Conversion: '02 Targa to COUPE Type-R

4 minute(s) of a 52 minute read

No, Jon and myself couldn't find good solutions to either need(want?). And, in my desire to keep it an everyday street car, ITB is simply way too loud (having driven a few ITB cars). This NSX-RR already "sick fast", so unless I can locate an exquisite internal runner configuration, it would be a shame to rig-up something the factory wouldn't have been proud of installing themselves.

As for brakes, I'm running both slotted & drilled, with well oversized rotors—just look at the (lack of) gap between the caliper and the inside rim of these R wheels—not much wiggle room. The easiest brake upgrade is simply a more aggressive pad material, my solution of choice. It's cheap, effective, and I can swap out and test pads on a whim.

Interesting that Jon selected a set of slotted rotors with the drill holes inside the slot—effectively eliminating the probability of drill-hole cracks, typical of drilled rotors. Plus, there seems to be modest dust from these pads, using this slotted/drilled configuration.

9-28-2010

All in, I have $165,000 into the project.

$75K (2002 donor)
$35K (conversion)
$30K (engine + suspension)
$25K (seats, "R" parts)

This figure won't surprise most of you, who've followed the enormous expenses this project has encountered. $165K is a lot of coin — which I will not see from any sale — but it was a labor of love, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. No regrets.

And, I've still probably spent less than my neighbor's annual green fees at a certain golf course he plays at. Worse, his is straight consumption, mine still retains asset value.

Getting close to deciding if to keep the NSX-RR, or let it go, because it looks like I'll be traveling outside the US for the next few years.

9-29-2010

So very true. Although living in South Florida certainly has its charms, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, but even that gets tiring. After being back in Shangri-La from living overseas, I found myself increasingly asking the question, "is this all there is to life?"

Don't get me wrong, Armando and other NSXers will attest to the fact that life in SoBe, uh, doesn't suck. But, "is that all life has to offer?" Driving nice cars, ogling beautiful women, tasty ($20!) martinis, McMansions, etc. I started realizing "...the things you own, end up owning you."

Thus, my almost decision to divest the R, as I don't drive it anymore, c'est la vie.

Kinda weird, and not a consideration for everybody, but it was time for us to dust off the 'ol passports, and vamoose to foreign lands.

Where, in contrast, below is just a tiny example of the kind of things my family gets to do when we live overseas. Like a complete lack of lawyers stopping us from engaging "with nature" (yikes!), or showing my kids temples they would never otherwise visit on their own, or just watching them find solace, off a deserted beach, in Bali.

Look, let me be perfectly clear, I LOVE the US, and will be back soon, but just need a few more years outta the country, and then maybe we start visiting all the coolness the US has to offer. Maybe even pull an Airstream through all the 48

Thailand

Indonesia

Chang Mai

Angkor Wat

Bali