So, I've read a lot about tires / setup etc.

Seems like the consensus is V710's 225/265 combo.

I ordered this setup and it's on the way I've got an '01 my only mods are intake (useless), strut tower bar (useless) and kg/mm race springs on stock shocks.

I really like the springs they seem to keep the rear end more planted. Last year I ran on stock S02's that were 3 years old, the car understeered like a mofo but the rear stayed planted.

I have unlimited reign, we run a simplified class structure A,B,C,D, my car stock in in A class which means I could do what I want to the car. I know a lot of discussions here center around what to do to keep the car in stock class, but I do not have a restriction.

My restriction is MONEY! I'm a little leary of getting a stiffer front bar due to the fact I found my car understeered way too much last year, but this could have been due to the tires. Front what I understand the '01 front bar is stiffer than the '02-'03 bar which is good. Could I do something with the rear possibly to loosen it rather than stiffen the front?

 

The real answer is "No". Sure you could reduce rear toe-in which will liven up the rear end but that really is not addressing the issues.

Just get the front bar.


You can try all sorts of things but if money is limited, why reinvent the wheel. Countless hours of R&D have been done by hundreds of autoXers in the S2000. The undisputed consenus is that with a 225/265 type setup, you need a front bar to adjust handling a bit and to control wheel lift.

 

Please do not reinvent a sway bar. I really don't want to hear about yet another fantastic design which is no better than the dozens that have come before.

 

I'm not wanting to re-invent anything I just don't want to understeer, and the way my car handled last year really leads me to believe adding a front bar could be the worse thing I can do as I'll get MORE understeer.

I guess I can borrow one and see how it turns out, I would rather not invest hundreds in a bar that will make things worse than it already is.

 

so, you ran the OEM 205F/225R size last season right?

If so, then why not try your new 225/265 setup first and see how that goes?



just my $0.02

 

The car will be a completely different animal with V710s in place of stock S02s.

 

Understatement of the year.

Wing, please take our advice and get a front sway bar if you plan on running race tires. An S2000 with 225/265 710's will not be very fun to drive with the stock front sway bar. You will get oversteer and to a worse extent you will have rediculous amounts of inside rear wheel spin.

If you want to soften the financial blow, get the front bar and some 225 street tires for the front. For example, I'm running the comptech bar and for street tires I have the Hankook Ventus RS-2s in 225/50-16s up front and 245/45-16s in the rear. I continually run this set up for fun at local events and the handling is very balanced. All you have to do after you get used to that is slip on some r-comps and enjoy higher traction with a very similar balance.

 

Well tires are all ready ordered. I'll look into getting a bar, I'll probably try an event or 2 before commiting to buying one. A fellow competitor has the comptech bar on his car already so a tire swap and test drive my make my decision.

Thanks.

 

Pardon me, for making assumptions about your experience, but understeer can be minimized in the S2000 by driving techniques. Alignments are another way to cure understeer. Use less rear camber and max front camber, and if you like going sideways, use less rear toe-in. As far as driver input, if you jerk the steering wheel while going too fast, the front tires will just loose grip. You need to be more specific about your understeer problem. Is it corner entry, mid corner, or understeer on corner exit. You may find that if you go with your desired tire setup without a stiff front bar that the inside rear tire lifts, spins, and you can't accelerate out of corners.

 

OOH! OOH! - The very combination I was thinking about trying. what pressures did you run?