NSX

The NA1 Honda NSX

Honda put the NSX on sale in Japan on 14 September 1990, the first production car with an all-aluminium monocoque body. The engine sits behind the cabin and drives the rear wheels. NA1 is the code for every NSX with the C30A, a 2,977 cc DOHC VTEC V6: 280 PS at 7,300 rpm with the five-speed manual, 265 PS with the four-speed automatic, and 294 Nm (30.0 kgm) at 5,400 rpm with either.

In February 1997 the manual cars moved to the 3.2-litre C32B and the NA2 code. The automatic kept the 3.0-litre, so NA1s were built until production ended in December 2005, the last with the fixed headlights that replaced the pop-ups in December 2001. The NA1 years also gave the first NSX-R, added in November 1992, of which about 480 were registered, and the Type T with its removable roof panel, from March 1995.

What NSX owners upgrade

Much of what NSX owners buy is for the body: aero kits, underpanels and diffusers from the exterior range, and replacement side mirrors. Inside, pedals and trim from the interior range freshen a cabin that is now decades old, and engine electronics are a regular buy.

Cars used on circuits get baffled oil pans and oil pumps from the oil and fuel range, to keep the oil where the pump can reach it in long corners, with discs from the brake range, cooling panels and suspension bushes. Do Luck, KSP, Garage Kite, Mugen, Toda and Spoon are among the names owners choose.

Genuine parts

Capacitors in the climate-control unit leak and damage its circuit board, so test the display and every fan speed. Some early five-speed gearboxes have a known snap-ring fault, identified by gearbox serial number. Coolant reservoirs crack, rubber seals around the windscreen, doors and roof panel shrink, and oil leaks at the valve covers and rear camshaft plugs. Engine mounts tear, and the windows are slow even when healthy. Seals, mounts and service parts are in our genuine Honda parts catalogue.

Wheels

NA1 factory wheels are always narrower at the front than the rear. Sizes run from 15x6.5 +55 and 16x8 +60 on the earliest cars to 17x7 +55 and 17x9 +56, and the wheel nuts are M12 x 1.5. The full list is under wheels that fit the NA1 NSX.