So after next month I'm going on year 3 of owning my car. Until about a week ago, it looked sort of like this:



Incredibly low, ostentatious with the APR wing, damn near undriveable. Lately though I've been wanting to go back to stock to partake in track days. When I bought the car I started modding it right away and never got to enjoy it on the track in stock trim. So I figured I'd hit the ol' reset button and redo what I missed.

Does anybody else ever get the urge to just drop their mods and enjoy their cars the way they first purchased them? I have a bad habit of doing this with a few other things too. I can never finish video games because I always start over for fear that I missed something or didn't quite do something right.

 

I've always enjoyed seeing what people do to their Ss, but I've never shared in the urge to do that myself. I think I sort of pre-date the modder generation, and I always lusted after old (unmodified) sports cars. To me, the S was so cool and perfect in stock form that I didn't want to mess with it. I remember driving down to a Fall Colors years ago and listening to a fellow S owner complain about struggling with his mod addiction. He was at that time rubbing his sidewalls because his tires/wheels were not the right fit, and he had other ailments that kind of made me question what he was doing. I'm sure that's not the norm, but the only modifications I've ever considered were purely performance related (and invisible). Thing is, almost anything non-stock on the S is a compromise, and I love having my S as a daily driver.

Good luck on the returning to stock, Scotty. Getting the car on the track was definitely the MOST fun I've ever had behind the wheel. Go for it!!!!

 

If you have a rollbar you can run schools and timetrial with COM Sports Car Club. We go to NHMS 4 times a year, Watkins Glen, Summit Point, Monticello, etc once a year. You get to go fast without going to jail!

 

Do you know if an OEM hardtop can be used as a substitute for a rollbar?

Edit - Nevermind. Just saw that a rollbar is still required after looking over the COM rules.

 

Scott, I don't know what all your mods are, but the car looks great.

On the OEM hardtop / rollbar issue for HPDE events, there seems to be a lot of variation. Sometimes it is the club rule, sometimes the track rule.

Despite what is posted on the website, SCDA allowed S2000s on track without a SCCA roll bar or a hard top at Watkins Glen (and I think VIR and New Hampshire) this year - but when it comes to Lime Rock, a roll bar is required. It's a track rule. I went to an SCDA event at Watkins Glen in August with my stock S. Watkins Glen radioed down to complain that I was riding too high above the factory hoops, so I put the top up and the reclined the seat back and had no further problem (other than crappy driving!)

I believe some other clubs will let you run with a factory hardtop and no roll bar, and others not. So you need to contact the clubs directly and ask.

I am most likely going to install a Hard Dog rollbar this winter. Lime Rock is so close! I have my little race car, but I've had to miss so many events (life gets in the way) that I think having the roll bar in the S will allow me to get on track more often.

Good Luck.

Incidently, SCDA rents a few Spec Miatas for their track days if you decide you don't want to abuse the S on track.

Also, a few of us from the Upstate (New York) forum are lusting to start next season with SCDA at Watkins Glen in March, so check out the Upstate forums next spring if you think you want to join us. I might not make it myself, however, depending on whether I can be racing at Pocono. Racing trumphs HPDE!

 

If I were to revert back any mods, I'd still stick with suspension and wheels and the stock factory spoilers. Everything else can go.

 

I dumped every mod I had too. Kept only the splitter/wing and bought the OEM hardtop. This summer I only used it for HPDE and it was the best of the 5 years I've owned it.

Good choice Scott!

 

I definitely plan on running at Lime Rock this coming summer. Hope to meet you while there sometime! My S2000 used to be my daily driver, but I've since picked up a Subaru Forester XT for those duties. I have every intention of abusing the S on the track.



Yeah, that's kinda what I was planning on doing next year too. I'm just not certain if I want to ditch the RPF1's and suspension and get new tires for the stock AP1 wheels, or keep the RPF1's and suspension and get new tires for them. I still would like to take it out to a few shows here and there with the friends, so the stock 16's and monster truck ride height are a little off putting. Either way, I'll definitely be seeing you out on the track next year!

 

Everything sounds good but

That sounds like a behavioral issue

 

haha, I agree.