Time for change...?

[darkblueturbo]

Hi there,
New here, as you can probably tell from the number of posts... 1

Anyway, the time has come to start thinking the unthinkable... Replace the old Scooby...
Haven't got any preconceptions as to what car to go for, but rear wheel drive is definately a preference and so, among many others, the NSX came to mind.

What I'm after is if someone can point me in the direction of a site, book or place where I can get some NSX info together such as different models, and options (for possible, sensible, mods) etc. as all I really know is that it's got a mid-mounted 3litre V6 - which seems like a good starting point.

Thanks for any help...

[BrownBear]

Hi and welcome,

The best site for NSX related resources is NSXprime at

http://www.nsxprime.com

Especially of interest is the FAQ section which has loads of information about models, idiosyncracies and things to watch out for -

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/faq.htm

Model information is here
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/General/modelinfo/modelinfo.htm


HTH,
Regards
JOe

[darkblueturbo]

Lovely bit of info, thanks very much for that...

I'd rather have a UK than a *** import (just a personal preference). Are there many UK cars on the 2nd hand market or are most of them Japs.

[MattS]

Keep an eye on www.autotrader.co.uk and do a national search. Also try www.exchangeandmart.co.uk

The content seems to change almost daily and checking it daily will give you an idea of sensible prices, which cars are remaining unsold etc.

You may have already seen it as suggested by Joe, but try www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Media/magazines/magazine.htm for some great mag articles which have been meticulously scanned in.

[BrownBear]

I'd rather have a UK than a japanese import (just a personal preference). Are there many UK cars on the 2nd hand market or are most of them Japs.

I'd guess 95%of the cars are UK ones - Japanese imports are very uncommon as they're not cheaper in Japan (unlike most other Japanese cars). So you should be OK :)

Autotrader or the For Sale section here would be a good bet in the first instance..

My 97 is still for sale, incidentally :)

[darkblueturbo]

Cheers - I shall have a good read of those articles.

Brown Bear, I saw that one for sale :-)

I see it's a 3.0litre - what year did the 3.2 come out? If they're available in my price range I would rather go for one of them.
What are the different power figures for the two engines?

Also, what year did the transmission change from 5-speed to 6?

Sorry to ask so many questions... Just want to get a good idea...

Thanks

[BrownBear]

The 3.2 and 6 speeds boxes came together in 1998.

I think the 3.2's are about 290hp, the 3.0's are about 270hp (but this varies from car to car).

As the sales of the NSX dropped off, this leaves second hand buyers with a very limited number of later model cars from which to choose.., so the 3.2's tend to hold their value simply because for their year they are very rare (eg: I believe in 1999, Honda sold 7 or so NSX's).

[ctrlaltdelboy]

going slightly off-topic, but regarding *** vs UK models - as Joe says, JDM NSXs are much rarer in the UK than UK models, so you are not all that likely to come across one for sale anyway, but if you were to find and buy one you would find yourself (like Paul) behind the wheel of a significantly 'quicker' NSX than most due to the different gearing in the JDM models.

JDM gears are 'shorter' in 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears than UK & US versions, with the benefits of quicker acceleration through the gears, but with the added crucial difference that when changing up at redline you will arrive in the next gear within the vtec range, whereas with UK or US gearing you will arrive in the next gear below the start of the vtec range and have to 'build' back up to it.

when you have experienced the difference of racing up the box using the redline and never dropping out of vtec, compared with dropping out of vtec every gear you can't bear the thought of standard gearing again!

for those of us who didn't get this benefit of JDM gears with our cars there is a solution though, either in the gears only (http://daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=150) to self-install, or in the built exchange gearbox (http://daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1079)

the differences in ratios and speed at redline between UK & JDM gearsets including the various oem & aftermarket final drives (R&P) available look like this:

http://www.darrenferneyhough.com/images/nsx/ratios.jpg

I used to have the comptech 4.55 (last column) in my NSX, but have since changed to the JDM gears & OSG LSD & 4.4 R&P (2nd last column)

you too can enjoy this ultimate configuration with a custom built race gearbox from Dali Racing (http://daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1802) - it ain't cheap, but it is awesome to drive!

[darkblueturbo]

I know all about the wonders of shorter gearing - my Impreza had the diffs (front and rear) from the P1 special edition changing the final drive from 3.545 to 4.444 - fantastic difference it's made on the acceleration and similar to your point about keeping the vtec onsong, it made all the difference with the turbo creating max boost as soon as you're back on the throttle.

Maybe I won't dismiss it totally out of hand if a nice JDM turns up infront of me, then :-)

Thanks...

[darkblueturbo]

Looks like I'll be going for a 3litre 5 speed then - the 98's are a bit out of my price range, having had a look around...

Cheers for your help guys, I'll let you know how I get on...

Mentioned it to the missus last night and she was NOT keen on getting rid of the Scooby for it :-(
If only I could afford both!!