Tsuki Honda NSX – 2023 Update

June 21, 2023

Our Honda NSX has come a long way since 2019 when it first rolled into our car park on a set of steel wheels and a distinct lack of well…anything. 4 years on and the evolution of Tsuki is still ongoing, now more so than ever!

The last update on this build was at the end of September last year, as we told you about the brand-new Bourne K22 power plant and Garrett G30-770 turbocharger. Since then, things have progressed even more!

AMB Aerodynamic Package

The first, major change that is pretty obvious is that the silhouette of our NSX has drastically changed. This is thanks to the aerodynamic package that has been developed by none other than Andrew Brilliant of AMB Aero. Tsuki now has a plethora of carbon fibre aero goodies including a front splitter, rear diffuser, side skirts and a gigantic rear wing.

This process all began nearly 12 months ago now. Tsuki had a full 3D scan which lasted the duration of 2 days so the development could begin. Once the scan was complete, it went into a process called surfacing. This basically turned the scan into a CAD model that allows it to be put into the CFD software. This then enables Andrew to work on a kit that suits our needs before work can begin on making the parts manufacturable. Check out the video on the scanning process which delves into the in’s and out’s of what goes into creating the aero parts that we see today.

With the help of various people actually manufacturing the parts including our good friend Ilya Krylov a.k.a RuskiWeldFab, the car now looks and performs very differently. We now have 1,500kg of downforce at 150mph which means we could effectively drive upside down as the car only weighs 1,285kg.

Race Fuel

We’re now running the engine on Sunoco E85-R which is an unleaded racing fuel that contains 85% ethanol. Conventional E85 can vary from about 51% to 83% ethanol or so but rarely contains 85% ethanol, but E85-R is consistently blended to always contain that volume. The non-ethanol portion of Sunoco E85-R is comprised of highly-refined race fuel hydrocarbons for stability and consistency.

Using this fuel means that it has a faster ignition timing compared to regular fuel. This leads to higher cylinder pressure, therefore increasing power. It’s also really sustainable as its a cleaner fuel made from renewable crops like corn, barley or wheat. It reduces emissions by up to 50% over its gasoline counterparts!

Water Methanol Injection

To keep things cool we use an AEM V3 water meth injection kit with a custom ICEFAB tank mounted neatly where the headlight used to be located. We can now control the air intake temperature to be below 32 degrees!

With the upgraded race fuel and water methanol kit we now run the turbo at 1.4 bar of pressure. With longevity and reliability in our mind this sees Tsuki produce 550 horsepower. We also managed more laps than anybody else at our recent race meeting at Brands Hatch, with track temperatures reaching up to 48 degrees.

Motul

Motul came through with the goods once again, supplying us with a care package of 300V 10W-60 oil for Tsuki. When we’re pushing the car to its limits, we know that we can rely on Motul lubricants to perform at peak temperatures!

Lucas Oils

Whilst on the subject of fluids and lubricants, Lucas Oils jumped on board with the build too. They supplied us with a neat care package of products for us to use and of course some awesome merchandise.

We used their Octane Booster when Tsuki was undergoing her last dyno session on pump fuel. This enabled us to take an extra degree of ignition in the map. We then used the coolant additive to help keep the temperatures as low as possible.

Turbosmart

Our friends over at Turbosmart have helped us out with a couple of parts on this build. One of which is the game changing Oil Pressure Regulator which provides a rock solid oil pressure for the turbocharger from a simple, inline return-less regulator and includes a built in 44 Micron Stainless Steel Mesh Oil Filter.

What’s next for Tsuki?

Tsuki is also back at ICEFAB right now as she’s undergoing a diet. The aim is to strip as much weight as possible from the car in order to make it even lighter. The NSX currently weighs in at 1,285kg (with driver) however our aim is to get down to 1,240kg. This makes our current power to weight ratio 428bhp per tonne but if we can hit out target figures of weight and power, then we’re hoping we can be at 565bhp per tonne!

Tsuki is already taking the 2023 Time Attack Pro Class by storm. In the hands of Tegiwa Director and resident racing driver, Luke Sedzikowksi, Tsuki recently smashed a decade old lap record at Brands Hatch by over 1.2 seconds. However, we want to go even further and fulfil every aspect of potential that it has to offer. Make sure you stay tuned as we bring you more updates as and when they happen.