davidnyc

Background: In 2010, I bought a low mileage '07 S2K with I/H/E already installed and I installed 225/245 RS-3, race seats, track pads, harnesses and hard dog. Stock suspension. I have been doing track days since year 2000 or so, but mostly front wheel drive (one year of racing). I am an instructor, but I will say I am probably one of the slower instructors. I do push it here and there, but mostly out there for fun, not trying to "win the HPDE championship". I mostly use the S2K for track days and probably put about 2000 miles or so a year on the car. I have tracked the car in this configuration for a year now.

Goal: I am looking into having more "fun" with the car. So, I figure, it will be fun to slowly turn this into as close as a possible of a street legal track car. I will not do this all at once, and want to do this in stages. I will probably stay at whatever stage for a year or so and seeking advice on what to do when. Also, this is relatively a budget build. Below is what I "think" may be correct and just seeking opinions. (No ruleset, don't really care about autocross, just a fun setup)

Step 1: KW V3 or CS Coilovers=> it seems that these are a good compromise system. Not a race setup, but great for HPDE's, driving to the track, etc.
Step 2: rollbars=> Do I remove rear? Just buy bigger front? Get a matching set? Leave stock?
Step 3: Square setup=> Buy some bored out OEM rears for the front? (but if I go square, this will change my rollbar setup, correct? maybe even spring choice?)
Step 4: Aero=> splitter and wing
Step 5: R compounds? Engine? BBK?

Are my steps in correct order? Suggestion on what to do at that step? Whatever comments will be greatly appreciated.

I know this has probably been covered a million times, but it was hard within the searching to come up with what to do when.

rohde88

I won't comment on the order of your mods, but it seems good to me. For the wheels, you'd probably be better of getting a lightweight 17x9 wheel, Enkeis are cheap and lighter. 6ULRs are good too.

I think 255s square is the pure faster setup, but you definitely lose some feel on turn in with the massive tires up front. For a fun car, I'd keep the fronts narrower than 255..my $0.02.

psychoazn

The rollbar can be done whenever you see appropriate.

I would recommend that you go square before you get any sort of coilovers, as any settings you make initially will need to again be adjusted for the non-staggered tires. Aero is more flexible since it is easier to adjust a wing.

TL;DR: Get non-staggered before aero and coils. Rollbar at convenience.

PedalFaster

Does aero actually make a car more fun, or just faster? Honest question -- I've never run a car with aero.

psychoazn

Fun is subjective, but it makes the car faster. Just how alignment can affect car balance and stability, aero introduces another variable into car balance and stability. You can have an aero car that is super planted, or an aero car that has a loose rear, and both will be faster with the right setup and driver.

Have you ever had a chance to drive a non-CR on the track stock? If you have, imagine the rear stability difference multiplied by 3 and you have what a GTC-200 does for the car. It only gets more drastic from there.

MADANT15

Having a wing makes the car MUCH more planted at speed making high speed corners much less scary and allowing you to go flat in places that you wouldn't have dreamed at when without a wing.

aCab

OP, what is the car doing right now that you don't like? Throwing money at the car may not make you enjoy it more.

I too would recommend going non-staggered first. If you don't, you'll end up having to (or wanting to rather) change spring rates and sway bars down the line. Coils and sways is more of a personal matter. Some drivers prefer softer springs with stiffer sways, others prefer stiffer springs with softer sways. It's really all up to you and what you like.

Aero was huge for me. I dropped a lot of time by adding a wing to my car, but again...had to change up sway bars to compensate for how the car handled with the wing.

At the end of the day, what you should be searching for is a set up that inspires confidence when you are driving...none of us can tell you what that is. Being an instructor, you know that all the parts in the world aren't going to make you a faster driver...they may even be of detriment if they are not set up correctly.

Eventually you may want camber joints too...I wish I would have done them sooner - id probably do those after non-staggered and before suspension or aero.

The S doesn't need a lot to be very competitive on track. Just be sure to do your mods in stages that will save you time and money...i.e. having to change something again because you did a mod that doesn't work well with an older mod.

My &0.02

CKit

And note: By rollbar he means "anti-rollbar" or swaybar.

I'd do stiffer front sway with the square setup.
Slightly stiffer springs if you're still on street tires.

Overall, an "STR" autocross setup would make a very good streetable track car. You might toe-in the rear to make things a little more stable, but should be within spitting distance of how you'd want it at track.

gerryk

your KWs are fine. dont change your brakes-they are fine-just pads/fluids. bigger front bar.leave your motor alone-avoid fuel starvation in long left handers, start there. Now go practice-get some good instruction. then let the car tell you what you need

davidnyc

What is fun? Good point, I didn't really explain (or do I really know?). I just remember that I autocrossed and tracked a stock Integra Type R for a few years and it was a blast. When I converted it to a Honda Challenge car (changing final drive, MUCH stiffer suspension, etc. etc.) the car came alive and was even more "fun" to drive on the track. When I think about it, I guess my previous car became more fun when I was able to drive it faster and it responded to inputs more readily.

So for this car,right now (like my Type R) it is a blast. I can rotate it at will. I am getting more confident with it sliding around at speed and finding the point between too much oversteer and just enough. Stock brakes are more than adequate (like my R).

I do not want to throw money at something just to do it. I guess what would help is that for those that did modify the car, did you feel it was worth the money/fun/etc.? For example, let's say a set of wheels cost $1K, but a set that is 2lbs lighter per wheel is at $1500. For me, I cannot justify spending the extra $500.

Again, thanks for the replies, they are really helping me. I'll read through the STR threads.

And...

I do know that the best bang for your buck modification is just more seat time.