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There should have been a smiley face at the end of that last post, but I guess I don’t know how forums work anymore, lol. Looking forward to seeing how the S2K progresses
I finally got around to changing the engine oil and manual transmission fluid today; it's just something I like to do with every new-to-me vehicle purchase. I opted for Amsoil's Signature Series 10W-30 and Amsoil's Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid. I'm holding off on changing the differential fluid because the seals have seen better days and are awaiting replacement.
I also went ahead and replaced the front tires with a pair of Federal 595RS-RRs to match the rear tires. I'm currently running 215/45R17 tires up front and 245/40R17 tires in the rear. This is, of course, the stock configuration for the AP2 and is something I wanted to familiarize myself with before eventually moving on to a square setup. Naturally, a four-wheel alignment was also completed. When I purchased the car, she was equipped with RS-R lowering springs and, unfortunately, due to the ride height, we were unable to dial back the rear camber.
Directly after my alignment, I met up with a friend, Ryan, aka @hyprpwr, for some photos near Los Angeles.
I can't thank him enough for these awesome photos.
Post-alignment, I've been driving the car, quite often, on windy roads to better understand the driving characteristics of the S2000 (within reason, of course). The Honda Fit I used to own and this S2000 are like night and day. The S2000 is so much more responsive to even the smallest of inputs. The Fit was a lot easier to drive, but the S2000 is more rewarding to drive; this is just my opinion, of course.
With the staggered tires, you can definitely feel the bias towards understeer. I set the car up this way, for the time being, so that I can really take my time to learn the car and develop my skills. I wanted to experience the S2000 as Honda intended before eventually moving on to a square setup. I've driven numerous FR platforms, but none are quite like the S2000; most of these cars were heavier and less "twitchy."
Thank you! I'll have to, respectfully, disagree on the "looks very well kept" comment because, if I'm being honest, it wasn't. I've been working on bringing all the maintenance up to date since I purchased her and she needs quite a few things.
In the screenshot below, you'll find the history of some of the maintenance I've completed thus far.
I won't spoil all the surprises, but I also have a Koyorad radiator waiting to be installed along with new upper/lower hoses, coolant reservoir, and radiator-to-reservoir hose. I want everything brought back to 100% before I start modifying her, but I'm also taking opportunities to upgrade whenever I can (such as with the radiator).
Today's update includes replacing the front wheel studs and front wheel bearings. The reason for the replacement(s) is because one of the lug nuts on the passenger front wheel was cross threaded which resulted in the accompanying wheel stud shearing off upon removal. I took this opportunity to replace all of the wheel studs along with the wheel bearing since it would be a good time. I replaced both front wheel bearings along with the wheel studs on each side just to have both sides matching and fresh. Given my intended usage with this car, I figured it would be good preventative maintenance.
Right after we removed the hub assembly from the car...
Getting ready to remove the wheel bearing from the hub...
I also went ahead and swapped over to black lug nuts; I think they look better than the chrome lug nuts. What do you guys think?
Passenger side all done and black lug nuts installed...
The OEM radiator looked tired and had seen better days after ~16 years of service, so I went ahead and replaced it with a Koyorad unit. I also have new upper/lower radiator hoses, but I didn't realize the intake manifold needs to be removed in order to remove the existing radiator hoses. I'm going to save the upper/lower hoses for when I replace my intake manifold gasket. The coolant reservoir was starting to show its age as well, so I refreshed that part of the cooling system with a new reservoir, hoses, hose joint and reservoir cap. The look of new parts is so satisfying!
Nice and shiny!
Opted for the Koyorad radiator cap...
Comparing the Koyorad to the OEM unit...
Snapped this picture before we started pouring in coolant...
