Except for the brakes, a lot of really fast drivers do HPDEs in totally stock S2000s. For almost all of us, the best investment of our money is in seat time (gas, track fees, tires, rotors, pads, etc.).

And you said that you wanted to car to be a daily driver. So leave it stock and spend your money on experience. Especially since you are going to be smoking tires like crazy if you go drifting every month.

If there were something actually inadequate about the stock suspension, you would know it. Anybody who's done more than an HPDE or two knows immediately that the stock pads and fluid are inadequate for the track. But aside from that, you are just stealing from your own track budget to change anything else -- at least until you have enough experience to actually be hitting the limits of the car on a routine basis.

And as for drifting and HPDEs being compatible, I don't see how. In an HPDE you generally want to settle the car down and make it as stable as possible. For drifting you want almost the exact opposite. A big showy drift is almost the slowest possible way around a corner, so I don't think you are going to find a good way to set the car up to go fast and drift well at the same time.

 

There are many of us that track our stock-suspensioned cars on a very frequent basis. Short of Penske/JRZ/Moton/High end Konis there's nothing out there I'd be willing to spend my hard-earned money on, so I slowly save my pennies until I get about 500,000 of them in the bank. Get out there and learn the limits of the car you have first. By the time you've learned how to drive, you may have a better idea of what it is you want to change about the car's handling.

By the way, the S2000 comes with coilovers standard. It's not like a cheap sedan. The factory suspension and brake system (except pads and fluid of course) are up to the challenge of track duty straight out of the box. Don't feel like you need to make changes in order to enjoy the car. You'll more than likely destroy the handling and hate the car so much you end up never driving it on the track.

 

Thanks for the information.... so being that the brake pads and brake fluid are inadequate for the track, what do you guys suggest to replace them with? And will this be noticable on the street? Or only in a track environment where the braking system is subjected to prolonged periods of high heat?

 

If you experience brake fade on the street, you're more than likely driving like a suicidal felon

Track pads don't work well on the street: they make lots of noise, they dust a lot, they don't stop well cold and they eat rotors when cold. The best solution is to swap track pads on for track days. It takes about 15 minutes to do once you learn the process. There are some HPDE pads (Cobalt GT-sport, for example) that are a decent compromise, especially for your first few track days. A good fluid is a must. Motul is good. ATE Super Blue is not too bad (that's what I've been using).

 

Not so, according to Rhys Millen.

[QUOTE=Car and Driver - July 2004 - "Pontiac GTO Drifter"]We assumed the goal would be to make the car tail-happy and eager to slide.

 

My lap times decreased when I switched out the stock shocks for Tein RA Coilovers. I definitely think that the stock shocks in the S2000 are inadequate when pushed hard (especially drifting) and increasing the spring rates increased the predictability and control of the car at or over the limit. A fatter front sway bar helps, too.

As for brakes--everything you need (almost) is here:
http://marketplace.s2ki.com/s2ki/home.php?cat=5

Only other upgrade to the brakes would be to run ducting to your rotors.

 

Thanks Nobody

 

Steve, I'll admit I know little about drifting from first-hand experience. I do know some pro drivers who have driven pro drift cars, and they said those cars were set up so that it was almost impossible not to drift them through corners. They also said they would be lousy daily drivers.

On that basis I was assuming that a "drifting setup" would be a setup that was unstable except at high drift angles. But I'll admit that I don't know for sure.

JDM, it is clear you want to go spend the money on this. It is your money -- if it makes you feel better about the car spend it any way you like.

 

Alot of people misunderstand drifting.. what you see on TV is exhibition or show drifting... unless heavily modified, the S is not capable of high speed exhibition drifting... I am NOT trying to make an exhibition type of car... gymkhana, for example (toted by some as the predecessor to autocross, which was made popular and perhaps originated on an Air Force base in Toyko, Japan in the 1960's by the Toyko Sport Car Club) contains elements of drifting... in gymkhana one must be able to quickly maneuver the car through an obstacle course in which some obstacles MUST be drifted around.... that's drifting and is achievable with the S, but NOT in its stock form (which is why I'm asking for suspension tuning/parts suggestions)... but tons of money does not have to be spent on it.

Another example of drifting, is drifting on a track layout... it is more or less a mini circuit.. certainly one can grip through it, but it is designed so that one should drift through... again, this setup is attainable on a street car, and such a setup would be different from exhibition drifting, but the same as gymkhana...

I don't know why but it seems that some people on this board are very biased even when they give out what are supposedly facts. Some people are budget racers who hate all types of modification and only choose to spend money on the track. They convince others that the S is more or less pointless to modify and is perfect for every type of motorsport from the factory... others, on the opposite end the the spectrum, start suggesting parts and setups that feel right to them, but have no technical reason behind their choice.... and yet others, are biased just because someone else on the board says so and because so and so said so, they must be right and anyone that questions that is wrong.... is there anybody here that actually does personal research before they give answers?

Certainly there is SOMEbody on this board, who either HAS drifted or has RESEARCHED into drifting the S2000 on a circuit styled track or on a gymkhana course, and can give informative responses to my questions so that when I'm done spending my time reading, I am educated....

 

How can you be so sure you can't drift a stock S2000 if you've never tried??? I've been in more 2 or 4 wheel drifts in my stock S than I care to count, most of them by accident. If I can accidentally get it into that attitude, there's no reason a competent driver could not do it on purpose. You get so bent out of shape about others not "researching" their responses, and you come back with blanket statements based on unsubstantiated rumors. Pot, meet Kettle.

This forum contains 0 drifters, so you're not going to find the answer here. What you will find is plenty of S2000 suspension knowledge, so if you keep a decent attitude, you CAN learn a lot. Add in a little drifting-specific research (on your own) and a little brainpower, and you'll be good to go in no time.