Thoughts of selling, thoughts of keeping...

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

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....

April 15th, 2011....

Reflections on the year.

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

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

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!)

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)

[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!

"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!

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.