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Author
NSX_Proj
8685 posts
Anaheim, CA
Post
Building the NSX My Way And actually driving it
It looks as though I'm what you call an "eager driver." At least that's what a group of NSX owners who rarely drive theirs calls me. Owning an NSX but hardly driving it might be considered cool to them, but I've never pretended to be cool. Apparently there's somebody with a '91 with less than 5,000 miles on it. By my math, he's putting about .76 miles on it a day. He must have a short commute. Contrary to what anybody who's content at waiting for his NSX to hit collector-car status thinks, the NSX was made to be driven-it is a Honda after all, not an Italian supercar that's synonymous with $15K clutch jobs. Since I plan on actually driving my NSX, I've decided to modify mine in a way that makes sense for a car that'll actually reveal itself from its car cover every once in a while, even if I am eager.
Author
NSX_Proj
8685 posts
Anaheim, CA
Post
First things first, the NSX's power-to-weight ratio wasn't too shabby by 1991's standards-roughly 270 hp at just over 3,000 pounds-but not so much by today's. A smog-legal, K-swapped Civic hatchback will put the NSX to shame numbers-wise and in a straight line; you've pretty much got to come to terms with this right off the bat, otherwise you'll be in for a world of disappointment. Heck, let's just admit it right now: Aside from the NSX's titanium rods and twin-disc clutch (NA1 only), the K20A is leaps and bounds more sophisticated than the C30A or C32B NSX engines. Think i-VTEC, roller rocker cams, etc., but nobody's here to talk about the K. On a more positive note, few other cars handle like the NSX, including pretty much anything with a K swap. There's just something about a true, mid-engine sports car that no other layout can offer.
As is the case with most supercars, it really is tough to make the NSX's suspension much better, especially when you consider that this is what Honda prided itself most in when designing the car. Take the '88-'91 CRX for example. We know that Honda made sacrifices on the performance side in order to sell more CRXs. As such, the suspension is a bit more compliant than we'd like, there's slop in the front end, and the spring rates are forgiving. Stiffer bushings and spring rates, thicker antiroll bars, and more aggressive alignment settings are easy and predictable ways to make most any CRX handle better. Apply the same philosophy to the NSX's all-aluminum, double-wishbone front and rear suspension and you might just ruin the Formula 1-inspired experience that Honda spent years developing.