In the three years since William Law picked up this sick 1998 NSX -which was already somewhat modified when he bought it-he's managed to hit almost every system on the car with some kind of improvement. Engine? Check-it's blown and water injected. Handling? Check-it's outfitted with a complement of HKS, Comptech, and OE JDM NSX-R tweaks. Aero? Believe it, baby-nothing short of a full spectrum of Downforce and more R parts. Clearly, lots of thought went into this build.
And yet, like any tuner worth his salt, he still wants more. When we talked to Law recently about the car, the product developer for Drag Pro and owner of DME was lamenting the issues he was having trying to make more power. His frustrations were fairly evident, as he seemed to resign himself to changes that he didn't want to make, namely going turbo. It's the kind of annoyance that we see tuners grapple with all too often.
What follows is the conversation we had with Law when we caught up with him not too long ago at his Walnut, Calif., residence.
Honda Tuning: So when did you pick this thing up?
William Law: 2003. This is actually my second NSX. It was one of those deals where I had always wanted one, but my first wasn't in that great of condition. I just wanted one cheap. Given the type of car it is, it would have cost so much more to get it painted, get the motor done, and everything else. I've had Hondas before and I thought the costs would be about the same, but then the paint was more than I expected, so I just sold that one and saved money to buy a better one.
HT: At that time, what did you think you were going to do with the car? What kind of plans did you have?
WL: I just wanted a little bit more of everything-more handling, more [power]. I think the one thing the car lacks is [power]. In handling and looks, the NSX is great; it just lacks [power].
HT: Have you hit your mark?
WL: I think I'm going to re-do it for this year's SEMA. It' s not quite the way I like it. It's a little too ... I wouldn't say ricey, but it's a little too sporty. I think I took the exotic look away from the car with the body kit I chose, so I might switch back to make it more exotic looking.
HT: Are you a big fan of the JDM aesthetic?
WL: I have a preference for Japanese parts, but it also depends on what's available, [how much money I have to spend], and whether the product actually works. I've always been partial to HKS, even when I was working for Blitz. I was operations manager for Blitz but I would only run HKS. They've been around the longest and their stuff is good.
HT: Whom did you get to do the work?
WL: The car came with the supercharger and headers. I'm the third owner of this car and I think the dealership did the installs for the first owner. They ran a basic fuel pump and regulator setup, and we tried to squeeze even more power out of it with a test pipe and water injection. I did most of that work.
HT: Is this last power figure-349whp-still accurate?
WL: Yeah. That was done at HKS by John Kuroyama (Manager, R&D) when he was testing the water injection.
HT: Any headaches working on the car?
WL: There were three frustrations. The first has to do with the unexpected costs in modifying this car. It may be Honda by badge, but in price, there is nothing Honda about it. It's not like a Civic or Integra where you can just run to the local auto parts store to buy something. I learned that the hard way.
The second thing is the power. I've always wanted more solid, reliable power. I don't want to do a twin turbo because I think it takes away from the car a little, but I do want to make as much as I can with the stock internals. I've had some reliable people help me, but we can't seem to get anymore out of the car.
Switching the front end to the 2002 front end was an issue, too. I heard many conflicting stories about how to do it, and when my body shop finished the swap, it didn't come out the way I had hoped. It was more involved than just taking off the old headlights and bumpers and putting new ones in. It's not like an ITR conversion, you know?
HT: That's rough. So what is next for your NSX?
WL: More power. If there's a way I can crank more power out of it, I want to find it. As much as I don't want to do a turbo, I might have to. I'd heard that [Toyota] MR2s can't get any more power over 350, 360hp because they're mid-engine, and things get so hot [in the engine compartment] that parts just start breaking. I'm worried that the NSX is a similar situation, where heat plays a big factor in how much power can be made. There's no place to put an intercooler or whatnot.
HT: Well, we hope you get it worked out. Thanks for your time.