I tried to search the forums and looked at the service manual but I still have some question. I want to remove the a/c and all the unnecessary parts of the blower system.
Removal of the a/c compressor :
Did someone do it ?
Straight forward, discharge the system, then simply pull the compressor and bracket in the back off the engine block, the evaporators, shrouds, bracket, and dryer in the front all go, then pull out all the front to back lines. For the compressor, I've found dropping the beam for the front engine mount makes it a little easier to finagle it out. It's just time.
Do I need to remove the rear beam ?
Are you talking about the rear crash bumper beam? I would. You want to prioritize the weight on the vehicle. Removing weight from the extreme ends in will reduce your PMI, removing weight from the top down will reduce your CG. Similar to swinging a baseball bat the motion characteristics of the heavier end is a lot harder to control.
Heavy crash beams, exhausts, radiators, poorly located batteries, etc... bias the weight and want to either pull the rear end around or not let the front turn in as quickly. The less you have, the more responsive to input the vehicle will be to input. Less weight also means less weight transfer. It makes a world of difference. Just replacing the stock 69lb S2K exhaust with a light weight 9lb race one, and taking out the crash beams makes a very noticeable difference in how the car feels. On the NSX it is to a slightly lesser extent due to details, but still very good. All the little details are what counts.
Blower/heater :
For the track guys : is it useful to keep a blower system at the track ? In case of mist on the windows... Or did you remove it ?
Take it out. For one, as to safety you don't want hot engine coolant in the cabin area. Two, it causes coolant to bypass the more efficient radiator. Three, even if it is off you can feel the radiant heat off it. Last, the HVAC system unit behind the dash is actually a lot more than you would think when you drop it on the scales. I think wet with fluids it is around 25 some odd pounds. Can't speak as to your street/track ratio, but generally not desired nor needed in a race car and some rules make you take it out.
I drive in pouring down rain, and a coat of anti-fog will usually do the job best. Even if you want to swap your front windshield to polycarbonate they have anti-fog coatings for them too. :wink:
If you live in a cold climate and are concerned about not having any heat on those rare times when you might need it (on way to track at night, etc...), don't be.
I found a solution. Ok, you would be absolutely amazed at how much hot air a radiator flows when you get the NSX good and hot.
Just take off your radiator shroud. Put in a driver cooling duct, use something like a four inch brake duct through the firewall up from the front of the vehicle. You can use it as a driver cooling duct to supplement your cool shirt for hot days, then with a simple re-route up behind the radiator you'll have all the heat you could ever want in the cabin on the street.
If you're racing in a climate where it rains a lot or there is a lot of humidity in cold temperatures like up here in Washington state, you DO NOT want to remove the blower motor. Its fine if you don't have heat, but you definately need to retain the defrost mode + blower. I don't know how many times I've seen cars with out defrost or some type of blower on the windshield have to pull into the hotpits JUST TO WIPE DOWN THE WINDOW. I race in the NW Honda Challenge up here, ask anyone that races - if you can't see, you can't win. I run with the blower on defrost 100% of the time when its wet or raining or if it even looks like it'll rain during the race/qualifying/practice session.
