0 - 60 performance of automatic

[philboo]

Can anyone confirm the original actual 0 - 60 figures for automatic NA1. I've found figures from 5.8 to 6.8 to 7.5 compared to the manual which is quoted to be 5.6 seconds.

[goldtop]

Hang on - you've driven both! Using the stats instead of your experience seems ... well ... a bit strange!

I suspect from your postings that you're mostly interested in low miles for low(er) cost, in which case an auto is a great choice. So if the performance of the auto you drove was fine, why not just buy something like that?

[philboo]

Hang on - you've driven both! Using the stats instead of your experience seems ... well ... a bit strange!

I suspect from your postings that you're mostly interested in low miles for low(er) cost, in which case an auto is a great choice. So if the performance of the auto you drove was fine, why not just buy something like that?

I didn't drive any of them quickly, it was more about the difference between the drive. The auto felt fine but I would like to know which of these supposed 'official' figures is actually correct for my reference.

I'm happy to admit I'm torn, today I'd nearly decided to go for the auto on condition/colour and only one owner as it's perfect except the auto aspect but, I didn't dislike driving the auto.

I had looked at more photos of the purple one which I think is probably a more saleable choice being manual and a targa but I have to be honest, it's a nice car but it just doesn't look like the NSX I dreamed of years ago. The colour is fine but the interior, although nice isn't what it choose.

I've only had one other car mentioned to me which sounds like it'd be a good option and may come up for sale, but they want more than I can stretch to. If I had plenty money I'd buy both the auto and purple one but getting just one will be tight but I think it'll be worth it.

[Philip]

Phil, what does it matter? You aren't going to be doing any 0-60 sprints anywhere are you?

[philboo]

Phil, what does it matter? You aren't going to be doing any 0-60 sprints anywhere are you?

You're correct, but equally I never drive at anything approaching the maximum speed of a car either but I'd still want to know the max speed figure.

[L696ULO]

I had looked at more photos of the purple one which I think is probably a more saleable choice being manual and a targa but I have to be honest, it's a nice car but it just doesn't look like the NSX I dreamed of years ago. The colour is fine but the interior, although nice isn't what it choose.

To add to your dilemma there are a pair of black NSX seats on EBay if you wanted to go for the purple and change the interior. If it hasn't been mentioned before I think Sudesh changed an interior for another owner so it might be worth looking at the thread to see what was involved.

With regards to performance the Honda NSX brochure quotes for the f-matic max 162mph and 7.5 0-60

Hope this gets you further down the line to NSX ownership.

regards Rich

[coolfunkyd]

Reading all your posts on this site your story is so very similar to mine. I am 44 and when I was 21 I can remember looking through a showroom window at an NSX thinking maybe one day (but not really believing I would ever own one) In one post you spoke about your CRX, well I loved preludes. I bought a used 2.0i that I loved and ended up owning twice (a story for another day) The car was a manual and on the second time of ownership the mileage was over 100,000 and the rear arches had started to disappear but still drove really well. Later that year a 2.3 4ws auto in mint condition came up for sale and I just had to have it. Even though the car had more features and condition was great I still missed my old manual 2.0i. I nearly jumped at the first NSX I saw last year (an auto) but after speaking to the guys on this site and my Prelude experience I now own a manual car and are really happy. I had the front bumper, bonnet and wings painted on my car at Christmas ( an easy decision as they had been painted before) In600 miles I have a few stone chips so your never keep your car in mint condition and trust me you will be driving your car any chance you get. Don't get too hung up on performance figures as when your driving your own NSX you won't worry if it reaches 60mph in 5 or 7 seconds. Good luck.

[NSXGB]

There are a lot of parts that need changing to do a full interior colour swap, including the dash, door cards, carpets and side trims. Good thing is that there are a lot of black parts available second hand as it's the most common colour.

[philboo]

Reading all your posts on this site your story is so very similar to mine. I am 44 and when I was 21 I can remember looking through a showroom window at an NSX thinking maybe one day (but not really believing I would ever own one) In one post you spoke about your CRX, well I loved preludes. I bought a used 2.0i that I loved and ended up owning twice (a story for another day) The car was a manual and on the second time of ownership the mileage was over 100,000 and the rear arches had started to disappear but still drove really well. Later that year a 2.3 4ws auto in mint condition came up for sale and I just had to have it. Even though the car had more features and condition was great I still missed my old manual 2.0i. I nearly jumped at the first NSX I saw last year (an auto) but after speaking to the guys on this site and my Prelude experience I now own a manual car and are really happy. I had the front bumper, bonnet and wings painted on my car at Christmas ( an easy decision as they had been painted before) In600 miles I have a few stone chips so your never keep your car in mint condition and trust me you will be driving your car any chance you get. Don't get too hung up on performance figures as when your driving your own NSX you won't worry if it reaches 60mph in 5 or 7 seconds. Good luck.

Thank you so much for sharing that with me, makes me think I'm not totally mad. The prelude was also a great car back then.

I'm not sure if I should just wait and keep saving, just don't want to look back in 2 years and think I wish I'd bought one.

[philboo]

To add to your dilemma there are a pair of black NSX seats on EBay if you wanted to go for the purple and change the interior. If it hasn't been mentioned before I think Sudesh changed an interior for another owner so it might be worth looking at the thread to see what was involved.

With regards to performance the Honda NSX brochure quotes for the f-matic max 162mph and 7.5 0-60

Hope this gets you further down the line to NSX ownership.

regards Rich

Thanks Rich

You can see why I'm interested as I also found a 7.5 figure but also these others:

6.8 seconds http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=13002

6.8 seconds

http://eng.motorsporlari.net/car/tech_spec.asp?specID=11282&make=Honda

6.6 seconds
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/auta_perf1.php


6.3 seconds
http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1991/1106330/acura_nsx_automatic.html

Just seems a big difference between 6.3 which I think is definitely wrong to 7.5seconds and I just wondered what the offical honda spec was.

I think I still have a 1989 magazine review hidden in a box somewhere.

[Philip]

Phil,

just dug out my old mags and found this:
Autocar Dec 1990 gives 0-60 of 5.8 for a manual car.
Performance car April 1991 gives 5.3 for a manual car.
Fast Lane March 1991 gives 5.7 for a manual car.
Classic and Sportscar Oct 2014 gives 5.8 for a manual car and 7.3 for an automatic.
hope this helps.
phil

[philboo]

Phil,

just dug out my old mags and found this:
Autocar Dec 1990 gives 0-60 of 5.8 for a manual car.
Performance car April 1991 gives 5.3 for a manual car.
Fast Lane March 1991 gives 5.7 for a manual car.
Classic and Sportscar Oct 2014 gives 5.8 for a manual car and 7.3 for an automatic.
hope this helps.
phil
That's brilliant, thanks for looking those up.

[L696ULO]

I've been through my NSX library too!
looked again at the Honda brochure and the 7.5 is 0-62mph not sure if the extra 2mph be the difference
Apr 2005 Classic & sport car quote 0-60 7.3
and June 2009 Octane say 0-60 6.8

[manisandher]

Hi Phil, I don't really have much to offer here as I've never driven an auto, but let me just share a couple of quick thoughts on my experience. As an ex-NSX owner (albeit with the car still sitting in my garage) hopefully I'm reasonably unbiased.

I went from an S2000 to a facelift MT. I had both cars at the same time for about 4 months before I off-loaded the S2000, so could make some comparisons. Sure there were some similarities, but in brute performance terms, the NSX was soooo much faster and more dynamic than the S2000. FWIW, I actually preferred the gear change and steering on the S2000, but in every other respect, the NSX trounced it. The S2000 had a claimed 0-60 of sub 6 secs. Of course I never did a drag race, but I really wouldn't be surprised if my NSX was sub 5 secs. Take this with a pinch of salt though.

I had the clutch replaced on my NSX a year or so ago (with only 22k on the clock - shocking). This TOTALLY transformed the car. Beforehand, the CL was pretty stiff and heavy, but afterwards was so light and sweet. A well set-up MT is a real joy.

My daily driver has a DCT, which I just love for day-to-day driving. But for a car to enjoy over the weekends, for me, it HAS to be an MT. I'm convinced that one of the reasons why two years' worth of GT4s all sold out within 3 days of taking orders was because Porsche only offer an MT on them. Everyone's different, but if I were in your shoes, I would DEFINITELY hold off for an MT. NOTHING can replace the sheer pleasure of sweet manual gear changes eating up a winding country road. NOTHING. And for me, this was what NSX ownership was all about... as well as the sound of that V6, the forward view from the cockpit and the sheer 'place-ability' of the car.

HTH. And all IMHO of course.

Mani.

[tapav]

I'd go with these, due to the 3.2 pre-facelift being the quickest! http://www.0-60specs.com/acura-nsx-0-60-times/

..Although most figures vary pretty wildly. Never driven an auto, so don't know if 0.6 slower for an auto is about right? If the auto shift was quick and smooth, i doubt you'll notice.. both will have the awesome V6 soundtrack and handling!

[goldtop]

I've always assumed the 7.4/7.5s figures were wrong, and I'm confuddled by the lack of agreement.

When I first wondered about this (that same pre-purchase dilemma), I went looking for a Best Motoring video with an auto NSX, hoping they'd done the same sort of comparative NSX tests as they did with the Type R, Type S, NA1, NA2, etc. But I never found any BM video with an automatic properly tested. Which is a bit odd considering the number of autos sold in Japan.

[goldnsx]

0-60 times won't tell you much how the car cruises and reacts to the throttle. For cruising conditions all that counts is the right gearratio if the power is seen constant. An Auto has very long gearing. An early MT 91-93 also has quite long gearing (for a MT). At constant speed or slow accelerations you won't notice the differences (your test scenario) but if you overtake another car you definitly WILL.
I cruise at low speed for 90% of the time but I would miss the spirited driven 10% in this car and would have sold it a few years ago. But again, that's just me.

[philboo]

Hi Phil, I don't really have much to offer here as I've never driven an auto, but let me just share a couple of quick thoughts on my experience. As an ex-NSX owner (albeit with the car still sitting in my garage) hopefully I'm reasonably unbiased.

I went from an S2000 to a facelift MT. I had both cars at the same time for about 4 months before I off-loaded the S2000, so could make some comparisons. Sure there were some similarities, but in brute performance terms, the NSX was soooo much faster and more dynamic than the S2000. FWIW, I actually preferred the gear change and steering on the S2000, but in every other respect, the NSX trounced it. The S2000 had a claimed 0-60 of sub 6 secs. Of course I never did a drag race, but I really wouldn't be surprised if my NSX was sub 5 secs. Take this with a pinch of salt though.

I had the clutch replaced on my NSX a year or so ago (with only 22k on the clock - shocking). This TOTALLY transformed the car. Beforehand, the CL was pretty stiff and heavy, but afterwards was so light and sweet. A well set-up MT is a real joy.

My daily driver has a DCT, which I just love for day-to-day driving. But for a car to enjoy over the weekends, for me, it HAS to be an MT. I'm convinced that one of the reasons why two years' worth of GT4s all sold out within 3 days of taking orders was because Porsche only offer an MT on them. Everyone's different, but if I were in your shoes, I would DEFINITELY hold off for an MT. NOTHING can replace the sheer pleasure of sweet manual gear changes eating up a winding country road. NOTHING. And for me, this was what NSX ownership was all about... as well as the sound of that V6, the forward view from the cockpit and the sheer 'place-ability' of the car.

HTH. And all IMHO of course.

Mani.

Some really great views from a few of you and I do appreciate the time you've spent looking up figures in magazines and comments.

Mani's comment about the manual transmission echos my nagging doubt about the auto as when I was in the manual (original NA1 spec) I did turn to Graham and say, it's nice to be able to change gear.

I did hope one or two members may have known of a car or two that may have suited me but I've not had anything from my wanted add. It's difficult to know what a private sale price would be as only dealers have cars. It seems £35K last summer would have bought a nice manual privately but would that be now, 40,45,50? and how many good early cars still exist ? I'm sure that several must be hidden away but are they going to be £50K even privately, I simply cannot afford that. That's what I am also struggling with, and comes back to the comment I had from another helpful member and he said just wait for the bubble to burst.

Im not doing this to flip a car for profit, I'm doing this to get a car I dreamed of when I was 20.

[goldtop]

the comment I had from another helpful member and he said just wait for the bubble to burst.


Ask that member whether he's sold his own NSX to wait for the bubble to burst and buy another/better NSX for a far lower price. If he hasn't, take the advice with a pinch of salt.

(Says someone who's been waiting for various vintage guitar bubbles to burst for ages!)

[Mistercorn]

No I haven't. But then I have the Supercar Siege, tour around Wales, and Silverstone Classic to do in it. After that lot you can have it for £55k if you like....
MC

[AR]

The auto is a different animal, but a very comfy cruiser in style.