BroxS2K

Good to know that the road course is pretty open. That makes sense.

I don't want to derail the topic of this thread, so my $.02 for a cheap and very effective mod that will help at the track is a brake master cylinder brace. If you are/decide to run a front strut bar, LHT Performance makes a master cylinder brace that is compatible with most.

A less cost effective and something that probably won't make a dent in lap times is a dual catch can setup. This is mainly for peace of mind and a quick way to monitor the health of your engine as well as potentially a need for a baffled oil pan. There's plenty of companies that make these, but I've run catch cans, and other items, from Radium Engineering on my turbo Lotus Elise and the quality and attention to detail on their products is second to none. It's actually one of the first mods I purchased for my recent re-entry into S2000's.

bgoetz

The catch can just keeps you from getting black flagged, it tells you nothing of the health of your engine or the need for a baffle (one is a good idea btw). If you have an AP1 you will get black flagged on the right track though.

treimche

So the car likes to oversteer a bit which is controllable but if I could get it to oversteer less that would be awesome. Tires are 32 psi hot in front and 26 psi hot in rear. Suggestions on which way to go?

dc2-2-ap1

Tire pressure is way too low in the rear. Try 32-33psi hot. Tire pyrometer would be the best to determine the right pressure, but the old school chalk method works pretty well and costs practically nothing. Stiffer front sway bar will help with the oversteer issue. When you say g-force tires, which ones are you talking about? There are multiple tires labeled as g-force- ranging from their rival S (which is a great tire) to their a/s tire (definitely not for tracking).

DanielB

I didn't change any parts except track pads and brake ducts on my MY00 for the first 2 years and ~20 track days. I did max out the front camber and switch to AP2V1 wheels and Hankook RS-4 tires. Get to know the car and improve your driving skills - it's the best money and time you can spend at this stage.

This last July I upgraded to a set of Ohlins from SakeBomb Garage with their square spring setup and couldn't be happier. But if I had done that straight away, I would not have appreciated the improvement it made and would have lacked the experience to set them up properly, especially the adjustable damping.

Spend your money on track days for at least the next year or two. By then you'll be in a better position to know what you want to improve and be able to make more informed decisions.

treimche

These tires on the car are G force Rivals, and they're over 4 years old. The previous owner did some track days with the car too, so I don't really know how many times these tires have been used on the track. Definitely looking into new tires for next spring.

Increasing rear tire pressure and driving smoother greatly reduced the oversteer problems I was having. Thanks for the suggestion. Once the track warmed up in the afternoon it felt like grip was a lot better also.

dc2-2-ap1

My first 2 events were on the original Rivals. Didn't care too much for them. They did handle heat well and maintained their characteristics for most of the session. They just always seemed like they were on the verge of breaking loose. I could take a fairly tight corner at 45 or 60, and the rear would start to kick out the same at either speed. They really messed with my confidence. Went to re71-r and it was a world of difference. So much more grip, consistency, and confidence.

treimche

So the RE71-R and the RS-4 seem to be recommended by many. Are there other tires that are comparable? Maybe I'll actually pay attention to the tires a little more at the SEMA show this year.

DanielB

Those two bracket the 200 treadwear tires on the track with the RE71 considered by many to have the most grip, but shortest life as well as sensitivity to losing grip due to heat cycles before the tread is worn. The RS-4 trades some grip for durability and consistency when hot and after many heat cycles. Even though you don't seem to like the set of Rivals you currently have, they usually have good grip as well as longevity, but are typically at the high end of price so not as good of a value as the RS-4.

But I'm going to (again) caution you about worrying too much about tires, parts upgrades etc. There's nothing wrong with improving the performance of your car, but at this stage, adding grip is just going to mask the weaknesses and defects in your skills. And you'll have to go faster to find those weaknesses and practice fixing them, which means everything is happening faster which makes it harder to learn. I hear from friends who have done the professional schools (e.g. Bondurant) that they typically start out in light single seater formula ford type cars with skinny tires. You need to learn car control and that's easier and safer at slower speeds. It's not till the second or third day of the school that they let you get into a higher power car such as Mustang or Corvette.

V6 Donut

Tyres
Alignment
IR temp gun (to help perfect alignment settings)
lap timer + GPS amplifier
serious-racing.com