But that didn't discourage Marc because he was still way ahead of the game thanks to his mad crazy eBay skills. Retaining the titanium rods that Honda equips the C30A V-6 with, the cast pistons were replaced with forged low-compression ScienceofSpeed pistons fitted to the sleeved block. Additional bottom-end improvements included a polishing of the crankshaft's journals as well as a full blueprinting and balancing of the rotating assembly. Up top, the cylinder heads also underwent serious upgrades from ScienceofSpeed's bag of tricks, including 36mm stainless steel intake valves, 30mm Inconel exhaust valves, dual valvesprings, titanium valvespring retainers, billet camshaft plugs and some porting and polishing. And as you might expect with a motor that's going to see some serious boost, ARP studs and fasteners were used during the assembly process, expertly handled by Ffej at ScienceofSpeed in Tempe, Arizona.
Marc initially stuck with the small turbo and intercooler setup, which combined with the built block and tuning of the AEM EMS by Tony at UMS Tuning, churned out an impressive 515 whp back in 2005. This made it one of the most powerful NSXs in the country at that time. But then last winter, Marc decided he wanted even more power, so he made some revisions to the turbo system himself, installing a Precision Turbo PT67 turbocharger, building his own custom headers and turbo manifold, installing an air-to-water intercooler, and building a 4-inch downpipe that breathes out through a single exit exhaust of the same diameter. He also upgraded to a very slick PWR radiator with a built-in oil cooler. With the ECU being retuned by Tony again, Marc's new big turbo setup spun UMS' Dynapack to the tune of 665 whp at 17.8 lbs of boost on 91-octane pump gas on a 108-degree-Fahrenheit day.
When Marc had the engine out for the rebuild, he figured he'd need wider wheels and tires to put the extra power to the ground. As luck would have it, when he contacted Cantrell Studios about its NSX widebody conversion package, the company was looking to do a big audio install on a project of its own, so a straight trade was worked out and Marc had the widebody kit required to clear the big Volk Racing GT-V 18x8.5-inch front and 19x10.5-inch rear wheels. Spraying the car with Grigio Telesto, a battleship-gray color developed by Lamborghini for the '07 Murciélago LP640, Marc's NSX flies about as low under the radar as a 650-plus whp widebody supercar possibly can. Combine this with a dropped and stiffened ride thanks to Tein Mono Flex coilovers, Dali Racing front and rear sway bars, Okuyama rear shock tower brace and the full complement of NSX-R chassis reinforcements and you've got an aero and handling package well matched to the big turbo setup.
Before you get the idea that this wild widebody NSX is just a dyno and garage queen, when I asked Marc what he uses it for, he quickly responded, "I drive it like I stole it! I've put 10,000 miles on it just in the last year alone. I compression-check it regularly and it doesn't burn a drop of oil. I take it to monthly Scottsdale Exotic Car Club meets, where I'm the poor guy. Without incriminating anybody, let's just say we like to do some really spirited driving on quiet mountain highways and we'll just leave it at that. My wife and I are also thinking about using it for a Gumball Rally."
Sounds like a great way to put one of the world's greatest and most affordable supercars to use, and it's clearly safe to say Marc has proved his friend more than wrong when it comes to the myth that you can't successfully turbocharge a NSX. I guess the only thing left to ask is, Where can I find me a free NSX?!