wingz

current mod list (6/22/16):

// exterior

• 17x9.5 +47 ce28n ti silver w/ flat caps
• dunlop direzza ii starspec, 255/40/17
• project kics r40 black
• oem hardtop
• jdp engineering ap2 front lip
• jdm itr clear side markers

// suspension & chassis

• kwv3 + hypercoil springs (750#f, 550#r)
• eibach front sway bar
• j’s racing s1 front camber joints
• challenge ss brake lines
• spoon sports subframe rigid collars

// engine & drivetrain:

• j’s racing snorkel
• j’s racing oil cap
• j’s racing radiator cap
• spoon sports reservoir covers
• k&n filter
• evs 70-ssp exhaust + 70mm tp
• hondata flashpro, gernby tuned
• ballade sports timing chain gear
• ballade sports timing chain tensioner

// interior

• momo mod.78 350mm leather
• jdm nsx-r horn button
• works bell short hub
• works bell rapfix ii (yoshioka edition)
• oem cr shift knob
• alloy craft hardtop brackets
• zoom engineering ts rearview mirror
• oem s2000 premium floor mats
• recaro profi spg + nagisa d-lock rails
• soft top delete

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

hey folks,

jimmy here! over the course of a few months i've been thinking about tracking my build here, but was quite hesitant due to the pressure of having something to buy update frequently. my style is simple and functional, and i'm content going at a slow pace.

// just some background:

originally from socal, moved up to the bay w/ the family for a new job almost 3 years ago. love it up here. i've been part of this forum since 2002. i initially joined because i wanted to buy a used '02 ap1 from someone on the forums. well, it never happened, but stuck around and lurked.

i've owned 2 s2ks previously:

• '04 ap2 ssm
• '06 ap2 lbp

i've been driving a used '99 dx/ek since '07. 8 years later, i decided it was time to get another s and really enjoy the car this time.

i purchased this from another member here. its a '08 bb ap2. very well taken care of with 69,XXX miles. only mods (ever done to it) were KWV3s and a CR shift knob. it worked out because i was planning to go with this setup anyways.

// here she is:





// my goals for this build:

• "diy build" as much as possible. i love learning new things
• street/track build. this will not be my daily
• clean simplistic mods, keeping the look as "oem-ish" as possible
• quality parts. the value of a part is most important for me. function and form are important, but function > form if i had to choose
• keep it affordable and within budget

she's been through a bit of change over the last few months since i brought her home. i'll start updating what i've done accordingly.

to be continued...

wingz

// rpf1s 17x9 +45 all around

so predictable, right? i've had these wheels on my lbp ap2 loved them for a few reasons: affordability, fairly strong, great specs, and they look good. my family and friends are still in socal, and i had planned to make a trip down there early summer and brought these back home.

test fit:



my previous sets for the fronts were 17x8, so i was curious to see how much work i need to do to get these to fit. i think the front camber was a little over 1 deg. here's how they sat mounted.




// j's racing front s1 camber joints

got my fenders rolled, and the fronts slightly pulled. also purchased a set of j's racing s1 camber joints from tommy @ gotuning.



i was a bit nervous about this diy. i did a ton of research on how to install these, so i decided to approach this install w/ the easiest method i found, here. super easy, worked like a charm w/ no damage to the ball joint rubber.

sorry for the dirty pics. i forgot to take pictures during installation when everything was nice and clean.




// alignment @ auto innovations

now it was time to visit the folks at auto innovation for an alignment.

new specs:

-3 camber all around
6.5 caster
0 toe up front
1/16 total toe in rear

really like these settings, but need to test more to have a meaningful opinion.



here's how she was sitting for another several weeks..



to be continued...

wingz

// authentic j's racing snorkel , k&n drop-in filter, spoon reservoir covers

first engine mods fyi: the snorkel is the version for the oem hood. the reservoirs also add 30rwhp, each.



the diy on the snorkel required a bit more work than i thought (you'll hear me say this often ):

- remove front bumper
- remove cooling radiator shroud
- remove front performance rod (only applicable to ap2s i think)
- cut and remove air guide plastic off the intake box to fit the snorkel

some folks use double-sided tape to stabilize the snorkel, but i drilled two tiny holes to mount the intake because i wanted it to be sturdy and to get as much clearance as possible because the snorkel was slightly rubbing against the left edge of the hood. doing that and adjusting the hood latch a tiny bit helped. no more rubbing.

i will have to say that the snorkel is one of the best mods i've ever done! the responsiveness in throttle is super amazing. i can't imagine driving w/out one anymore. easily my favorite and most valued mod so far. i also like how the kevlar goes well w/ the gold ignition coil cover.


// s2ki fender/dent/dyno/glass day @ blacktrax (event here)

helped organize this event for our guys. invited shane from alloutdent.com to come up and do some work on our cars. big to all the folks involved in making this happen. i had 4 dents removed by shane. his work is top notch! just a great guy in general, too.



before i start modding the car, i wanted to get a baseline dyno as a reference point.







a few s2ki members modeling with blacktrax's irene and graham downey's s2k in the back



to be continued...

wingz

// 60mm testpipe

the stock cat ways a ton! i had a testpipe in my lbp as well and can easily notice that the car was breathing better by the increased throttle response. i also like the subtle raspy tone it gives w/ the stock exhaust.




// flashpro

one of the more exciting things in purchasing a +06 is that we can tune w/ flashpro! i've messed w/ a couple maps here and there, and there is definitely a noticeable difference between the stock map and the tuned stock and toda map. i've been working with gernby to get an e-tune. we've done two rounds of tuning so far, and it looks like he's going to need a 3rd set of data.

sometimes i wish i just went to blacktrax to get a dyno tune, just for the convenience mainly. its been difficult to juggle family and work but on top of that spend 1-2hrs on the road doing WOTs in 3rd. i'm putting my tune on hold for another couple weeks until i get one more piece of goodness. i want to avoid getting a retune as much as possible.




// oem hardtop

i've always loved the oem hardtop, even more than the mugen hardtop, although the mugen was definitely growing on me because of its slightly more aggressive form and the middle air channel on the roof. I've also hard that the fit on the mugen is better than oem. i may go the mugen route at some point, but the oem ht fits the current look i'm going for.

i visited alan (mazdaspeed00) down in irvine/socal. he had a top for sale for a good price. he even got the top painted BB for me. super good guy. his build thread is here. super clean nfr ap2. one of my favorites on the board.

my son and i decided to take this opportunity to do some "father / son" time, so we both drove the s down to socal on a friday. we ate dinner, went bowling, then spent the night at his grandparent's house (my parents). we woke up early, drove down to irvine and met alan. we spent probably an hour installing the oem hardware. something he didn't have to do, but willingly offered.

here's how she looks w/ the top on:



here's my oldest on our way back..




// added bonus

on that note, my kids love going in "daddy's black car", especially my little girl:




after jumping onto the freeway on our way back to norcal, i immediately noticed some intense wind noise coming from the front of the hardtop. it sounded like a hurricane inside the car at freeway speeds! i didn't have the time nor tools to adjust it so we dealt with it the entire drive home.

when i got home, the first thing i did was to try and adjust the hardtop to remove the wind noise. 2 of the bolts on the right latches came off fine. i noticed there were 3 shims in place, so i hoped that removing the shims would provide a more snug fit. as i was removing the left side, i noticed that one of the bolts were seized. i couldn't for the life of me get it off. i tried a few different ways to pry it loose, but had no success. i ended up using a dremel to cut a slot into the top of the bolt. i then grabbed a flat head screwdriver and a hammer, and attempted to hammer-torque it off. after several hard hits it came loose!

here's how the bolt looked after removal:



i removed the shims and used new bolts to see if it would help with the wind noise, but i noticed no real improvements.


// alloy craft hardtop brackets

i thought i was a good time to purchase more of a permanent and secure alternative to the oem ht hardware, so i purchased these from alloy craft.

fronts:



rears:



i always told myself that i would remove my soft top if i ever got a hardtop. these brackets give me another reason to want to do that. its just not as easy to remove the hardtop which makes me want to keep the hardtop on at all times. the plus side to these brackets are that they make it a bit more difficult for thieves. i'd rather have a bit more sense of peace, than a bit more convenience.

the soft top at some point will go. i'm just not ready yet.

to be continued...

Hanzel28

s2sik

Keep us updated, nice start

mazdaspeed00

glad to see you made a build thread jimmy. keep up the good work!

XqiZit

Looks good Jimmy, wheres that Eibach FSB!?!

wingz

thanks hanzel! let me know when you want to sell your top! ;P

thanks bud! hurry up and post an update! following you on instagram, too.

thanks my man. good meeting you, again!

hey ryan! still trying to catch up on my updates! love your ride, bud. still can't believe the rg's haven't been sold.

wingz

// hyperco springs

i like the stock kwv3s, but wanted to upgrade to stiffer springs w/out having to get a custom shock re-revalve. kw said that the stock valving can handle up to mid-700# springs just fine, but nothing close to 800#s. i believe bill johnson also did some testing to see how much more these shocks can handle w/ stiffer springs, and their data matches up with what kw said. bill johnson also has proven faster lap times with 10Kf/10Kf springs on a stock kw shock w/ a saner fsb. these are good data points.

i got a great deal on a set of hyperco springs from a member here. they are 12Kf/10Kr, used for only a few thousand miles:



removed the coilovers, cleaned them up a bit, and installed the springs:



i kept her up on jack stands after re-installing the coilovers because there were a couple more items i wanted to install. just needed to wait a couple more days.



to be continued...