1991 Acura NSX VS 1990 Honda Civic - Tech

Instead of ordering a true $12000 pre-preg carbon hood and rear wing from Japan along with all the polyurethane NA2 body parts from your local Acura dealer, a much more inexpensive option is available. Downforce, located in Anaheim, California, specializes in fiberglass and carbon fiber conversion kits for the NSX as well as S2000, Elise, Porsche and Ferraris. Because its product line is so specific, these so called body kits all fit with the quality of OEM components using all the OEM mounting points and hardware. And it's not some made in China chopper gun sweat shop item. Each Downforce component is hand laid inside quality controlled molds using weaved fiberglass cloth that's stronger, lighter, less brittle and maintains its shape far better than chopper gun parts. Like any composite part, the limitation of the material does mean that there might be slight distortion from warping and waviness as the resin cures. But the Downforce components are as good as they get as far as near OEM fit, finish and the quality of the epoxy coating in terms of porosity.

For now, we got the complete NA2 makeover kit which includes a complete new single piece front bumper skin that replaces the OEM style two piece upper and lower moldings, OEM style side skirts, lower door moldings and rear lower bumper skin that bolts exactly onto the OEM upper rear bumper which is the same for both early and late NSXs. The kit also includes bracketry, wiring harness, and cutting templates used to convert the chassis to replace the NA1 pop up lights with NA2 bubble lights. A contoured carbon fiber coverplate is also available to seal the ghastly hole you've just made in the aluminum.

The Type-R portion comes from the carbon fiber covered rear wing as well as the Type-R style hood. To save weight, we opted for the fiberglass hood that gets the carbon fiber treatment only on the internal structure underneath the hood. Downforce also offers a restyled side skirt with cosmetic scoops and a different front lower splitter lip. Total all these parts up and it's still cheaper than an OEM Type R hood.

The rest of the components have to come from Acura. This includes the headlights, HID ballast, brackets, front bumper supports, headlight and hood rubber seals and the aluminum brackets that hold them. We got a screaming deal from the guys at Planet Acura in Buena Park, Calif., whose parts department is already so familiar with the NA2 conversion, ordering the parts was just a matter of a couple clicks on the inventory computer. It also helps that the owner of Planet Acura is fellow NSX weenie. If you wanted to save the trouble of the parts hunt and the trip to the dealership, these components are also available through Downforce ready to be packed along with its NSX conversion kit.

Dedicated Type-R aficionados will also point out that lights and badging on a real NSX-R are slightly different. I wasn't going to pay the premium for the tinted taillights or tear apart a set of brand new headlights (at $1200 a pop) to paint part of the inside lining white. What we did do was have the USDM corner lights weld patched and added JDM style side markers from the Honda S2000, which are identical to the Japanese NSX.

Prep Work
The key to any good paint job is the prep work, especially when composite parts are involved. This is half of the cost of a great paint job. We contacted Pete Santini, head honcho at Santini Paint and Body in Westminster, Calif., for our paint work. While the shop specializes in hot rods, candies, pin-striping and flame jobs, their work on the TV show Overhaulin' and our own pylon orange Project SRT-4 had us convinced.