Coilovers or Header back exhaust system
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 908
Likes: 79
I'll recommend a Tanabe Touring Medallion exhaust and HFC. I love the sound from the exhaust when you get on it and it can be stock sounding when you're taking it easy. For me that exhaust has added to the enjoyment of the car for sure.
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 2,867
Likes: 466
Some of y'all are lame.
If you want to lower the car do it. You may even like Swift springs with new OEM dampers. I have HKS Hipermax IV GT on my car and am happy with them.
People can own and modify cars because they want to make them suit their own taste, not just for lap times.
Come to Wisconsin in the spring and buy my Mugen catback, the BC Spec 2 does suck.
Fwiw, I lowered my car then bought wheels and installed my lip that I had had sitting around for over a year.
Also, as for how a college kid affords coilovers & supercharger. Everyone has different priorities, he may be student loan ballin.
If you want to lower the car do it. You may even like Swift springs with new OEM dampers. I have HKS Hipermax IV GT on my car and am happy with them.
People can own and modify cars because they want to make them suit their own taste, not just for lap times.
Come to Wisconsin in the spring and buy my Mugen catback, the BC Spec 2 does suck.
Fwiw, I lowered my car then bought wheels and installed my lip that I had had sitting around for over a year.
Also, as for how a college kid affords coilovers & supercharger. Everyone has different priorities, he may be student loan ballin.
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 6,327
Likes: 613
From: Norfolk UK
Don't like the look of the touring <on Ap2>,have a concept G.with a TP & sometimes with a Berk HFC,sometimes oem with HFC..
Really want to try oem + uk mod and TP have been in a car round track P2 and is very very good....
Wish I had a Mugen though !!
<from a low earning dood & running too many cars!
Really want to try oem + uk mod and TP have been in a car round track P2 and is very very good....
Wish I had a Mugen though !!
<from a low earning dood & running too many cars!
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 5,088
Likes: 838
FYI, if you really want to go to the track and enjoy the car, it is very capable in stock form.
Tracked my car "stock" for 2-years (~26 track days).
All i did were hardrace adjustable camber joints in the front, track/race oriented brake pads, fluids, and stainless lines. Total cost of parts ~$500. First track day was on stock pads, stock brake lines, and the tires that came on the car (RE-050s).
Tracked my car "stock" for 2-years (~26 track days).
All i did were hardrace adjustable camber joints in the front, track/race oriented brake pads, fluids, and stainless lines. Total cost of parts ~$500. First track day was on stock pads, stock brake lines, and the tires that came on the car (RE-050s).
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 541
Likes: 49
Not everyone wants to stay stock. Just because you've never experienced the car on the track in its stock form doesnt mean you arent allowed to jump for some upgrades and then go from there. Let people enjoy their car the way they want.
As far as the OPs second question, i always recommend lowering first before wheels. You get a slightly bigger choices of size and offset when you're lowered. You have to remember however this platform is pretty strict on what you are allowed to fit under the fenders. Depending on what you want you'll most likley need to trim and roll fenders, maybe pull if you want to go super aggressive.
I did the same as you, i knew i was going to upgrade anyways and i like how the car looks lowered. And then i started Autocrossing. All my mods since then have been with Autocross in mind, however they were already part of my build to begin with. I used to be into the car show scene so i like my cars to look cool. This time around however i get some function with my form.
As far as the OPs second question, i always recommend lowering first before wheels. You get a slightly bigger choices of size and offset when you're lowered. You have to remember however this platform is pretty strict on what you are allowed to fit under the fenders. Depending on what you want you'll most likley need to trim and roll fenders, maybe pull if you want to go super aggressive.
I did the same as you, i knew i was going to upgrade anyways and i like how the car looks lowered. And then i started Autocrossing. All my mods since then have been with Autocross in mind, however they were already part of my build to begin with. I used to be into the car show scene so i like my cars to look cool. This time around however i get some function with my form.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 119
Likes: 34
From: rohnert park
skid pad
You can learn a lot by putting your car on a skid pad, and all you need is a stop watch and a tire pyrometer.
Here's the formula: Lateral acceleration (in Gees) = (1.22 x Circle Radius in feet) / (lap time) squared.
(Time in seconds)
The radius should be the approximate radius at the center of the car. Run a minimum of 5 consecutive laps, take tire temperatures. Then do the same in the opposite direction. Tire temperatures will tell you the right inflation pressure and if you have enough, too little or too much camber. Test the front tire on the outside first, with the outside edge, then the center and then the inside edge. Repeat for the rear outside tire. Then repeat for the inside tires. You will have about one minute to do all this before the tires are too cool to learn anything.
Correct camber is when the two edges are the same temperature. Correct tire pressure is when the center temperature is the average of both edges.The handling is balanced if the front and rear tires on the same side have similar temperatures. If the front tires are hotter than the rear transfer more of the car's cornering load to the rear. If the temperature of all tires exceeds 220 degrees F, larger tires should be used. If the outside edge is hotter than the inside, the camber is too positive, and vice versa. If the center temperature is higher than the edges, the pressure is too high, and vice versa.
This above is from Yokohama High Performance booklet.
Here's the formula: Lateral acceleration (in Gees) = (1.22 x Circle Radius in feet) / (lap time) squared.
(Time in seconds)
The radius should be the approximate radius at the center of the car. Run a minimum of 5 consecutive laps, take tire temperatures. Then do the same in the opposite direction. Tire temperatures will tell you the right inflation pressure and if you have enough, too little or too much camber. Test the front tire on the outside first, with the outside edge, then the center and then the inside edge. Repeat for the rear outside tire. Then repeat for the inside tires. You will have about one minute to do all this before the tires are too cool to learn anything.
Correct camber is when the two edges are the same temperature. Correct tire pressure is when the center temperature is the average of both edges.The handling is balanced if the front and rear tires on the same side have similar temperatures. If the front tires are hotter than the rear transfer more of the car's cornering load to the rear. If the temperature of all tires exceeds 220 degrees F, larger tires should be used. If the outside edge is hotter than the inside, the camber is too positive, and vice versa. If the center temperature is higher than the edges, the pressure is too high, and vice versa.
This above is from Yokohama High Performance booklet.
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,841
Likes: 1,702
From: Illnoise. WAY downtown, jerky.
Modifying the suspension for street and back road driving is a waste of money as far as I'm concerned. Even the Mighty Car Mods lads documented tires make more of a difference than "coil overs." Adjustable suspensions are ideal for tuning the car to a specific race track where you take the same corner dozens of times in an afternoon and practice it all the time. These conditions don't exist on streets and back roads.
Well...
It was crystal clear to me from post 1 of this thread that the OP has no track experience.
Also...neither do you.
Tracking the car is not his priority. Same as you also.
The difference is his mindset. He wants to lower the car while he's still young. Because that's what young people do to have fun. Remember when you were in college and you wanted to do stuff for like that for fun?
The stock, base model suspension is a quite a handful on any track. Its a laugh...and for a stock car, its pretty decent.....but no, its not "hard to upgrade" from stock. Its 2019. That statement no longer applies. The S2000's suspension was designed a MINIMUM of 20 years ago. It just takes know how to create something effective. It doesn't even take much money now-a-days.
Anyway, we're diving too deep into this. OP wants to lower his car for looks. Which immediately makes adjustable coilovers 100% more effective than any stock setup.
I'd also wager that any plain Jane FA setup will go faster than stock.
I agree that if one were going for scientific things like baselining and measuring progress...then you owe it to yourself (and your science) to keep it stock and mod slowly.
Does any of the OP's post make anyone think he's doing this to be scientific?
Last edited by B serious; Nov 5, 2019 at 07:36 AM.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 541
Likes: 49
Well...
It was crystal clear to me from post 1 of this thread that the OP has no track experience.
Also...neither do you.
Tracking the car is not his priority. Same as you also.
The difference is his mindset. He wants to lower the car while he's still young. Because that's what young people do to have fun. Remember when you were in college and you wanted to do stuff for like that for fun?
The stock, base model suspension is a quite a handful on any track. Its a laugh...and for a stock car, its pretty decent.....but no, its not "hard to upgrade" from stock. Its 2019. That statement no longer applies. The S2000's suspension was designed a MINIMUM of 20 years ago. It just takes know how to create something effective. It doesn't even take much money now-a-days.
Anyway, we're diving too deep into this. OP wants to lower his car for looks. Which immediately makes adjustable coilovers 100% more effective than any stock setup.
I'd also wager that any plain Jane FA setup will go faster than stock.
I agree that if one were going for scientific things like baselining and measuring progress...then you owe it to yourself (and your science) to keep it stock and mod slowly.
Does any of the OP's post make anyone think he's doing this to be scientific?
It was crystal clear to me from post 1 of this thread that the OP has no track experience.
Also...neither do you.
Tracking the car is not his priority. Same as you also.
The difference is his mindset. He wants to lower the car while he's still young. Because that's what young people do to have fun. Remember when you were in college and you wanted to do stuff for like that for fun?
The stock, base model suspension is a quite a handful on any track. Its a laugh...and for a stock car, its pretty decent.....but no, its not "hard to upgrade" from stock. Its 2019. That statement no longer applies. The S2000's suspension was designed a MINIMUM of 20 years ago. It just takes know how to create something effective. It doesn't even take much money now-a-days.
Anyway, we're diving too deep into this. OP wants to lower his car for looks. Which immediately makes adjustable coilovers 100% more effective than any stock setup.
I'd also wager that any plain Jane FA setup will go faster than stock.
I agree that if one were going for scientific things like baselining and measuring progress...then you owe it to yourself (and your science) to keep it stock and mod slowly.
Does any of the OP's post make anyone think he's doing this to be scientific?
Pretty much all of this. I didnt see anything in OPs post stating how he wanted to be a primary track beast where he's trying to shave his times down to the millisecond. If you are doing that...then yes, start stock, work your way up.
But if you're like me, or the OP who want to mod for fun because you want a cool looking racecar with the occasional track day. Why limit yourself? I autocross every month, but even then i'm enjoying my modded car more than if had let my own driver skill dictate which mods i'm allowed to get. I like driving a flashy racecar.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Long Beach, CA
Modifying the suspension for street and back road driving is a waste of money as far as I'm concerned. Even the Mighty Car Mods lads documented tires make more of a difference than "coil overs." Adjustable suspensions are ideal for tuning the car to a specific race track where you take the same corner dozens of times in an afternoon and practice it all the time. These conditions don't exist on streets and back roads.
"College student" and "supercharger" seem pretty much mutually exclusive unless Daddy is funding one or both and you have a daily driver. Last time I priced a professional supercharger (LHT) installation, which requires a more robust clutch and perhaps other drive line changes, an aftermarket ECU (since your car is pre-2006), and good tires the cost approached $10,000. Hack job with used parts is gonna be $3,000 - $5,000 when all added up.
Zoomy exhaust will add power if the car can be tuned. High flow cat will allow a lowered VTEC (mine is 3600 rpm) for significant mid range power. No drive train changes needed.
-- Chuck
"College student" and "supercharger" seem pretty much mutually exclusive unless Daddy is funding one or both and you have a daily driver. Last time I priced a professional supercharger (LHT) installation, which requires a more robust clutch and perhaps other drive line changes, an aftermarket ECU (since your car is pre-2006), and good tires the cost approached $10,000. Hack job with used parts is gonna be $3,000 - $5,000 when all added up.
Zoomy exhaust will add power if the car can be tuned. High flow cat will allow a lowered VTEC (mine is 3600 rpm) for significant mid range power. No drive train changes needed.
-- Chuck