Another potential NSX owner here

[judas]

Hi all,

Been getting that 'want a new car' itch for a while now - doctor gave me some cream, but it didn't work :wink: So I'm drawing up a shortlist of cars to test drive with a view to changing in the next few months.

Currently driving an Alfa GTV V6, which I love but... Biggest problem is it's FWD and I have a long history of RWD cars. It's also quite nose-heavy with a big V6 over the front wheels, which makes for interesting handling, as do the 'uprated' springs and dampers fitted by the previous owner. The V6 sounds glorious though and it shifts fairly well.

Before this I had a TVR Tuscan and Chimaera - at the same time! :shock: (Well, the Chim was the wife's but I pretty much used it daily for at least 6 months).

Budget will be around £20k and the current serious contenders on the shortlist are:
*S2000
*Boxster S
*NSX

I've drove a Boxster S and S2000 about nine months ago when I sold the Tuscan - both impressed me enormously, with the Boxster S was ahead by a nose as it felt more composed chucking it around the bends; I also preferred the low down torque over the VTEC & abilty to rev to 9k.

So, where does the NSX fit into this? My initial plan was to only consider RWD 2 seater convertibles I could use daily without running up eye-watering bills on a frequent basis. I have no need for anything particularly practical, but I do want something 'special' and I think the NSX has that in spades.

I've read the buyer's guide etc. and the obvious thing to do now would be to go on a test drive, but I'm not ready to buy yet and I don't want to waste anyone's time. But there are a few questions I'd be grateful if someone could answer:

What's the power delivery like? What I know of Honda engines is that they tend to be peaky with little torque at the bottom end and most of the power being delivered at the top end of the rev range. Is this the case with the NSX engine too?

According to Evo mag, the steering is on the slow side. How slow are we talking here? My Tuscan was 1.7 turns lock to lock, which was a little excessive but very direct and although it was twitchy it did make chucking it about easy and fun :D

What's the turning circle like? Both the Tuscan and GTV have apalling turning circles. I work in the city centre and have to park in a mutistorey carpark and it would be nice to have something that doesn't need three counties to turn around.

I did have some more questions, but in the time I'd typed all this out I've forgotten them - d'oh! Ah well, I'll post them when I remember.

Cheers,

Pete

Edit: just remembered one of the other questions :)

How are the pedals setup for heel & toe-ing?

Ta!

[banzaicars]

Welcome Pete,

I'm a fairly new NSX owner having bought my '96 Manual Targa in Feb this year.

However, I have owned most *** performance cars including Evos, Skylines and Scoobies and I can say without doubt that this is the best - easily.

As for your shortlist: in my opinion the Boxster is not even close to being exclusive and are stereotyped to having hairdressing poser owners who can't afford a 911. The S2000 is fantastic but agree about the torque issue.

Onto the NSX. 1st of all the chances of you passing another one are so remote that you have more chance of someone seeing you in a Boxster and thinking "wow Porsche are really changing their styling these days".

As for the Torque. Sure it doesn't have the blistering grunt of an Evo and certainly not the same as a Tuscan; however, it still does pull very well from 2000rpm - unlike any other Honda I've driven - enough to feel quick certainly.

I think the steering is very good (mine has PAS, pre '93 models don't) with a superb turn-in; its turning circle is not brilliant but not bad either.

The pedals are set quite close together so would take well to heel-toe work (not that I can drive like that!)

If its any use to you I can, and have got, 30+mpg out of mine too!

All I would say is this:

The NSX is a stunningly beautiful car that drives as good as it looks. Performance Car Magazine had it as their Performance Car of the Year TWICE and many other publications tested it against a Ferrari 348 and Porsche 911 and it came out tops.

Find a good one around the 20k mark and not only will you adore the car but it shouldn't lose much money either.

Hope this helps

Keith

[ctrlaltdelboy]

welcome Pete

have a watch of this video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2949919259744802395

it might help you make your mind up ;)

[mutley]

I'm pretty new to the NSX as well, and I have to agree about the exclusivity of it, you just never see them. I have even had people asking me what is it?. Boxters are everywhere.

As for power, I've had supra turbo and mitzi GTO twin turbo, both fast cars but after taking the NSX out for a blast, to remove the smile from my face you would either have to use a hammer and chisel or tell me my dog is dead!.

My one is a '92, so no power steering which can be a pain for parking, but I can look way beyond that.

hope that is some use to you.

Jim

[Papalazarou]

Hi,
I owned a Boxster S last year and thought the following:
1. when I'm working I see up to 10 Boxsters a day.
2. With large wheels it's really twitchy a higher speeds. The NSX is rock solid at all speeds.
3. There's not much difference in torque between a Boxster and an NSX but the Honda has the top end too. (the boxster would start tailing off just over 6K)
4. The Porsche has sharper steering at lower speeds.
5. The NSX sounds a 1000 times better! (than nearly everything)
6. I think the build quality of the Honda is better, plus all the ally suspension parts and titanium engine parts (O.k some).

There was other stuff, but those were the things that stuck out for me.

The Porsche is a great car though and does 9/10ths very well.

James.

[judas]

Thanks for the replies folks - much appreciated!

Take everyone's point about the Boxster, but I do have a set of crimping irons at the ready if I take that route ;)

Chances are it will be my only car, so my main concerns are the day-to-day usability, not just in terms of cost (though this of major importance), but things like how does it behave in slow traffic, what's rear/side visibility like for parking etc.

In terms of cost, the GTV I have now is hardly cheap to run even with servicing at an indy. I'm not necessarily looking to reduce this, but I'd rather it didn't head back up towards the 'running two TVRs' levels it was last year! Servicing costs, from what I've heard, are sane, but what are the costs of consumables and the like: standard discs and pads, tyres and clutch replacement?

Thanks,

Pete

[judas]

welcome Pete

have a watch of this video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2949919259744802395

it might help you make your mind up ;)

:shock:

Sold to the man with his jaw on the floor! :D

Seriously impressive performance in that company - I mean the speed he was taking those corners was unreal...

[Minch]

Excellent video isn't it!

Back to your other comments:

I've recently bought a '92 NSX and I can honestly say its a very spractical day-today car. Rear visibility, in fact visibiltiy in every area, is extremely good for a car of this type. As for using it in slow traffic, I've been driving 25 miles, with the world and his dog, into Islington (early morning) and the return journey in the rush hour. Now this is probably where I should find problems with the NSX but no its behaved impecably. The only thing I am missing is PAS being a pre-'93 but its only at very low speeds that there is an issue (I'm talking about reversing into a parking space on full lock!). I've owned a lot of cars which are faster and some which handle better but for a car which was designed in the early ninties its does everything sooo well.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed, trust me. :)

Nathan

[ctrlaltdelboy]

.....the speed he was taking those corners was unreal...
well, a standard NSX does give away a bit to the NSX-R in terms of power, weight and rigidity, but all of those are relatively easily sorted :D

so pending a few upgrades to the car (and the driver?) that video is not an unrealistic representation of the performance you can expect from an NSX.

[gumball]

the nsx will trundle about in traffic just like a "normal" car and then tranform into a snarling beastie when the traffics out of the way, the visability is better than most cars let alone supercars, but its the engine I like most and the comfort and the economy and the looks and the high speed stability and the handling and the exellent braking and the reliability and the steering feel, over all its ok :D

[Minch]

I think you hit the nail on the head better than I did!

One last thing, if you've owned a TVR before then you'll know that the clutch and gear change aren't exactly the lightest on earth. The NSX (apart from a notchy 1st & reverse) has such an easy gear change with hardly any effort needed. Same for the clutch!

[kevinpsw]

I got my NSX a month ago. I'd thought long and hard and viewed 4 other cars (and travelled 100s of miles to do so) before I found the one I bought. I also researched several others.

To go down the Boxster route was tempting - there were at least 4 within 5 miles of where I live that were all sound options and they are great cars (even the 2.5) - but they are very common. I also understand that they can attract vandalism. I chose the NSX and the clincher was that the NSX was a competitor for the Careera, a car that costs almost twice as much as a Boxster. Arguably, therefore, the NSX is in a different bracket from the Boxster. Also, the NSX will become a classic car in the future whereas the Boxster will end up like the 944.

I am happy with my choice and I do like the positive interest the car attracts. It offers the performance, exclusivity and looks of a Ferrari, generally without the horrendous running costs of one.

Whatever you decide, you must try an NSX first. Make it a manual. An auto might be more relaxing around town but you would miss out on the fun on open roads.

[judas]

It will defintely have to be a manual. Despite having knackered knees I don't do automatics.

Anyone have to dimensions to hand, particularly width and length? Would be useful to know if it will fit in the garage, though looking at the length of the doors it will be interesting trying to get in and out even if it does fit.

[ctrlaltdelboy]

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Technical/images/97nsxcapacities.gif

[judas]

Brilliant! Just what I needed - thank Darren :D