‘05 Strut/Springs Upgrade
10-27-2018, 11:26 AM
#1
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‘05 Strut/Springs Upgrade
All,
Looking for advice and suggestions; I made my annual road trip and runs on the Tail of The Dragon a few days ago, and I can tell the OEM rear struts on my ‘05, 20,000 mile S-2000 are due.
The car is bone stock, and I would like to keep it appearing that way, so not interested in lowering it. It is drivin enthusiastically on back roads, and do one annual road trip to include some fun roads. I have tracked it twice, but am looking for a dedicated car to turn into a “track rat” as this “05 is too pristine to be flogged at HPDE events.
All that being said, I would like to upgrade the shocks on this car. Also, should I look at different springs as well? Coil overs? Suggestions welcome!
TIA,
John Morrison
Looking for advice and suggestions; I made my annual road trip and runs on the Tail of The Dragon a few days ago, and I can tell the OEM rear struts on my ‘05, 20,000 mile S-2000 are due.
The car is bone stock, and I would like to keep it appearing that way, so not interested in lowering it. It is drivin enthusiastically on back roads, and do one annual road trip to include some fun roads. I have tracked it twice, but am looking for a dedicated car to turn into a “track rat” as this “05 is too pristine to be flogged at HPDE events.
All that being said, I would like to upgrade the shocks on this car. Also, should I look at different springs as well? Coil overs? Suggestions welcome!
TIA,
John Morrison
10-27-2018, 11:33 AM
#2
Your factory shocks are worn at 20k?? That's....crazy.
How can you tell?
Most coilovers will lower the car at least a small amount. I Ohlins and a few others can maintain factory ride heights.
I think Bilstein PSS9 can get close to stock heights.
Obviously, Konis can be kept at stock height. But...they're not monotubes.
Or...just buy a set of stock shocks. Pretty easy.
How can you tell?
Most coilovers will lower the car at least a small amount. I Ohlins and a few others can maintain factory ride heights.
I think Bilstein PSS9 can get close to stock heights.
Obviously, Konis can be kept at stock height. But...they're not monotubes.
Or...just buy a set of stock shocks. Pretty easy.
10-27-2018, 04:29 PM
#4
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Your factory shocks are worn at 20k?? That's....crazy.
How can you tell?
Most coilovers will lower the car at least a small amount. I Ohlins and a few others can maintain factory ride heights.
I think Bilstein PSS9 can get close to stock heights.
Obviously, Konis can be kept at stock height. But...they're not monotubes.
Or...just buy a set of stock shocks. Pretty easy.
How can you tell?
Most coilovers will lower the car at least a small amount. I Ohlins and a few others can maintain factory ride heights.
I think Bilstein PSS9 can get close to stock heights.
Obviously, Konis can be kept at stock height. But...they're not monotubes.
Or...just buy a set of stock shocks. Pretty easy.
JBM
10-28-2018, 05:59 AM
#5
Checked your geo,could it be a rear toe issue ?
10-28-2018, 07:50 AM
#6
Post summary. I have a weird handling issue, so I will just replace the most expensive part of my suspension to see if thats the issue. I'll compound things by also changing that set of components to something different than before, and thats adjustable, so it'll be even more difficult to ascertain the effeciacy of the change.
10-29-2018, 03:37 PM
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10-30-2018, 12:15 PM
#8
With 20K miles, no evidence of leaks, and no real track history, the dampers are almost certainly fine. (If you're just going to trash them, send 'em to me!) So the clunk you hear is probably a swaybar endlink or other bushing, or even something in the interior.
The rear twitchiness you describe is very common for S2000s. Admittedly the AP1 ('00-'03) was much worse, but the AP2 didn't magically cure it, it just made it more manageable. You'll find that every S2000's handling is very sensitive to:
- Alignment (max caster and extra rear toe-in preferred)
- Tire compound (as grip approaches and exceeds 1g lateral, rear toe-change under compression gets significant)
- Tire stagger, esp if tire wear changes contact patch differently front vs rear
- Rear sway bar ('00-'01 is too stiff for high grip tires, causing traction and stability issues)
- Aero (this car makes a ton of rear lift over ~110mph)
The rear twitchiness you describe is very common for S2000s. Admittedly the AP1 ('00-'03) was much worse, but the AP2 didn't magically cure it, it just made it more manageable. You'll find that every S2000's handling is very sensitive to:
- Alignment (max caster and extra rear toe-in preferred)
- Tire compound (as grip approaches and exceeds 1g lateral, rear toe-change under compression gets significant)
- Tire stagger, esp if tire wear changes contact patch differently front vs rear
- Rear sway bar ('00-'01 is too stiff for high grip tires, causing traction and stability issues)
- Aero (this car makes a ton of rear lift over ~110mph)
11-01-2018, 04:47 AM
#9
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With 20K miles, no evidence of leaks, and no real track history, the dampers are almost certainly fine. (If you're just going to trash them, send 'em to me!) So the clunk you hear is probably a swaybar endlink or other bushing, or even something in the interior.
The rear twitchiness you describe is very common for S2000s. Admittedly the AP1 ('00-'03) was much worse, but the AP2 didn't magically cure it, it just made it more manageable. You'll find that every S2000's handling is very sensitive to:
- Alignment (max caster and extra rear toe-in preferred)
- Tire compound (as grip approaches and exceeds 1g lateral, rear toe-change under compression gets significant)
- Tire stagger, esp if tire wear changes contact patch differently front vs rear
- Rear sway bar ('00-'01 is too stiff for high grip tires, causing traction and stability issues)
- Aero (this car makes a ton of rear lift over ~110mph)
The rear twitchiness you describe is very common for S2000s. Admittedly the AP1 ('00-'03) was much worse, but the AP2 didn't magically cure it, it just made it more manageable. You'll find that every S2000's handling is very sensitive to:
- Alignment (max caster and extra rear toe-in preferred)
- Tire compound (as grip approaches and exceeds 1g lateral, rear toe-change under compression gets significant)
- Tire stagger, esp if tire wear changes contact patch differently front vs rear
- Rear sway bar ('00-'01 is too stiff for high grip tires, causing traction and stability issues)
- Aero (this car makes a ton of rear lift over ~110mph)
Thanks,
JBM
11-10-2018, 08:14 AM
#10
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I just swapped in Koni yellows w/ H&R springs (front set at upper perch and rear set at lower perch) and feels about 100% better than the unknown mileage stock struts w/ tein stech springs. Haven't had a chance to push it yet as im still waiting on tie rod ends and an alignment but greatly improved from where it was.