The NSX - three letters that put Honda, and Japan, on the map for supercars. With development input from Ayrton Senna, excellent visibility and usability and, to this day, incredibly reasonable servicing costs, it’s easy to see why the NA1, and the later 3.2 NA2, made for the perfect Honda, and a great example of a supercar that you could actually use - as shown by a number of examples now being well over the 100,000 mile mark.
For years, we’ve been proud to specialise in supplying, maintaining and even upgrading various examples of the NSX for our customers, and today I’m delighted to share the range of quality parts and fluids we can offer for servicing them, along with our great catalogue of upgrades!
Air Filter
Starting with the air filter, the factory airbox stood the test of time exceptionally well for the NA1 and NA2. Due to that, it’s quite uncommon to see upgrades for most examples, especially for owners who want to maintain originality wherever possible.
We generally offer either a replacement Genuine Honda air filter, or in some cases if the customer would prefer, a K&N Panel Filter. These are both direct replacements, offering great air filtration, and good performance.
K&N’s filters can also be cleaned using their specialist cleaning kit, which is available via our website here, and we can also supply replacement GruppeM air filters for servicing.
Oil
One of the most expensive parts to replace in an NSX is, without a doubt, the engine, but with regular routine maintenance you can easily keep them in great shape!
We offer a range of 10w30, 10w40 or 5w40 fully synthetic oils to keep your C30A, or C32B, in great condition, along with a choice of oil filters subject to your use.
Fuchs Titan Race Pro S is our primary option, Pro S, formerly known as Titan Race, is another premium ester synthetic oil designed for road, fast road and track use, with it commonly being seen in motorsport pits. Its formula also contains additives designed to work with high lift camshafts and other heavily loaded valvetrain components - a must with a high RPM capable engine! It’s also designed for use in turbocharged applications, so it’ll happily cover a range of modified examples well too.
We also offer Millers CFS NT+, their signature NANODRIVE triple ester oil, which offers their ‘ultra low friction technology’ with high film strength, leading to excellent wear protection throughout the entire temperature range.
Oil Filter
If you’re changing your oil, you’re also changing your oil filter - we offer Honda’s original oil filter, specific to the C Series V6 engines.
For peace of mind, we would also recommend using Spoon Sports’ Engine Drain Bolt, which utilises a large magnet to catch magnetic swarf in your engine oil, which will sometimes build up due to wear on your engine components over time. This not only helps to prevent metal from circulating further, potentially damaging your engine elsewhere, but also serves as an early warning that you may have a serious engine issue - considering the cost of a good condition replacement engine, these are an excellent little upgrade whilst you’re there.
Spark Plugs
NGK’s PFR6G-11 are the spark plug of choice - these iridium plugs are the tried and tested favourite of owners, and generally should have a service life of around 40,000 miles, though if you drive the car more enthusiastically it’s probably best to check them every ~10,000 miles, or in the event of any unusual idling or misfires.
Fuel Filter
Fuel Filters are another commonly overlooked filter, however the fuel filter really should be something you consider replacing reasonably regularly. Whilst fuel quality standards are generally reasonably good in the UK, over time a mixture of fine dirt and corrosion can sometimes find their way to be caught by the filter, gradually either blocking it or wearing away at it. 
Once these filters begin to degrade, the unwanted material in your fuel can sometimes contribute to premature wear of your fuel system, including the pump and injectors, leading to issues such as low fuel pressure, poor injector spray pattern and even total failure. These generally show initially as idling issues but they can escalate into valvetrain, piston and cylinder wall damage, reduced power (due to knock from predetonation), and can quite easily cause your NSX to not start.
Gear Oil
We recommend Honda’s MTF-3 for the manual transmission cars, which is specially formulated to maintain the synchros and bearings within the gearbox, and help to protect them from shock loads and general wear over time. We also highly recommend Honda’s ATF in order to, as they say, “Keep your Honda, a Honda” - it’s specially formulated to prevent excessive wear and work effectively within Honda’s own automatic transmission valve blocks.
Replacing your gear oil with every other service is generally best practice for an enthusiast car, such as the NSX, especially if the car is regularly driven quickly. If you notice a particularly notchy shift, or a slightly rougher gear change in the automatic models, it may help to change the fluid sooner.
To better monitor the health of your transmission whilst changing the oil, we’d also recommend fitting a Spoon Sports Magnetic Drain Bolt. This will not only give you an indication of metal buildup in the gearbox itself, but it’ll also catch most stray metal filings and keep them away from the gearbox internals, further protecting your bearings, synchromeshes, seals and the gears themselves from premature wear.
Coolant
Honda’s own Type II Premixed coolant is our suggested coolant for all Hondas, including the NSX. Their silicate free coolant has antifreeze additives to keep it liquid as low as -36°c, and as it’s premixed you don’t need to worry about measuring the ratios to achieve that level of freeze resistance. It also contains anti corrosive additives to protect your coolant channels, thermostat and radiator and help maintain a high cooling system efficiency. This can be used with all of the cooling upgrades we offer for the NSX, and all of the OEM parts.
Brake Fluid
Last but not least, Brake Fluid is an essential to maintaining safety in your NSX, regardless of mileage brake fluid will naturally accumulate moisture that will lower its boiling point over time, so we tend to advise replacement every ~2 years, subject to brake fluid boiling point or water content testing - however, if you do experience brake fade during those 2 years, we would recommend replacing your brake fluid.
It is also important to note that it’s recommended to replace the High Pressure Brake Hose on pre-2000 NSXs every 2 years. These are prone to breaking down internally, which can prevent the ABS system from pressurising and this in turn leads to ABS pump ‘chirping’ - a common complaint from owners who haven’t replaced this hose.
Service Intervals
We’ve reached out to various Honda contacts regarding NSX service intervals, but as it stands we’ve not been given clear guidance on the service intervals, owing to changes over the 15 year production lifespan of the NA1 and NA2 models. We’re happy to inspect and advise on which parts your NSX requires, though a full service is usually advised for the car’s overall longevity and performance.
Get In Touch
If you're looking to maintain or modify your NSX, get in touch with us today, or check out our NSX servicing range here
