Newly purchased 08 GPW delete pckg CR sits outside in the snow. -15f outside. Thinking of summer and wondering if any CR owners have found a spring with similar rates as the CR which would allow a 1" drop? Hard not to like a bit of a drop....

 

>>Hard not to like a bit of a drop....
Well said, I kinda suffer from the same feeling .. although I love the CR suspension on my 01 ( rock solid ) .. but I was reading some posts in the forum "CR owners thread" or something where people were talking about somebody coming out with a set of springs for $250 with the CR spring rates but with like a 0.75-1'' drop. Lets hope somebody comes with something soon.

The CR balance is too good to mess with .. but I guess 1'' drop with similar rates would be OK

-Kishore

 

If I may revive this thread for a moment...

As I have a 2008 base S2k, can I use 2008 CR springs/shocks/wheels and still be stock since it is the same year model?

I saw above that it was suggest that putting CR springs on a '00 S2k would make it non-stock, but since that is a different year model, I wasn't sure if that also applied to '08 & '09s.

Thanks in advance!

 

No, unless you fully convert the car to CR specs (i.e. remove the soft top, add the bracing, spoiler, and air dam, etc.).

 

I see. Okay, thanks

 

Installing the AP2 rear sway bar also helps to plant the rear end a little more. My car is still a little tail happy at times. MY2000

 

Hrm after pondering this some more, a follow-up:

So you are saying if I go put ALL the CR bits into my car, I could essentially register as running a CR and be considered stock? How strange!

But, would removing the soft top really be necessary? I mean, afterall, that is only going to add weight, right? Nothing to be gained?

These are more philosophical questions than a practical ones, as I don't really see myself ever doing such a conversion, but it's interesting to think about...

 

Exactly, it becomes philosophical. If you can do those mods to your 08, since it's the same year and class, why can't you do it to an 06-07, since it's the same as your car? Then someone can argue that since all the S2000s are grouped together, if you can do it for a base 08, then you should be able to do it for an AP1. You get into a huge grey area, a slippery slope my friend... better to have a clearcut rule.

Now if this is just your local region , and you added all the other CR parts minus removing the softtop, I wouldn't have a problem. That includes adding the snow plow up front and the ricer wing, running the CR rear sway, and adding the steering stiffener. But at the National level, you're asking for a protest.

 

If you do a complete conversion to a different option package within the same year, then effectively you are treated as if that new package was your starting point. I think the motivation for that allowance was so that if there are minor changes to a model or package during a production year, someone doesn't get hosed because their car was built in the wrong part of the year to get the "good" parts. The CR package is a bit extreme, and in most cases it's probably more cost effective to just trade for a factory-built CR. But in principle, you could legally make that conversion and be legal.

One of the reasons that the allowance isn't opened up to multiple model years is to avoid problems with undocumented changes from year to year. For example, between 2000 and 2001, the Miata unibody got some thicker structural panels, which made it stiffer but heavier. That's not widely known and may not be documented beyond a Mazda insider posting on a web forum. However, if you were to take a 1999 chassis and install the drivetrain, running gear, suspension and wheels of a 2003 Miata, remove the speakers and stereo and soft top, you could claim to have converted to the 2003 Club Sport package, but the car would be lighter than a true 2003 Club Sport because of the 1999 unibody. There is less of a chance of overlooking things like that if the conversions are limited to being within the same model year.