Why do ppl alway's say the NSX isn't fast?

[I Grok NSX]

This is fast.

So what does owning a car like this mean? Get caught by the CHP (or the Highway Patrol of your state) going faster than 100 mph and most likely you'll be going to jail for a period of time. I really don't understand the need to talk about driving faster than the posted speed limit and the obsession with speed on public roadways. How many thousands of people will have to die on our roadways because someone has something to prove to themselves or someone else about how fast their car is?

For those of you who don't know, speed kills. You may be driving like a professional, but at over 100 mph, you won't have time to react to most situations involving other drivers, obstacles, road debris, and other unforeseen accident causing obstructions.

I bought the car because of these reasons:

It’s a Honda!
It’s beautiful (yep, even the Brooklands Green)
They are fairly rare, at least much rarer than a Corvette.
They handle great! Like I’ve read here before: “You drive a Corvette, you wear a NSX”.
It’s a Honda!

If you take your to the track and race it there, bravo to you.

Sorry for ranting, but my boss’s son-in-law was killed Sunday in a head-on collision near town. Both drivers were traveling 65mph….you do the math. Both drivers were killed. He drove a large SUV and the other driver was in a full size Lincoln Continental No one seems to know what happened, but driver inattention was probably to blame (talking on the cell, tuning the radio, etc.). I never met my boss’s son-in-law, but I can only imagine what my boss, daughter and children are going through now.

Please be careful out there. There are so many ways to die on the road, and you don’t even need to be the guilty party.

 

[Accord-R]

Oh and for the STI and EVO group I could put 20K into a civic si and have the same performance per price point as a Lancer or a Impreza so please stop going there. No I'm not bashing.

Actually about 5K in a Civic would do. I have an STi that is mildly moddified and the NSX is quicker. Plus the NSX isn't as inconsistant as the STi...hot days mak the car feel like it is missing it's turbo.


The one thing I don't like is that magazines question how they can sell a $90,000 car with a V6, but Porsche can?

 

[KingsCourt]

I've never felt like I need to prove anything to anyone regarding my NSX. I loved it back in January '96 when I got it, and still love it today. Let people believe or feel what they will. If I have to explain why I have an NSX over other cars, they probably won't understand. If I have to explain what makes the NSX special, they probably won't understand.

There is a nice little article that I read recently in a small magazine called M&M (Makes and Models). I don't know how far-reaching the publication is, but it's out of Florida, and it's a car/speed/racing enthusiat magazine. If available to you, check out the most recent issue (September 2005). It has a short but effective article saying good-bye to the production of the current NSX, and gets the point across why the NSX is, and always will be special.

 

[91 NSX]

It is all relative.

I remember one early Sunday morning when I was out riding my 599cc Kawasaki ZX-6R that I used to race. No one was on the road, except the guy in the red Viper with the reversed ball cap, that decided he was going to "sneak up" on me and show me the power of the V-10. Of course, that all ended when he got about 100 meters behind me, closing at max acceleration. I hadn't given him any indication that I saw him coming, had downshifted into second, went WFO up to 4th, then shut down after a couple hundred meters, with him quite a distance behind, following at a respectable distance. Should I have done that? Probably not...but the Viper driver didn't appreciate the power to weight ratio of the bike...and it was only a 599cc sport bike! My Ducati 998R makes 151.4 rwhp and weighs under 600 lbs with me on it. Compare an NSX (or just about any other street legal car) to that, and it will be a dog...except maybe at terminal velocity. Bottom line...no point in doing any of that nonsense anymore...except at the track.

I love my NSX. I absolutely don't care what anyone else thinks about it (in a negative way), but I'll talk all day long with someone who appreciates the car. It is an engineering tour de force, timeless in its beauty and still world class with regard to braking and handling...at least IMHO. And it is no slouch regarding speed either...this from someone who rides a bike that can hit 0-60 in under 3 seconds...(if I can keep the front wheel down). This car will be part of my estate when I finally pass away, because I'll never part with it. Ever. :smile:

 

[Tom239]

Sorry for ranting, but my boss’s son-in-law was killed Sunday in a head-on collision near town. Both drivers were traveling 65mph….you do the math.

The math can be counterintuitive. A head-on collision with another car (of equal mass) coming toward you at the same speed is comparable to hitting a solid rock wall.

Kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed. Thus, one NSX at 130 has twice the kinetic energy as two NSXs at 65. This only strengthens your point; that is, driving 130 exposes you to hazards even worse than a head-on at 65.

 

[JDM_SXE-10]

Regardless of how fast, quick, or slow the NSX is it's still a very nice piece of automotive machinery. People who say that they wouldn't pay that much for a car with that horsepower rating are people who aren't looking at the overall picture when considering a car. Although it may be true that you can get a car and make it faster for a lot less money, it doesn't mean that you will want that. You can turbocharge a Civic and make it faster than an NSX, or you can get an Evo or Sti and those are pretty quick too, but come on. The bottom line is this, almost anyone with their head on straight will gladly trade their Evo or Sti for an NSX, but an NSX owner wouldn't be so hasty to make that swap. So that should be a clear indication of why the NSX is priced as it. It is simply more desirable. When I am car shopping, I don't just look at straight line speed. Anyone can argue that they could have built something quicker for less money. If that were the case, we would all be driving Pintos or Beetles with wheelie bars.

 

[DURIM91NSX]

I have owned three Nsx's and have loved every one of them. The Nsx was my first dream car. I loved the look and the reliability of the car. I never once bought one because of how fast or slow it was. I bought it because of the design and the way the car drives. I recently bought a 2004 Gallardo. Yes this car is fast, and yes there are cars that are quicker and faster. But I also bought this car because of a lifelong dream of mine. Yes I like the idea of it being fast, but I love the design and history Lamborghini has built. Even if the Gallardo was slower, I still would have bought it. I really think looks and quality and design are more important to me then speed. All of these cars are fast, some more then others. My first love was a Nsx, and when they build it's successor, I will be one of the first to buy one. Everyone has there own reasons for what they do and drive.

 

[brian_k03]

I really think it is the torque thing, ppl think v8's are fast because of the low end grunt. Plus no movie has protrayed the NSX as fast yet. LOL

So ppl are gonna think its slow from some dumb reason.

 

[Jin1976]

XJ220 is also a 6 cylinder right?

The one thing I don't like is that magazines question how they can sell a $90,000 car with a V6, but Porsche can?

 

[Meeyatch1]

Lately I keep getting "why did you get the NSX? it's not fast". Anybody else really tired of hearing how not fast their NSX is? I know you can alway's go the forced induction route , but that's like admiting it's not fast.

Most people do not understand the car. I know that one of my concerns with the speed of the NSX is that which others have said already, the NSX power never really increased that much, but the crowd of cars it competed against saw significant increases in power. So when you compare it against that crowd it lags behind a little bit. Either way....I love my NSX's and will keep them forever.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I dynoed my car yesterday and it was only putting 248 whp.... so yeah it's slow, then since I have never driven on race fuel (only 5 gallon mixed with apporx. 8 gallons of premium pump gas), I was hitting 115 at 3rd gear redline....

Even with 2yrs ownership and 15+ track days, this car is still plenty fast... and too fast for street. Really don't see the need of 500hp......

It's funny that I always tell people the car is too fast for me, yet I have a license plate as "slowv6".

 

[Meeyatch1]

I dynoed my car yesterday and it was only putting 248 whp.... so yeah it's slow, then since I have never driven on race fuel (only 5 gallon mixed with apporx. 8 gallons of premium pump gas), I was hitting 115 at 3rd gear redline....

Even with 2yrs ownership and 15+ track days, this car is still plenty fast... and too fast for street. Really don't see the need of 500hp......

It's funny that I always tell people the car is too fast for me, yet I have a license plate as "slowv6".

How many miles are on your car?? I wonder why the low number. :frown:

 

[MCM]

Thats not low?
Thats about it for more or less stock 3.0 from what I have read and my own cars dyno sheet.
It is rear wheel HP you know, not at the crank. :biggrin:
(Note, most V8's are well under 300hp at the rear wheels, very few STOCK cars break the 300hp mark at the rear wheels.
Dyno numbers get thrown around on the net. but spend some time at a Dyno watching stock cars. Almost everyone is shocked with their results.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

well, I have uni filter, unknown brand open intake tube, comptech header and taitec JGTC exhaust. Drvorlk just dynoed his car ahead of me and his car is bone stock with 238.8hp@7750rpm with 172.8 lb/ft@ 6750rpm, I'm actually have 249.8@ 7500rpm and 187.1 lb./ft.@6750rpm... Dyno HP doesn't mean anything to me, as we all know the calibration of the dyno is different with different shops... We did also mixed some race fuel in our tank, so if we were using pump gas, it will be even less.

BTW, my car is at 120,7xx miles and from seats of the pants and track experience, my car had been stronger than most other nsx. (Then again, there's not a whole lot of nsx up here, less attending local meet, even few who goes to the track. )

 

[ryans]

I just raced a corvette (2003 or so). I let him get in front of me then we both got on it. He didn't pull on me, i was very surpised. we only got up to about 90 though.

 

[xsn]

I don't really get the "who cares how fast it is" attitude. If you want a slow, low power, fun car get a Miata. I am more interested in having a world-class supercar. The NSX was exactly that when it came out but it's clearly slipping with respect to the competition over the last several years. Honda must agree since they recently killed it.

 

[skyguy]

Written by a well respected automotive Journalist:

He just "Gets it."

Honda has abandoned Japanese build values and deigned that the NSX should be handbuilt four-times slower than other Hondas. The car took six years to develop — twice as long as more mundane Japanese machinery, and Honda has drawn deeply from its knowledge of race car engineering. The double-wishbone suspension is cast from aluminium instead of the usual steel. And the suspension was fine-tuned by, among others, Ayrton Senna.
But nowhere is the NSX’s engineering more impressive than in the engine, a quad-cam, 3.0-litre, 24-valve transverse V6 with variable valve timing and induction producing 270bhp at 7100rpm and 210lb ft of torque – remarkable for normal aspiration and just 2977cc.
It is a tour de force worthy of the greatest names in motoring. No question at all, this V6 will be remembered as one of the great powerplants.


On the road

Honda NSX (90-02) Coupe 3.0 2dr -
NSX sacrifices a little grip for benign breakaway
Its comparative lack of torque means the NSX hasn’t the legs of its best opponents. Not that it’s slow; any car that can pass 60mph in 5.8sec and cover the quarter mile in 14.2sec is obviously extremely quick. It’s just that the Porsche, Lotus and Ferrari are faster still. Flat out the NSX flew round Millbrook at an average of 159mph, beating all others, bar the Ferrari at 163mph.
And yet, we would happily lose a little outright speed for an engine like the NSX’s. It has a throttle response that would impress even Ferrari drivers, and real urge over an engine band at least 6000rpm wide. Enjoyment is enhanced hugely by the noise, comparable to no other road car engine in our experience. Anyone familiar with the struggle to cope with a mid-engined supercar’s gearchange will find the NSX’s light, well defined and balk-free gate a revelation.
For the first time, a sporting Japanese car can be bought with a chassis that has a solution to every problem. Most of the time that solution is grip, but it is its forgiving nature that distinguishes the NSX from the rest of the mid-engined brigade.
It has only fractionally less grip than a 348, but because it allows you your mistakes, it inspires more confidence than the snappy Ferrari. Which, in real terms, makes the NSX the faster car.
For most, it will more fun too, as only the exceptionally talented would drift a 348. And mid-engined cars tend to ride well – the NSX is no exception.

 

[cfra7]

The car isn't fast based on the Money you pay but neither is a Ferrari. If performance is valued above all, the NSX isn't the car for you. I think the NSX is a great street car and good for one or two days of open track a year. Anything more serious than that, there are a lot of better choices for the person who places a premium on lap times.

I've had my 1991 for about 6 years. I plan on selling it in 2009 but I don't know if I'll get another one. If I only intend to use it as a street car, then I'll buy another NSX. However, if I decide to use it as my track car as well, I'll choose something faster for the price (Viper, Z06). I would consider a supercharged NSX with a good suspension and brakes provided someone else built the car and I could buy it for under $50K....

Don't get me wrong. It's still a great performance car for under $30K, but when Viper GTS and Z06 Corvettes can be purchased for under $40K, then NSX isn't in that performance league.

 

[timothyaw]

I gave that a shot once. Saw an STi coming up; so I checked it out as it approached.

MY EYES! MY EYES!

Ive never been the same since. :biggrin:

That is too funny, good one!!

 

[Meeyatch1]

Rode in a friends 350Z twin turbo.....WOW!! Almost stupid fast.

The reason I say this....even with his car being able to walk away from my NSX, I would still take my NSX home at night and not look back. It is the only car I have owned that I look back at when I close the garage door and miss being in it.

 

[Frankieb1977]

It just comes down to the definition of fast...for instance say you own a 10 sec mustang...is an NSX going to be fast to you...not if you only go in a straight line. I have owned and driven all kinds of cars...each fast in their own respects...some were fast in a straight line...some where just insane in a straight line...some where fast in the top end...some were fast around a circuit track...it is just relative as to what is fast...I am willing to bet a lot of the people who say the NSX is not all that fast are simply comparing 1320 numbers because in general that is what America's car scene was based on...1/4 mile Detroit fueled drag racing brawn...America is still in a state of infancy when it comes to overall refined automotive sports.

 

[NMYMIRR]

I don't know what you're all talking about. It looks plenty fast just sitting there idle! :wink:

 

[Frankieb1977]

/\ Nice rims...

 

[RON98]

not quick and not slow

 

[White98LS]

It's funny that I always tell people the car is too fast for me, yet I have a license plate as "slowv6".

Whoa, I remember seeing your car by Husky Stadium about a year ago! Weird stuff. That license plate rules.

I've always thought "Speed is relative" is a good saying. A car can feel fast, until you have a go in a faster one... then it suddenly seems a little slow. Even if you're just playing Gran Turismo 4 this is blatantly apparent. You can more or less get used to just about anything. If your NSX is ever feeling slow, just drive around in something like an Accord for a day... it will feel fast again.

Another good point is what you can use on the street if you don't track your car. I read a good article a few years back in Car and Driver, in which they talked about how the base Miata is so much fun because you can wring the thing out and slide it everywhere just at fairly normal speeds driving around to the store. You can't do that in a super-fast, super-grippy car... it's actually LESS fun sometimes. I got a ride in an STi with coilovers and some mods, boosting at about 20psi. It was amazingly fast and had astounding grip. I thought about getting one when I graduate for about one minute... then I realized with that kind of speed A) I wouldn't be able to access its potential very much unless on-track and B) I would get in a lot of trouble very quickly.