03 S2000 (faster than kevin)

[phoenixZ33]

I figured it was time to post some pics.. if you can't see them, scroll down to the thread for Kevin's car, then imagine it being white instead of blue.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ext4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ext3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ext2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ext1.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

current mods include:

-Bilstein PSS9 coilovers
-Tanabe front sway bar
-255/40R17 Azenis in rear, 225/45R17 Azenis up front
-2004MY 17x8.5 rear, 17x7 front wheels
-2004MY front and rear bumpers, exhaust tips, aluminum radio cover
-chicken wire front grill (actually it's really nice)

19,000 miles on the odo. So aside from the lights, it looks like the current S2000 from the outside, only it has the funner 9,000rpm engine. The guy I bought it from gave me a stainless header for it as well, which I doubt i'll use.. it sure looks pretty though!

Interior is clean as shit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000int.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000int2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000odo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000eng.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

hot autocross pics!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/DSC_2854.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/DSC_2847.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/DSC_3107.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/DSC_2857.jpg

[wgnths]

man, that car is clean! white is my fav color for the s2k...just needs a hardtop!

i bet you're enjoying actually driving this one, on the street :)


future plans?

[kev]

Pretty awesome car, even if it has tan interiors (I despise tan interiors).

[phoenixZ33]

notice how far i'm looking ahead in that first autocross picture. i should be a Bondurant instructor.

Erin,

plans are to beat Greg greenbaum's track record in TTC, by whatever means possible! i even have my own thread on the S2000 forum - that's where i hang out now, because i'm cool - BMW forums are so last year.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=563246

[J0oftheworld]

I like tan interior! :)
I was thinking about grabbing one of those tanabe bar.. 150 on ebay!

[phoenixZ33]

wanna buy a header and a test pipe instead? i have both.. 200 bucks and they're yours.

[J0oftheworld]

Sold my truck so I need to find a daily 1st.. then the s2k tuning/ramen mode engaging!

[phoenixZ33]

these guys on the s2k forum are morons... they're all trying to convince me to buy light wheels... lol.

[phoenixZ33]

ha! it only took three hours for someone to tell me to go fuck myself. i'm so welcome on all forums!

[wgnths]

they obviously don't know who they're talking to!


just read the thread...they be not so smart.

[kev]

Well, it seems like there are two people in particular who are misguided. Seems like most of their knowledge was gathered from the interweb, so they can't be wrong and Vtec can nevar lose.

[Max Power]

Quit being a track poseur and buy some works or volks - cheap ass. ;)

In my brief stint thinking about buying an S2k I was severely annoyed by the wheels available for them.

[J0oftheworld]

Yeah, besides merv and ryan they're kinda annoying. Oh, Simmy the little indian cat is cool though! :)
Find a way we can get mugen hardtops for cheap Brady! :D

[phoenixZ33]

Rota makes this in a 17x8.5" +50, and 17x7.5" +45. I looked at about 60 other wheels on their website and couldn't find anything bigger than 8" that would be close to fitting. I need at least 8.5" rear width.. 7.5" front is fine.

http://www.rotawheels.com/images/products/d2_gm.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

Rota P45R 17 x 9.5, 5x114.3, 25mm, 73mm
Rota P45R 17 x 9, 5x114.3, 25mm, 73m

8.5"
http://www.wheeldude.com/catalog/allprods.php?wheelstyle=any&wheeldiameter=17&wheelwidth=8.5&wheelpcd=any&wheeloffset=any&wheelhb=any&wheelcolor=any

I know he has a few more in 9"+ but like I said.. they're changing over the website (like a day ago) so it's all f*ed up!

Here's 17x8 et45 and 17x9 et45 225 45 17 and 255 40 17 for visual ref.
http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/17x8_45_and_17x9_45_2254517_anf_2554017.jpg
http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/17x8_45_and_17x9_45.jpg

[wgnths]

those rpf1's look killer on the s2k. get those!

lightweight wheels are the #1 mod eva!!!

[phoenixZ33]

those rpf1's look killer on the s2k. get those!

lightweight wheels are the #1 mod eva!!!

whoa.. are you a former S2000 owner or something? those guys are all up on that shit!

[phoenixZ33]

I think I'm just gonna get the Rota Slipstream in 17x8.5 +50 in back, with a 245/40R17, then a slipstream 17x7.5" +48 in front, with a 225/45R17.

The rear wheel is 0.5" narrower, and the tire is 10mm narrower as well, so it should fit better than the car in the pic you uploaded. If I have to, Wheel Specialists can probably shave 3-7mm off the wheel too.

I'm gonna roll the fenders too.. and if that goes well, roll Kevin's car at the same time. (I'm the guinea pig)

[phoenixZ33]

Some guy is coming over tonight to trade his Buddy Club exhaust for my Ap1 wheels. Supposedly that exhaust is only 17lbs for the entire system.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/exhaust021.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

Sign me up for rollin'!
Keeping it staggered ey?
By the looks at that exhaust it's gonna be LOUD! haha
I need to make one so I can ditch the dual invidia. Resonates in the car like crazy!

[phoenixZ33]

the guy swears it's quiet, but we'll see. either way i don't care, i'm used to loud, unpractical cars.

maybe in a week or so we can roll a bunch of fenders.. me, you and kevin.

[J0oftheworld]

That'll take like 9hrs I'm pretty sure.. :D

[Max Power]

i need my rears done more seriously.

[phoenixZ33]

That'll take like 9hrs I'm pretty sure.. :D

apparently you aren't aware of how awesome i am at fender rolling.

[J0oftheworld]

Oh, you mean Turn 1 PIR no lug nutts styleZ!? :D

My place or yours? Kev's too far away!

[wgnths]

add another honda to the rear rolling...Fit. yeah 205's are too big.

i'm surprised you want to stay staggered, brady? wouldn't the car be more neutral with same size all around? and easy rotating!

[Izerosll]

What tool do you guys use to roll the fenders? baseball bat and heat gun, or do you guys actually use the fender roller tool?
My fronts have been rubbing a bit for some weird reason, and rears touch here and there so any advice on how to roll them would be appreciated so I can save tire life.
Also regarding the buddy club exhaust, its not extremely loud like your BMW. Its around the same sound limit as your old 240.

[kev]

I'd probably opt to keep a staggered stance as well. With all things being stock (and a half decent alignment) the car suffers more from oversteer than pushing. Add more front grip, and you aren't likely to help the oversteer issue.

I've come to prefer and enjoy loose cars, and my countersteering reflexes have improved much. With that said, I still wouldn't setup an S2000 to be extra loose.

[phoenixZ33]

My car was really loose at the autocross, even with a big front bar on it. Granted, it was on street tires, but S2000s break loose really quick.. probably 1/3rd the time as the 350Z with really no warning. If anything I could go for a tiny bit of understeer.

In order to fast at PIR, I have to be fast in the oval. Since I'm not going to run a wing (at least yet), it's better to have some understeer. As Kevin knows, a quick lift mid-corner will fix whatever understeering is occuring at the moment anyways.

Yesterday at work:

Well there isn't much I can do to the car while I'm sitting at work, other than order parts online.. since there aren't many parts to order (tires & brake pads), I decided to make my car numbers today the lunch break.

Every car in the Time Trial group is required to run car numbers and class letters. This way the timing and scoring tower can easily spot a car and know what class it's in, which helps with recording and formatting results. Plus it's fun driving a TTC car and passing a TTA car (which should be faster) and making sure the driver knows that!

First I knew I didn't want to make permanent numbers. I drive the car away from the track and don't really want vinyl numbers on the doors. The other options are duct tape, which looks ghetto, or magnetic numbers. I decided to make magnetic numbers. I can stick them on at the track, then take them off when I leave.. the rest of the time they'll just stick to the underside of the trunk for storage.

First thing I did was make my numbers on the computer and print them out on a sheet of paper. The numbers are 10" tall and the letters are 4" tall.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers1.jpg

For the magnetic material, I went to Michael's Crafts and bought 9" x 12" magnetic sheets. Each sheet was $3, and depending on what numbers you use, you'll need 3 or 4 of them. I decided not to make the optional teddy bear magnets this time.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers2.jpg

Next up is to cut out the paper numbers, tape them onto the magnetic sheet and trace around them. If you are car #1, you could do two numbers on one sheet. If you're car #5, you can't. I'm car #72, so I needed four sheets.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers3.jpg

Then cut them out and you're ready. Stick them on the car and you're ready to race! Well, unless your car is white like mine, in which case you'll have to paint the numbers. The magnetic sheet is ok to paint, so I'm going to spray paint mine black.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers4.jpg

And there you have it, a nice alternative to vinyl numbers for those of you that need numbers, but don't want to look like Cole Trickle on the daily commute. The magnetic numbers won't fall off, I've had them up to ~130 on a previous car and they stay put.

[phoenixZ33]

Keep in mind that some of these posts (like the car numbers) were copied and pasted from my thread on the S2000 forum. If you're thinking to yourself, "why is he talking to us like 3rd graders??" that's why

Erin, is there a way to setup the board to allow more than 4 images in a post? Like say, six?

[phoenixZ33]

Last night I picked up that Buddy Club Spec IV exhaust. This exhaust weighs ~17lbs, whereas the stock exhaust weighs over 40.. so this was a good way to shave 20-30lbs and only get penalized 1 point towards my classing. I needed alberto at my house to pick up the stock exhaust.. I'm a wimp and could barely do it myself. Alberto would have been spinning that thing around on his index finger.

The exhaust sounds and fits great. It only took about 20 minutes to install and it's barely louder than stock. Up till about 5500rpm you can hear it, but at higher RPMS it's just the stock intake sound. Here are some pics...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000exh4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000exh1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000exh3.jpg

As the car sits, it has a total of 12 classing points used up. 12 left to stay in TTC. By the time I get Hoosiers, I'll be down to 2 points. Then of course if I get different rear shocks, I'll get four points back.

[wgnths]

Keep in mind that some of these posts (like the car numbers) were copied and pasted from my thread on the S2000 forum. If you're thinking to yourself, "why is he talking to us like 3rd graders??" that's why

Erin, is there a way to setup the board to allow more than 4 images in a post? Like say, six?

you'd have to ask ryan that question, that's his gig.

also, how do i get a permanent tt #? fill out the license form and they assign me one? i want to do magnetic ones, too.

[phoenixZ33]

just show up with a number on your car.. i don't think they have perm. numbers in TT, or at least i never made anyone have them. just stick with the same number all the time.

[wgnths]

sweet, i'll get the proper sizes then. also, every s2k should have an exhaust!

[Max Power]

True - I'm pretty kick ass.

You should fabricate an extra long tow hook and put it in the other exhaust opening. Or a smokescreen/oil slicking device ala james bond.

[Izerosll]

The magnetic idea is good, but last time I had a magnetic sign on my car tech took it off and said that its not allowed on track since it "might" fall off.
Would it be allowed by tech for TT?

[phoenixZ33]

so this guy is saying that these specs fit on an S2000.. kevin, jason?

Specs are:
F: 17x7.5 +48 215/45/17 Hancook RS2's 45%
R: 17x9 +45 245/40/17 Hancook RS2's 35%

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=562482

everywhere else says 17x9 +63 is the hot setup. what's the dilly?

[phoenixZ33]

The magnetic idea is good, but last time I had a magnetic sign on my car tech took it off and said that its not allowed on track since it "might" fall off.
Would it be allowed by tech for TT?

hmm. i use them all the time and they don't fall off. chances are the tech guy has never driven a car on track before, or at least used magnetic numbers so he has no idea. worst case, put the numbers on after tech. they won't fall off.. magnetic numbers are nothing new, peolpe have been using them everywhere, for a very long time.

[J0oftheworld]

The time attack pimps in socal are running 17x9 et63 on all 4 corners..
The wheels you're looking at are something you'd see on someone's car who's trying to run as much rubber on as possible. Neither "wrong".
18mm of more track in the back.. the pics I posted on pg2 is this setup w. slightly more rubber mounted.. for reference!

Watching the time attack vids it doesn't seem like the non-stagger setup is too twitchy.. w. these wheels though you'll be aligning it for more oversteer I'm sure with the enkies.

On my OEM 16s and slightly oversized street tires it was tail happy big time w. factory alignment.. this weekend at -1.2f 0toe and -2.5r 1/8toe in each side// it had WAY better corner speed/control!! You could toy with it in some fast corners and it just seemed way more stable.

[J0oftheworld]

Bunch of sexy pics I've collected the last few months.

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/album223

[RufusAZ]

Man, I wanted an S2000 for the longest time before I got my STi (oh, and a kid). Sat in one at the internation auto show a few years back and couldn't engage clutch with seat all the way back. 6'4" is too tall I guess. Maybe with lower seats.

[phoenixZ33]

The wheels you're looking at are something you'd see on someone's car who's trying to run as much rubber on as possible.

huh? you'd think a 17x9 +63 would allow more rubber than a 17x9 +45.

[J0oftheworld]

I meant the presumed "safer setting" of staggered.. more rubber on back than front.
They seem to preach that unless you're a pro driver non-stagger will KILL YOU.. but I'm sure you can probably tune alignment and make the cars handle very similar.

[moxie]

Upped the amount of images per post to 8.

Image away Brady!

[phoenixZ33]

So peoples.. I need your opinions. To max the S2000 out in TTC, I have two choices:

1. Run a 275 width tire, along with shocks and springs. or.

2. Run a 255 width with shocks, springs and sway bar.

Think I could run a 275, then use stiffer front springs to stiffen the front up? Or do you think the difference between a 275 and 255 isn't that big of a deal?

For a 275 I can run the 17x9 on all four, but a 275 isn't square on a 17x9.. a 255 is. I can't run a 285 in TTC, otherwise i'd consider running the 285/30.

The TTC track record is a 1:10.48, and is held by the undefeated national TTC champion Greg Greenbaum. No one in the country has ever been able to beat Greg, anywhere, anytime.. at least as far as I can see. I don't think the 1:10 is a big deal, Tage almost beat it in Gabe's Civic last month.

So anyways, what do you think?

Hoosier A6 is only avail. in a 245 width. Hankook makes a 255, but I don't know if they'll be as fast as an A6. And Hoosier makes a 275/40R17 and a *gasp* 275/35R15. I wonder if 15s would fit over the brakes.. it might help with gearing as well.

[wgnths]

will a 275 actually fit? i think a swaybar would be of benefit. otherwise, a very stiff spring to compensate. which will also be a detriment on our bumpy tracks.

i say 255's(especially being more square) and a sway. plus it's always cooler to kick some butt on a smaller tire.

[Eunos]

So to run the 275s you can't run a front bar? Are the point penalties the same even if you only run the wider tires on the rear?

I'm fairly confident you're going to need a big front bar on that car.

Oh, and since 15's won't clear an NC Miata's brakes, I wouldn't expect them to clear an S2k either.

[J0oftheworld]

Looks like 255 f/r works pretty well.
http://www.maxrev.net/index.php?location=widetires.htm

[Eunos]

How many points for a rear spoiler or wing? Do they define the two separately?

[wgnths]

seems a rear spoiler of sorts, would be a big benefit on this car, no? all the track'd ones i've seen, run some form of one.

[Max Power]

This is what Brady posted about points...


Currently I have 24 points of modifications available. And currently, the car has the following modifications:

* Bilstein PSS9 Coilovers (9 points)
* Tananbe Front Sway Bar (2 Points)
* AP2 Wheels (0 Points)
* 225 Front, 255 Rear Azenis Tires (1 Point)

12 Points total. According to the NASA rulebook, 2810lbs is the minimum weight the AP1 S2000 can use for TTC. I have to find a way to get down to that weight (with driver) without cutting the car apart, hopefully.

The Azenis aren't going to be around long, so I'll get my 1 point back from that. In this thread, I'll cover the other modifications I make to ideally build it for TTC and hopefully, beat that 1:10.48.

Well, the important things breakdown like this:

Header - 2
Exhaust - 1
Test Pipe - 1

Sway Bars - 2
Shocks - 3
Shocks with remote reservoirs (PSS9s) - 7
Springs - 2
Strut Bars - 1 each

(how come everything suspension related starts with an "S"?)

DOT "slick tires", like Hoosier, Kumho, BFG - 10
Wing - 3

Brake pads, final drive and weight reduction as long as I don't get below 2810, is free.

The rulebook has point assessments for literally everything, but a lot of it isn't important, or not applicable to the S2000 (like solid axle replacements etc).

So given I have 24 points to play with, you can see how it works. Point is to find the best way to use up the 24 points. The PSS9s is NOT a good way to use points. It has an external reservoir, so I have to take 7 (instead of 4), even if the reservoir doesn't do anything. I could switch to a KW, Koni or other, get the same performance and get four points back to use elsewhere.. which I will probably do.

[wgnths]

i'd take the 3 points for a spoiler. keep that bum planted.

[Max Power]

Seems like free power would be an intake, tune (if those make any power - probably a little) and I guess they make quite a few rear diff gear sets for that car - 4.44, 4.56, 4.77 - but I'm sure you have an inkling about whether or not any of that stuff is worth it to you. I could plot the gears ratios and all, but I'm a lazy man and you don't know what tire you're going to run yet. It might be a good way to make that car perform better with all that high rpm power if the factory gearing is pretty spread out.

I can't believe how large the jump is going to external reservoir shocks.

[phoenixZ33]

So to run the 275s you can't run a front bar? Are the point penalties the same even if you only run the wider tires on the rear?



correct.. doesn't matter if i run just rear, i still have to take the points for a 275. i'm gonna test fit one of kevin's 15" wheels and see if it fits.

[phoenixZ33]

Seems like free power would be an intake, tune (if those make any power - probably a little) and I guess they make quite a few rear diff gear sets for that car - 4.44, 4.56, 4.77 - but I'm sure you have an inkling about whether or not any of that stuff is worth it to you. I could plot the gears ratios and all, but I'm a lazy man and you don't know what tire you're going to run yet. It might be a good way to make that car perform better with all that high rpm power if the factory gearing is pretty spread out.

I can't believe how large the jump is going to external reservoir shocks.

i don't get penalized for changing the final drive, so i considered going to a 4.56. the gears are around $500, plus a few hundred bucks for the install.

can you plot the gears using a 245/40R17?

[Eunos]

Ok, so I see a 3 point penalty for a wing, but what about a spoiler?

Wing:
http://www.nsxfiles.com/images2/wurth_jan_03_jzr_wing.jpg

Spoiler:
http://www.nsxfiles.com/images2/wurth_dec_02_wing3.jpg

[wgnths]

i'd take 10 points to run that wing. color matched and all.

[J0oftheworld]

holy balls.

[Eunos]

FWIW, it was a cheating-bastard autocrosser that designed those two devices. It seems autocrossers always look for loop-holes.

The wing was extra badass aside from being partially pink and on a pink car, in that the angle of attack could be adjusted from the driver's seat. Make it flat on the straights to maximize all 43 ft-lbs of torque and crank it up in the twisties to keep the evil chassis in check.

[Max Power]

Stock Gears w/ 245/40/17
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6359/410gearswq8.jpg

4.56 Gears w/ 245/40/17
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5332/456gearsyv4.jpg

4.77 Gears w/ 245/40/17
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/7422/477gearstv6.jpg

Pretty easy to make - if you want the excel file pm me your email address. You can either input the tire sizes and it will do a theoretical revs/mile or you can input the exact revs/mile to get exact values (it doesn't change too much - but I believe the hoosiers run a little wide and short).

[phoenixZ33]

give me that wing!

3 points for a spoiler/wing/foil/aero thingy of any sort bolted to the trunk. even the stock S2000 rubber add on thing is 3 points.

[J0oftheworld]

Those speeds are off.. mine stock is about the same as the 4.77 gragh.

[Max Power]

I checked them along a speed calculator online - they're right. Unless the gear ratios I have entered are wrong (I found them online - didn't look too much). Do you have 245/40/17 tires in the back?

[J0oftheworld]

Nope.. 225/50-16 24.9"OD

[phoenixZ33]

well who knows how far the stock speedo is off as well. regardless, this info is useful as you can see the difference between the different gear sets. i'm mainly wondering about 2nd and 3rd gear.. i might need a track session to check it first, but having a shorter second gear could make a huge difference out of turn 9 at PIR, and the 2-4 section might benefit from a short gear set since that area is all 3rd.

[J0oftheworld]

Running my car there on streets and being my 1st time out I'd say stock the AP1 is just about perfect.
W. r's you'll get outta 9 better and probably be on the 3rd limiter into 5 and into 9.

[phoenixZ33]

I just ordered wheels - Enkei RPF1, powercoated white. 17x8 front, 17x9 rear. +45mm front and rear. shizam!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/PA230072.jpg

that's not my car obviously, but it'll look the same.

I can't decide on tires.. ugh. Originally I was all about a 245R 225F setup, then it was 245s all around, then 255s all around. Today I was all excited about 275 rear, 245 front.. but on a 9" rear, a 275 is bulged out, so a 255 is probably about the same performance. Same for the front, if I ran a 235 instead of a 245.

No one makes a 235 or 255 17" tire though. Hankook and Hoosier both make 245/40 and 225/45. With the offset of the wheels I got, I think it would be a big task to make the 275 fit in the back.. i've had about seven cars in a row that i've had to sit at the track with a sledgehammer to make the tires fit.. i'm tired of it.

Either way, I think I can beat the TTC record (that's the goal here) with 245/225... so unless I plan on going to NASA Nationals or something, maybe i shouldn't worry about it.

[J0oftheworld]

Yeah seriously.. you got the skills!

[phoenixZ33]

are there any good wings out there that aren't $2000? after running all the numbers for points, i can run one.. i looked around for wings, but its all this JDM stuff that's like a billion dollars.

[phoenixZ33]

look how badass this wing is.. only $1800! lol

http://evasivemotorsports.com/merchant2/graphics/00000001/js_racing_fgt_wing_2a.jpg

[Max Power]

Can't you run a 255/40 and 235/40 in an R1?

[phoenixZ33]

yeah, i thought about that. the R1 isn't as fast as the Hoosier though.. they last 10x longer, but it's gonna be a half second off the Hoosier.

[J0oftheworld]

Don't buy an "s2000" wing.. buy one that's universal but sized properly!
I've seen this one on an s2k..
http://www.aprperformance.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=44

[phoenixZ33]

ehh.. forget it, for now. i'd need a splitter to balance the wing out.. i'm getting out of hand with the money spending here.

[wgnths]

awesome choice on the wheels. plus white looks awesome covered in brake dust :) forget the 275's. i think you'll be plenty fast with a 245 hoosier, and no banging, rubbing to make em fit.

i'd say a wing and splitter will really help out your times though. did you check ebay? and the apr splitter is only $250ish, or you could make something? does shawn still have that apr wing for sale? might fit, it was universal(same as the one on your 240).

[Eunos]

Brady, contact Rick Jung (just emailed you his "catalog"). He supplies APR stuff to a lot of the solo guys and has the best prices going. He's a good guy and will help you however he can, even if his stuff is too much I bet he'd direct to cheaper alternatives.

I hope you got a good deal on that particular set of wheels though. Everyone knows you pick the tires/sizes first and buy wheels to fit. ;) That said, awesome choice based on looks. B)

[J0oftheworld]

White on white.. good

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/IMG_6789.jpg

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/sfgsdfgnpsdifn.jpg

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/ButtonS2k4.sized.jpg

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/maxrevnetasm.sized.jpg

[wgnths]

those are the work wheels i have coming. in concave face.

[Eunos]

White on white.. good
http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/ButtonS2k4.sized.jpg


That car looks *really* good.

[J0oftheworld]

The white s2k w. blk top is smokin'!!!

I want red mugen top on mine.. and these wheels wouldn't hurt! :)

http://gallery.competitiveparts.com/albums/album223/tjvsxx3.jpg

[speedblind]

Nice car! I miss my 05 sometimes, though I'd probably go AP1 if I got another.

Be sure to start referring to your car as "the S", especially if you're going to spend a lot of time on S2Ki. You should also work phrases like "modding the S" into just about every post. Helps people understand where you're coming from.

Good luck.

[Max Power]

Very true - and you need a witty little signature picture about how you always keep the top down even in the rain or some gay thing like that. S2k owners are almost as bad as BMW owners when it comes to signature pictures

[J0oftheworld]

hahaha.. I fucking hate having the top down.. :D
Feels like at anytime someone could "silence of the lambs" my ass!! haha

[phoenixZ33]

I hope you got a good deal on that particular set of wheels though. Everyone knows you pick the tires/sizes first and buy wheels to fit. ;) That said, awesome choice based on looks. B)

they fit! chill out! the 8/9 combo is perfect for up to 235 front, 255 rear. a 245/275 combo could technically fit.. not idea however. finding a 10" rear wheel is a pain, and really expensive. and you'd be surprised how far looks will get you!

[phoenixZ33]

Very true - and you need a witty little signature picture about how you always keep the top down even in the rain or some gay thing like that. S2k owners are almost as bad as BMW owners when it comes to signature pictures

yeah, but neither are nearly as bad as Audi owners. audi guys are the worst.

i've had the top down once, just to take a picture of the interior.. and for a couple runs at the autocross, so twice actually.

[phoenixZ33]

So there is an S2000 on craigslist.. the motor spun some rod bearings, it needs some misc. interior parts, no convert top (the frame is there, but the top itself was ripped so he took it off) and the car needs to be repainted.. it has some fading on the front bumper, a small dent in the RF fender and a big key scratch down the side.

The guy is asking 9K. Think that's too much? It's an '03, which bluebooks for 17-19K. 75K miles. I figure an engine is gonna be $3,000, plus $500 in misc parts (top, plastic roll bar pieces) and another $1,000 to paint it. I think 7K is a little more realistic.. that engine is gonna cost a shitload.

I was looking at it just to resell..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/silver1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/silver2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/silver3.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

I've heard it's 5k for motors all said and done.

[phoenixZ33]

i found a ton of engines on car-part.com for $3000-3500.. a couple in town as well.

[J0oftheworld]

Good news..
So $3500 for engine
$390 for top http://www.topsonline.com/index.php?DepartmentID=1&CarID=70&CarmodelID=583
A few hundred in interior bits.. bumper spray..

[wgnths]

id say for $7k, you could make a few bucks off it. but do you really want to do all that work? may be hard to resell for blue book, with a new motor?

[phoenixZ33]

they bluebook for high teens.. that is, 6teen to 9teen, not teenagers that are high. sicko.

anyways, i figure 2-4K in work on top of 7-8,000 and the car will be literally brand new (new paint, top, interior parts). i put my S2K on craigslist for two days right after i got it for 17K and my phone was ringing off the hook..

i emailed the guy and if he ever emails me back, i'm gonna try and pick it up. i thought about getting this one and using it for a track car, then selling my white car.. i would feel less guilty destroying a beat up car like that silver one.

beety found a 300ZX twin turbo in prescott for $1,000 that we're gonna pickup next week as well. i'm starting a used car lot!

[wgnths]

starting a used car lot? you've had one! i was gonna mention selling yours and building this one into a track car. i agree, yours is too nice to go too far with.

i had an absolutely mint 89 turbo z, that i wish i wouldn't have sold.

[kev]

So what are the specs of your alignment?

How does it feel?

[J0oftheworld]

How'd you decide on/measure the ride height?

[phoenixZ33]

here's the alignment shit, copied from my S2ki thread. i should just post here, then copy it there since most of those guys don't know the difference.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000align.jpg

Specs

Camber

RF: -2.7°
LF: -2.7°
RR: -2.2°
LR: -2.1°

Toe

RF: 0
LF: 0
RR: 1/8" In
LR: 1/8" In

Caster

RF: 5.0°
LF: 5.0°

----------------------------

ride height was a total pain in the ass.. setting it properly is a huge mess of calculations, trial and error, physics, others' experiences etc.. it's especially tough on a car i've never driven on-track before. it's a 7 step process whenever i do it. here's what i had to do:

1. park the car sideways in my driveway
2. stare at it for 2-3 minutes
3. decided that it's too low
4. raise it up 20mm
5. stare at it again.
6. even though it wasn't perfect, i was too lazy to fuck with it anymore
7. said out loud, even though no one was listening, "looks good!"

it worked well on my bimmer, so i'm using that method on the S2000 as well.

[wgnths]

said out loud, even though no one was listening, "looks good!"



i can 100% picture you doing this. except i imagine it to be "hell yeah, looks good!"

i need to get that kinda camber out front.

[kev]

Gotta love a Double Wishbone setup :)

[J0oftheworld]

So you got the LCAs parallel to the ground or what's your starting point in that regard?

[phoenixZ33]

i didn't even look. i don't plan to either!

[wgnths]

love the avatar...i saw him at lowe's yesterday. looked like he was wearing that outfit lol. he was driving a body kitted cayenne.

[phoenixZ33]

well, he is really cool, so he deserves to drive a body kitted cayenne!

[moxie]

Werd!

[phoenixZ33]

Kevin,

Is the Saner bar for the S2000 any good? I remember it was the shit for the Z. Right now I have a Tanabe front bar, but there is a Saner bar on Ebay.

[J0oftheworld]

I just saw that.. first one I've seen on there since I got mine..
It's like 6yrs old and he said it's got the crappy end links.. hmm

Plus I can't find ANY details on how stiff the tanabe actually is.. it might be a joke and not any stiffer than OEM.. I'm pretty sure OEM is 30mm.

Ryan's got Cuscos but I can't find how stiff they are either.

phuck ;)

[kev]

The saner bar isn't as stiff as the comptech or gendron bar (aka small fortune racing). However, people have been able to drill another hole to add a stiffer setting.

Pick up the bar if it's not too expensive. I bought one from sccaforums a couple months ago just in case I ever decided to autox Julie's s2000. I ended up selling it to the brother of the guy you bought your car from for what I paid.

He told me he was looking for a saner bar for a long time and couldn't find one. Saner, the mfg, apparently isn't easy to reach.

[Max Power]

LOL - I never heard of Saner Sway Bars so I did a quick search in google and this popped up...

www.myexwifeisawhore.com/

Fantastic - oh and he does reference a sway bar and not someone's name. There isn't much useful on that blog, just love the title.

[phoenixZ33]

favorite post on the S2000 forums today:

I purchased a lightly modded S2000 from my brother back in December. I've always had a secret lusting for this car since he bought it back in 2004. A little background on myself: I am 23 year old male enlisted in the Army. I consider myself a good driver and have avoided numerous accidents by being consious of what was around me 360 degrees.

Problem is I've been driving FWD cars my whole life. I feel that I am not extracting the whole potential of the S2000. I'm not talking street racing but enjoying the car for what it was designed for

Take for example:

- A 90 degree turn. I approach the the turn at about 40 mph, downshift from 3rd-2nd and apply slight pressure on throttle while entering turn and countersteering if I start to oversteer.

Any tips?

If it wasn't for the military part, I could have sworn it was Beatty posting up!

[Max Power]

Tell him he needs more handbrake.

[kev]

Everybody knows an S2000 can take a 90 degree turn at 60mph in 1st gear, but only if the top is down.

[moxie]

With lightweight wheels he could take it at 45.

[wgnths]

i'm gonna agree with ryans suggestion. i'm betting with wheels and the top down, he hits 53mph in that same corner.

he should watch more drift videos, too.

[phoenixZ33]

so over the weekend i was at circle K. this dude pulls up and asks if i wanted to trade my S2000 for his Isuzu Axiom. "it's had all the dealer maintenance, i only drive it on weekends, mostly highway miles... it's the *rare* baltic blue color!" uh, no.

[moxie]

wha?

Thats an awesome offer

[wgnths]

if it was this color, i would have done it.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/autoreview/400x266/2002-04-Isuzu-Axiom-02805111990001.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

haha.. SO much unwanted attention with this car!!
I've had ricers, big cock trucks, kids, the old lady down the road, evAry dbag in a "sports" car, 2 GI Joe's in Government plated caravan, loser in the passenger seat of his gf's POS... all hating/shit talking/reving/racing me..
Oh, and when you see a "non-muscle/ non dragster" type of car DON"T ask me "what it runs".. cause 1. I don't drag race my 4cylinder, and 2. straight line racing w. under 1000hp is pointless/ghey to me! :D
/rant

[Max Power]

I cross shopped s2ks and axioms when I bought my Titan ;)

I love how it's "dealer maintained" and only driven on weekends. You don't want just any schmuck working on a fine machine like an Axiom - and putting too many miles on a sweet ride like would make me have problems falling asleep at night.

And I believe all colors are rare - I never see those POS's on the road so I bet Isuzu didn't sell many.

[wgnths]

i think ron pratte bought them all, at barrett jackson last year. big axiom collector, i hear.

[moxie]

lolz5

[phoenixZ33]

that ron pratte dude is the boss of one of the TT drivers. he's supposed to give me a tour of Ron's car museum in the next month or so.

[Max Power]

Oh yeah well I graduated high school with both of his sons - his youngest was in my year :p

[phoenixZ33]

So to get this serious thread back on topic, I have the following parts on order:

-Hoosier A6 Tires. P225/45R17 front, P245/40R17 Rear
-Enkei Wheels (another week or two)
-Hawk Blue brake pads

Left to do:

-Install brake pads
-Roll fenders
-Check weight, then remove stuff if necessary

Driving down the street the other day, I heard a clunk from the RR corner that sounded like an alignment bolt slipping. I have to check the rear alignment now too, then retorque and paint mark all the bolts.

Erin,

where are you gonna setup pit for the March 9th event? I can't decide if I want to use the garage or try and avoid the whole mess and setup in the west paddock. i doubt there will be any garage spots avail. anyways.

[phoenixZ33]

so i'm in Tire Pros, kickin' it in the customer lounge and watching a little saved by the bell.. i look up and see this on the wall..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/tirepros.jpg

[moxie]

He has actually won an event?

[Max Power]

Have you run all the other Hawk racing compounds? A bunch of the vendors on EvoM really push the other stuff over the blues.

[phoenixZ33]

I've used the Hawk Black, HP, HP+, DTC60(?) and HT10. The HT10s were my favorite, but they're 75% more in price than the Hawk Blues.. and I have yet to ever have a problem with Hawk Blues. The only reason I liked the HT10s better is because they were easier on rotors. When it comes to braking performance, I have yet to find a pad that works better than the Blue.

What do all the EVO guys like? I've tried EBC pads and they sucked.. the JDM stuff can't be any better than the Hawk pads.

[wgnths]

Erin,

where are you gonna setup pit for the March 9th event? I can't decide if I want to use the garage or try and avoid the whole mess and setup in the west paddock. i doubt there will be any garage spots avail. anyways.


I'll setup in west. i only try for a garage now because i'm otherwise all alone out there. i hate setting up a canopy and crap, just for myself. we can setup a spot if you want.

[Eunos]

He has actually won an event?
Those finishing positions are all from various codrivers.

[Max Power]

The Evo guys like the DTC60's mostly (some like the 70's but nobody talks about the Blues) - some like carbotech (xp11/12), some pf's (pfc01's and less so the old 97's) and some raybestos (38/41/43). It's not too big a concern because I'm a long way from needing them, just wanted to see what you thought. Boy those DTC's are pricey though.

[phoenixZ33]

yeah well, the Hawk Blues were "the shit", ten years before the EVO came out. Not too long ago they came out with all the DTC stuff and the Blue was regarded as the "old" model. Still works though. It's just a pain in the ass to try a million different pads.. either way, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[wgnths]

i agree. blues are the only race pad i've tried, so i can't compare, but they work and last so well i see no reason to bother. only other pad i'd try are the dtc's, but too pricey.

[moxie]

Those finishing positions are all from various codrivers.

That is hilariously awesome

[wgnths]

figures.

[J0oftheworld]

That is hilariously awesome

Somebody add that to the "DC" thread!! :D

[phoenixZ33]

This is the wing I'm bidding on right now on Ebay. It looks pretty good in terms of dimensions.. the stands are 39" apart, which is perfect because the S2000 trunk is about 41" wide. The wing is 9" tall.. I can get new stands made if I need it taller.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBI%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330209752888&rd=1

http://i5.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/d7/c3/05ac_2.JPG

[wgnths]

do you get the whole thing, or just that half? looks like it should be good, plus it's "carbon textured"!

[phoenixZ33]

do you get the whole thing, or just that half? looks like it should be good, plus it's "carbon textured"!

shit yeah.. it's probably cardboard with carbon fiber sticker over it!

Tires and brake pads arrived today!

Hoosier A6 - P225/45ZR17 front, P245/40ZR17 rear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000tires.jpg

Hawk Blue pads, front and rear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000brakes.jpg

[wgnths]

A6 vs. R1...you think the R1 will last longer? I know the hoosier is stickier.

[J0oftheworld]

Getting serious..
Yo Brady what coils/shocks you getting nig?
I'm planning on koni/CG.

[kev]

Getting serious..
Yo Brady what coils/shocks you getting nig?
I'm planning on koni/CG.

Buy Brady's Bilsteins. They are badass.

[Max Power]

Yeah, that's what I was going to say - if you're not worried about a classing system like Brady, I would buy his CO's.

[J0oftheworld]

Yeah but what's the valving of those shocks?
How much are replacement springs?
Inquiring minds wanna know! :D

[kev]

Yeah but what's the valving of those shocks?
How much are replacement springs?
Inquiring minds wanna know! :D

I have no idea, but they feel pretty damn good for solo ;) You should be able to tweak them for a nice track setup.

I'd rather have theses than GC/Konis for an S2000.

[J0oftheworld]

The reason I like koni/gc is for koni's serviceability and of course the cheap eibach springs from GC. win/win

I could be swayed.. but I need the info on these! :D

[phoenixZ33]

Yeah but what's the valving of those shocks?
How much are replacement springs?
Inquiring minds wanna know! :D

They use standard 60mm ID race springs, which are available from H&R, Eibach, Swift, Hypercoil etc. I ran the same coilovers on my BMW and they kicked ass - probably my favorite coilover ever. I doubled the spring rate (over what they came with out of the box) and they still felt good.. needed a little more rebound, but you saw how fast my Bimmer went with 237hp! Bilstein offers revalving/shortening/rebuilds for about the same price as Koni, with good turnaround times. They can rebuild them in 2-3 days if needed.

The Bilsteins on my car are literally brand new.. barely over 1000 miles on them and the previous owner was fanatical about taking care of the car. The *only* reason I'm getting rid of them is because I need something without the reservoir so I can get points back for my TT class. Otherwise, I'd keep the PSS9s, double the spring rates and they'd probably work as well or better than stuff for double the price.

Even as it is, they're not soft and lame.. I autocrossed the car and it felt great. I think they're 385F, 245R rates.

These are 10x nicer than that Koni bullshit. Konis only work well if A. you are using stock springs, or B. spend a billion dollars and ton of time sending them back and forth to get revalved/shortened. We use double adjustable Konis on the 350Z T2 cars at work.. they're fucking garbage. We were *two* seconds faster on stock shocks (with T2 package springs) than on the Konis.. I have never driven a Z that handled so poorly.. it's nearly impossible to make a Z handle like shit.

Let me know if you're interested.. I'm gonna take them off either tomorrow or this weekend.

[J0oftheworld]

Fuckers.

[phoenixZ33]

A6 vs. R1...you think the R1 will last longer? I know the hoosier is stickier.

R1 will last four times longer, if not more. The Hoosier is faster, which is the only reason why I'm running it. When/if I can beat the TTC record, I'm gonna take the Hoosiers off and buy some Nittos so I can just drive back and forth to the track.

[phoenixZ33]

Fuckers.

huh? or as nick would say, HUH?

[wgnths]

R1 will last four times longer, if not more. The Hoosier is faster, which is the only reason why I'm running it. When/if I can beat the TTC record, I'm gonna take the Hoosiers off and buy some Nittos so I can just drive back and forth to the track.

guess i'll try out the r1's. and get a set of nittos for the 2nd set of wheels.

[phoenixZ33]

R1s are better for your car anyways since it's a heavier car with small tires. Hoosiers will wear out on that thing in two days.

[wgnths]

that's what i figured. no need to spend that much on tires. i really want to do a bondurant course this year instead.

what suspension are you putting on the car?

[phoenixZ33]

KSport! They have some in stock, so I'm going to pick them up tomorrow.

[Eunos]

Brady, that's not nice to call another man's tires small. :P

[phoenixZ33]

Brady, that's not nice to call another man's tires small. :P

i know you're sensitive in that area, since you and kevin ran 215s for several years! i'll try and be more sensitive towards Erin's feelings as well. i'm working on it

[wgnths]

i make up for my small tires, in other ways!







by buying a big truck!

[phoenixZ33]

taken from the S2000 forum.. don't mind the redundant KSport history info.

-----------

Well today was a busy day. I've basically come to a fork in the road with my TTC buildup.. it's either A. run the Bilstein PSS9s, take the 7 points and don't run any aero parts. or B. change to a shock without the reservoir, run whatever aero I want and have some points to burn. So I opted to ditch the PSS9s and go to something else, some KSport coilovers.

I've been using KSports for a couple years now. I had a set on my previous 240SXs, including trying all three versions for my Time Attack 240SX: The Kontrol Pro, which is the entry level coilover, the GT Pro, which is inverted and IMO much more suited for track use, and ultimately the Circuit Pro, a prototype remote reservoir double adjustable setup. We had those specially made for the 240SX to try out and they worked really well.

In addition I've been driving KSports DC5 Integra Type R time attack car for two years now, so naturally I'm a little loyal to KSport products. Bottom line, I race to win.. if their products didn't produce, I wouldn't use them. I've used Cusco (Zero2R), Tein (HE, RA), Buddy Club, Bilstein and even Moton.. Aside from Moton, which is in an entirely different league, the KSports hang right with everyone else. As a matter of fact, I've gone *faster* on KSports than anything else. Plus the ability to get service and spare parts since they're a local company is a big bonus.

Anyways, enough talk.. here are some pics.

At KSport getting ready to install the coilovers
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000lift1.jpg


------------------------------------------------------

Back to S2000 stuff...

I got the Bilsteins off in about an hour.. here they are next to the KSports
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ksport.jpg

KSports up close. Out of the box they are 10kg front, 7kg rear. I changed the springs out to 12kg front, 10kg rear. Just by driving it on the street, I think I'm going to end up with something closer to 16kg front, 14kg rears. They're gonna have to be sent off and be revalved before doing that though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ksport2.jpg

After working on the car for 4-5 hours.. setting the ride height, corner balancing, fixing an ABS sensor, a stripped nut.. ugh, I almost forgot to take pics of them on the car. Here's a rear shock on the car..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000ksportinstalled.jpg

Now I just have to finish setting the ride height, corner balancing and have it aligned again.. even though I just did all that last week. Welcome to motorsports..

----------------------------------------------------

I decided to take some random pics of the undercarriage while the car was on the lift. S2000 suspension is really fun to look at from the bottom! Everything is packaged nicely.. really nice engineering work!

Rear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000under1.jpg

Middle
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000under2.jpg

Front
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000under3.jpg

When I was laying on the ground doing the front picture, I noticed oil all over the bottom of the pan.. I hate oil leaks. Turns out the previous owner installed one of those oil "spicket" things that make it easier to drain oil. Well yeah, because half of it leaks out naturally while driving! lol. This will be coming off at the next oil change.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000plug.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

I want the Bil's just because they were "built and tested" at the nurburgring.. sticker and all!! :D You'll have to let me feel what those springs rates are like!

[phoenixZ33]

I want the Bil's just because they were "built and tested" at the nurburgring.. sticker and all!! :D You'll have to let me feel what those springs rates are like!

honestly, it's not bad at all.. the car doesn't ride any worse than it did with the Bilsteins. Yeah sure, it's stiffer, but it's not really a big deal. Some guy on s2ki was complaining about how bad his car rode with KSports (common complaint). I'm not seeing it.. or should I say, feeling it.

It felt really soft at first with the shocks on the softest setting. I've always run KSports on the softest setting because they can get *really* harsh with them turned up.. but I cranked them up to fill stiff on the S2000 tonight, it feels great.

When I was running my 240SX, I complained about the shocks being too stiff on compression which was giving it shitty ride quality and making anything byt the softest setting, unbearable. He mentioned they were going to soften up both compression and rebound for the street kits and apparently it made a difference.

So yeah, I think it'll need to go stiffer... right now it's a tad bit bouncy up front, so I'll need to get the shocks rebuilt with more rebound before going any stiffer. As I said, I wouldn't mind having 14-16kg springs.

[speedblind]

Ooooh, the fumoto oil drain valve! That's another thing S2000 guys like. I'd recommend keeping it on or you might not be welcome around the forums. Also, get some KW V3s. Everything else is crap.

[phoenixZ33]

top down, rain or shine!

[phoenixZ33]

i've been spotted by someone on the S2000 forum..

saw an AP2 GPW on 60 @ alma school 8:35. going west. thety had the top up, windows up, being super lame!

[wgnths]

yeah, why would you have the top up?? wierdo.

[J0oftheworld]

hahaha.. I can't wait for another "tech day at phils" or something halfway decent so when I show up w. my top up I can say.. "I'm not a phag so my top stays up.. niggas" :D

[Max Power]

Somebody needs to make some new signature pics about having the top down is for old women or something else insulting. Seriously, that forum makes my head hurt - that and the assigned forum things at the bottom of people's signatures, I mean look at these things!

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3162/s2k1xx4.png
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2738/s2k2vb9.png
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/814/s2k3tk3.png

Who has the link where all of these turds are stored?

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3778/s2k4vj3.png

[phoenixZ33]

Today I corner balanced the car. I was going crazy in this cluttered garage, but it was a flat surface so I had to make due.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000scales1.jpg

Car up on the scales, 2704lbs... removed the spare tire, trunk tools, floor mats. Otherwise it's a stock AP1 with full interior, A/C, stereo. The only other weight reduction piece is the Buddy Club exhaust.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000scales2.jpg

With me in the car, all my racing gear and the computer for the scales it was 2907lbs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000scales3.jpg

Initial Corner Weights

RF: 687
RR: 720
LF: 769
LR: 733

LR-->RF Cross Weight - 48.8%

I measured ride heights and the RF was already higher that the LF, so I checked the rear. The LR was 1/4" lower than the RR, so I raised the LR three full turns. The weights came in as follows:

RF: 707
RR: 702
LF: 752
LR: 749

LR-->RF Cross Weight - 50.1%

Good enough! I'm taking it back to the alignment shop this weekend to get rechecked. After installing the coilovers the rear toe feels messed up, so might as well check it.

[wgnths]

aren't you suppose to balance/align it with the top down? gonna be all screwed up when your cruisin'.


are you doing anything with seats/harness? they look slippery.

[phoenixZ33]

aren't you suppose to balance/align it with the top down? gonna be all screwed up when your cruisin'.


are you doing anything with seats/harness? they look slippery.

yeah i know, i thought about driving with the top down to lower my center of gravity. that should be good for a few tenths!

[phoenixZ33]

I ordered a front lip and it showed up in the mail yesterday. it doesn't fit very well, which is probably what I get for buying a $129 knock off instead of the $450 real thing, or whatever it costs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000lip.jpg

i opened the box and there was a random strut bar in there as well. APC! i didn't order or pay for it and it wasn't on the invoice.. i don't know if they just give away strut bars when you buy a $129 front lip, or if it was a mistake.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000bar.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

Bonus parts! :D
Is that you gf's garage?? :p
So, you now own some scales ey?? cool! :)
So what's the plan for the March event?? So easy laps? Don't want to have any "Snap Understeer" out there before you really get the hang of the S!?
I was hoping to see you break the record w. a basically stock s2k.. oh well.

[phoenixZ33]

Bonus parts! :D
Is that you gf's garage?? :p
So, you now own some scales ey?? cool! :)
So what's the plan for the March event?? So easy laps? Don't want to have any "Snap Understeer" out there before you really get the hang of the S!?
I was hoping to see you break the record w. a basically stock s2k.. oh well.

yeah, because my car is so crazy! all it has is coilovers, exhaust and wheels/tires.

[J0oftheworld]

Front aero?

It might as well has this on it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBkbM6kacs

[phoenixZ33]

lol.. if you consider an Ebay lip "aero". half the cars on the S2000 forum have some kind of front lip.

anyways, i'm trying to beat it by as much as possible.. not by 0.0001sec.

[Max Power]

yeah, because my car is so crazy! all it has is coilovers, exhaust and wheels/tires.

AND a strut (err, shock) tower bar! That thing is huge on non-strut cars. You can't have enough points left over for that?! ;)

[J0oftheworld]

:D

So, the "buildup" thread says "national champ attempt".. is this going outside of our local realm now?

[phoenixZ33]

:D

So, the "buildup" thread says "national champ attempt".. is this going outside of our local realm now?

do you pay any attention to what i've said during the thread?

[J0oftheworld]

Pictures man.. just pictures!

[J0oftheworld]

Okay, so no mention of "national domination" but I figured w. a few cali events you could be some kinda "leader/champ" relatively easy..

[phoenixZ33]

first paragraph on my S2ki thread!

The only class I haven't participated in is TTC, or Time Trial C, which has a track record that so far no one has been close too. There's probably a reason for that, as the TTC record of 1:10.48 is held by the undefeated TTC national champion Greg Greenbaum, in a Dodge SRT4. Greg holds the TTC record at every track he's driven and as I said, has won the NASA Nationals in TTC since the National Champ event started two years ago.

[phoenixZ33]

The point of switching to the KSports from the Bilsteins was to free up some points. The purpose of freeing up points was so I could run a wing and a splitter.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000wing1.jpg

I ordered a 54" wide carbon fiber wing. With the "stock" mounts, the top of the wing is only 9" tall. The rules allow for a wing up to 13" tall for three points, or over 13" tall for five points. I'm having the original stands modified so it'll be 12.5" tall, measured from the highest point on the wing to the trunklid.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000wing2.jpg

I don't have much of a plan for a splitter yet, but will be working on that soon. The lip itself extends out past the front bumper, so I have to take points. Depending on how the car feels at high speeds, I'll use up leftover points by adding the carbon splitter to the front lip.

Both pieces are going to the paintshop to get painted body color.

-----------------------------------

At the back of the rulebook there's a listing of free modifications you are allowed to do. Every modification on the list can be done to the car and take zero points for modifications. The list partially consists of (there are more):
Belly pan forward of front axle
Rolled Fenders
Flared Fenders
AC Removal
Battery Replacement (w/lightweight)
Wheel Studs
Final Drive Modification
Camber/Caster/Toe Adjustment
Camber plates (for strut cars)
Air Filter
Radiator
Oil/PS/Transmission/Diff coolers
Head shaving, 0.020" overbore
0.5 compression increase, 1.49% displacement increase
Spark Plugs, wires, coil packs, Ignition
Light flywheel/Clutch
Non OEM brake pads and rotors
Brake Ducts
Non-metallic replacement suspension bushings
Relocated Battery (if I get really ambitious)
Chassis Seam Welding
That's just some of the 47 different items in the list. The ones in bold are the items I plan on doing, or have done already. That being said..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000under.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/s2000diff.jpg

[Max Power]

Wow that looked easy to take off.

[wgnths]

that's a mazda rear-end right? i just read about it in sport compact or something...they outsourced mazda rearends, and spc mag upgraded the gears with stock ones from a hyundai(?) i think it was.

The rules allow for a wing up to 13" tall for three points, or over 13" tall for five points. I'm having the original stands modified so it'll be 12.5" tall,

I love this thinking! i think it should be 12.99"

[speedblind]

I remember some thread about changing rear end gears with a Mazda or Kia or something crazy...I'm sure it's on those boards among the top always down signatures.

BTW - any updates?

Let me know when you get tired of it. Another S2000, an AP1 this time, could definitely be in the cards.

[J0oftheworld]

Best for updates.. http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=567808

[wgnths]

no wonder i haven't seen brady around much, sounds busy! i want updates here dammit! those wheels look kick-ass!

[phoenixZ33]

Wow that looked easy to take off.

it was easy to take off. not to mention the pumpkin weighs like 20lbs.. the 240SX diff weighs twice as much.

[phoenixZ33]

updates!

It's been a while since any good updates and with school out now, temporarily, it's time to work on the S2000 some more.. especially with the first event only a few days away.

As I mentioned above, final drive gears are a "free" modification that don't carry a penalty. I've been talking with Brian at Science of Speed (http://www.scienceofspeed.com) for a few weeks about different gear set options, so I told him to order up a set of 4.57:1 gears. The 4.57s are stronger than the 4.77s and given that most of my street driving is on the highway, I opted for the 57s instead of the 77s.

Science of Speed is a local shop here in Phoenix, so when I went down there to drop off the diff to have the gears installed, I took my camera with and scoped out some of the nice NSXs and S2000s they had in the shop. Science of Speed has been around for 7-8 years and I've heard nothing but good things (from my limited NSX/S2000 friends) about their work. I've had gears installed on some of my previous cars and it's a process that is pretty easy to screw up. Given SoS has installed a zillion gear sets on S2000s and NSXs, I wasnt too worried. Random pics:

Obligatory front door shot
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos1.jpg

From the lobby.. SoS's own time attack NSX
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos2.jpg

Chris pulled the cover up to show off how shiny this thing is.. ;)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos3.jpg

Another shot of the TA NSX
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos4.jpg

Carbon Fiber NSX, the SoS time attack S2000 and another NSX
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos5.jpg

Ah yes.. someday!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos6.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

I picked the diff up a couple days later and everything was ready to go. Chris from SoS did a cool writeup on the gear install process, so I decided to post it up here:

Caps are maked before removal to insure that they are replaced in the same location. Mixing these up may lead to diff case failure.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09971.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09972.jpg

Disassembly of factory ring gear
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09973.jpg

New ring gear - this shows Honda Lock placed on the face of the new gear. Honda Lock is also placed on the fastener's threads. This will prevent oil penetration into the threads.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09974.jpg

New ring gear installed and torqued.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09975.jpg

Diff case is disassembled and prepared with new bearings and bearing races.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09979.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

Rear end case is cleaned and preped with new axle seals installed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09998.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/DSC09999.jpg

Turning torque on pinion shaft is then set by installing the new factory crush collar and slowly compressing and checking turning torque. This process is then repeated several times to set the desired pinion shaft turning torque.

Backlash of the ring gear is then set by installing a dial caliper and adjusting the differential in the case to achieve manufacture's recommended backlash.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/finaldriveinstallation.jpg

The gear pattern mesh is then inspected using Prussian Blue on the meshing gears and inspecting the imprint left on the teeth. Inspecting the drive and coast side of the teeth then allows us to determine if the pinion shaft depth needs to be adjusted for proper mesh. This photo shows the drive side where the tooth contact has been adjusted to target the center of the tooth.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/drive.jpg

This photo shows the coast side of the teeth where the mesh pattern will typically be biased to being toed in.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000%20Diff/coast.jpg

Once everything is set to spec, the diff case is re-installed and the diff is filled with fluid. Then it's ready to go!

[phoenixZ33]

It's coming down to the wire, so work is going on every spare second I have.

Yesterday the wheels arrived in the mail.. :cool:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wheels1.jpg

Enkei RPF1s, 17x9 rear, 17x8 front. I ordered these from GT Motoring and had them powdercoat them white. Greg from GT had great service and the wheels look awesome!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wheels2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wheels3.jpg

Today during lunch I had the tires mounted up. Tonight I'm going to test fit them and see how much fender rolling is necessary... if any.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wheels4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wheels5.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

Busy day today.

9:00am - Tires mounted up. While I was waiting for my tires, I stopped by Sears and exchanged my busted torque wrench.

11:00am - Get home, post wheel pics on the forum. Then go outside to install the diff and brake pads.

After an hour on the concrete under the car doing the diff, I took a break to weigh the new Enkei wheel combos. I was expecting 5-6lb difference between the stock wheels w/Azenis, and the Enkei RPF1s with the Hoosiers.

Stock front wheel w/225 Falken Azenis - 42lbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/stockfront.jpg

Enkei RPF1 front wheel w/225 Hoosier A6 - 36lbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/enkeifront.jpg

Total 12lbs weight savings between the two front wheels. Then this blew me away..

Stock rear wheel w/255 Falken Azenis - 47lbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/stockrear.jpg

Enkei RPF1 rear wheel w/245 Hoosier A6 - 36lbs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/enkeirear.jpg

11lbs lighter PER wheel. 22lbs weight savings for both rear wheels, plus the 12lbs for the fronts. 34lbs total savings, bringing my weight down to ~2860 with driver. Minimum competition weight is 2810, so once I remove the passenger seat and run lighter fuel load, it'll be close to the limit.

Time for brakes - this is more shocking (to me) than the wheel weight...

Front Hawk Blue pads installed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/frontbrakes.jpg

Rear Hawk Blue pads installed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/rearbrakes.jpg

I'm browsing around looking at stuff, then I see this.. :eek1:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/brakeline1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/brakeline2.jpg

$hit! Granted, the line was just torn through the outer rubber protective layer and the line itself wasn't ripped and/or leaking, I definitely wasn't going to take the car on track.. hell, on the street very far either for that matter.

I called up Brian at Science of Speed and he makes it sound like no big deal.. "oh yeah, we have a bunch of stainless line sets in stock." I was panicing there for a minute.

[phoenixZ33]

12:50pm - I finished the diff install, installed all the brake pads, used my new torque wrench to tighten the wheels and cleaned up the mess of stuff. I also weighed my stock exhaust, which was 54lbs, vs. the Buddy Club Spec IV that weighed in at 17lbs.

On the way to Science of Speed, I ran over manhole cover and felt the back end squirm a bit.. it caught me off guard, then I remembered I needed to align the car again since I did the coilovers. I havent driven the car in a few weeks so I nearly forgot (thanks to that manhole cover!).

1:15 - Back at Tire Pros for my 3rd alignment in two months. I haven't even had the car on track yet! Since I did the coilovers and corner balanced it, the rear toe was 5mm more IN, and the RF toe was in about 4-5MM as well. We adjusted that and I was on my way. The gas door is missing because the painter needed it to match the wing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/align1.jpg

As I'm driving from Tire Pros to SoS, I looked down at the speedo and I was doing ~78mph. It didn't seem that fast.. I looked over and literally saw a 95 year old man (looked like Orvil Redenboker the popcorn guy) driving the same speed next to me in a Lincoln. Funny.. then I remembered I didn't install the "yellow box" when I did the 4.57 gears, as I left it at SoS.

2:30 - Science of Speed to the rescue! I picked up the trusty yellow box too.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/stainlesslines.jpg

3:00 - I left SoS and realized that I needed brake fluid. Luckily, Superior Racing Development (http://www.superiorracing.com) was just a block or two away and they stock all the Motul fluids. SRD has been around since the late 90's, starting out in a guy's garage about 3 miles from where I live. Fast forward to now and they have a 5,000sq.ft shop, 4-5 employees, a race car team, a huge front lobby.. they have a full fabrication shop, dyno, welders,lifts, tools etc.. it's a world-class shop.

From outside
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/srd5.jpg

Nice G35 Coupe
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/srd2.jpg

SRD's drag Honda Civic - ran a 10.2 at some ridiculously fast trap speed. Nice tires
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/srd4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/srd3.jpg

Clayton's (fellow NASA racer) PTB Nissan 350Z
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/srd1.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

And luckily for me, the owner was working that day. I paid for two cans of RBF600 fluid, then the owner walks up and says "Where are you gonna do that? Wanna use the lift?" Uhhh... HELL YEAH. I had lines to install, fluid to flush out and since I just installed the diff and got an alignment, a full chassis torque check was in order.

Here I am, back on the lift! Does this car ever get driven, or does it just sit in shops all day on lifts?!?! I feel like Alberto!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/lift.jpg

4:00 - One of the lines installed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/lineinstalled.jpg

And all this went on while SRD dyno'd some insane, 780hp twin turbo LS1 dune buggy. My ears are still ringing. I can't even imagine what it would be like to drive something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/dunebuggy.jpg

All wrapped up at 5:30 today. Ugh, I'm tired. All I have left to do is roll the fenders, install the wing and splitter (being painted as I type this) and change the oil.

[phoenixZ33]

8:00 or so - I got a text message from a friend that said "I didn't know you bought an S2000!" I text'd back and as it turns out, he was watching my buddy Chris paint my rear wing and lip spoiler. I grabbed the camera, jumped in the car and headed to Chris's shop to catch all the action.

I put the top down for the sole purpose of letting the northern residents know that it was ~70deg tonight at 8pm. Very niiiice!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/topdown.jpg

VIP Motorsports - Chris does side paint work for VIP after his normal job. VIP specializedsin the baller VIP style Escalades, Impalas, Benz, you name it. The whole shop is either ridiculous Tahoes with five TVs, or random 64 Impalas with hydros and wire wheels. Most of the clients are athletes for the AZ Cardinals, Suns, Diamondbacks or other pro players that live in Phoenix.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/vip.jpg

Chris in the booth painting my parts. Chris has driven more Caddys on 22s than Shaq.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/paint1.jpg

Last coat of white before he sprays the clear..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/paint2.jpg

A 26" wheel waiting to be painted. Notice the S2000 keyfob next to the wheel.. lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/26wheel.jpg

Some nasty old Impala waiting to get restored
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/impala.jpg

A very nice Impala
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/impala2.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

This Tahoe is owned by Laurence "Kool Aid" Maroney from the NE Patriots
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/koolaid1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/koolaid2.jpg

Here's a random pic of a bag of change.. I emptied all the coins out of my truck and the S2000. Who would have know it totaled out to $47.70! This has no relevance to the thread, but it ended up being a funny story.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/coins.jpg

I walked into the grocery store to cash in my change using the "Coin Master". As I'm standing there waiting for all the change to jingle down into the machine, I see 4-5 employees surrounding some guy in the corner. The guy was a mess - ripped up jeans, shoes with holes, some dirty old hat, a ripped up dirty sweatshirt. The employees kept talking about shoplifting.. I figured the guy got busted for stealing something. Right as I think that to myself, the grubby guy busts out with *handcuffs*. Turns out, he's one of those under cover cop "shoppers" that walks around the store all day looking for shoplifters.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/cops1.jpg

They're all standing in front of the door to the manager's office. Someone opens the door and all you hear (through the entire front of the store) is the lady yelling "I didnt steal nothin'! I dont take $hit!!" SHe kept yelling, so they closed the door.

Summed up, the grubby undercover cop dude caught her stealing a bag of Romaine lettuce, a mini-Party Pizza and a fried chicken and mashed potato TV dinner. A minute or so later the cops show up, cuff her and haul her off to the big house.. for stealing $4 in frozen food. ouch
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/cops2.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

Splooge!! :O

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/sos4.jpg

How much did the diff cost all said/told?

[kev]

Splooge!! :O
How much did the diff cost all said/told?

It's priceless. An S2000 with a lightweight flywheel and aftermarket FD should be one mean ass mother fuker

[kev]

Brady-san,

Have you ever considered a career as a writer or journalist of some type? Seriously.

[wgnths]

Brady-san,

Have you ever considered a career as a writer or journalist of some type? Seriously.

i've been telling him that for years! so have others. he's a great story teller. and i love that you're including lots of pics with all this!

thanks fo' sharin'.

[kev]

Werd, but the biggest thing is that he enjoys doing the write-ups. His stuff is more enjoyable to read than most shit-rags (magazines).

[J0oftheworld]

Motorsports Adventures with Brady!

[Max Power]

Nice - I liked SOS - my buddy Seth used to work there (I know the tech guy too but I suck at remembering names). I almost bought an NSX because of them. Seth had a pretty impressive almost all CF widebody NSX. I just can't fathom spending that much money on so little hp though.

Oh, how'd the speeds match up to my little chart thingy? After doing 4.10's on my Camaro it made such a huge difference in how it felt.

[skilit]

Werd, but the biggest thing is that he enjoys doing the write-ups. His stuff is more enjoyable to read than most shit-rags (magazines).

Yeah this write-up has been awesome...very well done!

[phoenixZ33]

Problem is, *good* writers who actually have credentials (ie. a Journalism degree) barely make any money, so I don't know how I could afford to live my "affluent" lifestyle writing for someone/something/somewhere. Then again, a 4-year degree doesn't necessarily mean you're any good at writing, it just means you did most of the homework. Anyways, if I could get paid to do it, I'd be all over it.

Some guy from Car and Driver (Csaba Csere or whatever his name is) was here at work a few years ago. He said that there are so many people who are either rich and don't need money, or poor and don't care, that are willing to work and write for free, that it's ridiculously hard to "make it". The Super Street guy emails me on occasion and has me write random things for events and I'm always quick to say "if you ever need anything in the future, blah blah", but that's never turned into anything.

But on a positive note, a local company that I'm very familiar with (hint hint) is now paying me to do all their press releases, event follow up stuff, sponsor proposals and other stuff. The pay is pretty good, but it's just hard to fit all the work in because I have a regular job on top of that.. and my computer at home is so insanely slow, it takes forever because i have to reboot my PC every ten minutes when it freezes up.. lol. (too much porn apparently).

/end of rant

[moxie]

Take some of that sweet writers salary and buy a laptop ;)


I would actually read your articles if someone published them.
I bet getting a gig in the Automotive Press is more about kissing ass than anything.

[phoenixZ33]

i have two laptops.. i hate typing on them. i just got a 22" monitor for my desktop.. it kicks serious ass.

[moxie]

22" FTW...

I want a 22" laptop...

[Max Power]

and my computer at home is so insanely slow, it takes forever because i have to reboot my PC every ten minutes when it freezes up.. lol. (too much porn apparently).

i just got a 22" monitor for my desktop

Interesting way to attack the performance issue ;)

Oh, and there's no such thing as too much porn.

[phoenixZ33]

Oh, and there's no such thing as too much life-size porn.

agreed.

so i just want to wipe out the hard-drive, reload windows XP, office, Photoshop and start over. i don't have an XP disc anymore.. does anyone have one, or know how to fix this thing? i've copied everything i want off the PC, i either need to clean it up or wipe out and start over.

[J0oftheworld]

Wipe it for sure.. makes it like new again!
I'm not nerdy enough to have multiple OS copies sorry.. :D

[moxie]

I might have an XP disc lying around somewhere.
Do you have a license key for XP?

And yes, the best thing to do when things get shitty is to wipe it all off and renew.

Also, run Firefox instead of Internet Explorer if you dont already.
You can still get wack shit installed surfing for pr0nz, but IE has 10 times the likelihood of letting something bad through.

I will look for my disc, I should have one somewhere.
Is the PC branded for pieced together?

[wgnths]

all i got out of this page was, brady bought a 22" monitor to look at porn.

[phoenixZ33]

I might have an XP disc lying around somewhere.
Do you have a license key for XP?

And yes, the best thing to do when things get shitty is to wipe it all off and renew.

Also, run Firefox instead of Internet Explorer if you dont already.
You can still get wack shit installed surfing for pr0nz, but IE has 10 times the likelihood of letting something bad through.

I will look for my disc, I should have one somewhere.
Is the PC branded for pieced together?

yo yo. i don't have a license key or an XP disc.. i'm fucked. i use firefox now, but i used IE to look up all the porn Erin sent me and i think that's what messed it up.

[phoenixZ33]

Before I give all the updates on the track results from yesterday, I'm going to post the final details from the prep on Friday/Saturday so everything is in order. Yeah I know, picky picky, but it'll be quick and I'll get to the track details soon.

Friday night I had a list of things to do. *Thank God* for all the work I got done on Wednesday, because I originally planned on doing it Friday night, with all this stuff. I would have been up till 5-6am doing all the brake and diff work if I didn't do it earlier in the week.

First thing I did was assemble the wing. As I said earlier, a wing that is no higher than 13" gets 2 points, higher than 13" is worth 5 points. I had some wing stand "extensions" made to raise it up higher than the original 9" overall height. With the new extensions it was 12.8", so right at the limit, but it looked really dumb.. not only that, but with the way the stands were made, the angle was really dramatic and the base of the stands was pretty far forward of the actual wing itself, which had me concerned. I guess what should I expect for a $140 generic wing..

Installing the stands to the wing
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wing1.jpg

Marking the trunk for the mounts..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wing2.jpg

Here are the extensions that were made. They're slotted as well for more adjustability.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/stand1.jpg

And here is the whole setup, on the car taped in place for measurement. You can see the angle of the stands...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/stand2.jpg

Needless to say, I scrapped that idea and decided to run the wing at a lower height since it was more stable. I figured if I needed more help from the wing once I was at the track, I could always reconfigure and raise it up higher.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/wing3.jpg

--------------------------

I made some magnetic numbers a few weeks ago and I had to paint those black
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers1-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/numbers2-1.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

--------------------------

All four fenders had to be rolled to fit the Enkei wheels. For the time being I just rolled the inner lip flat against the inside of the fender; I didn't do any flaring.

First I removed the rubber piece
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/fender1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/fender2.jpg

Then hooked up the roller and started bending sheet metal!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/fender3.jpg

On the front I trimmed the fender liner and bent the tabs up out of the way.

In my many days of fender rolling, I have never seen paint chip and fall off like this car's. I couldn't believe how much chipping there was...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/fender4.jpg

----------------------------

Finally, I mounted the front lip. It's a knock-off lip so it didn't fit perfect, but I got it on there and was mounted securely.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/lip.jpg

--------------------------

Around 1-2am on Saturday everything was finished up. Later that day I washed the car and it was ready to go. Yes, I noticed the wheels were on backwards, so I flipped them around as well. It's good to know that a 245 on a 17x9 Enkei will fit on the front though!

If you look closely, you can see the black soot that covers the entire side of the car. That's from *2 days* of street driving with Hawk Blue pads.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/driveway.jpg

[phoenixZ33]

Ok, so this weekend. After the thrash-fests the previous few days, I really didn't have any concerns other than the fender clearance around the tires, and how long it would take me to get used to the car. PIR tends to get really greasy after lunch or when the temps are above 80-85 ambient, so I knew I had to get up to speed really quick.

These pics give you an idea of the corner numbers and what the track actually looks like in real life. Don't mind all the cars in the infield - during NASCAR weekend our track turns into a parking lot. In the second picture you can see the cars in NASCAR oval 3-4, or what is turn 10 for the roadcourse. You can see in the infield carousel (turns 5-7) as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/phoenix1.gif
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/pir.jpg

The first session out on track, I did 1/2 warmup lap and decided to pull in and see how the tire situation was. The rear clearance looked really close, but as it turned out, wasn't rubbing on the tires. In that 1/2 warmup lap, I couldn't believe how grippy the Hoosiers were with no scrub or warmup time. Likewise, the S2000 felt really good as well.. lots of mechanical grip and excellent brakes. Knowing that, and knowing the track really well, I jumped out of the pits, drove through turns 3-7 as fast as possible to feel out the car, and it was on.

Crossing the finish line for my very first lap, not my first hot lap, my very first full lap ever, was a 1:11.6. The big question about PIR is how well the car performs in turn 10 and 1; most importantly, turn 10, as it's the longest and leads onto the front straight. On my first lap I didn't lift from turn 9, all the way into the braking zone before turn 1. I've driven enough genuinely fast cars around PIR, that it didn't take long (about the first 100 feet entering turn 10) to realize I could go flat. "Going flat" is always the question, and where 99% of the people who are slow around PIR, lose time.

Phoenix International Raceway, Turn 3
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/track.jpg

Turn 10 is also the start of the next lap, obviously, as it leads onto the start/finish straight. From there it's just a matter of how ballsy you can take the transition off the oval into turn 1. Turns 2-9 are no brainers, you just go as hard as you can. Through my first session of 5-7 laps, I was referencing my speed over "the bump" coming off the oval into turn 1. Indicated speed was 105-107mph, which surely isn't accurate given I have the short gears.

FWIW, I didn't install the "yellow box" to correct the speedo after the gear installation, and really couldn't tell the difference. I was told that the steering feel would change or be delayed, but I honestly couldn't tell a difference.

The A6 Hoosiers worked great, but they only were really awesome for the first 2-3 laps of each session. As I said, PIR gets greasy when the sun has been out for a few hours. Over the last 6-7 years of running PIR, my fastest times have *always* been in the 1st or 2nd session of the day, before lunch. Knowing that, I had to make the first 2-3 laps of session #2 count. That's what it has come to - all this work, time and money, just for the first 2-3 laps of one session at a certain time of day.

Starting session #2, we gridded up in order of fastest to slowest, then used a pace car to bunch everyone up. The track goes green at turn 9, so everyone has a flying start across the start/finish line. Since everyone is gridded by lap time, theoretically everyone should have good spacing and traffic-free laps for the first 5-10 minutes. That's how it has *always* worked with the TT sessions at PIR, and that's the only way to get clean laps with 30+ cars on a 1.5 mile track. The system works well, usually.

On our second pace lap, the pace car pulls off in turn 9 and people start going hot. Imagine a line of cars between turn 7 and 9, one by one accelerating out of 9 to get a flying start around 10 and onto the straight. I sat back and gave 6-7 car lengths between me and the Lotus Elise that was on front of me. The Elise is a fellow TTC competitor, running within 0.1 of me in the first session. On Saturday the Elise got within 0.05 of the TTC lap record.

I cross the start finish and head into my first lap. I hit all the corners fine and all is well. As I exit turn 7, I see an orange Porsche GT3RS sitting outside of turn 9 on the NASCAR oval (to the left of that yellow #5 box). Basically what happened was he entered turn 1 for his hot lap, overshot and went through the grass. He drove around the NASCAR oval and was sitting outside of turn 9 waiting to rejoin the group... pretty typical scenario for a crappy driver in a fast car. As I exit 7, I see the Porsche and immediately think "He better not even think about it!!", figuring he'd be a dumbass and rejoin the track right in front of me and ruin my lap.

Sure enough, as the Lotus goes around 9 (200 yards in front of me) and heads onto the oval, the 911 jumps forward onto the oval as well. I go around 9 and see the Porsche 100 yards in front of me. Bottom line, if he doesn't slow down in the oval (turn 10), I'm good. Even if he slows, as long as I get a driving line, I'm still good. But no, he hits turn 10, slows down to 80mph or so (I'm doing 90-95) and drives dead center. I can't take a low line, so I go high up into the marbles, thus ruining the lap I'm on.. and ruining the next lap, as I exit turn 10, 5-10mph slower than normal. I nearly have a heart attack.. I wanted to run that Porsche A-hole off the road I was so pissed. I do a couple more laps, but by the beginning of the 3rd lap I start catching some of the TTE cars and have to deal with traffic. Session #2 is a waste.

In the garage at PIR with the number magnets on the car.. which by the way, didn't fall off! Craft store quality magnetic material is pretty good afterall!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/garag2-1.jpg

Session 3 was the "small bore" group. Since we have over 30 TT cars, TT is a 5-run session group for the day. The first two sessions are just normal TT sessions, gridded by time. Session 3 is the Big Bore session, where just classes TTR-TTA run. Point is to have less cars on track so everyone can get clean laps. Small Bore, or my Session #3 (TT session 4 technically) is SmallBore, and is for all TTB-TTF cars. Only ten people showed up for SmallBore. In the 2-3 laps I did in Session 2, I managed to work my entry speed in turn 1 up from 105mph, to 113-14mph. I still think there is more left, but it's a ballsy corner. I've pretty much been sideways over the transition in 1 in every car I've owned, trying to find the limit. Since 99% of the accidents at PIR happen over the transition into 1, I was taking it slower than normal.

That difference was good for a 1:10.94, which stood as my best time for the day. The car felt much different on the greasy track. There was a big difference in grip in turn 10 and 1, which is the norm for a hot afternoon in Phoenix. Overall, not a bad first time out, but I was really expecting to be a second or so faster. My plan is to go back at the next event in May and use what I learned in sessions 3-4, in the early morning sessions. If that doesn't work, then it's time to throw more money at it!

As I said earlier, I'm not sure why I picked the 225/245 tire setup. When I originally bought the car, I had every intention of running 255s on all four corners.. or 245s. For some reason it made sense that day, so I ended up running staggered. In all honesty the car felt perfectly balanced for the first 3-4 laps until the tires got too hot. After that there was some mild understeer, but it rotated nicely by tapping the brakes or trailbraking late into corners. I really hate to mess with the setup since it feels so good right now, but I might have to.

The KSport shocks felt *awesome*. With the stiffer springs (change from 10/7kg to 12/10kg) the shocks felt slightly underdamped on the softest rebound setting. With the rebound on the highest setting, they felt amazing.. the car transitioned excellent, ride quality was great, body movement was in check.. Honestly they have superior performance to the PSS9s by far, with the same ride quality. I think my estimations of the 16/14kg final setup is about right, as there was just a tad too much roll. Given the ride quality is really good, i don't think it'll be a problem to run that stiff. I just don't know if I'll need to revalve the shocks to go with stiffer springs. But yeah, :thumbup: for the KSport coilovers.

Turn 5
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/track1.jpg

Brakes were awesome as expected. The biggest problem I had was with the stock seat and belt. I left-foot brake pretty much all the time. Having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake with really no support in the seat, messed me up a lot. I couldn't focus on braking and turning because I was trying to figure out how to stay put.. I was using my foot to brake *and* hold me in place.. I wasn't being smooth. A roll bar, harness and seat are definitely must-do items for the next event.

So there you have it. First event out, totally guessing on setup and having never driven the S2000 before, getting within 0.5 of the record. I don't imagine it will take more than another 1-2 events to figure out how to hit that time, then eventually consistently blow it out of the water. Since Greg set the 1:10.48 in 2005, he's only run a TT lap under 1:11, once.

[phoenixZ33]

On my way home from the track, I get a call from my friend Brian who also has an S2000, and was out at the track on Sunday watching all the action. First thing he says on the phone is "Well if you've ever wondered how your car will hold up in a collision, check out the accident before the I-17 interchange." Uh oh..

I-10 in Phoenix.. well, any road in Phoenix for that matter, is plagued with accidents. Phoenix is a melting pot of people from all around the country, probably seeking out the 75deg weather we get eight months of the year. And the two NASCAR races. j/k. Summed up, Phoenix has the worst drivers. It's quite common to see the 6-lane I-10 freeway completely stopped at 2 o'clock on a Sunday, because everyone is rubber-necking some guy who is changing his tire on the side of the road.. it's pathetic. 99% of the freeway jams are not necessary, and caused simply due to everyone slowing and checking out "the scene" (which is usually one guy getting a ticket, and five cops stopped to assist). Then of course the traffic jams cause the accidents and it's a huge mess. Phoenix has more horrible drivers per capita than anywhere else.

On the way home from the track, Brian was in the most unfortunate location - right behind an accident. As he put it, "cars were sliding across lanes of traffic in front of me - I was looking at the door of a Pontiac." Brian swerves, a Semi-truck driver (more on him later) doesn't see, Brian gets run over.

Custom rear-end body work on Brian's S2000
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/freeway1.jpg

I was about 30-minutes behind brian on the road, so I pulled over and waited to assist in the needed his car wouldn't drive home, or anything else for that matter.

About five minutes after I pulled up, some lady in a blue Monte Carlo stops, walks up and introduces herself as the "Safety Rep from Fry's Grocery". The truck that hit the S2000 was a Fry's grocery truck, which was on its way to Tucson to make a delivery. The lady walks up, takes a bunch of pics, writes some notes and from my best guess, is there on behalf of the driver (like a Union Rep, even though we don't have Unions in AZ) to protect him and Fry's. I noticed she was taking pictures with a camera phone.. seriously. So I say "Fry's grocery store huh? They send you out here to document the accident with a camera phone? Doesn't Fry's sell cameras?" I laughed a bit, as I have nothing to lose in all this.. "Well, we can upload pics faster this way." Yeah, ok.

Mini S2000 meet on the side of Interstate 10 - this freeway goes non-stop from LA to northern Florida.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/freeway2.jpg

The best part in all this was the *lack* of interest the cops had for our situation.

1. The lady shows up with the camera, 45 minutes after the accident. Keep in mind that Brian swerved to avoid another accident, so there were like 20 cops less than a mile down the road tending to that.. but not us.

2. 15 minutes after the lady shows up, another Fry's semi-truck shows up. His job was to pickup the load from the truck that was in the accident and get the delivery on its way down to Tucson. Must be perishables in the truck! lol

3. Cops show up a little over an hour after the accident. When Brian called the DPS, they said "all of our officers are out on that big accident scene right now, so it'll be a while." Yeah obviously, we could see all the officers down the road. When the cop shows up, first thing he says.. "Yeah, I was just chillin back at the office when this call came in, so I'm not familiar with the other accident down the road." huh?

Once the cops get there, they ask questions, survey the scene and immediately decide we need to gather up the show and get off the freeway. Everyone jumps in their cars and we drive a mile down the freeway, exit and finish the paperwork in a hotel parking lot. Little did we know that we moved, simply so the Fry's truck could unhook from the trailer, then the new truck could hookup the trailer and finish delivering the load. "It seems the cops are more interested in getting that Fry's truck down to tucson, than actually dealing with this accident", Brian said.

The "accident victim" pulling away from the trailer so the new truck could hook up
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/cops3.jpg

Brian and I just sat there for about 30-40 minutes while the lady with the camera phone negotiates and guides the new truck onto the trailer. The cops all stand around and watch like city construction workers, totally not worried about the fact that Brian's S2000 has a bunch of damage, or he could possibly be hurt, or that we actually have $hit to do and need to get the hell out of here!

One thing that I learned from being part of an accident scene, is you're instantly a local celebrity. People were coming out of the woodwork to check this out. We were merely two S2000s, a semi truck and two cop cars, but for some very interested tourists, apparently this was a big deal. 5-6 people came out with cameras and were *video taping* everything. We were just *standing there*, waiting for the cop to fill out the paperwork... i guess it's more interesting than whatever's on TV in the hotel.

Two people checking out the scene
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/cops1-1.jpg

Another guy, filming us. He even asked if it was OK to film everything. wtf?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/cops2-1.jpg

All finished, no one got a ticket. The truck driver was either drunk, or incredibly un-coordinated. When the cop called him to walk over to the car and fill out some form, he nearly tripped by himself on the sidewalk. The he was slurring words, having trouble just standing still.. it was weird. A few minutes later (a total of a couple hours for the whole thing) we got the paperwork and were on our way.

[phoenixZ33]

erin - is there a way to get a high res version of this pic?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/track.jpg

[Max Power]

You guys could have had a lot of fun with the tourists - when the guys asks if it's ok to film there are a plethora of excuses: well, the gov't would be mad at me, they don't want people with ultra high mega security clearance on camera - I'm sorry, the Angels training camp would be pissed if they knew I was out at a road race - listen, my agent in hollywood doesn't want this to end up on TMZ since I'm auditioning for a big movie - I'm on parole - etc...

[Max Power]

Oh -> top always down = accidents.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/phoenixR34/S2000/freeway2.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

I like erin's pic from the track and the gas station pic! A++
haha.. can't believe you're the fastest local s2k by 2 whole seconds after your first event! funny :D

[wgnths]

brady, i'll send you bigger versions of all your pics if you want. i'll post them now.

[wgnths]

here's some

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6906.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6905.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6902.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6903.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6896.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6895-1.jpg

[wgnths]

oh no! caught brady with the top down!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6984.jpg

[J0oftheworld]

Top down, crack OUT! :O ohh no's!! :D

[kev]

oh no! caught brady with the top down!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/spoolnv/autox/Track/PIR%203-9-08/IMG_6984.jpg

When I saw this pic for the first time, I was confused because I thought Brady bought white enkeis. Brake dust sucks.


Also, damn this thread for being one of the most active on this forum. Every time I click New Posts, I see "(faster than Kevin)"....bitches!

:-)

[phoenixZ33]

top down with the wing is my new Fast and Furious style!

[wgnths]

all you need are some crazy graphics and lots of gauges. maybe some pink fur seat covers.

[RufusAZ]

A hot Asian chic in the passenger seat works well too.

[wgnths]

a hot asian chick on my lap always works.

[Max Power]

Bump to keep this on the top so it shows up on the front page - for kev :)

[wgnths]

i just like re-reading the part of an asian girl on my lap.

[Max Power]

patience my friend... patience.

[J0oftheworld]

Bump4Kev!
Does Brady still own this car or is he onto a porsche yet?? :D

[kev]

Bump4Kev!


I was missing this thread!

[phoenixZ33]

So Patrick calls me up yesterday and says "I have a friend who wants to trade his light flywheel and ACT clutch for stock stuff.. interested?"

Um yeah. He just left me a voicemail, so I called back and left him a voicemail.. maybe 3-4 voicemails later I can get some more details.

[wgnths]

you can thank me for giving patrick your number!

[speedblind]

Just re-read this thread. Thinking about getting another S2000. Whatever happened to this car? And what was the final verdict on the KSports?

[speedblind]

Oh, and those Enkeis look fantastic in white. White S2Ks look so clean.

[wgnths]

he sold it awhile ago. i don't think it had the power necessary to compete.