GTR vs NSX [Archive] - NSXCB Forums

ctrlaltdelboy

05-12-2004, 09:00 PM

well that video certainly emphasises the benefits of certain modifications and reasons why Kev, Mo and I have changed elements of our NSXs the way we have.

by changing the handling from standard by the use of lower and stiffer shocks and springs our cars now corner MUCH better than the one in the video, and the loss of traction on the video through hard fast corners can be cured though the combination of thicker sway bars adjusted to the optimum setting according to whatever other handling mods have been installed such shock/springs already mentioned but also wider tyres - the NSX in the video was (i think) running the standard pre-94 setup of 205/50 up front and 225/50 at the rear - by upping the fronts to the maximum width possible, which is 225 comfortably or 235 at a push you will gain lots more grip (especially with the Kumho Ecsta MX's covered here) (http://nsxcb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=347) though the corners, you can run these sizes on the standard 94+ wheels which are 7" wide if you don't want to go after market, but make sure you drop to a 40 profile in order to not kill your acceleration through the extra cirumference you would otherwise end up with. also if you are going 225 or 235 on standard rims and lowered suspension you'll need to take a hammer to the inner wing to make room to full turns without rubbing - if you go for aftermarket wheels you can avoid this by going for a +40 wheel offset (compared to the +55 on the standard wheels, but I would not advise going for 235 in this case as you'll be hitting the wheel arch) Of course you'll want to up the width at the rear tyres too to maintain balance - you can go up to 255 on the standard post 94 wheels without a problem, but again you'll want a 40 profile ot even a 35 if you can find it. if you want to go bigger you'll need to get wider wheels - the stock post 94 ones are only 8.5" wide. If you do go for wider wheels you can go up to 285 which is about the maximum you can go to without hitting the wheel arch on the outside or the bottom of your springs on the inside - you'll need to go for rear wheels with a +40 offset again for this. Once you've selected your front and rear tyres and suspension settings you can test it out and use the various settings on the front and rear sway bars to get the balance set up the way you like it.

so that's the handling sorted to GT-R thrashing levels, but what about the gearing disadvantage the driver was complaining about?

well this is an area which many people have complained about, and there are solutions. First is to make sure that you have not made the gearing worse than standard through your tyre changes (this only really matters at the rear as these are the driven wheels) - always ensure that you lower the profile as you increase the width to ensure the circumference is no greater than before (smaller is good if you can - extra acceleration!!) you can check the comparable circumferences of your existing and new tyres using a tyre calculator like this one (http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html)

as long as your tyres are not letting the side down you can now look at changing the final drive ratio - UK, Europe and the US have a 4.062:1 ratio, whereas the Japanese enjoy a 4.235:1 and hardcore racer types go for the Comptech 4.55:1 as seen here (http://nsxcb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=241). by changing the final drive you get a further acceleration boost, but the drop in revs from redline to the next cog is still a big one, so much so , as I'm sure you are all aware, that you drop out of VTEC and have to build back up to it again. Well the Japanese also enjoy different ratios for 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears which totally solves this problem.

So get yourself some JDM short gears and either JDM or Comptech final drive and you'll be able to totally out-drag GT-Rs too as shown in this video (http://www.darrenferneyhough.com/images/nsx/drag.wmv) which puts a GT-R head to head with an NSX-R fitted of course with the JDM short gears and final drive.