the N S X blog

New NSX Concept revealed!

2012-01-09T15:53:00.004-05:00

Today is a big for NSX afficionados like me as Honda North America unvealed the next generation NSX concept.

This car completely caught me off guard. Honda had teased us before with two previous concepts:

...a disguised prototype was filmed lapping the Nurburgring (and sounding very V10 like):

...only to pull the carpet out from under us.

The stillborn front engined HSV concept did make it as a SuperGT racer in Japan but it wasn't a true NSX.

Seems like Honda is finally serious.

The buzz was electric on NSXPrime today in this thread and this thread.

I sat by the computer at 2:35 this afternoon, sitting on my hands and holding my breath hoping they didn't muck this one up. Honda did not disappoint.

Details as revealed by Honda President Mr. Ito were sketchy at best but it appears to be powered by a mid-engined (hooray!) V6 utilizating hybrid technology to power the front wheels via electric motors. It will emply their SH-AWD system with paddle shift transmission. I was hoping they'd go MR, RWD and NA power with a traditional manual tranny but with the way car companies are going these days it would look like they would not be "ADVANCING" enough for their motto. I hated the official heavily photoshopped pics but the ones that came out of the North American International Auto Show were much nicer. These pics came from Mitch on NSXPrime, who was at the live unveiling:

I have to say I LOVE IT!

Honda's official photos:

Honda, please build this bugger and let us show Europe (once again) what you can do.

EDIT: Here are the numbers from the Car Connection report on the DAS.

"Acura says the new system can dynamically change torque to the front 19-inch wheels; the rear wheels on the concept are 20-inchers.
Honda promises a new direct-injected V-6 will be paired with a dual-clutch transmission with its own built-in electric motor, for even more drivetrain efficiency, but declined to make any horsepower or gas-mileage estimates.
The new NSX will measure 170.5 inches long, 74.6 inches wide, 45.7 inches tall, on a 101.4-inch wheelbase. That compares with the original car's 174.2-inch overall length, 99.6-inch wheelbase, 46.1-inch height, and 71.3-inch width."
Reference

She's for sale people!

2011-09-30T06:08:00.000-04:00

Had insomnia tonight, got out of bed at 3:30 am and decided to post this on Prime:
NSX for sale.

Those who have been following this blog knows I've been on the fence for a while. I have tried to do it in a hush hush way hoping the right person will come along, fall in love with what I have done and give my baby a new home. I got the word out through contacts in the business as well as through the communtiy via word of mouth. There has been a few interested parties but talks seem to go no where. Finally I have decided to do the logical thing and just post BLCBIRD up on Prime and let the world know.

*sigh*

Thoughts of selling, thoughts of keeping...

2011-08-24T13:40:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted on the blog in a while, mainly because this has been a very busy summer for me. So far, since the NSX has been taken out of storage, I have logged less than 500 kms and used up only 1.5 tanks of fuel. This doesn't mean it's been ignored as there have been little projects to keep me busy.

Since April I've had to replace the clutch master and slave cylinders as well as the high pressure line (thanks Mark at Dali for the prompt service), my 2 year old battery from Canadian Tire crapped out on me which was promptly replaced (thank God it wasn't the alternator as originally feared), and my replacement LED bumper lights from John Bazay (mugen_kid) started losing bulbs again. He's been great to deal with and I'll be re-sending them to him for modification for reliability as soon as I get a chance this month. I also sourced an oem console and a pair of door switchgear trim pieces which are being covered in CF to replace the Tamoske ones that are slowly warping on me. No more custom CF pieces for me from Europe. CF wrapping is being handled by Marc Nelson (NelsonMX) in Montreal, a long time GTRCanada member.

In all this I cannot help thinking that I want to sell the car. I feel I am at a crossroads with it. Either sell it and cut my loses (keeping it will only require more and more maintenance time and money) while getting into a new car or commit to this NSX and do the '02 conversion which still sits in my head as the final mod needed to make me fully satisfied.

If I do go ahead with the conversion, the question then is whether I go for the oem look or go full widebody and never look back. The oem look will likely make the NSX more streetable and I might be able to start enjoying it on the road more compared to how it sits now ---a track car and not at all practical. Of course the widebody will elevate the car into the stratosphere of NSX ownership where the heavens will open and fellow NSX owners from near and afar will sing praise upon me. :]

Out of curiosity I posted my thoughts of selling the NSX on Prime and the comments have been both funny and thought provoking: Thread on NSXPrime

I also posted on kijiji to see what happens. I am not really pushing the sale, more like I'm getting the word out there and seeing if someone falls madlyin love with it and want to buy it. So far I've gotten a couple of interested people on Prime, one seems serious but need to sell his NSX first, and a local Porsche guy wants to trade his 2002 C2 Cup car. Not sure if I'm really a P-car guy (unless its an old school 930 turbo).

Meanwhile I cannot stop staring at the Route KS Madonna 999 widebody. So sexy...

NSX gets a new roomate

2011-04-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

I admit, I have an almost unhealthy obsession with interesting cars. I purposely used the word interesting because I don't consider a Camry a car at all, its an appliance.

After a few weeks (7 to be exact) with the Fejer/Lotus 7 replica, then 6 months with an Alpine White E60 M5, I finally settled with a choice I am very proud of: a 1996 Nissan Skyline GTR. GTRs and I go way back. I once owned one of the very first R32 Skyline GTRs admitted into Canada, and started (and still help run) the only real Canadian Skyline forum, GTRCanada.com. In fact the R32 GTR paved the way to my ownership of the NSX. Being at the forefront of the Canadian Skyline and RHD import scene in Canada, I was able to forsee the pending flood of JDM imports into the Canadian market. So in the winter of 2005 I traded my GTR for the NSX while it was still rare and worth something. The NSX was orginally supposed to give me something to enjoy for a few years until the R35's release, but somehow it's inherent goodness rubbed off on me and I reluctantly got sucked in to the NSX world. :)

After 5 years, I started getting the bug for a new fun daily driver (which could do occasional trackdays). I had a convertible E46 SMG M3, which was later replaced with the E60 M5. As much as I liked them, they were just too....Teutonic for my tastes. I needed to be back into a Skyline GTR again so I started searching. A great R33 GTR came up on RightDrive's website and I jumped at it. Of course life is never simple because someone else got to it first, so I started working with Michael Kent of RD to find another midnight purple GTR. Many candidates came up, but nothing really interested me. Two months later by luck the original fellow who had reserved the one that got away backed out and once again it was there for the taking, and I did :)

Just picked her up last Fri, and here she is next to her new roomate.

NSX looks really low compared to the GTR

Of course custom plates were ordered

Me and my girls

Soon....

2011-03-31T15:52:00.000-04:00

April 15th, 2011....

Reflections on the year.

2010-12-21T12:05:00.003-05:00

The NSX was washed and tucked away last month (Nov 20th). This year I managed to score a spot with a neighbour who lives directly across the street, so it will be neat to have such close access to the car over the winter. Come spring I'll be moving to a new home with a bigger garage so FINALLY, I'll be able to have all my vehicles under one roof.

Looking back at 2010's drving season I can recall some fun times at the track, some not so fun times (snapping the serp belt), and it appears the constant pattern of tweeks and mods is finally coming to an end. The project is pretty well where I'd like it to be and aside from a '02 conversion (something I am on the fence over and just can't seem to get myself to do), I don't think there's a thing I would change on this car. I think that one of these days I might pick up a more hardcore, dedicated track weapon like a Lotus Exige and tone down the NSX for regular street cruising duty with the occasional track outing. My logic for this is that it is a very expensive car to repair if I have an "off". Also, my number one complaint with the car is that it's so over the top that I can't use it for anything but an occasional toy. The NSX is a very livable and civil car. It would be a shame to make leave it as a garage queen. Last summer I put less than 5000 kms on her. Sad.

If I were to tone it down, all I would do is swap back in a more sedate exhaust and rear valence and put back on the oem wing and hood. All parts I have in stock. We'll see. FXMD out of Vegas is also working on a beautiful Ferrari F430 Scuderia inspired rear bumper that, if it gets produced, might be the push I need to remove the Taitec rear diffuser I currently have. I love the Taitec but it is not very practical for everyday street use.

Of course I can go the opposite direction and strip out the interior, replace the Recaros with one piece CF buckets and make it an even more hardcore track car. It's past accident history makes it pretty well worthless in the resale dept. Who knows.

Merry Christmas everone.

My car captured in CG

2010-09-19T10:46:00.002-04:00

There's a kid on the GTRCanada forums who's offering to do digital drawings of people's cars on order. He did one of my buddy Dan's R32 GTR which looked awesome, so I commissioned him to do my car. I pointed him to images on my blog and told him to go nuts.

Initial Sketch:

Colour blocked in:

First draft:

Close but little subtlties had to be ironed out. I wanted the front plate tilted since thats the way I keep it, the custom led signal lights do not normally show the ambers on, and I wanted the CF to be more visible. Looks awesome! Now he's doing one of the rear of the car :)

Here's the final product:

Minor revisions with and without plates. See if you can spot the change ;)

More of his work and contact info can be found here!

HONDA NSX (EXTENDED VERSION) BY FORMAT67.NET

2010-07-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

This is an amazing NSX tribute video featuring NSXPrime member Hong, and his uniquely modified NSX. The video first appeared on Prime last weekend and has taken on a life of its own, almost going viral on car forums worldwide. Its a little hokey, a little melodramatic, but if you suspend the cynicism and absorb the "feel" you may gain a newfound respect for Honda and what it had achieved in its past. I hope the company will find its roots and show the world once again what made it such an iconic car company.

Enjoy!

First time tracking in the wet (oh my!)

2010-07-10T18:58:00.005-04:00

Yesterday evening I took part in a local club's tracking event at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Midnightruns.com is a local Ottawa car forum for more mature and hardcore guys and I have been an active participant on their forums for over 2 years now. One of their members, Pat Chang runs a shop "Speed Merchants" at the track (speedmerchants.ca) and with his connections to the owners of the facilities got us 2 hours of lapping for a very cheap price. Only down side was the RAIN. Oh well, if Aryton Senna can shine in the wet, I might as well try ;)

First time out, first corner and I find myself skittish at the limit and not finding grip at all ANYWHERE!

The new sways were making the car very oversteer-y and I was not having a good time. After a lap, I was back in the pits playing with tire pressures which helped but still came no where near what I was hoping.

Two hours later I was done and spend the last 20 mins shooting the shit with the guys at the pit exit wall.

Had a great time but I definitely am starting to think it's time to swap back in the oem rear swaybar. Jim Hobbnot, owner of the shop and also owner of Kanata Ford was there with us at the end with his Porsche GT3 RS and gave me a lot of nice compliments about the NSX, which was very nice to hear. He thinks he can help me dial things in next time I come out, so I will definitely take up his offer.

Here's a vid:

Ferrari Lapping Day...sort of... (June 18, 2010)

2010-07-06T21:22:00.004-04:00

[This post comes about 3 weeks late].

Well, after the change of fluids and installation of the Dali Type Q 1" front and rear sway bars I was all set for a day at Calabogie. I've been looking forward to this for a long time mainly because this time I was bringing my buddy Chris, who drove all the way across the country in his 1985 AE86 to partake in this event (as well as visit family :P). The Thurs night before I helped Chris install his KTS 4 pt cam-lock harness, gave him my spare helmet and pair of Sparco driving shoes, and got my car packed and ready for the annual Ferrari lapping day. This annual event is held by the FCA Ottawa chapter as part of the Italian Week festivities in Ottawa's Little Italy. I always enjoy partaking in this event as it allows me to see some beautiful cars as well as open a can of whoopass on some of them (haha!).

Got there 8:30am, went to the drivers meeting, got assigned to "A" Group (experienced) and off I went. Some of the highlights included a Maserati MC12, Saleen S7, various gorgeous Exiges and of course the F-cars. Also meet another local NSX owner Robert, who aparently knows all about me and my car based on my posts on NSXPrime.

However, the day would prove to be one full of events. In my second run of the day, at around 11am, I suddenly hear a "thud" followed by a shudder sensation felt through the throttle pedal. I paused, gave her some gas and she acted normal so I continued. 3 corners later my instructor and I spotted the Saleen go off in front of us at Spoon, ending up in the armco. What a sight! A million dollar car, and the driver (not the owner) did not look impressed. Suddenly there was another shudder and then my battery light and check engine light comes on. I see the red flag signalling us to go back to the pits due to the Saleen.

When I pull in I discovered that my serpentine belt has disintegrated. My day was done. The belt must have started with a small tear (which as it peeled away from the rest of the belt slashed at the throttle cable (which was cut up but not severed). That explained what I felt through the pedal.

Took all afternoon for the flatbed to show up (thank God Chris has CAA Gold, so free towing). The driver was nice but man he took forever to load the car. Initially I was optimistic that I would be able to get home early enough in time to return with my M3 but it was not meant to be. Oh well.

When Chris got to my house that evening for a BBQ he reported that a red Exige went into the armco as well, followed by one of the T-Rex's. Crazy stuff.

Got the NSX to Derek at Autovation that afternoon and there she sat until the following Friday. The work only took a day to complete but the delay came in finding out what sized serpentine belt would work. Luckily Mark at Dali Racing in San Fran was awesome. I was able to email him from my iPhone while in the tow truck and had an answer right away. For the record, the part is a Dayco Belt, Serpentine, Outside Length 65.0 In, Industry Number 650K8. It arrived at Autovation by mid week and Mike was able to clean the engine bay up and install it in no time. Once again the NSX was happy.

Here's a shot of me by local radio personality Stuntman Stu as I pulled in to the pits. I'm trying to look cool but inside I was dying... :P

Here's another by Stu of me and my instructor trying to figure out WTH happened to the car...

So what have I been up to in the 3 weeks since this whole thing happened? I BOUGHT ANOTHER CAR!

Yup, meet the latest member of the stable...my 1982 Lotus 7 replica. I call her Tweety:

...more to come ;-)

The next time you think of selling your NSX, READ THIS!

2010-06-08T11:55:00.005-04:00

"Everyone is different, but I can say that after owning an NSX, I 'get it'. I understand the exclusiveness when it comes to the rarity of the car, the aluminum body panels, the Senna influence. I truly feel that it is one of the last greatest sportscars to come out of Japan."

What a great quote, taken from a thread on NSX Prime called "The NSX is stupid!!!", a sarcastic admission by an ex-NSX owner crying over why he still misses his NSX after selling it a while ago. The writer in this case is a guy who sold his NSX, bought a Ferrari, realized he made a mistake and is about to sell the F-car for another NSX in the coming weeks. Hahaha!

Thread is here

New fluids,better handling, less restrictions, MOAR NSX!

2010-06-02T14:01:00.001-04:00

Took the NSX to Mike and Derek at Autovation last Friday for a 2 day jobber and car came home feeling noticeably better.

At NSXPO last year it was stressed upon us that the MTF needs frequent changing in these cars, which for some reason accumulates a lot of gunk in it in a short amount of time. We were also told that the best fluid is Honda white cap. So, stopped off at Honda, picked up a box of the stuff, a new filter, a few litres of Mobil One 10W30 and a crush washer. :)

I also ordered a set of Dali 1" front and rear swaybars (in fancy anodized red) and picked up a used set of Prospeed HiFlow Cats from Big_D on NSXPrime.

What a nice improvement. First thing I notice is the SOUND. A nice, deeper grumble in low rpms and a nice wail at high revs. Nice. Handling, the car is noticibly crisper. I had them set the rears at full soft and front at 50%, as recommended by a few people on Prime with the sways. I'll report back on them after the next track session in mid-June.

A bit of sage advice from "shrddr on Prime re: sways:

think about what a sway bar does... it connects the spring/shock from one side to the other. the logical question to ask would be "why would we want to do that in the first place?" well, the answer to that is that we would like to limit excessive body roll, but we want to do so without sacrificing ride quality. so instead of using crazy stiff springs to limit body roll, which would also make the ride really stiff and bouncy... car manufacturers can use more reasonable spring rates which keep the ride compliant, and use a sway bar to effectively get a higher spring rate when the car is cornering.

you with me?

so now... think about what happens because of a sway bar when the car corners. let's say you are taking a right turn... which means the car will lean/roll towards the left. so the left side springs will be forced to compress, and the right side springs will extend. BUT... since the 2 sides are connected by a sway bar... the forces oppose each other! the extension of the right side spring make it harder for the left side springs to compress... and similarly... the compression of the left side springs makes it harder for the right side springs to extend. the net result is that the since the springs extend/compress less... the car leans less i.e. less roll!

let's clear up one common point of confusion. body roll and weight transfer are NOT the same thing. you can eliminate body roll 100%, but guess what, weight transfer is still going to happen.

now that we have that cleared up... here's the critical thing to understand. a sway bar actually transfer even MORE weight from one side to the other. the way to imagine this is to think about it as if your car had no sway bar at all. when you take that right turn, the left side spring will compress, and the right will extend, and both tires will maintain a good connection with the ground. but with a sway bar in place... recall that the extension of the right side (inside wheel) is limited because of the sway bar which is connected on the other side to a spring that is compressing... and so the inside tire ends up with LESS weight on it. which means the outside tire has to support MORE of the car's weight. and hence... greater weight transfer.

more weight transfer means... LESS GRIP! the gain in traction that the left/outside gets from the additional weight on it is less than the loss in traction that the right/inside get from the weight taken off. you would think the gain/loss would be equal... but turns out that is not true due to the properties of rubber and how it adheres to the road.

so the net result is that a bigger sway bar causes more weight transfer... and thus REDUCES grip.

a bigger front bar will reduce front grip... and thus reduce oversteer or increase understeer.

a bigger rear bar will reduce rear grip... and thus reduce understeer or increase oversteer.

LED bumper lights installed!

2010-05-25T20:26:00.002-04:00

John (mugenkid) is a guy on NSX Prime who came up with a very cool idea. Use the oem turn signal lights mounted on the bumper to house new leds. Intsantly it updates the front end of the nsx, giving it a very modern, Audi-esque appearance.

Install took just a few minutes and was an instant plug-n-play install. It looks phenomenal!

New interior parts went in today/night

2010-05-08T01:17:00.002-04:00

If there's one thing I have learned about this car is that nothing ever goes as planned.

Over the winter I decided to do something about a few things that nagged at me about my interior. First, although it has a fancy CF centre console with a double din cutout, I always thought the ashtray made it look too busy. As well, my door cards always looked terrible. They really showed their age with scratched up door handles, scuffed leather, and leather inserts that were cracked and poorly dyed by the previous owner (though I suspect he used a sharpie marker). The tweeter on the door looked bad as well and I never liked the sound from my oem Bose speakers in the doors and between the seats. So, I ordered a new centre console minus the ashtray for a cleaner look, and with it came a new pair of panels for the switchgear. I also bought a set of aftermarket speaker mounting panels from SOS. I also had a set of carbon panels made that replaced the dated looking folded leather triangles in the doors. The interesting thing is that sometime after these CF parts arrived from Europe I saw an ad posted on NSXPrime about a set of mint door handles. Seeing as I needed some new ones I bought them. What surprised me when they arrived was the amazing condition...they literally looked brand new. So much so, I PM'd the owner and asked if he wanted to sell me his door cards, which he did. Again, when they arrived they looked so good I decided to not install the CF triangle replacements (for now).

Everything was taken to Manny at Pearl Autocare in Stittsville and he went to work on it. Todd estimated everything looked oem so maybe 3-4 hrs tops. Guess again...the car was dropped off at 10am, and I got home with it at 10 PM!

There were delays all day because he was short of staff, but it was supposed to be ready by 6pm at the latest. When I got there at 6pm, he put everything together and waved goodbye, only to discover to both out shock that both door windows did not roll up!

After several hours of playing around with them it dawned on him that the CF switchgear panels were so poor fitting that hey did not allow the window switches to engage properly. More messing with it and 4 hrs after I had shown up to bring the car home, the problem was resolved and I was on my way home.

Pro: my car's interior is completely refreshed and the SOUND is now unbelievable. =) He installed a set of Alpine 6.5" component speakers (will find out later what model they are) as well as a mini amp in the glove box. Nothing too fancy...I'm not an audiophile, but I want better than oem sound. He delivered big time.

Con: I missed watching Ironman 2 with my neighbour, whom had pre-purchased tickets for the 9:30 show tonight. I'll have to see him tomorrow and pay him back for the tickets. Ugh.

First Lapping Day of 2010

2010-04-30T22:13:00.005-04:00

What a perfect day today.

20 degrees, slightly overcast, not a drop of rain and no bugs. Woke up, wished my son Ben a happy 9th birthday (still cannot believe he's 9 now), went downstairs and watched him open his birthday presents (Star Wars space ship and SpyGear briefcase), munched a quick breakfast and then off to my favourite place in the universe, Calabogie Motorsports Park.

Spent a day lapping with the Motorsports Club of Ottawa (MCO). This is the first year joined, and I did it primarily for their lapping days at CMP. Very well run group, very strict on safety (good) but very popular (bad). I'd say about 30 cars showed up, and I was placed in Intermediate. Each group ran for 20 mins each, which sucked because after 5 laps or so it was time to come in. CMP is very technical and I hated the fact that as soon as I felt like I was "in the groove", I see the checkered flag and it was time to come in. *sigh*.

I had a fun time playing with my new GoPro Herocam and made a few vids today but was not impressed with Harry's Lap Timer app for the iPhone. I read all the instructions and fidgeted with it all day to no avail. I think the GPS signal might not be good out at CMP? Who knows.

The NSX got a lot of compliments which was nice. Good to hear my efforts are appreciated. There was one fanboy who, although he seems nice, just kept getting in my face all day asking for a ride. I am just not comfortable taking on passengers so far and had to break it to him. Sorry dude, but go away...

What a difference Photoshop makes

2010-04-25T00:49:00.007-04:00

I posted my pics on NSXPrime and a few guys turn out to be masters in the art of photochopping!

Quick 'n dirty photoshoot

2010-04-21T16:34:00.003-04:00

I'm no expert when it comes to pics, but I was dying to get a few shots today while I had the time so off I went to the soccer pitch at Beckwith armed with my Nikon D40 in full AUTO setting :)

New parts added over the winter: Zoom mirror, Voltex 4 wing, Advan RS 17/18, new CF headlight covers which replaced old CF covers (currently for sale) to better match the big weave of my CF hood. Stuff you can't see: new OMP wheel, NRG quick release, CF door panels which replaced the wrinkled leather inserts, CF underbonnet rad shroud to help vent air out of the hood.

I know it's best to shoot at twilight but what can you do when just finding time to get out with the nsx is difficult. Sun was at high noon. Hopefully someone can photoshop some awesomeness into them.

In goes more parts

2010-04-11T13:14:00.006-04:00

I've spent all winter doing what I normally do...browse the internet looking for new and cool parts for the NSX :) I had the car home for less than 24 hrs before I start tearing into her. In went the Dali Racing underbonnet vent which directs air through the Type R vented hood, the Dali Racing large weave CF headlight covers, OMP Superquadro d-shaped suede steering wheel (no more slipping on the greasy MOMO leather) and the bigass Voltex wing. I was not sure if I wanted to keep the tall stands John Keezer had included but now that it's installed I really like them. My buddy Peter has the same wing but with shorter stands and he's offered to trade if I want a lower profile wing but I think I will pass.

Amazingly, the one part that gave me the hardest time to install is the Zoom Engineering rearview mirror. The screw supplied with it is about 1mm too short! I'll be stopping by the local hardware store to look for a suitable replacement.

She's home!

2010-04-09T04:54:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon (April 8) I took the afternoon off, managed to get to the storage facility (home of local snowbird Bernie who rented his garage to me over the winter), dropped in a new battery and after 3 anxious cranks brought the old C30A to life.

It was perfct timing. In a day full of heavy rain and thunderstorms the skies and roads cleared up just long enough to drive her home unskathed. I missed the sound and feel of the car and the stares all the way home. :) The nice thing was that as soon as it was safely parked in the garage, I got out and all the silly thoughts of selling or parting her out vapourized like so much winter fluff.

On my to-do list in the next week: new wheels (Advan RS) and tires (Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec: 215 40R17 and 275 35R18), getting that monster wing on, install the front vent shroud, new CF headlight covers, interior mirror, and of course the new license plates registered. Then off to Autovation for oil change, tech inspection and wheels install (I would normally do it but the black track wheels are welded to my hubs by the paint!).

My YouTube Video

2010-02-26T10:26:00.002-05:00

I was browsing YouTube 2 days ago looking for an on-track video of Calabogie Motorsports Park. Typed in "NSX" and "Calabogie" and was surprised to find someone had made a video of my car on last summer's Ferrari Day.

My old rims finds a great new home

2010-02-26T10:11:00.014-05:00

One of my NSX buddies from NSX Prime bought my CE28Ns off me a month ago and since seeing them loaded on the truck I've been having second thoughts about letting them go. Seeing his pics posted on Prime makes me question my decision even more. *sigh*

What I aspire to...

2010-02-23T10:14:00.006-05:00

Black NSX -check
'02 conversion -check
CF aero mirrors -check
Advan RS wheels -check
on a track somewhere kicking butt -check!!

There's a great thread on NSXPrime right now on track photos and the following shows what I hope my car will look like in a few months. Fingers crossed.
Thread: http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1278580#post1278580

More pictures. These are of Billy Johnson's Factor X Time Attack Monster. Its not cricket green and black but I prefer the old matte black livery (can't wait till spring!):

New Parts

2010-02-01T10:27:00.011-05:00

I'll have to post pics when I get a chance but wanted to rattle off the parts purchased and received before I forget.

-OMP SupraQuadro d-shaped steering wheel (from Sakurajima Express)

-Dali CF rad shroud and vent (works in conjunction with the vented hood to direct air through the radiator).

-Dali large weave CF headlight covers (I already have a beautiful set from the Procar but the small weave looks funny with my large weave CF bonnet.

-new replacement front license plate bracket from SoS to replace the one stolen at NSXPO last year :(
-S0S front speaker panels so I can finally dump the crappy Bose speakers.
and...
New wheels!Advan RS in gunmetal finish. 17/18 diameters (17x8 et37, 18x10et35). I love the 18/19 gold CE28N's I had but the large wheels were a bit too much on what is turning into a more track-focused car. I will be throwing my Bridgestone SO-3's from my Tecnomags onto these wheels and replacing them with a set of Toyo RA1's for track duty. So, now I will be running 17/18's on both track and street wheels. :) Bye-bye rubber-band tires!

Also received: new CF door switchpanel pieces, new 2DIN console minus the ashtray, and CF door leather triangle replacements pieces. I'll be picking up a new pair of Polk 6.5" speakers in the next few weeks for the doors. Byebye shitty oem Bose speakers. :)

Rick (s4play) on NSXPrime is offering these trick CF convex rear view mirrors. His price was around $375 for the thing. I also checked Ebay and was quoted $340 USD shipped. Getting better. More snooping around and I found the company that makes them in Japan called Zoom-Engineering. Their price was $165 USD. SOLD! They are , however, optimized for RHD cars but who cares, they look 10x better than the circa 1990's Honda Accord mirror that came with the car.

I dropped off the trunklid trim piece from the Voltex wing to Fiore at S&G Autobody to paint match. Come spring that will be the first thing to go on the car. I will also need a new Optima battery as I know my old one is on its last legs. That will go on as well so that my rad shroud can be put over it.

The turbo possibility remains...

My new plates arrived!

2010-01-15T16:29:00.005-05:00

On the way home from NSXPO I was shocked and appalled to have discovered that some lowlife stole my front custom plate (it read "KOSOKU" which is Japanese for "High Speed"). It wasn't too hard for them since I have the SOS stealth license plate bracket which meant that all they had to do was unscrew a couple of thumbscrews to remove the front bracket holding the plate. I didn't help the situation too much either by having a fancy carbon fibre license plate frame from NRG to make it doubly enticing to the thief. I hate scumbag thiefs.

I went to the MTO to order a replacement plate. They told me I need to wait 6 months before they will re-issue it since they need to make sure the plates were not used to commit a crime. I've decided to go with these, inspired by the young doctor that drive the black 911 Turbo in the Wangan thriller manga and anime, "Wangan Midnight".

When KOSOKU comes in I'll throw them on my M3, and move the M3's custom plate to the minivan ^_^

Custom turbo project

2010-01-13T14:26:00.003-05:00

Check these out...

There are pictures posted by NSXPrime member "na1tor" or Rob. Here's waht he has to say:

So its another winter and its been a while since i updated, but ill post more pics soon, the car works flawlessly! the sound is priceless! I drove it all summer at a mild 9psi where it made 478whp and 375lb-ft! was aiming for 12 psi but the clutch said otherwise! Plans for this winter are exedy carbon/carbon, custom intake manifold and throttle body and 12-15 psi, and for future im currently building an engine on the side to handle some serious numbers! lets just say im making the next 1000 hp nsx from canada!

I'll get back with video and pics soon, just been busy setting up a new facility, and will be offering service and custom fabricating specializing in nsx's! also planning on making this into a kit now that it is tried and tested!!

Thanks for the great responses
Rob

The NSX world is constantly evolving. At one point the standard for upping power was the supercharger. There were various options including the Comptech, the Gruppe M (mine) and the Basch (least liked). Nowadays the route to go is turbo. Lovefab seems to have the best rep and support in the community. I should note that Stacy, who owned my supercharger before me was planning to go Lovefab. he's a regular on the forums and his customers swear by him. Another sweet kit is the Angus DIY kit out of BC. There's also Prospeed (not favoured due to poor turnover time), HP Turbo as well as a slew of others.

Rob's setup looks simply bad-ass. I love the workmanship of the welds and design. With my open style rear diffuser it will simply scare away small animals and children (and annoy the neighbours). He's logged a few kms since the install and thinks its both reliable and be tunable to pass emissions. I'm starting to think I need a snail in my engine bay (or underneath it).

More on this as details develop...

Abandoned (or poorly stored) NSX in Mississauga

2009-12-29T01:01:00.004-05:00

Over the Xmas break the family stayed at the Stage West hotel in Mississauga. On the second night I decided to park in the indoors lot and while looking for a spot what do I see huddled in a lonesome corner but this Brooklands Green NA2.

It had 2 flat tires, a thick coating of dust, water drops were all over the hood and roof from the melting saltwater seeping through a crack in the ceiling overhead which was under the top uncovered level of the parking lot. Someone had written "I AM A NICE CAR, CLEAN ME OR GO AWAY!". I managed to scrape away some of the encrusted dust on the passenger window to see it was an NA2 (6 spd), had 3 defi gauges on the centre dash, an aftermarket steering hub with the steering wheel removed, and a Bride Gias Low Max seat in the drivers side. There is a red authentic Honda badge on the front, appears to be lowered but otherwise stock.

I am guessing it must belong to someone connected to the hotel, otherwise why would it b parked there for so long. I also assume the owner has not seen it in a while or s/he would have moved it to a less exposed location or would have at least thrown a cover on it.

I'm hoping someone might recognize the car and help the owner retrieve it. Heck, I might even consider buying it so it ca have a better home!

Wheels (again)

2009-12-18T11:52:00.006-05:00

Just when I thought I was pretty well done with the topic of wheels, up comes Chris at Science of Speed with this post:

Ray's Engineering Volk Racing TE37 forged monoblock wheels are the standard for light and strong wheels for both racing and street use. Several years ago, Ray's discontinued the 18x10.5+45 wheel, which was a popular wheel for the NSX because it offered the best width and offset for popular larger tires - but also because it offered a deep concave face not seen on many wheels for the NSX. Despite it being popular for the NSX, it was discontinued because it was one of the only cars using this size and Ray's could not justify producing the size any longer.

ScienceofSpeed has collaborated with Rays Engineering to produce a 17x8.5 +40 and 18x10.5 +45 Volk Racing TE37 wheel ideal for street or competition use. Produced with exclusive forge tooling to produce this size and offset, ScienceofSpeed is able to bring back the popular concaved rear wheel on the NSX previously discontinued by Rays.

The ScienceofSpeed Volk Racing TE37 is being offered in two finishes never before offered on these wheels. Genesis Gunmetal (a bright satin gunmetal finish) and Satin Black / Red Ring.

In our experience, this is one of the best sized wheels for customers wanting to use larger tires on the NSX. The rear supports up to a 305, but most customers will find 235 and 285 or 295 is the ideal split.

A very limit number of sets (five only) are being produced for ScienceofSpeed. The estimated delivery date is the end of March. To place an order, we are taking small deposits. If you are interested, please call or e-mail for more information.

The price for the set is $2895.00 - there is no difference in price between the two colors.

*** Pre-orders: a $100.00 discount is being offered for pre-orders placed before until Jan 1 2010. ***

for more information:
http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/exterior_performance_products/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/VolkRacingTE37/

regards,
-- Chris

I hav always loved the TE37's. It's a classic wheel for Japanese cars. It's almost the national wheel of Japan :) I had a set of bronze TE's on my Nsx and sadly had to let them go when it became obvious that they weren't going to clear my new brakes. Now I have a chance to get them back and in a very sick offset that will bow inwards in the rear. I already have a standing offer on my CE28's, so I can stand to break even, or come very close to it (not counting tires). My Bridgestone So-3's on my Tecnomags will go on the TE's for now and in the fall I ca order a new set of tires when MidnightRuns do their annual group buy. What to do...

It was bound to happen...the BIG ASS WING

2009-12-10T10:06:00.006-05:00

As I get more and more hooked on tracking my car, my mind is drawn to the idea of a big ass GT wing (or as my friends call them, "F U wings").

Right now I am sporting a NSX-R style wing made by Jetz, which is light and I like the fact it retains the led third light. I also like the idea that it was designed with wind tunnel input (or at least the oem one was). The worse part is the fact it bisects my rear vision. I have the DF NSXR flat under tray pieces (nose and battery tray, gas tank etc) terminating in a Taitec open diffuser. I try to have a completely flat underbody leading to the diffuser and am very happy with stability at speed. I have learned that the R wing only functions to reduce lift (along with the flat undertray), but does not generate usable downforce.

Personally I am not very crazy about the looks of the aerofoil on the back of a street car. It's big, obnoxious, and the fact that every FWD ricermobile seem to have one is a big turn off. However, I hope that my NSX being more and more a devoted track car will justify that. I have found out that the design of the wing itself makes a big difference in whether it works noticeable or not (duh). The Taitec is essentially useless. Big, heavy and rated as an "anchor" by one former owner.
TAITEC GT-500 (form over function):

Billy Johnson of FXMD (famous for his green and black time attack winner) says "The trailing edge of Taitec GT500 is soo steep (pretty much vertical -not a true airfoil) that the wing will stall out at very low speeds resulting in a ton of drag and not much downward force".

In the functional wings category we have the APR:

My only beef with this is the fact it desn't look very pretty just mounted on the trunklid like that. I'd like to fill in and blend the base with the bodywork.

My second choice is the Sorcery:

Third choice is the Gruppe M, which is discontinued.

John@Microsoft says: "Obviously a big ass wing, albeit it the Taitec or Doug H's home-made mongo aluminum home depot one will produce effective downforce on a road course. Like putting your hand out the window... that's probably the easy part.

However, every wing design is a balance. What separates a highly optimized computer modeled tunnel tested design from a poor garage tuner design is being maximally effective while minimizing drag so you get the best of both. Further, having it co-exist well with the rest of the vehicle's aerodynamic characteristics and perhaps most sought prove well in the field for the intended course speeds/application/driver.

All wings are not created equal. Their are low speed high down-force configurations, multi-element high speed airfoils, multi-surface designs such as a sprint car wing, etc... Even the little end plates and wing mounts design play their part in the effectiveness of the system as a whole.

An interesting trivial point, but from what little I have read historically, they banned mounting wings directly to the lower suspension members, fan cars, and other active aero devices simply because they were so ridiculously effective.. so now all series specify the mount must be to the chassis and a great part of pro R&D goes into simple wing design. Per an issue of Race Car Engineering, in Formula 1, even the composite material layering is optimized via FEA to allow just the perfect amount of flexibility across the span so as to reduce the designs effectiveness at high triple digit straight line speeds as that is 'free' per their rules".

The one I decided on is the one currently on Scorp965's red Turbo NSX. He's selling his car, parting it out and moving on to an Aston Martin.
It is the Voltex Type IV with the molded trunk base piece, Gurney Flap (which creates a small vortex on the trailing edge that generates more downforce) and end plates.
This is the actual wing:

Peter Lau has the same wing but with shorter stands and wants the taller ones I'm getting. I'll have to see once it is installed which ones I prefer. My wife hates the wing but says it's my call. Thanks babe!

Final Cruise of the year and putting her away for the winter

2009-11-03T11:06:00.008-05:00

So on Oct 25th, 2009 the NSX Ottawa Owners Group (our local mailing list and local subsidiary of the NSX Club of Canada) got together with our local S2000 Tochigi factory brothers and went for a beautiful fall drive. The weather had been crappy all week with rain and drizzle, but the gods smiled upon us as the one and only clear and sunny day that week just happened to be on that Sunday. We met at the parking lot of the Aviation Museum. 9 NSX, 1 Acura 1.5EL (member Steve's NSX was in the shop for a new clutch and tranny so he drove his wife's car)and 5 S2000's including Kenny Williams white AP1 that was featured in the photoshoot posted a few months back here.

We took the Rockliffe Parkway that snaked through the Ottawa River's edge amongst the tony houses and embassies, to the King Edward bridge to Quebexico and onto Hwy 5 to 105.

We stopped for a greasy breakfast at Barbe Jr. Restaurant where we easily overpowered the small parking lot (I had expected a group of 4-5 cars) and the limited seating (table for 15 please!).

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I was especially happy to see some long lost members who had been too busy to come out all summer and a few new faces as well. I think our local group is quite healthy.

Afterwards I went home, and spent the rest of the day doing small errands and finally the careful and anal retentive task of getting my baby ready for storage. :(
Wash, wax, lube hinges and seals, armor all the hoses, interior, Windex windows, a few sheets of Bounce in the trunks, engine bay and interior, top up with Sunoco 94 and gas preservative, over inflated the tires to 55 lbs, and a thorough vacuuming of all the track dust from Calabogie ;-)

I drove her to the local Stittsville storage facility where I was met by fellow NSXer Brad who was also keeping his red 1991 there. Drove her in, shut her down, removed the steering wheel and put the fitted oem cover on and that was that. See you next April! I know my battery was on its last legs so I didn't even bother disconnecting it. I'll just buy a new one in the spring (Optima Bluetop from Costco).

Now its time to spend even more time on NSXPrime, my new duties as Secretary of the NSX Club of Canada and of course pay more attention to my neglected E46 M3 SMG.

NSXPO 2009 was a success!

2009-09-29T19:29:00.008-04:00

What a great weekend I just had. There's nothing that prepares an NSX enthusiast for the sight of 70 NSXs of various colours, specs, modifications and years gathered in a single parking lot.

The participants came from as far away as San Fran, Georgia, Tennessee and Ottawa (*wink*) to partake in what can only be described as 5 days of celebration of the car that Uehara and Senna built. There were NSX toys, NSX books, NSX pictures (some called it porn), NSX chairs, NSX shirts, NSX hats ...well, you get the idea. The best part though was the people. I swear this car attracts the best owners, bar none. Personally the highlight of the trip was meeting all these people I've known only as usernames online at NSXPrime.com. In particular I enjoyed finally having the opportunity to chat and check out the car belonging to Lud, owner of NSX Prime. I also had a chance to meet Hirofumi Tomoyoshi, President of NSX Club of Japan, Larry Bastanza, President of the NSX Club of America, and Chris from Science of Speed.

Unfortunately I had to bail on Sunday and miss the 2 track days at Mosport, but the pics posted on Prime allowed me to at least dream. I hope to make it out to Suzuka next year when the NSX Club of Japan celebrates the car's 20th anniversary.
Me at the gala dinner:

My car during a stopover at the Poker Rally:

Blodisign front signal covers

2009-09-02T13:40:00.002-04:00

Just had a chance to install my 3RD set of mugen style front turn signal covers by Ryan Blodi (NSX Prime member and all around good guy).

Why 3rd? Cuz the first 2 sets self-destructed after a few weeks each. One thing you have to accept with the NSX is that its a rare, handbuilt, out of production car. Everything for it from the aftermarket has been either discontinued, used (very much), or built by some guy in his spare time as a hobby. The signal covers is such a thing. They were produced by Mugen back in the the 90's, and even then they were pretty hard to find. Ryan saw a demand for them and took the time to have them made. The only thing is the plastic he used initially did not stand up to the rigors of the road very long and afetr a few weeks if you tried to remove them to clean underneath they simply fractured.

This set is made from a more resilient plastic. I also like how its not as dark as the old ones. Lets hope they last! To his credit, he only charged me $20 shipped for this set, and I found out when the package arrived that it cost him $19 to ship it!

ITBs for the NSX

2009-08-22T09:25:00.002-04:00

Saws this today on NSXPrime:

Used NSX MC custom-made ITB throttle body.
Was set up in my NSX 3.2 for less than a year.
I am now selling them cos I am selling the car.
If you need the MoTec base mapping,
I can include it in the package.

The throttle itself was custom-made by 7075 aluminum, strong and durable.
It is still in an excellent condition.
I am now selling it at US$2900 shipped.
(throttle body and mapping included)
I ship worldwide.
If you have any further questions, please contact me at quince328@gmail.com

Thats a crazy price for ITBs. I hope the performance is as beautiful as the velocity stacks themselves. Oh man...$2900 for this set up...so tempted to ditch the GMSC, but I know I never can.

NSXPO 2009 in Toronto, Canada!

2009-08-22T01:17:00.005-04:00

"NSXPO 2009
The NSX Club of America is proud to present the first international XPO to be held outside of the US, in the world-class city of Toronto, Canada. The city boasts a dynamic and culturally diverse atmosphere and features some of the finest shopping and dining in North America, a slew of tourist destinations and an exciting and vibrant night life.

In addition to experiencing some of the city's attractions, this years XPO will host an exciting track event at the legendary Mosport International Raceway."

Really looking forward to this!

I missed Est Fest last year because we had a baby, and this year I couldn't make the Exotic Car Cruise because my wife returned from Japan that same week. There's NO WAY I'm going to miss the biggest single gathering of NSXs in North America.

I'll be in charge of the Movie Night, and have already renewed my membership in NSXCC, booked my hotel room at the Prince and registered in time for the early bird discount. Yay!

JGTC mirrors by GT-One

2009-08-18T00:42:00.002-04:00

Finally had a chance to install a set of CF mirrors. These are made by GT-One, which are in essence a copy of the ones by Craftsquare. I like this version more because these have a base made of composite wrapped in carbon fibre. Although the ones by craftsquare are beautiful, I always had a problem with their bright machinesd aluminum base, esp on a black car.

The first one took 2 hrs to install, the second was about 45 mins. It took aother 40 mins to get them adjusted right. Having someone to help out would have been great since I had to run back and forth from the drivers seat to the outside to make minor adjustments on them. The end results are worth it. I love them.

kei office front lip by Shine

2009-08-17T09:28:00.004-04:00

Back to this topic again...

A few months ago I organized a mini-groupbuy on NSXPrime's Canadian forum for a few sets of Kei Office front lower lips by Shine Auto. This was origianlly produced by Kei Office in Japan (Keiichi Tsuchiya's company) years ago but has since been discontinued. I liked the look and how it updates and cleans up the appearance of the front end. However, the first guy to install it (Marc) reported back that the fitment was crap and he shelled out a lot of extra $$ to make it work. The second buyer (ROY) reported that the fitment was good and was quite pleased with the results. I noted that 2 of the 3 had Shine stickers on them. I kept one, and let the other 2 guys pick the other 2. Roy's had the sticker too. So I'm left to think that maybe Marc got oneof the prototype lips that didn't fit well while Roy and I got good ones. I dunno but thats my theory and I'm sticking to it. I was playing with the idea of a '02 front end conversion but based on Roy's experience I think I'm gonna just install the Kei Office lip and call it a day. At the last track day I got a chance to ride in the new GTR and came away wanting one more than ever. I think the NSX's days of sucking my money is coming to an end :(

Here're pics of Roy's lip:

(btw the silver car's got my old Gruppe M CF lip!)

"FasttraxTurbo" on NSXPrime also installed his and took these beautiful pics:

He was pretty pleased with how it turned out and said its the same height as the stock lip but because it extends out another 3" it scrapes on everything. I love the looks but not sure if it will be appropriate for my NSX, which is rapidly evolving into a track toy.

Here's the Drift King himself...

Calabogie Track Day: Aug 14, 2009

2009-08-17T08:59:00.003-04:00

Decided to take the big bite and pony up the $500 for the full day CMP lapping school put on by EnTrac. Great organization, great day. The instruction was not quite as involved as Peter Hanson's class at the Mosport DDT but still quite enjoyable. Met Kevin Cooper (fellow Ottawa NSXer) for breakfast at Timmies at 6:30am, made it to CMP at 7:30am for drivers meeting and then the classroom session at 8am. The classroom group was small, just 20 people. Focus was on contact patch, suspension dynamics during cornering, and what not to do in a corner. It was cool. Afterwards I was paired up with my instructor Jason who first took me out in my NSX as a passenger for 5 laps, then we switched. I was supposed to spend the rest of the day driving with him in the passenger seat but I had problems with my passenger side seat belt tension-er so we spent the rest of the day with him leading me and showing me the lines and braking zones in his stripped 944 turbo track car.

New mirrors!

2009-08-12T17:14:00.002-04:00

After thinking about this for 2 years, then having a previous order get broken prior to shipping, I finally get my set of CF craftsquare mirrors.

I love them, but unfortunately won't have time to put them on until last this month. Too bad since they'd be great at Calabogie on Friday the 14th. :(

The local owners have a meet!

2009-07-24T10:14:00.003-04:00

Finally! After what seemed like 1/2 the summer without seeing each other (NSX owners are a busy lot! *wink*) the boys finally got their act together and gathered for a quick meet. The place was the usual car cruise night at Hazeldean Mall in Kanata. 7 cars showed up, six of them red ;)

Newguy Serge was there, along with Stef. I really wanted to sit in Stef's new Bride Gias seats and see if they will suit me but his toddler son was freaking out and he had to leave early. Oh well. The highlight of the night was chatting with the owner of a nice silver Fiat X1/9 (I love those cars and I blame them for inspiring my fetish for mid-engined vehicles) and the kid who now owns my old 1992 Nissan 240SX. Seems like the old 240 went through a few owners before he got his hands on it but the parts I put on were still there: Jamex springs, ebay seat covers, fake blitz SS intake and even the stickers I put on from Pac Mall (ah, how I miss my ricer days). He did do the right thing and dropped in a redtop SR. I steered him towards neo240sx.ca which is the local 240 club.

World's smallest NSX meet

2009-07-07T14:45:00.005-04:00

I met up with Ottawa's newest NSX owner Sergio a few weeks ago. Sergio did it right and did his research first on NSXPrime prior to locating his car in Alberta and then driving it back. It was nice to meet a new fellow enthusiast, and also cool to check out what a bone stock NSX looks like. Comparing my car to his makes me realize what a drastic transformation mine had undergone. Did I do the right thing? He is keen on keeping his as stock as possible, even going to the lengths of locating oem parts to replace his failing stereo setup. He's also missing his stock spare wheel and bracket, which I might be able to help him with.

I had called a quick informal meeting (actually, I think all our local meetings are informal) with the local owners but unfortunately no one could make it out on such short notice. Oh well. Actually the local guys have been awfully quiet this year. I should cal a coffee/breakfast meet sometimes soon before we run out of good driving weather.

Pics from the track today

2009-06-19T21:28:00.010-04:00

What a fantastic day. I haven't been to the track in over a year, and certainly not since a lot of the mods (brakes, aero, wheels, body stiffeners) have been put on, so I was very curious to see how this baby will boogie. I was not disappointed at all. Its hard to believe this old girl is 17 years old. She handled like a champ, the Gruppe M SC fed me gobs of torque down low where this technical course needs it, the new 17/18 Tecnomagnesio wheels and Bridgestone SO-2's were well planted by the suspension(Tein EDFC set to full hard) and the big hero of the day were the BRAKES! The AP racing kit was stopping mightily and consistently all day long without fade. Holy crap did I ever have a good time. Every time I come home from the track I feel tired (it was hot today...26 degs and track temp was over 60) but alive and exhilarated. I honestly cannot believe why more people don't do this as a hobby over say... golf!. Even other NSX owners need to come out and try this. Yes your precious car will get a little dirty, but it will not break, an you will really get a new found appreciation for what was engineered into it. Sidenote: I'm happy to see that my headers and exhaust managed to just squeeze under the course's 104 dB limit at 101 dB! ;-)

On with the pics:

Calabogie Motorsports Park

2009-06-18T21:32:00.003-04:00

http://calabogiemotorsports.com/

Length:
5.05 km (3.05 miles)
Number of Turns:
20
West Track:
2.2km (1.38 miles)
East Track:
2.81km (1.74 miles)
Track Width:
40 feet
Elevation Change:
65 feet
Camber in turns:
0% to 6%
Straightaway:
2000 ft.
Direction:
Clockwise
Surface:
Polymer Modified Asphalt (Koch Stylink PG 70-34)
Safety systems:
Extensive run-offs, and combination of tire barriers/walls, guardrail, and concrete
East Paddock (main):
3.75 acres
West Paddock:
1.2 acres
Total site acreage:
1200
Track acreage:
275

From their website:

The typical track user is the driver of a road going sports car or sports bike driving amongst small groups of similar performance vehicles in low intensity competitive or non-competitive conditions. Such drivers are typically part of a club group, often coordinated under the auspices of such clubs as the Porsche, Ferrari, Corvette one make associations or as part of commercially operated “Track Day” groups or regional sports car clubs. Many users are also drawn to the facility as customers of high performance driving schools. The layout and design of the Calabogie course was, from the outset, designed with this customer in mind, to provide them with the high speed challenges that they would not be able to find on public roads or even other comparable closed courses, and to do so in the safest possible conditions to provide a level of enjoyment that would make them return to Calabogie over and over again. Calabogie provides the driver with an exhilarating challenge and is extremely difficult to master. Consequently drivers can expect to return over and over again if they want to truly master the course. At the same time the we have designed the track to incorporate all appropriate safety measures required by ASN Canada, the sanctioning body under which the track operates. Calabogie has been recognized as one of the most aesthetically pleasing driving facilities in North America thanks to the proximity of its woodlands, its adherence to the natural topography of the site and the sheer drama of its course design. It is North America's Premier Driving Experience. Above all, it is great fun to drive!

Alignment

2009-06-18T21:24:00.003-04:00

Well, the NSX will be heading back to Calabogie for the first time in 2 years tomorrow. Oil and filter was changed last fall prior to storage. I checked the oil and its fully topped up and super clean (Mobil 1) so I'm gonna chance it this time (also due to lack of time to pick up a new filter at Acura) and just leave the oil as is. The alignment's been screaming to be done as I know its got too much toe in on the rears (visibly apparent!) and the camber is to severe after the coil-overs were installed. At the last minute I took her to Derek at Autovation right in town and after 2 hours, it was completed. I have to say the car drives beautifully now...so much so I cannot believe I held off on this often overlooked service for so long. The shudder at high speeds, twitchiness under braking is gone. Car tracks straight as an arrow. Turns out the left rear was at 3.5 degrees camber while the right was at 2 degrees. Fronts were both at 1 degrees which will kill front tires in track situations. After careful adjustments I am now at 2 degrees fronts, and 3 degrees rear, no more toe issues. Love it, and the best $150 spent so far! I actually took time off work in the middle of the day to do this...feels so good to play hookie :)

Bring on the Bogie!

My wheels evolution...

2009-06-14T15:55:00.011-04:00

Having just installed my new track wheels, I thought this would be a good time to go through my car's wheel evolution, or should I say, the ode to my fetish for new shoes... ;P

EDIT: April 21, 2010...added the newest wheels, Advan RS in dark gunmetal 17/18

Getting ready for Calabogie

2009-06-14T15:39:00.012-04:00

calabogiemotorsports.com

Finally had a chance today to throw on the new wheels. They are Tecnomagnesios, custom-spec'd for Comptech and sold only through them (17"x8" ET45 & 18"x10" ET47). I bought these used off Tunerworks in Calgary, who had these on their shop NSX and were refinished in gloss black. Tires: 215/40-17 & 285/30-18 Bridgestone Potenza S03. They are almost as light as my old bronze TE37's (wheels I love and still miss) but unlike the Volks, these are offset to fit well over my BBK. I added the red piping myself...just a cheap vinyl sticker I bought off Ebay. These decals are reversible and inexpensive, plus adds a bit of contrast to the setup. I know nowadays its trendy to go for the full evil black on black on black look but to me, up here in Canada it just remind me too much of my wife's stamped steelies and snow tires on her Odyssey!

I can' wait to take her out to the for he first time this season. On June 19th it'll be at Calabogie Motorsports Park for Ferrari Day. Should be a blast!!

Glamour shots!

2009-06-10T19:39:00.008-04:00

I got together with Ken Williams and his souped up Mugen/Spoon S2K and did some neat photos in and around the west end of town a couple of weeks ago.

Spring 2009 to present

2009-06-10T17:35:00.011-04:00

OK, so in the last 2 days I've been recounting everything thats been done on my car since purchase in Jan 2006 to last fall. I am happy to say the project is nearing its end in that I cannot think of anything major left to do aside from little details.

In the spring I installed a nice set of Autovation aluminum pedals (nsx-specific), a pair of 6 pt Schroth harnesses I picked up from Coz on NSXPrime, which after installation I realized looked too hardcore and so I switched to Takata 4 pts.

A custom red anodized SoS harness bar was of course required for safety reasons and installed along with a pair of AEM Serial Gauges by Manny at Pearl Autocare in the a-pillar. I got the gauge pod from Coz of Prime. A funny aside here: I originally had a pod, but decided I wanted the gauges in the centre console so I sold it on Prime. I later changed my mind and re-bought the same damn thing. Ugh. Indecision sucks when you have to pay customs!

The biggest install this year, and will be the last thing to go on the car is this Shine Auto Project front lower valence. This is a copy of the Kei Office design that is no longer in production. Once I am out of town for my vacation in July it will go to Fiore for installation. I am hoping it will be compatible with all the underbody trays and panels. If not I expect to pay out the nose for him to make it all work!

I also caved in and finally sold my rare BYS CF tilting rear wing for the ubiquitous NSX-R CF wing. I have always liked the rarity and look of the BYS but it felt like an anchor back there, and I was tired of using my head to keep the trunk lid open when accessing the trunk! This one is made by a guy with a great name, Johnny Chu who owns a company in SoCal called JetZ Racing Products. Fitment and price was excellent. I'm really happy with this piece:

Aside from swapping out all my oem bulbs for LEDs in the dash, door, footwell and maplights, I'm pretty well done. I am still on the look for a set of used high flow cats, but there's no hurry. :)

I also picked up yet another set of wheels for the track. Gloss black Tecnomagnesios in 17/18 diameters. These are extremely rare wheels made by Tecno for Comptech Sport back in the day. Great deal from a fellow NSXer in Calgary who owns a shop called Tunerworks.

More go power, more stoppng power

2009-06-10T15:00:00.002-04:00

OK, so now we're in the fall of 2008. I've actually barely put any mileage on the car due to several factors...1) it was in the paint shop a month, 2) it was at TintFX for 2 months (long story but I don't talk to Warren anymore), and 3) we had a little girl who was making life busier than usual for us. :P

I love the handling, the looks, and the sound, but something in me wanted to make sure I was extracting every little bit of performance I can from the setup. A GB came up on NSXPrime and suddenly I found myself with a set of Prospeed SS headers and a very rare Taitec centre-exit exhaust. This beautiful thing was hand built in very limited quantities and made expressly to go with the open rear diffuser I already have. It came up on Yahoo Japan and I instructed Daryl of Tunerlab.jp to get it for me. In a month it arrived and back I went to Jason at Tapp for the install.

After a few sessions lapping at Mosport and Calabogie I've come to realize that the stock brakes were also feeling mushy after a few hours of late braking. I previously tried to remedy this by going with the conservative route of SS lines, new fluids, Hawk HPS pads and Powerslot slotted rotors on the front but even that was inadequate. One afternoon I stopped by and chatted with Terry Gosse of KVR Performance, a small local brake supply and tuning shop that is actually quite well known in the car community in North America because of their brake products.

Terry was the designer of the AP Racing setup for the NSX that was originally sold under the RM Racing brand, which later folded and the kit is now sold through Science of Speed. He explained that the NSX is unique in that the mid-engined layout actually does not require huge brakes in the front. In fact, most NSX BBKs out there have issues with front wheel lockup because the rear weight bias does not require throwing a huge set of front calipers (compared to say a front heavy Skyline or Supra). The KVR setup consists of 4 piston calipers on the front with 13" rotors, 13" rotors on the rear utilizing the oem two piston caliper. SS lines, AP fluid and Ferodo DS2500(front), Hawk Black (rear) pads complete the kit.

In case you haven't noticed, along with the BBK came a new set of wheels! Yes, Project Money Pit is now sporting a set of Volk Racing CE28Ns in gold. 18x8 +38 front and 19x9.5 +36 rears, all shod in Toyo T1R 225 35 and 275 30 front and rear respectively. After 2 years of ownership, the car is on its 5th set of wheels (DP Enduro > BBS Stern > Volk Racing TE37 > BBS LMs > Volk Racing CE28N. :P

After that I called it a season and put the oem wing back on and got the car ready for storage. This was taken at Burritts Rapids on a cold Sunday morning, a few days before she was put away for another winter's nap (but not before throwing on jdm tinted tail lights courtesy of John aka Scorp).

Interior

2009-06-10T13:16:00.002-04:00

One thing that bothered me about the interior was that it was just...so...dark...!
The gray carpet, black seats, dark titanium metal instrument cluster was very bland to these old eyes. I picked up an oem red interior carpet from Frank Spano in NYC, new oem CF shift boot and surround from RJP (who also supplied me with a set of titanium NSX keys...my car never came with them), a pair of red alcantara ITR Recaros off Neal of Team Toyo Street (they were in his Pink Skyline GTR show car), machined aluminum gauge rings from SOS, and CF door panel inserts and a double din CF dash from a hustler in Lithuania named Tamoske.

On an aside, Tamoske created quite the reputation for himself on NSX Prime. This is a very close knit community, and I'm proud to say a very trusting one too. Well Tamoske changed all that by offering CF bits for a very good price. What's wrong with that? Well, after pre-selling the parts, he basically complained that his "workers" ripped him off and ran off with all the money. It has been almost 2 years and Prime members are still waiting for their parts. This guy had spawned thread after thread on Prime and to this day any mention of Lithuania will be met with cocked heads and twitchy stares. Luckily I was never part of the GB and got my parts, but not before having to scam them off of him by promising parts he wanted in exchange. Yes, I had to lie to this bugger to get my paid for parts!! What a learning experience that was. In his defence though, the parts I received were very nice so all's well that ends well I suppose.

After I got the car back from Fiore it was dropped off at Warren's shop TINTFX in Gloucester where a new alarm was installed, the EDFC for the Tein suspension (this slick little unit controls the dampening via a dash mounted control), the gauge trim rings, CF parts, an Alpine HU with GPS, and a set of JDM LED DTRLs which were a gift from Adam of Feast AE/RS in Japan (good friend of mine).

Aero dressup ver 2.0 (spring 2008)

2009-06-10T07:19:00.001-04:00

So, over the winter again I started having second thoughts about the sideskirts. The MH were getting mixed reviews from viewers. Not that I really care but they made one point clear...without the matching MH nose, the front end does not quite match up with the aggressiveness and depth of the sideskirts. The skirts visibly hung about 1/2" lower than the front lip. This fact also made them susceptible to speed bumps, freeway expansion joints and other road imperfections. In just one summer with them I had to repair the skirts 3x with black duct tape and touch up paint (the very first crack came within 24 hrs of getting the car out of the paint shop!) I realized they weren't going to last very long. Luckily Peter, a friend with another black NSX in Toronto was selling his Stacy Skirts (Stacy is the same dude who sold me his supercharger...see what a small world the nsx community is?). The Stacy Skirts were actually my first choice over the MH but I thought they were a bit too pricey. Now they were available for a good deal and my MH were getting mangled so I decided to head back to the body shop! So in April 2008 the car was once again dropped off at Fiore's for the new skirts, along with a vented Seibon Type R CF hood, the SOS NSX-R aluminum front under tray and matching FRP nose piece. I also had a set of 17/18 BBS LM Championship edition wheels refinished in copper my the boys at Alloy Wheel Repair in Stittsville. These wheels have always been one of my favourites and I bought it from Will in Calgary (he owns a red complete MH NSX imported from Japan) who replaced tehm with a set of TSW's purchased from another NSX (see how parts circulate amongst the community?). LOL.

Oh yes, in March 31, 2008 our little home was blessed with the arrival of Ella. Here she is testing the strength and comfort of my NSX-R hood ;)

Aero dressup ver 1.1 (summer 2007)

2009-06-09T14:26:00.001-04:00

OK, so at this point I now have more power, a nicely lowered stance, nice wheels, and a mild aero kit. I should be done right?

One thing about me that all my friends know is that over the winter months I store this car. For 4 months every year I don't get to see or drive it. I get antsy, and I start shoppng for parts I *think* I need. I decided that the BYS skirts were too mild, and got my hands on a set of Marga Hills Skirts, a more aggressive GT-One N1 front lip to replace the now banged up and scarred Gruppe M lip, and a Taitec JGTC functional rear diffuser.

I also swapped out the stock seats for a set of black leather and cloth Recaro SR3's with custom NSX logo's bonded to them courtesy of a GTA-area NSXer who runs a side business doing this sort of work. The school bus sized stock steering wheel and airbag was replaced by a smaller diameter (320mm) Momo Race wheel with titanium finish. The shift knob was replaced by a weighted SS knob by "Burn Up!" (I don't make this shit up). All bodywork was done by Fiore of S&G Body in Ottawa, who are good frends of mine. At this time my car was officially accepted into Team Top End of Japan as their first non-Japanese market NSX and I was officially sanctioned to run Top End's North American wing.

The newly kitted NSX made its debut literally the day after it was released by Fiore and taken to the annual NSX Club of Canada's exotic car cruise in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Some pics from that great weekend with the boys...

More Powa! (April 2007)

2009-06-09T12:29:00.006-04:00

One thing about the NSX...its underpowered.

Don't let all the so called "purists" tell you differently. Yes its engine make great sounds, yes the VTEC push is intoxicating, and yes the engine is a work of art with its titanium con-rods, first application of VTEC in a V6, and 8K redline. However, coming from the world of Skyline GTRs I just find the engine underwhelming. One of the reasons why the car has always been an underdog was that it just didn't post numbers that impressed the targeted demographic of buyers. Combined with that "H" on the hood and you've got an uphill battle for recognition and sales (despite the fact Gordon Murray had one and based a lot of the McLaren F1's design on the NSX).

The first thing I looked into was forced induction. At the time (2007) the method of choice was supercharging. It was compact, bolted on with ease (having all that space above the engine once the carpeted cover was removed is a bonus) and there was no need to worry about custom fab work with the exhaust headers associated with turbos. I originally looked for a Comptech unit, but they had just gone out of business (later to resurface as CT Engineering) and used units were few and far between. Someone on Prime posted a Gruppe M supercharger for sale. I emailed the seller but unfortunately he had already sold it by the time I reached him. I swear NSXPrime has the fastest turnover in sale ads out of any forum I know of! Luckily, I was contacted by Stacy Lesosky of Stacy's Sideskirts fame. Turned out he was planning to go turbo on his NSX and offered to sell me his complete Gruppe M kit. Money was exchanged and a month later it arrived.

Prior to the install I had Chris Tapp and Jason from Tapp Auto perform the 96K kms tune up, timing belt, water pump, alignment and disassembly and cleaning of internals. After that this sucker got bolted on!

On only 6 lbs boost the car jumped from the stock 270 hp to ~400 hp instantly! The power is linear, and comes on strong at low rpm which is exactly where the oem setup was gutless. It made orgasmic sounds and looked mean as hell under the glass hatch. I was in love with the car! Along with the bigass Eaton M90 positive displacement unit were RC 550cc injectors, Walbro 255 lph fuel pump, massive Gruppe M intake, kevlar engine garnish and AEM EMS with wideband UEGO tuned by Tapp Auto.

I tells ya, modifying an NSX ...of any year...is not for the faint of heart. Parts are not cheap, nor plentiful. Everyone selling stuff for it either asks too much or you get in line with everyone who got dibs before you. Its brutal. I started off haggling like a 240 guy. Hahaha...it was like, "no thanks, NEXT!". Take your run of the mill parts, 3x the price and slap on an NSX sticker and there you go. The cost of parts for this thing so far can build you an entire R32 GTR.

Parts are usually produced in limited numbers, so you're paying A LOT for the development costs. Eg. This SC setup I bought is one of only 5 in North America and the only one in Canada. Gruppe M stopped production after making 288 units worldwide. Sheesh.

Once I got it home I installed the bigass intake scoop produced by Downforce. It was pretty easy to drop in once you know what you're doing. The sound it makes, combined with the Gruppe M intake is nothing short of amazing. Check out its shape next to the oem intake piping!

In the fall of 2007, following the blower install, I noticed that the clutch was slipping. I ordered a single disc billet clutch by RPS from SoS which was installed by Darek of TAG Mechanics. Darek is probably the best qualified NSX mechanic in the region, and works on all the local cars. An interesting thing he discovered when the car was apart was that the stock clutch was actually quit new, but was installed backwards! This caused tranny fluid to leak into the clutch assembly resulting in the slipping sensation. Since everything was apart anyways, I told him to go ahead and install the new clutch. While the car was up on the hoist he also showed me a few scars from previous work done, how the car was once raised incorrectly which bent the rear suspension crossbar (he pressed it straight again), a missing metal pin which was substituted by a bent piece of cheap wire, and the spot on the delicate CAD designed lower control arms where a mechanic (who will remain nameless) had smacked to loosen the stock struts when he was installing my Tein coilovers. One thing he notices is that a few NSX's he's worked on over the year have had past owners who couldn't afford a proper NSX trained mechanic. These are very highly developed automobiles with all-aluminum construction which requires a different approach and sometimes different tools. Doing it the regular way can be disasterous.

Aero dressup ver 1.0

2009-06-09T11:26:00.000-04:00

In JDM world, this is called "aero dressup". Why dressup? Because in road cars aero enhancements are little more than styling exercises. You might be able to have a JGTC-inspired car, but lets face it, unless you have access to a wind tunnel (none of the car kit makers have a wind tunnel, nor is inclined to seriously research their parts), and plan to regularly reach speeds in excess of 175 kph, anything you throw at the car is for looks only.

I have always loved the clean design of the NSX. Honda is well known for their no-nonsense approach to their cars, and the NSX, like the S2000 that comes from the same factory, extols Honda's Lotus-esque approach of "less is more". their cars have always been function over form, and elemental in design and execution. However, although timeless, that doesn't mean we can't do a few tweaks to bring the NSX up to date in current car designs. Again, my initial approach was to be on a budget, thinking I will sell this car eventually for the R35, so I scoured the classifieds of NSXPrime.com and came upon an ad by GTA NSXer, Nathan (red_dragon). Nate had a set of BYS skirts, rear wing and Gruppe M CF lip for sale as he was upgrading to a more aggressive Taitec nose with CF canards, Marga Hills Skirts and homemade aluminum diffuser. I bought the whole kit and kaboodle along with a set of bronze Volk Racing TE37's from a Vancouver NSX. Here's how it looked circa fall 2005 (pics taken at Mosport's Hanson Driving School).

First Mods

2009-06-09T10:16:00.005-04:00

I have to admit, my first intentions were not so much to mod the piss out of the car but to just play with it, have some fun and then sell it when the new R35 GTR is released. I hate stock looking cars so my first mods were to lower it with TEIN Flex coilovers, a set of decent wheels and an exhaust.

So, in the spring of 2006, I ordered and received a set of 17/17 JDM BBS Stern 2 piece wheels from the asses at The Skyline Shop, Kumho tires to replace the worn Yokos that came with the car and to at least complete the set, a used ARK DT-S exhaust, and the aforementioned Tein Flex coilovers bought new off Ebay. I actually was very satisfied with the look, the sound and of course the handling and thought I was done.

I was contacted by Will of Advantech Studios and he shot a cool video of the car for a class project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVQOjNJ7HoU).

I also had some glamour shots taken by Kevin Luc (aznkid.com). Man they look awesome!

In the beginning...

2009-06-09T10:01:00.003-04:00

I found this NSX in the fall of 2005 at GTA Leasing in Toronto. It was a stock 1992 lease car, originally from Quebec, and had been through 3 previous owners. It had 89,990 kms on the odometer. It had a number of strikes against it, which was why it sat in the showroom for over a year and nearly universally panned by the local NSX owners as damaged goods. First of all, it was in snap ring range (a manufacturer defect which made early NSX prone to tranny failure), it was a theft recovery vehicle (stripped and given a salvage title in its previous history), and it had a previous accident. Perfect!

I was looking to buy a low buck NSX with the express interest to either mod the piss out of it or use it as a track toy, so this was pretty well what I was looking for. I made the call, stopped by on a weekend when I was in town and checked the car out. Overall it was surprising clean. The damage was shown, mainly in the front driver's side bumper. The car was raised and I inspected the work done and welds with a friend who worked with airplanes and therefore familiar with aluminum. It was not perfect but the suspension and chassis were straight, and for the price I was convinced. Unfortunately the car came with a ugly set of 3 piece DP Enduros with mismatched Yokohama/Kumho tires, some kind of ricey Batman LED alarm light on the dash, and suspect aftermarket wiring. Seats were in great shape and carpet was clean, although it had a gash along the passenger footwell presumably made for a sub that didn't come with the car.

Regarding price, they accepted my 1989 R32 Skyline GTR as an almost direct trade. Being the owner of GTRCanada.com I knew the flood of RHD cars was coming soon, so this was my last chance to get a very high resale on a "rare" jdm supercar so I bit.

The NSX arrived in Jan 2006 on a car carrier, covered in salt and grime. First thing I did was throw on a set of expired plates and drove it to the local coin op car wash to hose her down.

I couldn't believe it...after 15 years of lust, I finally had my jdm supercar.

My NSX blog!

2009-06-09T09:57:00.004-04:00

I am dedicating this blog to my NSX, a project car nearing its completion. I should have started this years ago but have been too busy. However, I will endeavour to bring the project back to its infancy in order to document all that has been done. It will be a challenge but heck, thats what blogs are for!

Background.
I have loved the NSX since I was a kid, and by kid I mean when it was presented as a concept car at the Chicago Auto show and later previewed in all the car mags when I was 20 (1989). One of my childhood friends, Victor Wong had worked at an Acura dealership one summer and brought back a gift for me: a poster of the upcoming NSX. It hung on my wall all throughout my college years and dental school. You could almost say it served as inspiration for me to do well in school! Oddly enough that poster was almost accidentally thrown out by a friend when I was moving out of my apartment upon graduation but luckily it was saved. I finally had it properly framed recently and it hangs now in my home office.

I have always been a Honda fan. Growing up I owned a Civic, a red 2nd gen CRX, and a 2nd gen Prelude. I was also a huge F1 fan since the days when Mansell and Piquet drove Honda turbo-powered Williams cars and later when Honda moved on to McLaren during the Senna/Prost years. To this day I still think that era produced some of the most beautiful F1 cars.

Aryton Senna was a driver for McLaren and consulted in the development of the NSX, namely in the suspension and chassis. When the car was released it was the world's first all-aluminum production car. It beat its rivals easily in performance (Ferrari 348, Porsche 911, Corvette and Skyline GTR) as well as set a new benchmark in reliability, ergonomics and quality control. In short, they built an exotic car with Japanese qualities. Each car was hand-built in a special factory in Tochigi by hand-picked Honda employees as a reward for years of dedication to the company. Soichiro Honda signed off on the project himself and intended it as a means to show the world what Honda and Japan can produce in answer the european-dominated world of exotic cars.

I had to have one.