How do you turn an excellent car into something incredible and how much would it cost? Here’s part one. I am not an expert and I am not trying to offer any advice. I am merely starting a discussion about modding an NSX.
1. Throttle bodies - this is the most contentious. I think they sound fantastic (on youtube), but could I live with them?
I remember seeing a Ferrari 250 GTO as a child, it had a set of 38 DCN Weber carbs and looked spectacular. Recently I went to Alfaholics. They fit throttle bodies that are made to look like a set of carbs. Again aesthetically they look great.
So what are the pros and cons?
The pros; increase in power (around 30hp and a good amount of extra torque in the midrange), insane soundtrack and wonderful aesthetics.
The cons; too much when you don’t want it? I once had a gruppe M intake and it was hateful. In the end I drove off cam just to stop my ears bleeding.
A total change in the way the induction sounds. Will it take away the unique NSX induction noise? Yes it will.
So the worry is that you spend the best part of £10K and end up with a car that goes better, but has lost the delicacy of the original sound.
Most days I drive my car and I still marvel at how characterful that engine is at pretty much any part of the rev range. This will upset someone, but I had an E46 CSL for a year or so. I bought it partly based on the write-ups of the incredible induction noise etc etc. when I started to use it, I thought it sounded a bit, no a lot max power. I mean everyone was raving about it, and I just thought it sounded, well, a bit chav. Unsophisticated. It was missing something, but all I could hear was those dickhead jouros regurgitating how it was the monster **** of their not so young lives.
On the plus side, ITB’s are no longer a tuning gamble. SOS make a kit which seems pretty good value. But then by the time you add an AEM, injectors, installation and set-up, we’re probably up around £8-£10K.
AS Motorsport and Toda also do systems. The reason I would probably choose the SOS kit is because they normally bring well sorted and executed products to the market. Their manifolds and exhaust systems get great reviews and have proven results.
Anyway, if anyone’s experienced an NSX with ITBs, please post. If you haven’t post anyway. Perhaps we can get someone from Prime on here to talk about them?
My top 10 mods. Part 1. THROTTLE BODIES (ITBs)
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