I actually agree with several of the basic ideas of the article, but the many technical errors really leave me wondering if he understands much about cars or if he was just sloppy writing the article, and also doubting he drove an NSX anytime shortly before writing that article
>Bored and stroked to 3.2 liters, the new engine liberated an extra 20 horsepower
No, the stroke is identical between the 3.0 and 3.2 engines.
The headers has a considerable impact on the HP gain in '97 as well.
>Sleeves of fiber reinforced metals line each of the six the cylinders, providing the same friction coefficient as cast iron
The point of FRM was to allow increased bore while maintaining structural integrity in a block that didn't have much space between cylinder walls, not to "provide the same friction coefficient" (whatever that is supposed to be in reference to).
>Abandoning retractable headlights isn’t a new trend for sports cars – most manufacturers have, and for good reason: why have unreliable and complicated mechanisms for operation?
Sure, that may be the reason many manufacturers do it, but I think it's a fair bet the NSX team had other concerns (like 25lbs weight savings, HID packaging and an overall facelift for the car) considering how reliable the NSX pop-up headlights have been.
>While the almighty 7500 rpm redline in the NSX is one of the most impressive numbers, the one that unleashes the engine’s awesome power is 4600 rpm. With a variable intake manifold, tuned with the precision of a Swiss-engineered watch, the engine timing system allows the intake valve to open a second time within one cycle to draw in more air and fuel to fill the cylinder. The benefit of the system is clear, proving itself worthy for more than just the extra horsepower and torque
Has this guy even driven an NSX? 7500 redline is only on the uncommon automatics (the cars pictured in the article are manual).
The switchover around 4800 RPM is VVIS which has nothing to do with timing or valves. VVIS relates to the intake plenum.
Intake valves opening a second time? What? He obviously read "timing" somewhere in the description of VTEC and got seriously confused, and then confused VTEC with VVIS.
VTEC changes the timing and duration of valve lift but it doesn't cause any valves to open "a second time within one cycle" and that whole concept is ridiculous. This statement suggests the author doesn't even understand how a 4-stroke engine works.
And the VVIS switchover is completely freaking undetectable, power-wise. You can barely even feel the VTEC switchover on the NSX closer to 6000 RPM, unlike some other Honda cars with VTEC where the change is very pronounced. I can't imagine any sober person describing the VTEC crossover point in an NSX as something that "unleashes the engine’s awesome power." This suggests the author has either never driven an NSX, or has confused his memory of the drive with some other car.
Very sloppy journalism, and needlessly so. He could have made the same basic points without even mentioning all the details he was wrong about.
Or maybe I just need to get a life!
).
