Acura NSX vs Ferrari 360 Modena

how does the NSX compare to the 360 around a track? i've heard accounts of NSX's beating 360s easily on a track, but the fact that its acceleration is quite a bit less than the ferrari and the fact that the 360's handling is lauded greatly in many other tests makes it hard for me to believe that the NSX is an adequate competitor to the 360. i'll admit that a good driver in an NSX can probably take out a mediocre driver in a 360, but with equal drivers and track conditions, i can't see the NSX winning.

the NSX type r however is a different story......i'm pretty sure the type-r could take out a 360, but i don't know exactly by how much......does the type-r barely edge out the 360 or does it demolish it?.....also, how does it compare to a 360CS?

Well lets see


top gear had the Stradale at 1:22 the Murcielago at 1:29 and on best motoring the Murci beat a NSX-R


draw your own conclusions.


I have all the videos to prove it FYI.

on bestmotoring a NSX-R annilated the standard F360 modena. however a standard modena can take a NSX S Zero. but not by much. the modena is faster on the straight, and they both handled similar. so the added power for the ferrari will allow it to edge out a non R NSX. however the R series for the NSX is lighter, makes more power and the chassis is tweaked to perfection. so the standard modena gets blown away. however the stradale can take out the NSX-R once again because of power. i would suspect both of them to handle similar.

edit: and neutrino you can't judge the times from top gear to the races at best motoring. cause even the standard EVO 8 GSR posted a faster lap time then the Lambo. and we all know that the NSX-R will destroy the EVO. also note that the track they raced the NSX R and hte lambo in is on Sugo and also on Motegi ring. those 2 race tracks have alot of long straights. where as the test track for top gear hardly has any straights. on a complex track like on top gear i'm 100% positive the NSX R will lap much better then the Lambo esp since the BMW M3 CSL was faster then the lambo and on the recent bestmotoring vid that i saw, the CSL was alot slower then the NSX-R however the CSL was still faster then the porsche 911 turbo.

360 CS vs. NSX Type R...I'd go w/ the Ferrari.
360 Modena vs. NSX...I'd still go w/ the Ferrari.

I dont see how a NSX could beat a Ferrari either. Even it handled like no other the power alone would make it hard to take a Ferrari. I mean Ferrari's arent boats by any means, so to be as underpowered as the NSX is it would have to handle REALLY REALLY well to take a Ferrari. Also I thought the NSX type R had the same horsepower as a standard NSX, just different gearing, suspension, and it is lightened a substantial amount.

well of course if you want to believe in the japanese claimed hp rating then go ahead. there are tons of cars that makes well over 280hp stock. a GTR makes around 350hp stock, a supra makes 320, a 300ZX makes 300, a 350Z makes 287, the j spec STi makes 300. need i go on?

also to prove the hp, a nsx-r with the 3.2 liter can run a 12.6 on a good day. it runs a 12.7, on 12.8 on average. which is around where a standard modena runs.

Well, the NSX only weighs about 3200 lbs., so it wouldn't need -too- much power to pop off a 12.8. I bet it could do it with 280 (taking into account the gearing, aerodynamics, and potential for traction).

a standard nsx weights 3200. a type S zero weights even less. and the R should weigh in at just under 3000 lbs. however the standard u.s. spec NSX makes 290. don't you think the R would have some engine tweaks over the standard NSX? i mean the japanese have been making waaay more powerful versions of our cars. example: integra type R for both versions, the 240's. just becasue the limit says 280. do you honestly think they all can tune their cars to make exactly 280 hp? i doubt it. and judgin from their aceleration speed and weight. i would say 300hp is about right. remember 3000lb is not light. the RX-7 R2 weights even less at 2800lbs and makes a full 280hp and runs a mid to low 13. and hte lightess RZ weights under 2800lbs and can run a low 13 at best. so do you think the NSX with 200 more lbs and the same hp to run a half a second faster? sorry aero dynamics and gearing would matter by that much esp since how the NSX has soo much more top end pull. the only way i can think of it is by the hole shot becusae of the MR setup vs. FR. but that still doesn't account for the second half of the race. also making 300hp is not far fetched. the GT-R out acelerates the u.s spec NSX and the NSX is rated at 290hp and weights 3200 lbs and the GT-R is rated at 280 and weights 3500lbs. hmmmmmmm, and the j spec NSX always out acelerates the GT-R.

I didn't say that the car only had 280 hp, I'm sure it has more. I said it could run a 12.8 with only 280 hp.

ic.

I dont see how a NSX could beat a Ferrari either. Even it handled like no other the power alone would make it hard to take a Ferrari. I mean Ferrari's arent boats by any means, so to be as underpowered as the NSX is it would have to handle REALLY REALLY well to take a Ferrari. .

it does handle REALLY REALLY well ...

Yeah, but the Ferrari handles better...mainly because it's a few hundred pounds lighter...

i just got the weight of all the cars.

NSX-R weights 2794lb wow

Ferrari F360 modena weights 3058 lbs. lighter then i though.

Ferrari Stradale weights 2816 lbs.

standard NSX weights 2948 lbs.

hmmm so i guess i over shot the weight of the NSX by a few hundred lbs. lolz

anyways the NSX-R is king of light weight. weighing less then even the Ferrari Stradale.

also i don't think either of htem handles alot better then both NSX's. the standard versions of both are compariable same as the hardcore versions in handling.

I'm pretty sure a standard NSX weighs more than 2900 lbs...it's closer to 3100...

yeah but thats fully loaded with all the options. i'm sure a ferrari would weight more by the same amount when you start adding stuff to it.

Can you get an options list for both? Because I think they're both pretty lightly loaded.

i'll go look them up at the factory websites when i have the time. but i'm pretty sure those weights could be the dry weight of each car.

I checked both factory websites just now.

2004 Ferrari 360 Modena (3.6-liter 6-speed): 2,844 lbs.
2004 Acura NSX-T (3.2-liter 6-speed): 3,153 lbs.

So yeah, the Ferrari is about 300 lbs. lighter.

you got me on that one. i guess my only defense is that the japanese cars are more heavier here. by adding more crash safty stuff such as side impact beams and what not. however the same can be said for the ferrari when they arrive on our shores as well.

Well, keep in mind that I took the specs from www.acura.com (http://www.acura.com) not www.honda.co.jp (http://www.honda.co.jp), and I got the Ferrari specs from the English portion of www.ferrari.com (http://www.ferrari.com) :)

boy i think we draged this whole thing on waaay too long about the weight. anyways the original poster even didn't reply. grrrr

NSX-T = Targa right?=Increased chassis stiffening etc to support the lack of a roof thereby adding more weight.
Whats the weight of the R?

I'm not really sure why, but The NSX is pretty quick through the quarter, I've watched them in person run 12's

Also NSX-S Zero will beat an RX7-RZ, I have the video somewhere if you want to see it


The 2001 NSX-T Weighs 2604 lbs... seems kinda light compared to the newer ones.. then again it didn't even have a CD player

Damn :( found the weight for a 2004 R, it comes out to 3152... (for the '04)
also it has 290 HP 0-62 in 5.0 and 224 lb/ft torque
I also found something claiming a 2002 NSX R only weighs 2800 lbs

Then again Older NSX's didn't have as much in the way of luxury So that could contribute to lower weights.

And also the Stradlae has an extra 2 cylinders. and an extra 145 HP and about the same weight, is 1 sec faster to 60, so It should be Beating an NSX, anywhere and everywhere.

The '99 Modena is slower, heavier, and has less downforce than the stradale, so an NSX should be a closer match, then again there's always driver error.

I still think the ferraris should be quicker, despite the Better handling of the NSX, maybe not tho, I'd like to see a side by side Comparo, done by the same driver. best of 3 runs. Might be interesting :)

Whew, a whole boatload of misconceptions.

The 3152 lbs. is for the NSX-T, which is the only NSX sold in America. We're comparing North American spec. cars here, so the NSX-R's weight is irrelevant. For the record, I think it's just below 3000.

The 2,844 lbs. WAS for a Modena, not a CS. And even though the Modena doesn't have as much downforce as the CS, it still has a hell of a lot, enough to out-handle the NSX.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the NSX has poor handling. And for the record, I'd much rather own an NSX than a 360 Modena. But the Ferrari is definitely the faster, better handling car.

Didn't I say that in a lot more words? lol... I don't like ferraris, 'cept old ones, so I'm kinda with you here, the NSX was one of my favorite cars before the restyle, despite it beinga Honda =/

um, don't you think that the fact that a lot of people still use the nsx,
essentially a 13+ year old car,
with a 3.2V6 and around 300bhp,
as a comparison for cars with bigger engines and more horsepower,
says something about how good the car actually is?

the point is,
the ferrari in question,
being 13 years newer,
with a bigger engine that used newer technology, and has more horsepower,
well,
if it wasn't quicker/better, then something really is wrong.....

I though we were comparing the 2004 NSX, which by the way is the same number of years old as the Stradale, 1.

not quite.
what they've done is slowly 'touch up' the nsx over the years.
essentially, it's the same car.
the exception is the nsx-r but even then,
it's not a total re-engineering job the way the 360 was (and hence the stradale) compared to the 355 which was the target of the nsx nack in the day.

Well... the CS isnt exactly a total overhaul of the modena now is it?
But yes you still have a point, only the time difference is smaller now :P

So to finish this Up.

The Ferrari wins.

When does it not? :P

Whew, a whole boatload of misconceptions.

The 3152 lbs. is for the NSX-T, which is the only NSX sold in America. We're comparing North American spec. cars here, so the NSX-R's weight is irrelevant. For the record, I think it's just below 3000.

The 2,844 lbs. WAS for a Modena, not a CS. And even though the Modena doesn't have as much downforce as the CS, it still has a hell of a lot, enough to out-handle the NSX.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the NSX has poor handling. And for the record, I'd much rather own an NSX than a 360 Modena. But the Ferrari is definitely the faster, better handling car.

well car and driver got 3250 lbs for the regular modena, and 2900 lbs for the challenge stradale.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=18&article_id=3947&page_number=1

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=19&article_id=3135&page_number=3

road and track got 3065 lbs for the regular modena, and 2800 for the challenge stradale.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=31&article_id=366&page_number=5&preview=

each car company wont weigh their car in a similar fashion, and i looked at that ferrari website. you gotta look at curb weight, not dry weight. curb weight of the challenge stradale is 2822 lbs, and the regular one is 3064 lbs. www.ferrari.com

Alright, my mistake. What about the NSX? Is the 3,152 lbs. curb or dry?

Alright, my mistake. What about the NSX? Is the 3,152 lbs. curb or dry?

its curb weight.