DanielB

Good suggestions above - especially choice and size of tires as that probably has the most impact on steering response and feel. I'd also give some thought to adding some camber - you currently have less than 1 deg (only 0.5 on the left) which is within spec I think, but not at all aggressive. I was able to get more than 2 deg with the stock components on my MY00. When I still had the stock 16" rims the car was a fiend at turning in. You don't need more tire to get a crisp response (in fact too much can reduce the feel). If you don't track it, then don't go all the way to max camber and instead try ~1.5 deg. Contrary to what many will tell you, it won't wear your tires unevenly if you set the toe to zero.

LikeTheNight

A few new thoughts I could use more input on. I tried shooting a gap while turning left onto an on ramp. Front tires didn't bite to save their lives so I plowed through the turn and hopped a small 3 inch curb before continuing on. Little curb rash nothing major. Just annoyed. Could I have a bad set of PSS or do they require a decent warm up to grip well? It was a pretty hot day and I had driven a few minutes already but maybe more heat is required.

I know my front camber could be more aggressive for sure. You think more camber up front would help me enough to have avoided my incident and/or improve the steering to what I'm looking for? The alignment guy said the front camber bolts were seized; though i have not tried to break them loose myself. Apart from the PITA that it will be to deal with would a front camber kit be a work around?

B serious - I definitely think the AP1 steering rack would help (it is a noticeable difference) but not sure if that is the lone culprit. The tires on my MY00 weren't OEM so the factory spec is not a reference point I can go off. Unfortunately because I have no records regarding tires or alignment from the old car my only option is to start swapping parts. I know it had sport tires on the front and crap walmart all seasons rear and I had no complaints about how the car handled

ZDan

How old are PSS? Like, what's the date stamp on them? Mine were OK on the FD for 18 monhts, after that massive understeer on turn-in and MASSIVE oversteer with throttle application even in a straight line. They simply lost all grip. It was weird... But sounds similar to what you're describing. MPSS are imo incredibly overrated tires. At best, they're OK, almost on par with Extreme Perf tires a couple of generations ago. At worst, they were absolute garbage on my car.

Car Analogy

The incident you describe of sliding the front across the road is not normal for ap2 or ap1. Something is clearly not right.

Now to figure out what that is. I agtee start with tires. What is datecode on them?

Chuck S

Classic understeer like this (and like Dan's experience) is something usually alien to the early S2000. Crappy tires? Old tires? Over-inflation?

-- Chuck

LikeTheNight

rpg51

My take is that the issues you are seeing are likely inherent in the Ap2. You could refresh your tires. You could turn your ap2 into a CR with suspension changes. That might do it.

I'm not a fan of beefing up the front tires, takes all the liveliness out of the car for street driving. Really makes the steering feel numb. You could go back to ap1. This is one of the many reasons I am an ap1 fan. This will never be a problem with an ap1. You will have another set of problems. But not this one.

Maybe start with new tires and see how it responds?

Or, just bite the bullet and get a good ap1.

B serious

Without knowing how fast you tried to make this turn and with what technique...its not really a smart or safe bet to blame the tires.

The MPSS is probably THE best all around tire of its period. Even today, its the benchmark for other companies.

So..no. They're not short on grip.

The ones on my mostly stock TSX are like 4 years old. They've never been stored in a climate controlled environment over winter....and they still have an impressive amount of grip. Everyone I talk to says they have an impressive amount of grip...including S2000 people.

99.9% of people who use the tires have mostly positive things to say about them. That doesn't make them "over rated". Zdan has had issues on them on a car that he has boasted (in other threads) has 500whp and is set up for track use. So...not a stock street driven S2000.

Maybe you should track or autocross the car at some safe environment instead of flying through curbs on the street.

You can certainly try EP tires. And obviously, they'll give you more ultimate grip. But you'll be going faster when you crash.

Just fix the camber bolts if you want to adjust that angle. Cut them out and replace them. Camber kits shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.

Get a good alignment within stock specs to start. With good tires...that is as good as the car is going to feel until you mod it with some sort of knowledgable direction.

rpg51

Good advice above from B serious.

Apex1.0

Anything can be tuned to your liking but there is a difference between grip and feel. From what you describe you have both problems. Not enough front grip and not the right response feeling. People have given you great advice above on how to restore grip. When it comes to feel that is a bit more tricky because it is subjective. I have driven stock or near stock S2k of the following years 00, 03, 04, 06 and CR. I am a fan of the early AP1 chassis tune and overall feel. It sounds like you may be an AP1 fan too. However before you make any big changes, I would make sure the 04 is set up correctly with a good set of tires.