Well, older women always have seemed to "get me" better Seriously though, my MY00 turned 50,000 on the way to the Solo event at Gateway on Sunday. I am glad to say I am driving this car so much - 17,000 miles since October.

Before the track event on Saturday I took the S over to Firestone and plunked down $130 on a lifetime alignment - yes lifetime. I brought with me the UK alignment specs:
Caster: 6.45
Camber: Front -1 Rear -2
Toe: Front 0 Rear .40 total

All I can say is wow. I didn't get much time before she hit the track to test it out. Obviously the on track performance was brilliant given the tries I ran on, but now that I am driving some windy roads and sweepers I can report that the handling nature of the car has changed for the better markedly.

The car feels stable over the US spec 2 or 3 fold. Where as the front tires used to squeel and protest right after corner entry, they are much more willing to accept the task without much noise. Rear end stability or lack there of(something many S owners complain about) has been increased noticabley as well. There is still a tendancy to "rotate" aproaching the apex or mid corner, but it is not as dramatic as before. In laymans terms: the car feels more "hunkered down"

I would recomend this setting to the weeknd warrior guys that only drive on nice days, or to anyone not concerned with the increased tire wear. Plus with the lifetime alignment, you could run OEM's in the cold months on US spec alignment, then switch to your aftermarket summer tires and UK alignment for the warm season.

THis is the alignment Honda issued as TSB for UK S2000's MY00-MY01 after complaints of poor grip and handling balance from owners over there. They brought a few examples to a track and beat the living crap out of them for a day until they came up with these specs. Of course WE didnt get the TSB because US drivers dont drive their S as aggressively I am no expert and there is possibly more grip to be had form different settings, but I am pleased so far.

 

Hmm, I just payed 90$ for a 4 wheel alignment Next time I will shop around for one with a warranty.

 

The UK alignment specs are for AP1s only, right - are there 'equivalent' specs for AP2s, does anybody know?

 

Nice write-up SlipAngle79!

For comparison, the AP1 US specs are:
Caster: 6.00 (degrees)
Camber: Front -0.5, Rear -1.5 (degrees)
Toe: Front 0, Rear In 6 (millimeters)

 

Su2uka- yes these specs were issued as a TSB for those blokes over in England that owned MY00-MY01 only. IF you go to the DIY sticky in UNDER THE HOOD you will find the alignment link. I believe there is some dicussion about it there.

Rehile- Thank you for the kind words. I am debating just running this spec all year round like Dave does (he has the AtuoX alignment which is different but has plenty of neg camber too).

but then I thought, "if I can have this done at any Friestone for free now, why not go back to US spec, then when I have a track event that is far away (like gingerman or RA) I will zero everything out, put on the track rubber - which I hope to buy soon - drive up to my friends place in Chicago, get the UK alignment done when I get there, wake up next morining and head to the track. This way I would save 1000 miles worth of hwy driving to and from the track on my track tires. Would that be owrth it?

 

Found this one for ya Su2uKa: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=508886

Enjoy

 

Yeah, I followed your advice & searched UTH for 'alignment', 'UK', & 'AP2' and found that thread... After reading it I think I was more confused than when I started

Do you notice any increased steering effort w/ the UK alignment on your AP1?

[Good thread, btw - thanks ]

 

steering effort is only marginaly increased - not like say, an NA1 NSX trying to paralell park Remember I am AP1 and running a 205 tire up front, so front grip was a bit of an issue for me. I thnk the extra neg camb and caster (where the hell did they come up with that word?) are supplying the erxtra needede fornt grip.

It really is a noticeable improvement in cornereing and stability...the road I take to work has many many curves (sometimes I probably don't need coffee) and I am feeling the difference more and more each time I go...curves where I would lift on entry or trail thrttle twords the apex would start the rear end slipping, now it is easier to bleed off a litle speed and or power on earlier at mid corner without such tail steppery.

I can definately feel more of the tires being used and it makes me feel a bit insulted that Honda blew us off when they discovered this. Honda, unfortunately, learned their lesson in the US market as far as alignment setting go back in 1991. When the NSX hit showroom floors, many buyers had never driven a production car that could eat rear tires in 9-12,000 miles. Several owners banded together to file a class action law suit against Honda and Yokohama (maker of the NSX-specific A022, a brilliant latice ply tire design in which each individsual tire was weighted for each corner of the car - for real). As a result, 2 TSB's were issued to US-only Acura dealers to bring in the "aggressive" alignment specs in favor of tire wear, which as I understand didnt make a huge difference anyway.

It is apauling to think that they would "decrease" the handling character of the NSX - a car that Ayrton Senna himself shaked down for Honda over many days of testing at Suzuka and some other circuits resulting in the original suspension and alignment specifications.

 

Muppets - should have taken their NSXs back & given them a Cavalier or something - "that'll learn 'em"

 

lol, yeah or install a device on their NSX when its in for service that pops up while there driving reading "i'm a poser", then hides itself when they open the door.