The V1.9 update for Assetto Corsa Competizione transformed how sim racers approached the title. There are a lot of changes to how the game behaves, as well as new content which we’ve gone into in more depth with here. In this article, we’ll be taking a deep dive into a car that dominated V1.8 and is still a strong contender in the current version of ACC.
Introducing The Honda NSX GT3 Evo
The Honda NSX is an icon of sportscar racing. Originally developed with the help of the late Ayrton Senna back in the 1990s, the current generation of NSX was developed with the help of F1 World Champions such as Mika Hakkinen and Jenson Button who both raced it when the famous name returned to the racetrack.
A mid-engine beast, powered by a 3.5-litre V6, this car has been designed with racing in mind. And it’s competed in Super GT, a pre-GT3 DTM, as well as in GT3 competitions the world over. Is it surprising that people love it so much?
The Basic Car Characteristics
As you could expect with a mid-engine car, the Honda is a finely-tuned and delicately balanced car. The weight distribution is fairly even, and a low centre of gravity means that the car will be predictable as well as consistent in terms of grip levels.
Those features are all the more significant when it comes to the GT3 equivalent, as to make the most of a GT3 you need to be able to count on it when you’re flying around fast bends whilst pushing up to 300 km/h in speed.
- Decided that you’re all-in on the Honda? You can access full setups for it at every track in ACC, as well as every other modern GT3 in the simulator, with our ACC setup subscription.
Steering and Cornering
Being a mid-engined car, the Honda NSX Evo GT3 is one that requires fine attention to detail when cornering. Whilst front-engined cars like the BMW M4 GT3 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT3 can be driven more aggressively, with sharp steering inputs counterbalancing the heavy front end on the car, an even balance of mass across the Honda NSX GT3 Evo means that aggressive steering inputs will simply lead to oversteer and the loss of control of the car.
This means that the best way to enter a corner in the Honda is with a wider entry and using all of the racing surface. That’s especially true in hairpins, where the Honda benefits from the driver following a consistent U-shaped line rather than the V-shaped line that front-engined cars use.
Need Some Setups?
You can own the Honda NSX GT3 Evo bundle, plus every other setup Coach Dave Academy provides by having a Coach Dave Delta Subscription.
Our Delta subscription allows you to focus purely on your on-track performance. With our automatic setup installation, using Delta for setups couldn’t be any easier.
The Delta app will automatically adjust your tyre pressures based on track temperature, so that’s one less thing to worry about too.
- Race setups
- Qualifying setups
- Automatically set tyre pressures
- Onboard laps
- Data packs
- All are crafted by professionals
Aerodynamics and Bodywork
The Honda is a very aerodynamically efficient car. This helps it to carry its speed through the mid-speed and high-speed corners, which are the types of corners where the Honda performs best when compared to its rivals.
The fact that it is also one of the smaller GT3 cars, with a shorter wheelbase and narrower width than some rivals such as the BMW M4 GT3, also plays to the benefit of the car. It means that the Honda is able to squeeze into narrower gaps than its rivals, and it also means that it can navigate twister sections of track more efficiently too.
Power Delivery and Braking
The 3.5-litre V6 that’s under the hood of the Honda NSX works well with the mid-engine configuration when a driver is precise with their inputs.
The power bands are consistent, meaning that won’t find yourself running out of top-end easily, and the car behaves well under trail braking which means that you can carry more speed through the corner than you can in a front-engined car.
Put it all together and you’ve got a car that holds on to high speeds through the corners and stretches its legs comfortably on the straights.
- If that sounds tricky, it’s not to worry! You can get hints and tips from the pros through our Coaching service, which has helped pros from the sim to the circuit to refine their skills and correct little issues that they didn’t even know that they had!
Final thoughts
Overall, the Honda NSX Evo GT3 is one of ACC’s better-handling cars. Whilst it is not as competitive as it once was, it is a strong candidate for fans of mid-engined vehicles and can hold its own at a variety of circuits. It does, however, need to be carefully respected, as stability is not always its forte.
