300 or 300+ h.p. rumours
 

Is there any way that we can find out whether this is true for sure?

The 2002 NSX only has 290 h.p. and does 0-60 in 5.0 s according to Road and Track. Road and Track also tested the Z Track and got 5.6 s for 0-60. Granted that the NSX is about 50 lbs lighter, shouldn't the Z get closer to 5.0 than 5.6 if it does have 10 to 15 more h.p. than the NSX?

I know C&D got 5.4 s but I didn't have NSX test numbers from them so I used R&T as a equal reference as I'm sure they try very hard to test all the cars under the most similar conditions as possible.

There is SO much more to a car than just HP

you could pull the engine and put it on a chassis dyno, but other than that, probably not. And of course, if you did that and didnt have all the extra stuff like alternator, a/c etc, it would easily have over 300

I know there's more to going fast than engine h.p. as that's not indicative of the net power actually moving the cars via the drivewheels.

Even though the NSX is a more sophisticated car, the Z has a very competive gearbox and even uses a carbon fiber driveshaft. So it's hard to believe that the Z is losing 6/10 s to the NSX.

The NSX has a rear-weight bias and this helps during launch. Plus, the drivetrain loss will be smaller since the power doesn't need to go thru the longitudinal drive shaft

Am I wront too that the NSX is a tad lighter. Its big but its aluminum.

Final drive gear ratio and trans ratios play a part in that also. There's lots of different factors that come into play. I'm sure once people start to learn their cars those times will come down.

Also - wait a little until these engines are broken in for the magazine tests - if it gains the .2 that sometimes happens after a little mileage gets put on it'll be in the 5.2 range easy with a good launch.

Does it matter, the car will still drive the same whether you find out that it has 287 or 300 or 350, just get over the hangup over numbers, the car is great and a lot of fun.

I believe the NSX has been clocked anywhere from 4.5-5.0 for 0-60. 1/4 as low as the high 12's. You can't compare an NSX to a 350Z, especially when the speeds get into the triple digits or if you take both cars to the track.

The "breaking in" theory never really worx for me, WHY???? because every car will eventually "break in" and get quicker, not JUst the Z, so a NSX (or whatever) will get quicker also, it is a universal thing, so why mention it??? sure the Z may do a 5.2, the lowest time I have seen from an NSX is 4.7 (new) so perhaps it will do a 4.4-4.5???

You must consider the entire powerband of the engines in question, not just the peak horsepower. You could have two engines with identical peak power, but one could have a much more effective power band. When considering the power of an engine, the entire power curve should be looked at (HP *and* torque), not just the peak horsepower.

thanks - but I wasnt referring to the NSX - this is about the Z - and I was stating that although some ppl seem dissapointed by the 0-60 and 1/4 performance - its a brand new car and may loosen up over time putting down some numbers more in line with the magical 300HP number...And we all know the mags dont always get the best times - they dont practice with the car and hit the drags every night. I'm sure some forum memeber will dip into the low 5's witha n exhasut and some good driving.

I'm sure I would be equally thrilled if I owned an NSX and it got faster with time:rolleyes:

As for the folks saying get over it - just enjoy the car. I think its improtant to figure out the TRUE baseline as much as possible. Otherewise we'll all be buying new Johnson Rods and Muffler Bearings that magically add 13 HP...look we have DYNO SHEETS!

There is also the area under the curve to take into account. Because the NSX has a higher redline, if you plot the hp curve and add up the area the NSX will have more.

Also it is possible that the NSX may be producing more than 290 hp, though I'm not sure why they wouldn't claim more in that case.

I think think the 350Z has been pretty consistant in the 5.4 and 14.1 sec range in all it's tests so the NSX is definitly faster.