Well as of July 6, 2007 i bought my first S2K. A Silverstone 2004. I am the 2nd owner. Nice car.... by far my favorite out of all 11 cars that i have owned. I just had some questions about the car and if any one had advice i would love to hear what everyone has to say. Here are a couple questions i have. If any one has additional input let me know.

1. Aftermarket CD players. Worth it? will the side controls work with them?

2. Mods... What is the #1 mod to do right away? Im looking to make it a little faster and don't have a lot of money yet. (im savin up)

3. Any things i need to know about the s2k i might not know?

4. Advice for what future mods to do.

I think thats about it but if anyone has any thing they would like to school me on i'd love to learn lol.

Thanks

 

1.) Yes and Yes (Modifry makes an "adapter")

2.) I'm sure someone will soon suggest gears, They'll make it a bit quicker.

3.) found the secret compartment?

4.) boost

 

The S2000 is tuned for N/A performance from the factory, so there not many inexpensive mods that make power. If you want more power, you're going to be spending anywhere from the upper hundreds for exhaust and or gears to 5-8thousand or more on boost. The best place to spend a couple hundred on the S2000 is for track time and/or performance driving school. The 04 is more forgiving than the 03 on new to RWD drivers, but it's still a tricky car at or beyond it's limits.

 

alright sweet. Secret compartment as to the upper one in the center?

 

1.they have an adapter for it.also you need to upgrade your speakers aswell.

2. Mods on this car is not cheap.if you want any real power, you need to go F/I

3. This car is very sensitive.make sure you check your tire pressure often

4. Just keep saving and something will come up.

 

you have a great car there right outta the box, give yourself some time to get to know it...drive it for a while and see what the limits are, it can turn on you if you are not paying attention.

a cold air intake seems to be popular, they run a few hundred and can give extra performance besides the noise, depending on who tells you about the intake the hp gains are minimal, but there should be better throttle response.

headers and exaust come next, again few hp gains but better driveability and noise.

high performance driving school...well worth it, no substitute for track time, especially when you spin it going into a turn the first time.

all you really need to do is change fluids and filters....an occasional valve adjustment and replacement of tires and the like. tires can last 10-20k depending on alot of variables. a good allignment if the car pulls or the tires show vastly uneven wear.

imho best roadster out there in this price range and a bit above...and they did it right from the factory in most cases.

 

1. Most definitely. Make sure you have IPOD hookup. And yes for the side controls. Hang around the "for sale" forum. Someone is always selling a used Modifry DCI or similar.

2. I guess gears for speed. I'm happy to be rid of my whining 4.57's, though. The 4.56's were supposed to be quieter. And I like having the tall 6th gear of stock ratios. But I'm FI, so take it with a grain of salt.

3. Check your oil level often (like every 3k), also the car eats rear tires. Keep it smooth and out of VTEC in snow and rain. No shifting around turns and don't upset the car's balance.

4. Best mod: stereo with IPOD hookup ($300). Second best mod: Heated Seats ($100). Third: Supercharger ($$$$). Just my opinion.

 

1. Imo, yes - OEM is just not up to the task. A decent HU and speakers will work, but imo you need at least an amp, HU, and speakers. Plus, a $100 Modifry DCI.

2. #1 mod would be a $40 VooDoo shift knob - changes the way you interact with the car while shifting in a very positive way, and its cheap. Other than that, the only decent performance mods imo are gears and a supercharger.

3. So much. Leave the top up when the cars in storage - the elastic in the roof will stretch and wear out prematurely if you leave the top down, for one.

4. Fuzzy dice. Stereo is prob the best "livable" mod - being able to hear music is nice.

Read the FAQs - more info than you can think about is amassed here, and you can learn a ton if you take the time to read it.

 

Save up and remember you get what you pay for
I would recomend sticking to J's Racing, Spoon, ASM ect...

The 04 has an alright sound system. My 00 it was a must to upgrade since no tweeters.

Save up first spend money on a cold air intake. I personally like spoon.

But most of all drive it. Learn the car and have fun

 

Tons of stuff. Read everything you can on this site. From shine to speed to ice, there are guys here who really know the S2K.

+1 on the comments about taking it easy as you learn the car's behavior. I have spun mine twice since I bought it a few months ago, once hitting some gravel and once in the rain...both times my fault entirely. AWD habits are hard to break. I was VERY lucky in one case that there was no traffic. (The other time I knew I had run-off and zero traffic.)

The key is smoothness and awareness of the effects your control inputs will have on the car's balance. Big throttle changes, shifts, or braking mid corner because you entered too hot are pretty good ways to end up pointed the wrong way. The 2004 AP2 is more forgiving then my 2003 AP1 but it doesn't have the stability control of later models and will still bite you if you play too carelessly.

Don't think that means the car has poor handling. The opposite is true. In the right hands it is very fast as I learned at a recent track day when only a couple of highly prepared cars on track rubber could beat lap times set by several well driven S2Ks on street tires.

Oh...and KEEP THE TOP DOWN!.