Help! Former non CR owner impressions
 

I love the way the cr looks in black and I am considering trading my 2007 s2000 in for one.

I am afraid that I will miss the soft top but was wondering if most thought the extra additions really help overcome this.
I love the way a light agile car feels more than anything but is that weight really that noticeable? Bracing make a big difference?
steering? etc

TIA

I just came from a highly modded 04'. Living in AZ I thought that without the soft top life would suck. I was wrong. I have not missed the soft top nearly as much as I thought I would. When going out for long drives etc I leave the hard top at home, and it makes my trips that much more special. I found that by always driving top down, it lost a little bit of that specialness ('04), which I have regained with the CR.

I think the CR feels familiar, yet it is a very different beast. I had intake, tp, exhaust and my CR feels stronger than my '04 ever did. Steering rack is a HUGE upgrade imo. While contemplating selling my '04 I drove a friends '01 and whoa what a difference. I really feel the CR is a mix of the two cars, and it is superior in some ways. I have always been a stickler about steering and feel, and the AP2's really lose out to the AP1, but the CR regains that. Major plus for me.

CR actually feels heavier to me. My '04 had a stripped out trunk, lighter exhaust, lighter wheels, and all aluminum dual adjustable coilovers which saved me another 8lbs combined. That said, the CR feels much more solid. I say yes, the bracing helps. Car is also newer so it feels tighter, but it does feel stiffer (roll bars help).

Stock suspension feels awesome on the street. Car feels very taunt and ready to attack, love it. I was dissapointed on my last canyon run, car just felt a bit lose and had a lot of roll coming from a set of Tein RS on my last car. That can be fixed down the road though :)

The aero on the CR makes a huge difference! Anything above 65mph and the car is rock solid and glued. Begs you to drive and push harder. Never ever felt that in a S2000 before. Makes highway driving much more pleasant. Car effortlessly corners like its on rails now.

I don't think you will ever look back, as long as you are prepared to drive a car that looks a bit extreme on the track. The wing is big, but i love it, same goes for the front lip. Function is way more important, but I have always loved the look of the CR. Plus its cool knowing its a limited addition, and its rare. Oh, and the interior is very nice upgrade over my '04. Headrest speakers make a big difference, and the temp guage in the cluster is a nice addition.

Back to the weight. Car feels a little heavy to me, but with its stock suspension, steering, and some RS-3's, the car feels very agile and ready to just attack corners and do what ever you ask of it. I do like all the caster in the stock alignment, but the car has a lot of understeer. As long as you turn and get on the gas hard and "drive" it through the corner its not noticeable. My last car I had setup so it had a decent amount of lift off rotation (personal preference). I like to drive hard and deep into a corner, lift off, have the car rotate, then back on the gas. I have to drive the stock CR differently, but its fun. CR feels like it is far more planted than my non-staggered '04.

I can't say my current car is stock so some of the changes don't matter as much.

If I got a CR I would be transferring the coilovers, gendron front bar, non staggered wheels camber joints, drivers seat (recaro spg), mugen header, berk hfc and greddy se dual, flash pro and drop in filter.

That leaves these parts for the upgrade.
bracing
aero
weight reduction. (can't do it on my current car because class rules)
steering rack

Atlanta autoxer right? In autox terms - a buddy of mine has motons on his 07 and some jdm FSB as well as some other str legal parts (exhaust, wheels, intake). I have stock CR suspension with comptech FSB. We're both on 255 street tires. We are always neck and neck, even when we drive each others cars. Now I'm not saying that the CR is better than motons (I think a lot of the benefit of motons is set-up), but it can get you part of the way there. On course, the CR feels heavier than my AP1 but I think that's the wider tires and stiffer steering. Personally, I don't like the AP2 (non-cr) steering ratio but that's not a deal breaker.

As for driving around Atlanta. Usually Atlanta has rainy days and clear days, and not a mix of rain for a few hours, then sunny, then rain, etc. This weather pattern is good for driving top down as you don't have to worry about 10 minutes of rain keeping you from having the top on all day. However, Atlanta summers are brutal so the no-a/c version is out of the question if you plan on daily driving it.

The weight is not really that noticeable in terms of feel, but probably more noticeable in lap times.

What do you plan on using your car for? Is it daily and autox or just autox? Do you track? What rule set are you going for? I think you can make a nationally competitive 07 as easy as you can make a nationally competitive CR (for STR or BS), but out the box the CR will get you more trophies. Making an 07 as light as a non-delete CR wouldn't be too difficult, but the CR will always be lighter at the same prep level due to soft top delete (the wing and the lip add some weight though).

Yup, Atlanta region autox.I would daily drive it, autox and use it on track days with the possibility of some time trials. With the aero being gone from STR it makes it harder to make it a dual purpose car. I think aero at the track makes a pretty big difference and building for autox speeds vs track the aero helps keep a slightly tail happy autox oriented car happy on the track.

@adrs2k: Change your alignment setting and you'll solve the understeer problem (not completely).

@scareyourpassenger: CR is a nice upgrade if you can afford it, otherwise since you're already so vested in your car, I'd keep it as is. Now if a CR is within grasp and you don't really want to modify it much, then by all means, jump on it. I can't comment on the soft top/hardtop issue (never had a soft top before), but all I can say is, you won't have to worry about your top ripping.

The aero definitely helps. Can definitely feel it on high speed turns (on track) but a proper wing would help more. I didn't know aero was gone for STR. I should scavenge and see if any are for sale.

You could always do the 2 trunk thing if you want aero. Plenty of people just buy a second trunk and put a wing on that - when it comes time for a track day, they just switch trunks (easier than installing a wing on the fly and doesn't leave holes in a nice trunk.

Basically, there's a solution for most CR upgrades you want to do except extensive weight savings (and front lip). The STR options are pretty open but I still believe the CR is the ideal S2000 for STR or BS. Not quite the dominating level of the MSR Miata in CS, but it should give that slight advantage.

I will change it eventually. For just street driving right now its fine, but when I go to start tracking this fall/winter, I will def change it!

I had a MY 2006 Laguna Blue that I switched from. The most noticeable thing to me was the stiffness and rigidity. The steering rack is a noticeable upgrade as well as the stability at high speeds from the aero package.

I do miss the soft top. I'm not going to deny that, but I'm perfectly happy now with the hardtop on.