adut015

Hey guys,
I've waited over 3 years to finally upgrade my 1999 stock AP1 with some goodies.
I'm definitely not hoping for any power gains given how futile that path has been for many s2k owners.
But instead I want to:
1. Improve the looks,
2. Increase grip
3. Make it louder.

Looks
Wheels - Enkei 18x8.5 40+ front and 9.5rear in silver (aiming to minimise rolling / pulling, if possible)
Suspension - Mainly to drop the car a little to balance out the bigger wheel size [NEED RECOMMENDATIONS]
Soft top - thinking of getting one from www.topsonline.com (anyone here purchased a top from these guys?)

Grip
Open to recommendations for tyre sizes for the NT03+M. For reference, I live in the North Island of New Zealand where it rains a lot but we get no snow.

Sound
I want to get a cat-back only, as doing the entire system is too expensive for my budget. I also want to keep the twin exhaust look (my OCD can't deal with an empty cut out onthe rear bumper) the current narrowed down options are either:
- Invidia Q3000
- HKS Hi-Power

I am looking for your opinions on what you think is a good option for any of the above, your experiences and of course hoping to learn more from this forum.
If anyone has any of the above item on their s2k I am eager to hear your experiences.


Thanks!

PS - Here are some pictures of my s2k.

wutah

Good looking car! Glad you are going to do some modding to really make it yours. For the wheels I am not a fan of rolling/pulling and am a big fan of the Enkei PF01. They have great offsets and will help you not roll and pull your fenders.

Cheers!

TsukubaCody

If you don't want to pull/roll, 18x8.5 +40 for the front is not right.

Langelo DeMysterioso

You will need to stay around +50 front /+63 rear to keep your hands off your fenders
And I'd go with the HKS exhaust, Invidia is just too much lol

adut015

Thanks a lot for the info. I guess, there's no chance of fitting 18" NT03s without fender work. I'm quite certain about buying these wheels (and 18" is required for the concave look).
I suppose, a good compromise would be to do fender work but not run any major camber. What are your thoughts on this possibility?

As for the exhaust, yes, the HKS is definitely more subtle than the Invidia. What system do you have?

Manga_Spawn

Yeah there is no amount of camber that will make the NT03 fit so you have to roll and you will still need more camber than stock. Ditto on HKS over invidia.

eight

If you're wanting dual, I'd like to throw the greddy spectrum elite out there. Great looking exhaust and has a deep growl to it.

I agree with the above about tire and wheel. You're very limited on size without fender/quarter panel work.

HKS hipermax IV's are a great coilover and at a decent price. I wouldn't go with springs and shocks in case you were thinking of going that route, you're better off leaving the stock suspension on.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Chuck S

Your stock wheels look great in your photos but if you insist on changing them I'd personally put Honda OEM 17" wheels on the car. They fit without buggering the fenders and look right. And they're Enkei manufactured. (I pulled Enkei aftermarket wheels off this car.) I'd leave the OEM suspension as well and get at least Max or Extreme performance summer tires. Not sure what's available in NZ. Tires are much more important than fiddling with the suspension and the car is already low enough to attract every pebble on the road anyway.

Do not fit any Invidia exhaust unless you want to be "that guy" who annoys everyone. Will also annoy you and any passengers due to horrible high noise and drone. Ear plugs are recommended -- really, it's that annoying inside the car. Again, the NZ market will influence your choices but the Tanabe Medalion Touring dual exhaust sounds wonderful on my car (to the point the state inspection guys complimented it). I assume you can get this as it's Japanese. "Gentlemanly performance" and you won't be "that guy." There's one of "those guys" in my neighborhood with a V8 Mustang. At least it has a cut-out and he can cut the noise when he wants, which seems seldom. You can always fit one of those.

-- Chuck

Kami Speed

What a great year to start modding you car man. I can help ya!

For wheels, have you looked into the Enkei NT03RR wheels? They just released and they make a 17x8.0 +48 Flat Face front and 17x9.0 +45 Concave Face rear. This setup will require some fender work but not as much as the spec you listed. I recommend 225/45 Front and 245/40 Rears for tires.

HKS Hi-Powe dual is one of the best sounding exhausts for the S2000. That is subjective of course, but a lot of users, especially on this forum can attest to that. Also the build quality and finish is great since coming from HKS.

THMotorsports

If you don't want to roll or pull, I'd suggest a 17x9 +60 or higher offset. You can fit this all around on stock fenders. The square setup also gives you the ability to rotate tires and prolong life.

As for a drop, be cautious as many low end coilovers or just springs are actually detrimental to the handling and ride of the vehicle. If your stock shocks are in good shape (low mile) something like the Swift springs or the AST springs will give a small drop and a modest bump in spring rate that are still within the shock's ability to critically damp them. Konis are great since they have adjustable rebound, though the compression force is quite low, this can make the car feel a bit wallowy or slow in transition if you do a lot of slaloms in autocross. Coilovers will run you a fair bit more for anything decent, again, be careful as many low end dampers will negatively impact the performance of your vehicle.

HKS is definitely one of the best sounding exhausts, but it's heavy, and gains are marginal at best. It tends to be fairly quiet, even with a test pipe. We have seen some issues with cracking or blowing the packing out of the resonators. It's too bad, i used to really like them.

I'm a big fan of the Tanabe Medallion Touring.