willix231

A brief history about how i came to own an s2k. Ive been tracking for a little while now with my speed 3 but always hated how you had to wait for under steer before you could power out of the corners. I knew that eventually i wanted something rwd as a track car. Most of my friends had miatas, or frs but they all revved about how the s2k was a great car. So that is how i ended up here.


Currently i still have both cars

Had alot of maintenance to do on the s2k so i was holding off on selling the speed3 till i get all that sorted out. When i got the car it was long overdue for almost every service you could think of including a CEL for vacuum hoses and bad secondary O2 sensor.



Here is what the engine bay looked like when i got it.

I couldnt stand how neglected so i got it detailed next


With a car this old soft top whistle noise is to be expected. I ordered 2 pairs of Gladman Shims for the strikkers but only needed one pair

I decided to go do some track testing before the tracks close for winter

all my tools taken out and ready top go

At this point the car sits on a set of cooper cs5 ultra in the back and potenza s04 pole position in the front with mild cracks probably from age.lol
I figured it was best to get a feel for the car with lower grip tires and stock suspension before modifying it to actually understand what i have to work with
On the first day testing the best lap i run was a 1:59.83 and i thought i had done pretty descent at the time. Honestly when i think about it i was still scared that the car would oversteer and spit me off into a wall or something like that lol

I then returned the following week for a second track test and the only thing going through my mind was how can i go faster. So i stopped looking at all the things i could hit if i drove faster and pushed hard. Net result a 1:55.5 on the same tires and brakes. Not bad at all

Now thats more like it. This second track day wasnt without casualties though. I think my throw out bearing took a shit when i went for a spin so currently the car is at a friends shop waiting for when he has some free time to get it fixed.In the mean time









I decided to ditch the bearings supplied with the kit and went with oem

willix231

forgot to include these

oem throw out/release bearing


oem Nachi bearing

oem to left and exedy clutch kit supplied to right


oem pilot bearing to left and exedy supplied to right


NTN oem pilot bearing closeup

S1 S2

Thanks for sharing OP. Like you, I went with OEM bearing too. However, its known with the exedy OE clutch disc to buzz, thus why many out there stick with with the OEM Honda ap1 clutch disc.

I know because my new Exedy disc is buzzing

willix231

yeah ive heard that. Didnt want to spend much more on it honestly. it cought be off gaurd when it failed. Luckily i had just recieved some excess cash but wanted to stay within budget. If no one had even mentioned the clutch buzz i never would have noticed it because the clutch that was in the car when i got it buzzes too. Im hoping i can get the car back today or tomorrow and move on to the next thing i want to fix before the winter starts out here.

willix231

Finally got the car back with a new clutch. Time for this now








Eagerly waiting to get the car back with new top

willix231

Finally got the car back and couldnt be any happier to be able to see through the window out back.




Love how dark the new cloth top is!!

yamahaSHO

How long have you had the S2000? I'm wondering if I've run into you as I have a lot of time at MAM/RPM as I lived 10 miles away from the track. I moved back to Denver earlier this year, but plan to make a track day or two out there next year, however, it should be a bit faster with boost this time. I don't see how you can DD an S2000, especially with the winters there.

Are you involved with NASA Central Region?

Here's one of my videos from MAM/RPM

willix231

We havent run into each other before, but ive commented on alot of your videos on youtube. For this winter im not going to daily it, but out here in omaha its very feasible to daily drive an s. we dont get alot of snow and they plow it off eventually. Especially with snow tires it should be a doable feat. I stll have the other car and plan to sell it in the spring after the snow clears. Ive only had mine for about 4 months now. And no im not involved with the local NASA chapter yet. I just try to get in as many fast fridays as i can since i live 20 mins from the track. Im going to start building my suspension, brakes and tires in january. Per your recommendations im going to go with Ohlins for suspension, do camber ball joints only at the front, 17*8.5 et30 for front with 245 and 17*9 et45 in rear with 245 to start off.

what kind of boost are you getting?

yamahaSHO

Ah yes, I remember you commenting on my videos now. I'm pretty familiar with Omaha winters and roads, I just moved away from there from living there for 8 years. I parked by nice cars in winter because of how nasty it was and was a large reason why I fought my wife so hard to move back to Colorado.

If you want any tips at MAM/RPM, I might be able to give you a few. It's a good track and I do miss having it so close as I was able to hit 15+ track days a year. If you haven't done Hastings, that's another good one that's not too far away. If you end up upgrading brakes to a BBK, I recommend just getting a StopTech kit up front from the beginning. I've done 3 different BBK's on this car and I would have saved money had I just gone this route in the beginning. I've also been really happy with the Urge rear bakes as I retain my parking brake, which is something I went without for a couple years when I had a different kit in the rear.

I picked up an EFR 7064 and currently having PFab make me a custom manifold and downpipe. With that and aero, I'll be pretty disappointed if I can't get a 1:35 or faster.

Have you met any of the other S2000 track guys there yet?

willix231

Yeah fortunately mine is always in a a garage. especially with a new top that gives me peace of mind. Yeah i wont be doing a BBk for a while. im just going with all new pads and rotors all around for now. Then focus on refining the suspension and alignment and more seat time. Nothing beats more seat time so i will do my best to get as much of it when track reopens in the spring. And thats a huge turbo, why didnt you go super charger? Turbos take away from the linear feeling that na s2000 have.