'll have the best of both worlds. But i'm just throwing that up in the air.

<img src="http://forum.e46fanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163479&stc=1&d=1138150326"]http://forum.e46fanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=163479&stc=1&d=1138150326">

 

[JDM7]

Oh don't get me wrong, the C6 Z06 will detroy the current NSX, completely. I just found that video and thought it was pretty amazing how the NSX finished before the base c6 vette in the race. The current C6 and the C5 z06 is ALMOST equal in performance, which is why i thought i'd add it to this thread.

hehe i think you missed something in my post.

the Z06 I was talking about was the C5 Z06, which is miles ahead of the nsx in acceleration. The C6 Z06 is even faster and has trapped low 11's @ 128 mph!! However, regardless of that video, the regular C6 will still out accelerate an NSX. The best time I have seen for a stock NSX was a high 12 in the 1/4 where the new C6 runs low 12's. Think about it, the NSX has 290HP and weighs about 3100 lbs and the C6 has 400HP and weighs about 3200lbs. The C5 is a better match for the nsx in terms of acceleration.

 

[NetViper]

PS: another consideration would be to buy a 3rd gen RX7 (FD) and swap an LS1 into it. Then you'll have the best of both worlds. But i'm just throwing that up in the air.>

Wow. That thing would be a monster. I have always liked the RX7's, but their engine reliability problems kept me far far away.

 

[NetViper]

hehe i think you missed something in my post.

the Z06 I was talking about was the C5 Z06, which is miles ahead of the nsx in acceleration. The C6 Z06 is even faster and has trapped low 11's @ 128 mph!! However, regardless of that video, the regular C6 will still out accelerate an NSX. The best time I have seen for a stock NSX was a high 12 in the 1/4 where the new C6 runs low 12's. Think about it, the NSX has 290HP and weighs about 3100 lbs and the C6 has 400HP and weighs about 3200lbs. The C5 is a better match for the nsx in terms of acceleration.

I have seen a lot of C6 times at the strip and all lot of them do not do a whole lot better than 108-110MPH trap. The NSX is competitive there. I think the TQ management system messes the C6's up. I would think on a highway roll though, the C6 would destroy a stock NSX without any problem. They are really really nice cars. I fell in love with the one I drove.