My NSX

[KCMachine]

Hello FT86Club!

Thanks everyone for the continued support on this site. I spend a lot of time in and around the 86, and with the owners, and I have come to really love the cars and the community. I know my build is not an 86, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway.

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5/4/12

I've been a long-time Honda fanatic, and the NSX has been my dream car for a very long time. About 2 and a half years ago I was able to find the car in the exact trim that I wanted, a white 5speed coupe.

I hope to bring an interesting build with my car, with the vision I have for it, my NSX will be unique and my style in a progression over some time. My personal philosophy with car builds is slow and quality, so over the next 5 or so years, I hope to bring some of the best pieces of quality parts to this car.

This is as I bought it, it's stock except for 17/18 BBS LMs.


My goal with this car is balance and lightness, so a few weeks after purchasing the car I stripped out the trunk and spare tire.




I took off the BBS LMs and bought some Enkei RPF1s. They are my interim wheels until I mount my CE28Ns. I was really glad to bring the tire sizing back down closer to stock, because I want to experience the car in its 'purest' form so I can feel every single mod. Also put on Advan AD08s which are a truly wonderful tire.


Over time, I've been slowly correcting the paint issues. I spent about 8-9 hours on the roof itself, and it has paid off tremendously.

It's the first time I've REALLY polished a car, and it's been really fun. The paint has taken 20 years of abuse and daily driving and it showed. I wish I could've gotten better pics of the condition but I found it's really freaking difficult to take pics of scratches in paint.

The entire surface of the car has micro scratches, and some areas have some really caked in oxidation and water spots.




And here is how it stands after 9 hours of work. Amazing difference.


What I used (In this order too):
3M Rubbing compound
Meguiars Swirl Remover 2.0
Meguiars Show Gloss
Meguiars Hi Tech Yellow Wax x2 coats
Meguiars Synthetic Sealant

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7/5/12

Added a small suite of interior bits, provided by Mugen.

Mugen Wheel by Momo, NSX-R Horn, Works Bell Rapfix II Hub with Flapper quick release.


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9/28/13

More paint correction pics:




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12/9/13

I finished my mini amp powered stereo project, and it turned out great! It's bluetooth connected.




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7/14/14

Mounted the BBS LMs again to take this photo, it's something I've been meaning to do for a while. I also wrote this blurb for the internet which has gotten a nice response:

"Two and a half years ago I was fortunate enough to pick up my NSX. It was a single owner car daily driven by a man who at the prime of his life was able to attain his dream car. Years later, misfortune struck, and he suffered a debilitating stroke which caused him to put the car up for sale. I was the lucky one who was able to purchase it. To say that owning the car has positively changed my life is an understatement. Throughout my ownership, I have grown my business, made lifelong friendships, and have had unforgettable experiences. Before embarking on the car's new direction, I had always planned on doing a simple photoshoot for the original owner, in the way he remembers his cherished NSX. I finally got around to doing that today. One thing that has always been fascinating to me is how we are merely stewards of the cars we own. Automobiles are mechanical marvels that, if taken care of, can outlast many human lifetimes. I am currently the keeper of this car, and I will do my best to enjoy it, and honor it with my own uncompromising vision for Honda's greatest car, one of the best cars to come out of Japan, and my favorite car of all time. The NSX."


I'm going to start modding the car soon, so I wanted to get a baseline dyno.


Ideally I am going to do multiple dynos to document the power increases, but we will see, as multiple dyno sessions add up.

I'd preferably do:
Baseline
+Exhaust
+Header, high flow cat
+Intake
+Injectors, Tune

Excited to finally start modding this thing! I'm looking to add about 30hp and lose 100 more pounds, where the car will be at ~265whp and weigh about 2700 pounds wet.

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7/16/14

One of the things I was very excited about upon purchasing my NSX is being able to step into the arena of modifying a car with high quality JDM parts. To me, the NSX is such a legendary car with amazing heritage, that my way of honoring it is to modify it with parts mostly sourced from Japan. Compounding on that, my aim is to exemplify the car's strengths, so lightness and balance are key for me. You will see that my car will be a modest NA build with a focus on adding lightness. It's certainly not the popular or cheapest route, but I told myself I would not compromise on my personal goals for this car, as it is my favorite car of all time.

To start, one of the key parts to my build is the GT-One Ver 6 titanium exhaust. I've worked in "the industry" for quite some time and have held some incredible examples of high end titanium exhausts, and the GT-One is amongst the best quality pieces I've ever held in my own two hands. One thing I thought about while it was being made is that the exhaust was being put together by a master titanium craftsman. It is a true work of art.












Weighing in at 14.16 pounds, it should be about a 34 pound reduction in weight over the stock exhaust.


To go along with the exhaust, I also purchased the high flow cats from GT-One which uses SARD catalytic converters.




At a combined weight of 10.54 pounds, I expect them to be about half the weight of the stock units.




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7/18/14

I installed the exhaust earlier before heading to the monthly San Gabriel Valley meet. I was amazed at how easy it is to install an exhaust onto the NSX. Since it's just that rear section, you don't have to deal with long piping!

With the stock exhaust weighing 44.56 pounds, I've lost a little over 30 pounds, quite significant!


A couple things one should do when installing an exhaust is to wear gloves and then wipe the exhaust down with acetone after installing it. That'll ensure the oils from your hands don't get burned onto the exhaust and cause semi permanent finger prints.






I was surprised at how good the car felt. It just felt better overall. Better acceleration, and I could also feel a difference in the handling. I guess taking the weight off of the extreme end of the car helped with the handling characteristics. I also wasn't expecting the cabin to be so quiet, but since there are no pipes underneath the car to resonate into the cabin, I can understand why. I had a great time ripping around, it's a really good sounding exhaust!

[sklimo]

I CAME

[Dustin]

Also one of my dream cars.

[Lonewolf]

Replacing the stock steering wheel makes a huge difference in these things...the oem wheel just looks so clunky and dated

[SloS14]

[Apocalix]

Originally Posted by SloS14

Totally agree!!


Great car, and that exhaust work looks fantastic especially with those tips. Also always wished I drove one of these some day. Totally a dreamy ride, and in my opinion a totally underrated car!


Enjoy it!

[JDMenrique]

Thank you for sharing... dammit I love the NSX!

[Timmy_Jones]

Beautiful car, amazing write-up and goals are spot on for the car.

My only gripe is with such a gorgeous and classic car, why would you ever hang blue exhaust tips on it???? It just looks so out of place, that beauty deserves the nicest, polished tips money can buy. The stock tips looked great on the car already.

Would love a walkaround video and exhaust video or Dyno videos.

Thanks for sharing.

[KCMachine]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Replacing the stock steering wheel makes a huge difference in these things...the oem wheel just looks so clunky and dated

Yes, changing the steering wheel was a huge difference and one of my favorite mods since it's such a tangible piece. Not to mention the OEM wheel was infused with 20 years of the original owner's hand oils!

Originally Posted by Apocalix

Totally agree!!

Great car, and that exhaust work looks fantastic especially with those tips. Also always wished I drove one of these some day. Totally a dreamy ride, and in my opinion a totally underrated car!

Enjoy it!

Thank you! Yes it is fairly underrated, although within the past couple of years it's been getting a lot of attention.

Originally Posted by Timmy_Jones

Beautiful car, amazing write-up and goals are spot on for the car.

My only gripe is with such a gorgeous and classic car, why would you ever hang blue exhaust tips on it???? It just looks so out of place, that beauty deserves the nicest, polished tips money can buy. The stock tips looked great on the car already.

Would love a walkaround video and exhaust video or Dyno videos.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

I can definitely understand not liking the blue tips. I personally love them. Honestly though, in normal lighting conditions, it's very subtle. Not to mention the entire exhaust is full titanium, not just the tips, so it's not some poser look. Besides, it's how the manufacturer decided to make it, and I had no choice! Even if I did have a choice though, I'd still opt for the thin blue tips.

I will definitely take some videos of the car, and have been video documenting the dynos.

[GotBRZ1691]

Growing up I was really into muscle cars. That has changed greatly in part because of cars like the lamborghini diablo coupe vt and the NSX. I some day dream of owning one of these two cars, or both.

I remember I had posters for both of them on my wall. Thank you for sharing.

Another cool car of my past that I will be inheriting is my uncles 1995 mazda rx7 red convertible with only 55k miles, all of which he put on the car.

What year is your NSX and how many miles on it?

[noobcake]

Its not a NSX, its a freaking spaceship 22:50
[ame]http://youtu.be/E7-GjzIUs14?t=22m50s[/ame]

[gramicci101]

For the exhaust, what's the purpose of the muffler if there's a pipe that completely bypasses it?

[KCMachine]

Originally Posted by GotBRZ1691

Growing up I was really into muscle cars. That has changed greatly in part because of cars like the lamborghini diablo coupe vt and the NSX. I some day dream of owning one of these two cars, or both.

I remember I had posters for both of them on my wall. Thank you for sharing.

Another cool car of my past that I will be inheriting is my uncles 1995 mazda rx7 red convertible with only 55k miles, all of which he put on the car.

What year is your NSX and how many miles on it?

Awesome!

It's a 92 with now 218000 miles I bought it with 196k on the clock.

Lots of miles but it was a single owner car which attracted me to it. Not to mention it was in the exact configuration I wanted.

Originally Posted by gramicci101

For the exhaust, what's the purpose of the muffler if there's a pipe that completely bypasses it?

For the sounds!

You'd actually be surprised how mild it is until you get on it.

[eyedeez]

In for this sexual build!