C30A 3.0 V6 VTEC – Honda NSX (NA1) Head Gasket Keychain
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C30A 3.0 V6 VTEC – Honda NSX (NA1) Head Gasket Keychain

Sale price£22.00
Vehicle Fitment: Honda NSX (NA1)

The C30A is Honda's original NSX engine — a 3.0-litre naturally aspirated V6 developed exclusively for the first-generation NSX, introduced in September 1990.

Key Specifications

  • Configuration: 90-degree V6, water-cooled, transverse-mounted, DOHC 24-valve with VTEC

  • Displacement: 2,977 cc (3.0 litres)

  • Bore x stroke: 90.0 mm x 78.0 mm

  • Compression ratio: 10.2:1

  • Power: 280 PS (274 PS/270 bhp per some sources) at 7,300 rpm for 5-speed manual cars; 265 PS at 6,800 rpm for 4-speed automatic cars

  • Torque: 30.0 kg·m (approx. 284–294 Nm) at 5,400 rpm

  • Redline: 8,000 rpm (manual), 7,500 rpm (automatic)

Note the slight figure variance across sources — Honda's own factbook cites 280 PS/7,300 rpm for the manual, while Wikipedia lists 274 PS (270 bhp), and J's Garage export spec sheet lists 280 PS/7,300 for the manual vs 265 PS/6,800 for automatic. The 280 PS manual figure appears most consistently across Honda's own Japanese sources.

Notable Engineering

The C30A was a landmark engine — the first mass-production engine to use titanium connecting rods, paired with a forged steel crankshaft and aluminum block with ductile iron/cast steel cylinder liners. It used Honda's Variable Volume Induction System (VVIS) and PGM-FI electronic fuel injection, with a direct ignition system placing coils over each spark plug for high-rpm reliability. Automatic-transmission cars received milder cam timing for reduced output versus the manual.

Vehicle Fitment

The C30A powered the Honda/Acura NSX (NA1 chassis) from launch in 1990 through 1996, when Honda introduced the larger C32B for manual NSX models — automatic NSX variants, however, continued using a revised C30A all the way through to the end of first-generation production in 2005. It was also used in NSX-based racing programs including the NSX Le Mans and NSX-GT Super GT cars, with race versions gaining a dry-sump oiling system, larger cams, Inconel exhaust headers, and (for GT2 cars) a carbon-fiber intake plenum with individual throttle bodies.

This confirms the two-engine NSX lineup: C30A (3.0L, 1990–2005 depending on transmission) and C32B (3.2L, manual-only, 1997–2005) — useful context for distinguishing product listings between the two engine keychains.

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