treimche

Taking my S2k out to Brainerd International Raceway for some HDPE fun this weekend for the 2nd time this summer. Looking for suggestions on what I can do to make the car go around the track a little quicker. Obviously the biggest mod is the driver mod. More time in the driver's seat will make me go faster.

Ive read a little about suspension and brakes, but am not really sure where to start. The car is mostly stock with some basic mods:
2005 S2000
Staggered 17" Enkei PF01 with BFG G-force tires (tires came with the car)
Hawk HP+ pads
SS braided brake lines
Cold air intake (cheap filter, came with car)
HKS cat back exhaust with test pipe

Extras that came with the car I haven't installed yet:
Blox rigid steering rack bushings, differential collar kit, and engine mount rings.

So besides the driver mod, what else should I look at? Sway bars? Chassis bracing? Alignment? I need to replace the outer tie rod ends since the boots are seeping, so may as well upgrade? Most of the other suspension bushings are looking worn, guessing due to being 12 years and 146,000 miles old. I'd be ok with replacing all of them over the winter. Not sure I'm ready to drop the money on some quality coilovers yet, but it is a solid possibility in a year or 2 after more time in the saddle. I'm a sponge here, so any input is appreciated.

Dead Serious

You can get a used vafc with a harness for 200 bucks. Lower vtec to 5000 and take advantage of the test pipe. Also consider an agressive alignment. If your on a budget you gotta squeeze the performance out of it. Engineer mod. You will start seeing brake fade soon enough. Pick a brand and start climbing the pad performance ladder. With a high mile car i woukld look at compliance bushings, diff bushings, and engine mounts. Dont put rjngs on old mounts.

treimche

Bushings will have to be done over the winter but that's high up on my list. What alignment specs should I look at with stock suspension? I thought I read to max out the rear camber?

Dead Serious

No max out the front camber then run a little more rear camber but not max. You still want the car to understeer some.

dc2-2-ap1

Alignment would be a good step. Outside of that, do nothing in regards to adding parts. Check the car over well. Make sure fluids are within their recommended change interval and at proper levels. Tires and brakes have sufficient material left.
Things to do to increase your time: read a book or two about driving technique (speed secret, paradigm shift driver development, etc). Study the track map and watch some YouTube videos of the track to familiarize yourself with the layout and timing between corners. The less time spent learning the track, the more time that can be spent working on your line.
During the track, make notes of how the car is performing. Do you need more front traction? Is the car under steering/ over steering? Would you like less or more oversteer? Are the brakes fading/ if so, how far into the session are they? Are they fading because of demand or are you overbraking or braking inefficiently (dragging)?
Get the experience first, then modify your car to meet your driving style / demands.

bdo

You have one track day so far?
Drive it as it is! Throwing money and time at mods will maybe take tenths off your lap times. Improving your driving will take off seconds or even tens of seconds. Get 5-10 track days under your belt before you start messing with the car.
That said, there is some common sense stuff... You'll soon want better brake pads that won't as easily fade or cook. When your tires are done, upgrade to RS-4's or something in that class that will handle track abuse. If the car is doing something you don't like, or wearing tires badly, change alignment. Suspension bushings etc, as you mentioned, would probably be a good idea, but that's basically maintenance, not a go-fast mod.

treimche

Thanks for the suggestions. I have Hawk HP+ pads and Centric Rotors that seemed to work very well last time. Didn't notice any brake fade at all.

Tires are a few years old (according to the previous owner) with mostly street miles on them. Might replace them next summer.

I've been on this track a few times so I know it pretty well, but I'm definitely not the smoothest around it yet. There is one higher speed right hand sweeper that I'm not confident on, but will keep going a little faster each time in order to get over that. Seems like once I'm going into a corner over 100mph is when my confidence drops.

lookstoomuch

Get a lap timer if you don't have one. This way you have data to measure your improvements. If you can stomach letting someone else drive your baby, have a known "good driver" take a few laps in the car to see what times they get. I did this recently they quickly pulled off two laps a second faster than my best time of the day and 2 seconds faster than my average so I know I'm leaving something on the table with my driving and consistency vs. my equipment. That excersize saved me a lot of money as I was eyeing a suspension.

If you do start modding, make one change at a time on your car so you know what effect it had. As BDO said brakes/tires will be next on your list as when you upgrade to stickier rubber and your driving improves you'll overwhelm the HP+.

RedCelica

I'd get better tires ASAP...something in the extreme performance category unless this car is your daily.

treimche

Oh who doesn't love the subject of tires? There's always SO MANY options. I'll stick these out for the rest of this fall, and yes I do daily drive the S from time to time.

I'm going to see if there's an iPhone app that acts as a lap timer, that would be useful.