I've always called the FD-RX7, R34-GTR, 2Jz-Mk 4 Supra, and the 90's NSX's - lovingly the four horsemen. Such a menacing street fleet to be reckoned with in the late 90s or early 2000s and to some caveats even now. Nobody builds cars like these anymore. Keep it forever bro. Beautiful car
really glad you kept it and fixed the gearing issues. its amazing how much gearing can change the characteristics of a car. I just picked up a cayman GT4 with the 4.5L but more importantly, the shortened 2-5 gears. I said the same thing after driving it, should have come this way from the factory. hope to see more NSX content.
Exactly! I bought my NSX last Fall and the only two things I dislike about it are the long gear ratios and the "long" steering ratio. The last of the trans parts I needed for this upgrade just arrived in the mail, so now I'm waiting on the next batch of Quaife steering racks to ship so I can get my car perfect
You explain everything so well. The NSX is indeed an awesome car, and these mods take it to the next level! Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I’ve followed the build for a while, but I don’t recall if you’ve done all the suspension bushings/tie-rods/etc. or if you’ve done all of the cooling system hoses? I’d go that route next if they haven’t been done. Otherwise, I know NA1 seats are good, but I love me some good buckets, especially for a canyon car that isn’t daily or for long trips. Having said that, there are comfy buckets (even for big boi’s out there), I use my 911 with buckets for 3-4 hour trips regularly. Not all buckets are comfy, so go to a shop with several you can try! I have my favorites, but they aren’t the same for everyone. Also, chassis braces, I’m pretty sure the Type-R had some model specific brace for the front cross member around the radiators between the headlights, but there are likely a lot of aftermarket options. Do you still have the factory engine cover? Type R cover with the mesh so you can see/hear the engine. Do these motors have some way to bump cam profile a bit, either through VTEC tune or mechanical means like rockers on a pushrod motor? That might be fun to play with. Crazy ideas? ITB 😈 but only if you can register in a CA county without emissions testing 😈 😈
Suspension components haven't been changed during my ownership. Probably time to do so - good call. Coolant hoses were done by previous owner 9 years ago. I would love a new seat but need to research which models will fit while offering reclining and aren't a pain to get in/out of in tight spots with these long doors. ITBs are out of the question as long I live in California.
I've had my 1996 NSX since 2011, and I love the tall gearing. I have the opposite opinion of 2nd gear that you have. It's so much fun howling at 80mph at the top of 2nd gear. To me it's weird that someone would want short gearing, but to each their own. If you enjoy it, then it was the correct choice for you. For me, the tall gearing is part of the fun. Enjoy your NSX!
All good and fine for street if you like it that way but objectively less usable/quick for most cornering scenarios if hard driving is a priority at all. But in general a car that has more shift action is generally going to just be more engaging to run up and down the gears in because more is happening and the car pulls a bit harder with a shorter ratio
Good decision on keeping it and building the car of your dreams. The fact that it's an NSX makes this video so much more worthwhile watching. Thank you.
One thing i miss about living in northern california are the back roads around Napa and Sonoma. I probably enjoyed my NSX the most living up there. All the canyon roads down in SoCal are congested by dummies and i also have to worry about cold weather. I only really drive the NSX at night and probably should replace the fuel pump.
This car belongs to a great driver like yourself, I’m glad you kept this car and did these mods! I had no idea about the gearing difference between the USDM and JDM NSX.
Like I said a few times on your chanel, I own a few of the cars you mentioned and wish to get. But my NSX 91 with the full NSXR jdm box and a lightweight flywheel is the best driving experience on the road i can have. The LWFW did a lot also... if you haven't done it. Also I worked on the light weighing of the car, i shed 130kg down to the same weight as an NSXR and this also made a difference as big as the gears and final drive.
Dude I envy you for having that NSX. There’s something about it in silver that sets a tone I think. I’ve reached a point in my life where I can afford to have a car I drooled over as a teenager and hell, I still do. The NSX is on my shortlist
Glad you finally got your gears upgraded. You already decided to go with the gears when reviewing my car in your recent videos but it sure did help cement your decision. I can see you are thoroughly happy with your NSX now. After swapping to the shorter gears, I’ll never think about selling my NSX as it’s just that much better now.
Congratulations man! I know you’re enjoying it. One of my favorite mods on my 2004 330i ZHP was going from the stock 3.07 rear end (already an upgrade over the standard 330s) to a 3.64. Love it!
Great vid, the car looks like a lot of fun. Also, I'd never really considered how a clutch pack diff works before, but your explanation of how it works and how the updates change the behaviour was very easy to understand in just a few lines, so great job on that too 👏
Great stuff, Fenton! Choice mods and definitely worth keeping that beauty of a car. If there was one car I regret not at least considering when I got my Cayman R, it’s the NSX.
Be careful modding "aero" dude. With that current setup the car just looks perfect imo. Anything you do might make it uglier or too extreme. Type-R's (and your car) have firmer front springs than rear?! I never knew. Congrats on now owning one of the greatest drivers cars ever (wasn't bad before, but this is making it perfect imo). Only changes I would do is anything to match a Type-R's steering, i.e. rack speed, geometry etc, if there is anything. Otherwise....it's perfect. Actually, replace seats with Recaro's?
thankyou for driving the car , as a honda lover we see thes cars at shows but never doing what it was made to do. one guy slod the car before he even tried , boosted boiz got so many cars to drive its like they dont have time for it
glad you're back on board with the nsx, i watched alot of your videos leading upto purchasing my silver na1 here in nz - rhd jdm 5speed (almost a year into ownership). im currently waiting on the abs upgrade kit that uses ap1 abs pump to arrive (helix auto works).. sadly my stock abs took a dump. you still running stock na1 abs system ?
With any Honda VTEC motor, you definitely want gear ratios that get you on VTEC exiting from corners and have you on VTEC pretty much 100% on the time on a track.
I had that similar advan wheel set up. I then went with the science of speed 02’ forged wheels. I went with a 17 inch all the way around. 17x9.5 rear and 17x7.5 front. Much better steering response and power. I feel that an 18 inch wheel in the back is too much wheel to turn. Try a 17” rear wheel sometime.
@@Zygrene - cool looking forward to the follow up when you get both of those sorted out - nothing worse for confidence than not feeling good about brakes. Did you get a better feel of the diff under some throttle on/off rotation - better than what you could feel in this video's street-canyon drive?
Car looks great, I bet the gearing wakes it up dramatically. Although it looks lovely on those wheels, for nimbleness and liveliness on canyon roads, they look pretty big. Certainly 265 rears are far more than needed for canyon driving and will deaden the driving experience a fair bit. Have a go on some 17s with 235 rears. I can't believe you wouldn't appreciate the benefits hugely. Small wheels are such a hard sell in the car community, but a car like this is crying out for smaller rolling stock to wake it up even further.
There was an white NA1 on track at Streets last weekend at the Togue2Track event running at the Advanced level...I was impressed by it watching it stay ahead of the group, and its owner was cool too. You ought to track yours as well!
Good choice keeping it, at least now you can sell it after enjoying the full experience. Another youtuber is selling his and it’s probably not “the call”.
Knowing absolutely nothing about nsx’s, I believe I’ve heard j-series transmissions can work with the c30? Or is it only the other way around? Either way, it seems like a 6 speed lsd from a j series car would be a nice upgrade, and keeps it all in the Honda family. Excuse me if this has been mentioned, thanks!
Weight reduction next! Antigravity battery, ditch the spare tire, recaro seats and any other bits you can get to remove weight and get the car to a static weight of at or just below 2800lbs
what about some red recaro pole position to finish it off? the perfect OEM + NSX :) if you compare it to the cayman GT4 you have driven, is it a close amount of fun?
Hey, I've been looking for some more good roads around the Bay Area, you know any? I'm typically driving in the Santa Cruz mountains off Highway 9 or 35. I still need to drive Mines Road. (Livermore to Mt. Hamilton)
If you're starting with no NSX, probably. The video showed his odo at 122k miles. The NSX Valuation Guide only goes up to 98k miles for NA2's so it's hard to do a perfect comparison, but comparing NA1C to NA2T, both with 98k miles, the average values are $68,500 and $86,500. So $18k more for an NA2. I don't know what he paid in labor for this, but the parts are around $2000-$2500. So this is cheaper up front. But, this will probably add little or no resale value so it's all sunk cost, while the higher price of an NA2 would be recoverable But if you already have an NA1, you'd lose more in CA sales tax switching to an NA2 than this upgrade would cost And NA2 has disadvantages too. Heavier. More chassis flex. Power steering.
@@JesseOsby Really well thought out reply! Yes, I was coming in from the perspective of a person not having either. And, you're right---the NA2 is softer and Targa only (except for the unobtanium Zanardi).
I see you rebadged the Acura as a Honda like my RSX. Cool, yes, but be prepared to explain to service and random people that it is an Acura with Honda badges and the subsequent explanation why 😜
One tire fire? Come on. I’ve tracked my NSX on Streets of Willow, which is a super tight track and never experienced a differential unload like that. This is under heavy acceleration corner exit.
![[Eng Sub] Pinnacle of HONDA! 30 Years later - NSX NA1 & NA2 #revchannel](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wocuEdI-fZY/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for the honor and privilege of working on the NSX, it was a fun project.🫡
Glad you kept the car. It's a lot more interesting than any of the alternatives you talked about. Looking forward to all next mods.
The NSX is definitely a top ten greatest car. Super jealous and glad you kept it. Drive it more, it's a Honda!
I've always called the FD-RX7, R34-GTR, 2Jz-Mk 4 Supra, and the 90's NSX's - lovingly the four horsemen. Such a menacing street fleet to be reckoned with in the late 90s or early 2000s and to some caveats even now. Nobody builds cars like these anymore. Keep it forever bro. Beautiful car
really glad you kept it and fixed the gearing issues. its amazing how much gearing can change the characteristics of a car. I just picked up a cayman GT4 with the 4.5L but more importantly, the shortened 2-5 gears. I said the same thing after driving it, should have come this way from the factory. hope to see more NSX content.
Congrats on regearing the Cayman. Wish I could afford that on my 987.
Some red Recaro pole positions would look good in the nsx. The spoon Kevlar seats would look good too. Your nsx is pretty good as it sits tbh.
A top ten all-time car, for its history, significance for Honda and Japan, and great analogue driving. And still looks fresh.
As most people have said, I too am glad you kept this car. Won't ever be another NSX like yours so keep enjoying it!
Oh hell yah. Go all the way and get the quick steering rack and different wheels 😎
I need to try the Quaife quick ratio rack first. I find the stock rack already too heavy on track. New wheels are definitely needed though.
Stock rack is perfect. It's not an autocross car.
Exactly! I bought my NSX last Fall and the only two things I dislike about it are the long gear ratios and the "long" steering ratio. The last of the trans parts I needed for this upgrade just arrived in the mail, so now I'm waiting on the next batch of Quaife steering racks to ship so I can get my car perfect
You explain everything so well. The NSX is indeed an awesome car, and these mods take it to the next level! Thank you for taking the time to make this video.
I’ve followed the build for a while, but I don’t recall if you’ve done all the suspension bushings/tie-rods/etc. or if you’ve done all of the cooling system hoses? I’d go that route next if they haven’t been done.
Otherwise, I know NA1 seats are good, but I love me some good buckets, especially for a canyon car that isn’t daily or for long trips. Having said that, there are comfy buckets (even for big boi’s out there), I use my 911 with buckets for 3-4 hour trips regularly. Not all buckets are comfy, so go to a shop with several you can try! I have my favorites, but they aren’t the same for everyone.
Also, chassis braces, I’m pretty sure the Type-R had some model specific brace for the front cross member around the radiators between the headlights, but there are likely a lot of aftermarket options.
Do you still have the factory engine cover? Type R cover with the mesh so you can see/hear the engine.
Do these motors have some way to bump cam profile a bit, either through VTEC tune or mechanical means like rockers on a pushrod motor? That might be fun to play with.
Crazy ideas? ITB 😈 but only if you can register in a CA county without emissions testing 😈 😈
Suspension components haven't been changed during my ownership. Probably time to do so - good call. Coolant hoses were done by previous owner 9 years ago. I would love a new seat but need to research which models will fit while offering reclining and aren't a pain to get in/out of in tight spots with these long doors. ITBs are out of the question as long I live in California.
I've had my 1996 NSX since 2011, and I love the tall gearing. I have the opposite opinion of 2nd gear that you have. It's so much fun howling at 80mph at the top of 2nd gear. To me it's weird that someone would want short gearing, but to each their own. If you enjoy it, then it was the correct choice for you. For me, the tall gearing is part of the fun. Enjoy your NSX!
Finally someone else gets it !
One of the benefits of a taller gear is you trade usable HP for the time you don't spend shifting up or down a gear.
All good and fine for street if you like it that way but objectively less usable/quick for most cornering scenarios if hard driving is a priority at all. But in general a car that has more shift action is generally going to just be more engaging to run up and down the gears in because more is happening and the car pulls a bit harder with a shorter ratio
Good decision on keeping it and building the car of your dreams. The fact that it's an NSX makes this video so much more worthwhile watching. Thank you.
One thing i miss about living in northern california are the back roads around Napa and Sonoma. I probably enjoyed my NSX the most living up there. All the canyon roads down in SoCal are congested by dummies and i also have to worry about cold weather. I only really drive the NSX at night and probably should replace the fuel pump.
The transformation into an NSX-R clone begins. 😈 Now just needs that quicker rack and some additional lightweighting.
Literally a legendary car in every meaning of the word. Glad you found a reason to keep her around.
im glad im not the only one who has a problem with the sleeve length on this patagonia jacket lol :D
Excellent. Prompted me to look at AP1 versus AP2 speeds in gears . . . the improvement you realized is similar order of magnitude.
Yep...you fixed it. congrats and enjoy...def a keeper now!
This car belongs to a great driver like yourself, I’m glad you kept this car and did these mods! I had no idea about the gearing difference between the USDM and JDM NSX.
The *nice* jump cut got me 😂.
Like I said a few times on your chanel, I own a few of the cars you mentioned and wish to get. But my NSX 91 with the full NSXR jdm box and a lightweight flywheel is the best driving experience on the road i can have. The LWFW did a lot also... if you haven't done it.
Also I worked on the light weighing of the car, i shed 130kg down to the same weight as an NSXR and this also made a difference as big as the gears and final drive.
Dude I envy you for having that NSX. There’s something about it in silver that sets a tone I think. I’ve reached a point in my life where I can afford to have a car I drooled over as a teenager and hell, I still do. The NSX is on my shortlist
You're living the dream! Love the NSX, thanks for giving us a ride along. Keep it up!
Glad you finally got your gears upgraded. You already decided to go with the gears when reviewing my car in your recent videos but it sure did help cement your decision. I can see you are thoroughly happy with your NSX now. After swapping to the shorter gears, I’ll never think about selling my NSX as it’s just that much better now.
Congratulations man! I know you’re enjoying it. One of my favorite mods on my 2004 330i ZHP was going from the stock 3.07 rear end (already an upgrade over the standard 330s) to a 3.64. Love it!
Great vid, the car looks like a lot of fun. Also, I'd never really considered how a clutch pack diff works before, but your explanation of how it works and how the updates change the behaviour was very easy to understand in just a few lines, so great job on that too 👏
ATR Racing.. Accord Type R is 😍 Great video and to see u enjoy the car more!
I want 2nd gear at redline to end at 62 mph. Gotta maximize those draggy 5-60 bragging rights.
I just literally took a screenshot 0.08 that front end look of pre-facelift Honda NSX is just ❤❤❤❤
Seeing your face light up and smile at the joy this brings you tells me you made the right choice. Cheers from Wisconsin.
Beautiful example mate. Hang onto it. I wish I got one of these when they were at somewhat reasonable prices and kms
So glad you went this route! Congrats on the new old car!
"69 miles per hour (nice)" lol that was great
HELL YEAH, SO PUMPED TO SEE THAT !!!
That car is so cool. You definitely made the right choice in keeping that classic beauty.
Great stuff, Fenton! Choice mods and definitely worth keeping that beauty of a car. If there was one car I regret not at least considering when I got my Cayman R, it’s the NSX.
Watching that tach sweep is so satisfying.
Be careful modding "aero" dude. With that current setup the car just looks perfect imo. Anything you do might make it uglier or too extreme.
Type-R's (and your car) have firmer front springs than rear?! I never knew.
Congrats on now owning one of the greatest drivers cars ever (wasn't bad before, but this is making it perfect imo).
Only changes I would do is anything to match a Type-R's steering, i.e. rack speed, geometry etc, if there is anything. Otherwise....it's perfect.
Actually, replace seats with Recaro's?
So SO happy for you! Congrats and ENJOY!
If you liked this video, YT should recommend savage goose's extended take (April 2024) on the NSX.
A great video!
thankyou for driving the car , as a honda lover we see thes cars at shows but never doing what it was made to do. one guy slod the car before he even tried , boosted boiz got so many cars to drive its like they dont have time for it
This and the Integra Type S are awesome additions in the garage
Great explanation of how the diff works.
Awesomeness man! Got me wanting to do the upgrade even more !
glad you're back on board with the nsx, i watched alot of your videos leading upto purchasing my silver na1 here in nz - rhd jdm 5speed (almost a year into ownership). im currently waiting on the abs upgrade kit that uses ap1 abs pump to arrive (helix auto works).. sadly my stock abs took a dump. you still running stock na1 abs system ?
With any Honda VTEC motor, you definitely want gear ratios that get you on VTEC exiting from corners and have you on VTEC pretty much 100% on the time on a track.
Sick man!!! OOOwwwwiiiieeeeeeee
Glad you kept it Fenton. This car will be unatainable for most in the future
Love Your NSX, Bro!
I had that similar advan wheel set up. I then went with the science of speed 02’ forged wheels. I went with a 17 inch all the way around. 17x9.5 rear and 17x7.5 front. Much better steering response and power. I feel that an 18 inch wheel in the back is too much wheel to turn. Try a 17” rear wheel sometime.
Wow, Let's go!!!! 🔥🔥🔥
“Enthusiast owned” - this is what it means..!!
Good stuff. Take it to the track. Make use of that LSD. Would love to see comparisons to your s2k laptimes.
I tracked it a few days ago but couldn't push hard at all. I need my ABS fixed, and new tires.
@@Zygrene - cool looking forward to the follow up when you get both of those sorted out - nothing worse for confidence than not feeling good about brakes. Did you get a better feel of the diff under some throttle on/off rotation - better than what you could feel in this video's street-canyon drive?
I'm happy for you, enjoy the car!
I can't wait for that to be done to my NSX. Hopefully when I can afford the mod, it is still available though :(
Car looks great, I bet the gearing wakes it up dramatically. Although it looks lovely on those wheels, for nimbleness and liveliness on canyon roads, they look pretty big. Certainly 265 rears are far more than needed for canyon driving and will deaden the driving experience a fair bit. Have a go on some 17s with 235 rears. I can't believe you wouldn't appreciate the benefits hugely. Small wheels are such a hard sell in the car community, but a car like this is crying out for smaller rolling stock to wake it up even further.
There was an white NA1 on track at Streets last weekend at the Togue2Track event running at the Advanced level...I was impressed by it watching it stay ahead of the group, and its owner was cool too. You ought to track yours as well!
Wonder if that was my friend Derek
@@Zygrene He was running Enkei wheels and previously belonged to a track instructor so hmm...Regardless, I did ask and he does watch your channel
Modding cars is a neverending emdeavor. Do what makes you happy just dont go broke doing it.
Good choice keeping it, at least now you can sell it after enjoying the full experience. Another youtuber is selling his and it’s probably not “the call”.
Because we can’t leave well enough alone. 😂
shoutout the international plug on the parts
glad you're keeping the best Honda ever made
Id never ever sell an NSX if I had one. These cars are just getting way too rare.
Glad you kept it 👌🏾❤️👌🏾
2nd gear to 80 mph in a slightly underpowered car isnt the greatest. I think you made some good mods!!!
The 90’s were the exceptional decade of our lifetime. Every other decade is pure shit compared to the 90’s.
My dream NSX is most certainly a NSX-R
Where is this 'favorite canyon road' of yours? I'm also in the Bay Area :)
somewhere around livermore :)
nice spot but a lil' bumpy at parts
2 way clutch lsd is preferred. Especially for a street car. I dont like 1 or 1.5, especially as the clutch pack starts to wear.
might sound dumb but ever considering running 17 inches wheel in the rear as well, you'd get even shorter final drive
OEM 02+ came with 17 wheels front and rear. I might try that some day but I love the look of 17/8 staggered.
Good for you, man!😮 Is it true that a replacement window switch for one of those things is like 6 grand?
Fucking gorgeous. I had a manual 92 for a while.
I bet you would benefit from a slightly narrower rear. 215/265 is a big difference. Maybe 245?
Shorter gears FTW
Knowing absolutely nothing about nsx’s, I believe I’ve heard j-series transmissions can work with the c30? Or is it only the other way around? Either way, it seems like a 6 speed lsd from a j series car would be a nice upgrade, and keeps it all in the Honda family. Excuse me if this has been mentioned, thanks!
Weight reduction next! Antigravity battery, ditch the spare tire, recaro seats and any other bits you can get to remove weight and get the car to a static weight of at or just below 2800lbs
what about some red recaro pole position to finish it off? the perfect OEM + NSX :) if you compare it to the cayman GT4 you have driven, is it a close amount of fun?
+5+
glad you kept it
Is that salmon falls?!?🧐
Great sports car at accord repair prices
Okay, what are those startup beeps in your car? Ro you have a tune or
some kind of ECU mods?
I juat need to pull the trigger on the JDM gear set and Type R final for my 91.
now give it more horsepower
NSX. ❤
Hey, I've been looking for some more good roads around the Bay Area, you know any? I'm typically driving in the Santa Cruz mountains off Highway 9 or 35. I still need to drive Mines Road. (Livermore to Mt. Hamilton)
Feel like the effort and money involved in doing the gears justified paying a higher price for a NA2.
If you're starting with no NSX, probably. The video showed his odo at 122k miles. The NSX Valuation Guide only goes up to 98k miles for NA2's so it's hard to do a perfect comparison, but comparing NA1C to NA2T, both with 98k miles, the average values are $68,500 and $86,500. So $18k more for an NA2. I don't know what he paid in labor for this, but the parts are around $2000-$2500. So this is cheaper up front. But, this will probably add little or no resale value so it's all sunk cost, while the higher price of an NA2 would be recoverable
But if you already have an NA1, you'd lose more in CA sales tax switching to an NA2 than this upgrade would cost
And NA2 has disadvantages too. Heavier. More chassis flex. Power steering.
@@JesseOsby Really well thought out reply! Yes, I was coming in from the perspective of a person not having either. And, you're right---the NA2 is softer and Targa only (except for the unobtanium Zanardi).
NSX-R style hood and rear wing I bet you are doing for cooling and aero.
Maybe if I can find an aftermarket NSX-R style hood that actually fits properly
"VTEC didn't kick off, yo"
Does changing individual gear affect the speedo like changing a final drive does? And how do u fix that speedo reading higher since you did both?
Looking to do similar gear and axle ratio change for my gen2 s550 mustang
I see you rebadged the Acura as a Honda like my RSX. Cool, yes, but be prepared to explain to service and random people that it is an Acura with Honda badges and the subsequent explanation why 😜
What road is that? I love in north cal like you
Get a fluidmpr harmonic damper
such a nice car! =)
Does the 6 speed in the later cars solve the long gearing issue?
One tire fire? Come on. I’ve tracked my NSX on Streets of Willow, which is a super tight track and never experienced a differential unload like that. This is under heavy acceleration corner exit.
Very nice!
How is not the rpm, from a legal perspective, same as the odometer, if you are at 8500 rpm at second gear I know your speed
Whats it cost for the new gears installed?