Ive been autocrossing my 2001 S2000 on stock suspension for 2 seasons now and lately my rear shock gave away so i thought it might be a good time to upgrade.
From what I read on the forums and heard from people, Bilstein PSS9 was my best choice, but yesterday i heard a negative review. I was at an autocross and a guy in a S2000 was running on PSS9s and didnt have many kind words for the Bilstein as an autocross coilover. He said that it was too soft because of the progressive springs, even on the stiffest setting.

So now my question is, if this is really a "bad" choice what other options do I have?
KONI Yellow shocks + H&R Springs
H&R coilover
Tein Flex
Or any other combo that wont break the bank, what do you guys suggest?

 

I prefer the stock suspension myself. I have autocrossed since 1989 and have been autocrossing the S since 2003. My talent hasn't out performed the stock suspension yet.

Is your car currently sporting a big front bar and r-compounds? What are your alignment settings? If you have been autocrossing a lot, are your bushings worn? It's possible you still have more left in the car in stock trim.

If you are on a budget, and have the r-compounds and sway bar, I would try a fresh set of Konis with the stock springs.

 

i was told that penske shocks were the only choice over stock if you wanted to be competitive in autox. was i given bad advise?

 

arent the spring rates on the PSS9 stiffer than stock?

 

Not bad advice, but S2000s have won national championships with Konis (the higher-end ones, not Sports / Yellows), Penskes, and Motons. Valving matters more than brand.

 

What class are you trying to run in? You know non-stock springs are illegal in AS, right?

 

Thanks for the replies guys
Well i think that im going to go with the Konis but dont know what springs to get, i dont want to leave the springs stock as i would like to also lower the car a bit for the purpose of looks but dont want to sacrifice any performance.
What do you guys recommend?

 

I'm not into lowering cars for looks, and if you're using the car for autocross, I don't think that any spring / shock combo is going to be as good of a choice as coilovers, since any change in springs is going to put you into a class where they are legal anyway.

Perhaps a ground control setup would be a good compromise, give you some adjustabillity, and let you still use konis.

If it was me, I'd probably buy moton club sports and stay in stock class, but then again, I'm only concerned with my car's performance, not the way it looks.

 

I think the S2000 looks fine at stock height. On the other hand, the 2006+ MX-5 looks like a stagecoach...

Do you care most about looks, handling, or having a setup that is competetive against others in your class?

For looks, you're asking in the wrong place.

For handling, there are plenty of coilover sets available. Define your price cap and ask again.

For competetiveness, you had best stick with the stock springs and figure out what shocks you want to go with them. Non stock springs will kick you up into B Street Prepared and it doesn't seem like you're prepared for that.

 

What is the exact affect of putting different shocks with the stock springs in comparison to the stock shocks with the stock springs?

The dampening I'm assuming is more aggressive? Is it a noticeable change between the two when Auto-Xing?

Andre