Alright, this is a very tough choice for me.. I have decided to keep the S and add a few mods to it over the summer. Eventually, I would like to have new wheels, gears, some stereo mods, and exhaust. I have enough saved up to buy one of the two right now:
4.57 gears with comptech diff and yellow box OR SSR Comps (17's)

I think the gears would be the most fun but the whine is definitely a downer.

Which one would you buy first??

 

I would go with the gears. The wheels may look great, but overall, I think the gears would provide a more enjoying drivin experience.

 

Ok, one for gears.. Oh by the way the SSR Comps weigh in at less than 15lbs so they will provide some performance gains.

 

gears = mod YOU know about.
wheels = mod EVERYONE ELSE knows about.
IMO, wheels have a much higher bling per buck ratio.

 

How come no one in the forums ever talk about J's Racing Gears? They sell the 4.4:1 ratio that everyone on the board liked and stated they couldn't find anymore and supposedly they didn't have the whine like the 4.57:1 ratio. I would like to consider gears, but not if they're going to whine and cause me to shift too often.
Here's the info on the J's gears: The J's racing final gear gives your S2000 an edge in race track and autocross by giving faster acceleration both on the straight and out of the corner. 5 different gear ratios are available for different racing applications: 4.3:1, 4.4:1 and 4.7:1, 4.9:1, 5.1:1 (Stock gear ratio is 4.1:1. The 4.3:1 and 4.4:1 are highly recommended for race track while 4.7:1, 4.9:1, 5.1:1 ratios are more autocross applications. The 4.7:1 ratio is frequently used for Japanese autocross championships. Junichi (J's racing president) shortened his lap time in Suzuka International Race Course by 3 seconds using his 4.44:1 final gear set.

Maybe it's the pricing, seems a little on the high side, but what's no whine worth?:
Year Model Chassis Price (CA$ / Approx. US$) Part Number
00-05 S2000 AP-1/2 $1355 / $1085

 

00-05 S2000 AP-1/2 $1355 / $1085 <---- That's why they are out of the question

 

Tough call... Just remember though that with the gears, you will probably want to make some additional modifications to get the max use out of the gear mod.

With that said, my vote would be on the exhaust (1) and Wheels (2)

 

I agree with 8ball

 

8BALL- What mods are you referring to?

 

Let me see if I can find that information for you. I remember several threads in "Under The Hood" that discusses additional modification when changing gears.