Afterfire

I see a lot of build threads and some have helped me when trying to work on my car so I thought maybe Id post some of what Ive done in hopes of helping others. What I was thinking is sharing a link or a short description to anything Ive found helpful during working on that particular part or just advice in general. You can also follow me on Instagram @afterfire03
I bought the car in July of 2013. I had no idea about Hondas but I knew the S2000 was the only Honda I would want. Coming from RX7's (an Fd and TII FC) the chassis feels familiar but had to get reacquainted with piston motors and taking into account a valvetrain and stuff. When I first picked her up she was bone stock except for Tein springs, and ebay lip with 76k miles.

I knew I wanted to do suspension first so I bought a set of used D2 RS's from a local guy in Raleigh. They were cheap, they got me low and I didnt know a whole lot about quality suspension for this car. Shortly after that I bought a set of Work Emotion CR Kiwami 17x9+38 and 245 ventus v12's. I thought the world of this car so and wanted it low for pure aesthetics. I didnt really have much performance driving experience under belt except for driving back roads fast..or what I thought was fast.
Like all other aging S2000's the top was wearing holes so instead of replacing it, I got a used Forbidden single sided CF hardtop from a friend and ditched the softop,frame and motors. Might be sacrilidge to say on here but I hate convertibles. I couldnt wait to put a hard top on it. Also, just because I had money burning a hole in my pocket and there were fake ducts in my bumper, I bought Wasp brake ducts and hoses. I used Rob Robinette's site to install the ducts(found him for RX7 stuff and his site has proved invaluable for S2000 stuff). I used and will continue to use it a lot. Big thank you to Rob. If I ever meet you, I owe you a big tall beverage of your choice.

Just as advice for those with creaky tops, I spent almost 2 years chasing down the creaky-ness and found its a combination of things to fix it. #1 Lots and lots of Shin-Etsu grease #2 2-piece rear brackets, either OEM or Rockstar #3 The sides that overlap the moulding behind the window, on the other side of the mounting brackets, tend to rub the plastic moulding and that what caused 99% of my creaking. The way the top is fitted bows in so either the fiberglass needs to be trimmed down OR a piece of the soft foam molding that comprises the same moulding for the window trim can be cut and acts as a buffer between the top and the hard plastic moulding, which is what I did. Grease that up and tighten the top down on over it and it'll be silent. It was like a breath of fresh air after I got my top to be 100% quiet. I also use the Izzy front brackets and installed an OEM rear seal but I dont think either of those affected the noise as much as the moulding between the top and the hard plastic on the sides.

After lots of people inviting me to autocross I decided to try it for the first time March of 2014. Thats when all the aesthetics of being low took a backseat. Im competitive by nature and this fed my demons. Modifying cars AND driving them in competition against others, yes please. Like the typical enthusiast I always thought this was either out of my reach to do or I just didnt have enough mods to be competitive. But as those who have competed know, it doesnt take much except to pass tech, have good tires and seat time to be competitive.
​​​​​​
Over the course of a year I evolved the car from a stancey-daily to more performance oriented as I got more experience and seat time. I changed from the D2's to Bilstein PSS9's with 9k f/r springs for a short while then a set of HKS SP's fell into my lap(too stiff for autocross btw). Mods for the timeframe included the old school Saner bar and 255 Z2 Starspecs. I would eat breathe and sleep getting back out on course and getting faster. My first full points season I successfully made it to top 3 but something was nagging at me. Just something I wasnt content with since what it really boiled down to for me was "parking lot racing". Im not knocking it at all and love the sport and it take A LOT of setup and skill to drive a new course 3-6 times and be fast EVERY TIME....but I wanted to try a track

So I finally got a chance to go to a track; Carolina Motorsports Park with SCCA Track Nights. CMP, VIR, and NCCAR are all equidistant from me at 3 hours so this was the first cheap event that became available. Needless to say I was hooked. I was surprised at the very little instructor supervision at the track since when I instructed at autocross we were very strict and everything was highly organized. Despite that, the event went on without any issues and I got a taste of putting car control, tire sensitivity and driving line to work in what felt like what autocross prepares you for. I loved it. I went to more Track Nights and eventually decided to become a NASA member. After a few weekends with NASA and learning what I wanted out of the car, I felt like I had a clear direction for what the car needed. Safety for me and safety for the motor as well as looking for a venue to compete in. At first I wanted to prep for GTA at Road Atlanta but would feel like a one trick pony by competing in just one points event all year. After much deliberation and considering costs as well as getting support from my better half, I decided to participate in Gridlife all of next year. All of them. Thats a tall order for a privateer in NC but if it was easy, I wouldnt want it. So for the past few months Ive been prepping the car according to the rules of their HPDE+ class. Ive slowly but meticulously adding things to the car to keep me safe as well as better suit it for the impending hell of a year Ill put her through.

Only OEM aero per the rules so I had a chance to pick up an OEM CR lip from my BFFF Jimmy. A great install thread I got a chance to add to is here https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-un...nstall-860197/

Sakebomb Wilwood kit.


GLoc pads are always a PITA for me to get for some reason. I wish there was a place that stocked them but every time they have to be made to order. Wont stop me from running them though.

Evasive EVS roll bar. Install was easy, just follow the typical install threads for roll bars and you should be good however I will say the easiest way I found to cut the slit for the bottom plates was to use a 7/8" hole saw to cut holes at the end of the width of the plate and then use a recip saw to just cut from the top of one hole to the top of the other and same for the bottom. Nice clean cut. The less nervous you are about it the better. I also put down some carpet in the back and trimmed the panels just to do it. Weight is negligible and if I lose time because of some carpet or 1lb of plastics, I deserve to lose it.


Moroso oil pan baffle. Ive heard a few people say these arent necessary because they track and dont run them and some say they are vital to keep away oil starvation. Im usually one to err on the side of caution. Plus from a few threads, particularly one with AnorexicPoodle (Im a lurker on all data oriented posts) where the temps are significantly lower using the OEM pan with a baffle. https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-ra...affle-1176345/
Along with my safety I had to forego my comfy AF Recaro DC5R's and pick up some full buckets, Schroth clubmans and Im still waiting on a PCI bracket (been almost a month now) since the BC rail didnt fit and I wasnt brave enough to floor mount with Planted brackets I ordered. I also intend to get a set of Circuit 2's but its one of those things on the back burner.
Before

After

My engine is stock except for a K&N, HKS single, test pipe and Flashpro. Considering either a Gernby e-tune or let National Speed around the corner from my house tune it. We'll see...

So far here is the list of things Ive done besides the preventative maintenance of religious Amsoil oil changes and SRF fluid flushes
Engine:
Stock w/ K&N filter
Ingalls ETD
Flashpro
test pipe
HKS 75mm single

Suspension/Wheels:
HKS Hipermax IV SP
Saner bar w/ Anorexicpoodle endlinks f/r
Sakebomb Wilwood kit
GLoc R12/R10
Work Emotion CR Kai 17x9 +38
Hankook RS3's 255/40 (replacing with Continental DW for rain)
Rota somethings (wedsport rep) 17x9 +35
Nitto NT01 235/40 (replacing with Federal 255 RSRR or RE71r's)

Interior:
EVS roll bar
Schroth Clubman 6 point harness
PCI drivers bracket (if it ever gets here)
Planted passenger bracket
Sparco Evo2 (d)
Sparco F200 (p)
HKS shift knobby
I also have an NRG hub and QR that I may use depending on where the PCI bracket leaves me sitting.

Whats left on my list is
Sparco tow straps
CSF radiator
ACT PP/OEM clutch combo
MAYBE a PWJDM intake and a vented hood.

Thanks everyone for reading through my stuff and looking at my pics. If anyone has any questions, I like to help where I can.

Jimbo_STWOK

So Coo

tama05

Great thread so far man, glad to see you flipped over and starting enjoying your car for what it's true intentions are. Good luck this coming year with the Gridlife. Any particular reason you didn't just leave out the plastics from the rear, versus cutting them??

Afterfire

I originally had intentions to participate in Enthusiast class in GTA at Road Atlanta and talking with the tech steward, he said, per the rules, I had to keep my interior plastics. After a few back and forth emails regarding installing the roll bar and using a harness he said that as long as I put in as much of the plastics back in and cut around the bar, I would be ok. So far nothing rattles or shakes so its not bothersome and nothing is heavy enough to matter for weight savings.

Afterfire

Its been 7 months and a bit has happened since I posted on this. Im towards the end of my Gridlife season having done Mid Ohio and Autobahn with Gridlife South coming up in about a month. The car has held up fantastic. I keep up with maintenance religiously and it hasnt let me down yet with the longest drive being about 16 hours one way to Joliet Il. Ive also been doing several other events in between Gridlife weekends with NASA at CMP as well as Road Atlanta. I also competed in the newly revamped SCCA Time Trials held at Carolina Motorsports Park and did very well taking the win in my class and snagging "Top Driven Time" for any car driven to the track. To keep my gf from being bored shes taken up taking photos at the events and I have to admit, shes doing pretty good for just starting:



Mid Ohio before the sky pounded us with rain all weekend





After a lot of sleepless nights I decided the rear spring needed to be softened on the HKS kit and it has changed things dramatically.




RSG 3" cat to replace the test pipe to remain legal for SCCA as well as future GTA entry




Pretty proud of myself and gave me confidence to keep pushing in gridlife



my first time at Road Atlanta. I felt I needed to get some experience if I was going to be at all competitive at Gridlife South.



The trip to Autobahn was totally worth it. I loved the full course but as it got darker it was easy to miss apexes and can get quite dangerous.



After a trend of missed shift and potential money shifts on flying laps, I knew something wasnt right. Hopefully replacing the trans mount with the Innovative mount will do the trick.



Some forward thinking to track mod next year I bought a semi-local carbon hood for a great deal. Polished it up and its growing on me. It needs to be re-cleared but I think it will do its job to vent hot air and reduce lift.



The car currently sits like this since I sold my SBG Wilwood kit and picked up a used Stoptech Trophy kit. Im disguising my depression as patience.

Afterfire

Finally got the BBK on and it feel so much better to get back to factory bias and the pedal has no "give" in the last mm of travel like the Wilwoods did. Im having to learn modulation again, especially when heel-toeing. The Innovative trans mount feels great. No weird vibrations and the shifter is solid. Im looking forward to Gridlife South in a few weeks.