Kirit's NSX - P27 OLU

[alias_monkey]

Hello Everyone
My name is Kirit, I am the proud owner of P27. I would like to thank Justing for taking time out for me to visit him and buy the car from him.
I am starting this thread, (like Justin) for eveyone in the forum to follow the car and help me out with keeping it well maintained and tip top. With you guys on my side P27 can be well looked after.
There is some important stuff to get going on it. It is due an interim service and MOT in September. I live near Coventry, so was wondering which Honda service centre should I take it too? What will need doing and roughly what is should be costing. I can get her booked in nice and early and get it over with.
Justin informed me that someone here might be able to help me with the fan control in the car, its either all or nothing.
The speaker grill on the passenger side looks as though it could need a change. The fitment is not looking right.
I would like to keep the car nice and tidy, original and timeless. Not to forget 'well used'.
I am looking forward to my time here within the community.
Regards Kirit

[Nick Graves]

Hello & welcome.

Depends how interim an interim service is, but I only paid a couple of hundred quid, I think. It's usually a glorified oil change & MOT.

There could be a lot of reasons why the fan is doing that - see Kaz's threads on the climate control unit. You might want to get it fixed before leaking caps to too much damage to the board, if that is the case. You can do cosmetics like speaker grills later on.

Enjoy it!

[havoc]

Hi Kirit,

Congrats - looks like a nice car.

I'm in the Warks area too, and when Kaz is unavailable I take mine to Avonvale Stratford - not sure if their workmanship is any better than Coventry (who have worked on NSXs in the past), but their customer service certainly is - say "Martin with the yellow NSX" recommended them if you decide to go there. There aren't any 'official' NSX dealers anywhere near, sadly, but there's no guarantee that an official dealer still has a trained tech working for them.

Closest proper, forum-recommended dealer is probably Norton Way in Letchworth, near Bedford. For an interim service though, I'd just take it to a decent Honda main dealer, or if you're looking for other work to be done as well see when Kaz can fit you in.

[alias_monkey]

Thank you guys for your input. I will message Kaz on the heating system. I'll keep you posted on the service.

I remember seeing a few NSX's in Coventry dealer. But not sure on their service. Stratford is handy for me also. Northway is just a little too far, well if I could get out of work I would go out for the day.

I will see what they quote on the service. I am sure it won't be £500+ if so something not right lol.

I surprised the guys at work with the car, noone knew about it. Bloody shock to them! We are all car designers, with massive respect for the car. The bosses are now wanting to go out and buy 911's.

[havoc]

Mind me asking where you work Kirit? I've got a couple of guesses (used to work at Gaydon), but your comment about the bosses and 911's knocks my first thoughts out. PM me if you'd rather...

Cheers,

M.

[alias_monkey]

Martin, no worries, I am working at DesignQ the 2 bosses are x Jag designers. They both used to rock around in 911's. But the NSX is getting them fired up. What about yourself? What do you get upto? My car is located a couple of miles from Gaydon (tucked away sleeping). A friend of mine 'Warren' had a facelift NSX in red. Sold it about a year or 2 back.

[Sudesh]

Hi and welcome along!

[havoc]

Ah - you're very local then, cool. I'm in Stratford, work in Coventry (not in automotive at the moment, trying to get back in - accountant not engineer). Sometimes take the Yellow Peril to work, just because I can (lovely feeling, isn't it?!?).

"A couple of miles from Gaydon" - not near John McG's place, by any chance?!?

[Nick Graves]

Maybe your bosses still have friends inside JLR?

They might want to borrow your car for a while - just to ensure the new XKE is an advance on the last 21 years! Gordon Murray used his as a benchmark for the F1, to ensure he didn't get tunnel-vision!

[alias_monkey]

Hello all, its been a busy week on the P27, it had a MOT and Service this week. Went straigt through and cost £280 for everything. I need to check my records but if my timing belt is not done then the next service will be £800+. The customer service was ace at Stratford Honda and spoke highly of you Matin! They were all pretty dazzed by the idea of P27 going there. Not sure where John McG but might be near by.

Most morning I see the new XKR and does not look good at all, I did pull behind an Orange Aston Martin, quite close to the Imola Orange! Coming through Stratford on the way back from the MOT I had a Ferrari Testarossa and F40 next to me cruzing up. Felt Ace! The chaps in the Ferraris did not make eye contact though hehe.

Going to get onto Kaz next week on the heating system. Waiting for more money to get things sorted.

Has anyone got any ideas on treating the leather seats or maybe repairing/restoring the driver backrest bolster?

[Nick Graves]

I got a kit from Petzoldt's.

Basically, you strip the bald area with petroleum spirit, re-dye it carefully with the correct colour and than put on the protector. It comes up nice & matt, whereas the Lexol I used to use is a bit American-shiny.

It worked at treat on the 'Lude's steering wheel rim & the gear knobs, too. I got matt black for my knobs.

[simonprelude]

The timing belt probably isn't due yet, I think I had it done around 4 years ago.

[havoc]

Not sure where John McG but might be near by...

...Coming through Stratford on the way back from the MOT I had a Ferrari Testarossa and F40 next to me cruzing up.

Funnily enough I suspect the F40 was probably John. :D



Glad the guys at Stratford sorted you out OK.

[alias_monkey]

Hello All

Happy new year to everyone and their families. P27's life so far, I have obtained a couple more magazines it has been in, I will get the articles scanned and posed as soon possible. I also wondered into the Works just before Xmas looked in one of those general fast cars books. P27 and M922 DLK Targa is featured, will dig it out and get it scanned.

I have had a look around the forum and found it just like the crystal maze, not knowing where to begin most likely. I had a problem recently the Engine warning light seems to come on with the TCS light. Its intermittent. Has anyone else come across this. I think it could be a sensor?

Going to get onto contacting Kaz as soon as I finish one of my 2 jobs. Its been an ace sunny weekend so car has been out and about.

Kind Regards Everyone

PS on the timing belt, P27 is due in 2013 :)

[NSXGB]

You'll need to search on fault codes, this will give you the info you require on your problem. Could be something like a wheel sensor but if you extract the stored fault code, you'll have confirmation.




Hello All

Happy new year to everyone and their families. P27's life so far, I have obtained a couple more magazines it has been in, I will get the articles scanned and posed as soon possible. I also wondered into the Works just before Xmas looked in one of those general fast cars books. P27 and M922 DLK Targa is featured, will dig it out and get it scanned.

I have had a look around the forum and found it just like the crystal maze, not knowing where to begin most likely. I had a problem recently the Engine warning light seems to come on with the TCS light. Its intermittent. Has anyone else come across this. I think it could be a sensor?

Going to get onto contacting Kaz as soon as I finish one of my 2 jobs. Its been an ace sunny weekend so car has been out and about.

Kind Regards Everyone

PS on the timing belt, P27 is due in 2013 :)

[Chris B N]

Hi and welcome to the forum, quite a few of us saw P27 when Justin did the photo shoot last year.
why not bring her to Japfest on 12th May so we can all get re acquainted
Cheers Chris

[sorepaws]

Don't forget Silverstone Classic in July - it's warmer than JapFest .. LOL

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hello All

................
I have had a look around the forum and found it just like the crystal maze, not knowing where to begin most likely. I had a problem recently the Engine warning light seems to come on with the TCS light. Its intermittent. Has anyone else come across this. I think it could be a sensor?

Going to get onto contacting Kaz as soon as I finish one of my 2 jobs. Its been an ace sunny weekend so car has been out and about.

Kind Regards Everyone

PS on the timing belt, P27 is due in 2013 :)
Hi, alias_monkey.
Whenever you saw the ECL (Engine Check Light) or other warning lights, please try to read the error code first apart from the case for the SRS warning light.
Regardless of your NSX being OBD II or pre-OBD II car, you can use the following method;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/showthread.php?9229-How-to-read-the-error-code


Above link is included in my ‘NSX Technical and Service Information Index’ thread at the ‘Sticky’ section of the ‘Technical’ Forum and you may find it useful for some of the future topics that you may encounter;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/showthread.php?8732-NSX-Technical-and-Service-Information-Index


This link is also included in the navigation bar at the right side of my every Blog posts.

For OBD II car, you can also use very basic scanner just to read the code and nowadays, you can get cheap interface module with free software for your mobile phone.
One example;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/entry.php?414-OBD-II-Bluetooth-Interface-02

I bought expensive interface but there are lots of cheap ones available through ebay, amazon, etc at around GBP20 and although there were some issues reported, lots of people managed to use it without any issues.
I don’t know the spec of your NSX and P reg doesn't represent the manufactured year of your NSX but I presume yours is not OBD II so can’t use this method.


From what you wrote, it sounded like O2 sensor related but again, best to read the error code before doing too much speculation. It could be nothing to do with the O2 sensor as well.
For your reference, several owners reported that they saw both ECL and TCS warning light when their O2 sensor heater circuit failed or with intermittent connection issue.

So, first thing first, please read the error code.

Kaz

[alias_monkey]

Hi Kaz & All


Thank you for your directions and advice. I will keep you posted on my engine & TCS light. Since the light a few new things have occurred. When I bought the car from Justin it was known the fan/heater would only blow full or nothing (need to write to you about the heating control unit Kaz). Now if I change the heater setting from screen to face blowing or turn it off, I get a horrid plastic snapping sound that lasts about 10 seconds and comes from the dash. Any Ideas anyone?


I know the tyre debate has gone for a long time now looking back at the archive.
I can replace the current set with another set of:
Bridgestone
http://www.tyretraders.com/tyreInformation|ItemID|BRI24540R1791YRE050BZ.html
http://www.tyretraders.com/tyreInformation|ItemID|BRI21545R1686WRE040.html


Or Change too:
Yokohama
http://www.tyretraders.com/tyreInformation|ItemID|YOK24540R1791WAD08.html
http://www.tyretraders.com/tyreInformation|ItemID|YOK21545R1686WAD08.html


Or I could go for Goodyear Eagle F1's or something else. Any Idea on personal choices from you guys? Just checked I don't think Goodyear do an F1 in my rim size and highest rating is H so no good.


Been told that the Yokohama might not be as good in the wet as the Bridgestone.


Found another book with P27 in it so will post the articles up soon.
Chris I will look into JapFest


Kind Regards All

[kingsley]

Hello all, its been a busy week on the P27, it had a MOT and Service this week. Went straigt through and cost £280 for everything. I need to check my records but if my timing belt is not done then the next service will be £800+. The customer service was ace at Stratford Honda and spoke highly of you Matin! They were all pretty dazzed by the idea of P27 going there. Not sure where John McG but might be near by.

Most morning I see the new XKR and does not look good at all, I did pull behind an Orange Aston Martin, quite close to the Imola Orange! Coming through Stratford on the way back from the MOT I had a Ferrari Testarossa and F40 next to me cruzing up. Felt Ace! The chaps in the Ferraris did not make eye contact though hehe.

Going to get onto Kaz next week on the heating system. Waiting for more money to get things sorted.

Has anyone got any ideas on treating the leather seats or maybe repairing/restoring the driver backrest bolster?

Hi Kirit. Congratulations and welcome. Nice car and nice colour. With regard to leather seats and treating. Like a lot of the guys on the forum I have used Liquid Leather kit. Easy to use and does a good job.

Kingsley

[alias_monkey]

From Japanese Bridgestone site
http://www.bridgestone.co.jp/personal/tireselector/car/index

[NSXGB]

The plastic snapping sound is most likely one of the air diverting flaps getting jammed. Mine does this when I switch the car on after leaving it diverting to the face, it never makes a sound otherwise even cycling through the diagnostic test.
My solution...never turn the car off with the air diverted towards the face...

[alias_monkey]

Hi All

Getting into some better weather so feeling good. I put the Bridgestone on the car, feels good. Regarding the Engine light and TCS light I have worked the errors out to be:

Wheel Sensor FL
Rear O2 Sensor

The dealer also said a worst case would be the TCS Unit. Does the 2 sensors above tally up with you guys too? I have checked all the part numbers they seem to match the Acura parts. Are they identical? Presuming they are all coming from Japan. If this is the case, should get the parts from the States? :)

In the past few weeks I had a new boot seal, tyres and a CAT heat shield.

Thank you guys for all your advice :cool:

[Nick Graves]

I've yet to try the Advans in standing water but in the gentle wet, they're amazing. Possibly too much grip in the dry.

The 'Stones on the S2000 are a bit more slippery, to say the least. I'd not be happy mixing RE40s & 50s personally - I'd expect that may make it a tad twitchy at the rear. Firm sidewalls, though.

The F1As are terrific, but I fear the sidewalls may be a bit too soggy for the NSX. They are brilliant on the Prelude.

[Senninha]

Advans are good but prefer warmer weather

F1's I really liked and got great mileage from. Worked well despite softer sidewalls but I do have the Targa which has more compliance than the coupe so this may explain why others have not liked them.


I've yet to try the Advans in standing water but in the gentle wet, they're amazing. Possibly too much grip in the dry.

The 'Stones on the S2000 are a bit more slippery, to say the least. I'd not be happy mixing RE40s & 50s personally - I'd expect that may make it a tad twitchy at the rear. Firm sidewalls, though.

The F1As are terrific, but I fear the sidewalls may be a bit too soggy for the NSX. They are brilliant on the Prelude.

[tapav]

Hi Kirit,

Like you I have recently bought an NSX and it seems to be your sister car. '98 Honda UK cars in Imola orange, mine is R462 ULL, however was changed to J888 NSX. The car came with plenty of history, including a log book from a previous owner who was an Autocar director documenting every journey he made! What a machine hey?!

I have also got the on / off air con. Like someone else has commented, it is just a melted circuit board, denpending on damage can be repaired. Mines still to sort out, but have spoken to KAZ and he has me on his health check list. After speaking to a few people from the forum about this, he is miticulous and second to none. Will be good to see him at work.
Rear tyres were bald F1's when i got it, so cant really comment on them. I have just swapped them for Advan AD08 like most people have on their NSX's. Off to Scotland this weekend, so will update you on how they perform!
I live in Derby and quite often visit my bro in Coventry, so next time I'm down those ways I will give you a shout.

Pav

[alias_monkey]

Hi Everyone

Pav thank you for the hello we should meet up if you are passing through, same for anyone who would like to meet up please pm me.

At the moment I am trying to iron out all the niggles on the car. The cash flow is a problem sometimes.

I still have the heater problem so need to book myself with KAZ. I threw a set of Bridgestones on the car in the end. The ABS light is an 02 sensor and the TCS light was found to be a sensor, but replacing that did not cure the problem. I have been told the car needs a TCS unit. Once sorted I can get onto the other bits.

Regarding the horrid snapping sound from the heating system, does anyone know what it exactly is, if its easy to fix or a massive job?

I have been snowed under with work so unable to arrange meeting anyone from the forum but I hope to do so. I have found p27 in another encyclopaedia book. (Still to post all the articles)

P27 was on display at Coventry University on 9th June, I was asked at the last minute, but was nicely parked next to Mugen CRZ.



Looking forwards to catching up with everyone.

[NSXGB]

Regarding the horrid snapping sound from the heating system, does anyone know what it exactly is, if its easy to fix or a massive job?

See my post above. Try leaving the diverter flaps in a different position before you switch the engine off.

I would think if the flap is broken, it's time to take out the dash but I'm wondering whether you could see anything jammed or broken if you remove just the centre console.

[Nick Graves]

Advans are good but prefer warmer weather

F1's I really liked and got great mileage from. Worked well despite softer sidewalls but I do have the Targa which has more compliance than the coupe so this may explain why others have not liked them.

The original S-02s on the S2000 were lethal in the cold, so I'm used to that with the Advans!. Fince once they've warmed up a bit!

[alias_monkey]

I want to thank elise111 (just found out is a mate of mine) for sending me the following link via Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCRWCdbXwlo&feature=em-share_video_user

Car appears about 9mins in. I think it is 'Top Gear series 39 episode 4 1997'

[WhyOne?]

....... I have been told the car needs a TCS unit. Once sorted I can get onto the other bits.



I believe that this is quite an unusual part to fail - I would make as sure as possible that it is the TCS unit which is the problem as they are horrendously expensive - ~$1950 (discounted to ~$1490) in the US - I tremble to think what Honda UK would want for one!!!!

[simonprelude]

I nearly bought that Venturi as well lol.

VBH said she'd not driven my car when she was angling for a drive at a certain Honda garage where she came in with an S2000 with a flat tyre.

[alias_monkey]

She is a tinker Simon! There is proof! You will have to add her to the list! hehe. Honda are asking £3500 £150 labour for the TCS unit, they said the sensor is not at fault as its replaced and they checked wiring and are saying its the unit end.

[WhyOne?]

Honda are asking £3500 £150 labour for the TCS unit, they said the sensor is not at fault as its replaced and they checked wiring and are saying its the unit end.

Strewth!!!

[nobby]

stupid pricing from HUK as per usual :angry:

you would be foolish to pay that sort of money for the TCS (and i am sure you wont) ... I believe the opinions of the likes of Kaz and Sudesh reckon you are better off without it/have it disconnected anyway.

I dont rate it at all either, i have tested my own car and it appears to kick in after an 'event' has happened! :no:

perhaps the NA2 variant is different from NA1 i.e. better

regarding VBH ... she sounds like she read off the script that Tiff done all those years back in top gear i.e. the lack of supercar feel ... and then you see her wax lyrical about the car when she helms fifth gear down years later. journo's ehh ... say one thing one minute and out the next

[WhyOne?]

... I believe the opinions of the likes of Kaz and Sudesh reckon you are better off without it/have it disconnected anyway.



Wouldn't that be something you would have to declare to your insurance co. to avoid the potential for a rejected claim? Surely the TCS is regarded as one of the cars safety systems?

[m666 edd]

I find the ABS works OK. It's just at typical early design ABS that doesn't pump on and off as fast as modern ABS. It still lets you turn a bit when you stamp on the brakes compared with a straight line without ABS.

[NSXGB]

IF it is the ABS unit, that's very rare to go as mentioned. I'd get a second opinion.
What error codes have you read? What lights are on the dash now?
Have you got a friendly owner near you who wouldn't mind swapping out the unit to prove/disprove?
Even if it has died, Kaz may still be able to fix it for you. Defo contact Kaz next.

[nobby]

no idea ... i am only re-iterating feelings stated before about the TCS on the NSX and the NA1 variant at that. Not sure if NA2 is any better ...
I have noticed the failings of the TCS in my own car and if mine gave up, i certainly would not be forking out anywhere near the region of HUK pricing on this ... and likely would disconnect it.


Wouldn't that be something you would have to declare to your insurance co. to avoid the potential for a rejected claim? Surely the TCS is regarded as one of the cars safety systems?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

.......................
The ABS light is an 02 sensor and the TCS light was found to be a sensor, but replacing that did not cure the problem. I have been told the car needs a TCS unit. Once sorted I can get onto the other bits.
.....................................

Hi, Kirit.

It is very likely that you don’t have all the information regarding the diagnosis made by your garage so
I’ll honour the outcome at this stage but could you clarify the following things as
I was bit confused with the comment in your above post?

1. What was the actual error code number that you saw for ECL (Engine Check Light), ABS and TCS?

2. Did you replace the REAR O2 sensor and if so, did the ECL disappear after replacing it?
How about the TCS light? Did you do anything with the Front one?

3. Did you replace the FL wheel speed sensor and if so, did the ABS warning light disappear after replacing it?
How about the TCS light?

4. Any engine modifications on your NSX?


As mentioned in my previous post, a certain failure mode at O2 sensor can trigger both the ECL and TCS warning light
so it is always best to deal with the ECL first then check the TCS after replacing the O2 sensor.


For your reference, all four wheel speed sensor raw signals will first enter the ABS controller.
Inside there, each signal is amplified and conditioned as 0 –> 5 -> 0V square wave before
entering the TCS controller.

So, if you know the error code, you can spin the specific wheel to see whether the square wave signal
is arriving at the TCS unit or not.

Because of the I/F circuit design and the signal being processed at the ABS controller first,
it is very unusual for TCS unit to fail because of the wheel speed sensor issue.

Kaz