Which is better hard top, or NSX-T?

Joined
8 March 2010
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397
Location
Charlotte, NC
WEAK thread:
Just curious, which people like better, hard top or Targa? I have owned both and use my Targa ALL the time, but I know some people never take there's off, makes no sense to me! :rolleyes:
 
The better question would be price no object which would you prefer.Without price accounted for the data is corrupt as there are a significant number of new owners who can't afford the price diferential of the t's.
 
I have a 2000. I would prefer a coupe. I do occasionally take the targa off, but I would prefer the rigidity and weight savings since I track my car often. I have often thought of selling it to buy an earlier car, but overall it's not worth the hassle. If the NA2 coupes weren't like a Unicorn, I'd buy one of those... :cool:
 
I have a 2000. I would prefer a coupe. I do occasionally take the targa off, but I would prefer the rigidity and weight savings since I track my car often. I have often thought of selling it to buy an earlier car, but overall it's not worth the hassle. If the NA2 coupes weren't like a Unicorn, I'd buy one of those... :cool:

agreed. even thought of getting a na1 shell and rebuilding it with all the na2 stuff from my car but that a bit extreme.
 
I love the 02-05 hard tops, oh wait... we don't get those. If you ask my wife she will tell you NSX-T. If money not a question then the NSX-T to coupe conversion that was done by a primer was awesome!
 
The answer to this will depend greatly on how the car gets used and where the owner is geographically located.

Track Junkies will almost invariably prefer a hard top due to the reasons that SL65Captain stated.

Someone living in so-cal/FL that does not have interest in track driving would be far more likely to prefer a "T".

I'd bet a Targa would not be as desirable in Seattle/Maine/Upstate NY due to the limited periods of top-down weather (as compared to the southwest).

I live in TN, and have a t-top MR2. While they have been nice on occasion, I would not miss them. I'm just too lazy to take them out/put them in and it tends to rain randomly......I'd be better off with a sunroof. As Doc stated though, I'm one of those who would not have been able to afford the typical NSX-T even if I had wanted one. I like my coupe just fine for my purposes.
 
I drove both the T and a couple. If your daily driving or just a weekend ride the T is great and plus you get more style points if you got the T lol. If you were like me and wanted a NSXT but want to maybe spend low 30s look for a 95 or 96 sometimes you can get lucky sometimes on them.
 
I got the targa despite living in chicago. Unlike convertables living in a cold climate with a targa is not bad.. when the roof is on its identical to a couple for all practical purposes. Im sure due to the fact there is a seal rather than just a roof maybe a fraction of a degree temp difference but nothing I have noticed. True Ive only had my car for about a month but its been as warm as 83 and as cold as 35 in that span.

One thing I dont like about the roof off is the noise. If you are on the expressway forget about conversations. But, then again.. with a targa you can decide to just put the roof on...

I think in a rollover crash I would prob wish I got a coupe... difference in weight for road use is prob not an issue... and lets face it, you get a 3.2L not a 3.0L... this car needs all the HP it can get!

Jman


I have a 98 coupe. I'll be honest when I was looking for a NSX, I wanted a t-top, but I found this one close to me and could not refuse. I love the regid coupe. 100mph feels like 50mph.
 
Looks = T
Performance = Coupe

I couldn't stand the body twist and cowl shake on the T. I thought the same of the Toyota Supras. I had 2 of them and left the top on because I couldn't stand the body movement. Engineers spend most of their time keeping the body rigid on sports cars (hince using a Cray computer), and then marketing gets their way for sales purposes and cuts the top in two. UHG!
 
Someone living in so-cal/FL that does not have interest in track driving would be far more likely to prefer a "T".

I'd bet a Targa would not be as desirable in Seattle/Maine/Upstate NY due to the limited periods of top-down weather (as compared to the southwest).

I disagree. In upstate NY, a Targa is very desirable. It may be a short driving season, but they get less rain than sunny Florida and have less chance of getting caught in a sudden downpour. I would have the top and the A/C cranked up on summer days in Florida.
 
Funny you ask this question as I have been thinking about it recently. Originally when I bought my car, I wanted a coupe for above mentioned reasons, rigidity etc. However I don't track my car lie in Florida and the weather has been beautiful of late, so I have been thinking how nice it would be to have a targa in this kind of weather. To the point where I am thinking about buying an NSX-T that said, I do love my coupe.
 
Of course a COUPE will be better for Track, but I am not sure how much "better" ..... come on, there's not many 3.2 track rats here -comparing with the overwhelming quantity of Na1's @ tracks-

I bet if we all owners of the "crappy" "flexing-body and oh-so-heavy" nsx-T's start turning our already faster cars into TRACK-rat cars we will start to be faster also @ the track ....

Something else, a better driver is a better driver, T or not T
 
...but they get less rain than sunny Florida and have less chance of getting caught in a sudden downpour.

+ 1 ... starting in June all the way to November, almost 98% of weekends rain s REALLY hard in here .... like, you can just lift you car .. even stop paying insurance for those months until rains are gone ....
 
I would never get the T, I'm still trying to stiffen up my coupe because its not stiff enough for me. I can't imagine how flimsy a T top would feel. Driving on the crappy road in NYC really test the strength of a vehicles chassis and I just can't deal with all the potential squeeks and rattles that is associated with a T top.
 
..squeeks and rattles that is associated with a T top.

almost 2 years of my NSX ownership and I think only once I have heard a noise or rattle i guess ... I think is more of a myth than anything .. seriously!
 
Targa... best of both worlds.

And with the top on, I feel targa's are very rigid.
 
I prefer hardtops, but that's me and I'm probably in the minority. I "NEVER" open the sunroofs on my other 3 vehicles.....only once a year to make sure they work. I've had cars with T-tops (mustang, Pulsar NX, etc) and never removed the t-tops....maybe once or twice a year (and that was living in the deep South). The Pulsar even had a place to secure the t-tops in the vehicle and conversion was very quick. Maybe, I'm just too lazy...who knows. However, I also don't like the increased wind noise with the roof off, windows open, etc.

Just me, just my opinion.
 
...True Ive only had my car for about a month but its been as warm as 83 and as cold as 35 in that span.

One thing I dont like about the roof off is the noise. If you are on the expressway forget about conversations. But, then again.. with a targa you can decide to just put the roof on...

Noise is mitigated by rolling up the windows with the top off. It's actually pretty still inside the cabin at speed with the windows up. You do look like a nancy boy, but you are in an NSX. So still pretty cool...

Cold and heat extremes are mitigated as well.

Targa is the best of both worlds, IMHO. Not the most structurally rigid platform but certainly enough for the occasional stint at the track- as long as you sloutch.
 
There are plenty of track rats with T's and we don't feel like the car with the roof on is any slower than a coupe...ie me,rso,peter mills,dave moore,......
 
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