OK so I am pulling the trigger on my new setup for this season. May car is a 00 that is 75% street and about 5 track days a year. I run in intermediate class. Last year I was on 16" all seasons and factory suspension with H&R springs. My goals for this year are more grip, ride height adjustable, more body control and a decent ride. I have done TONS of research on streetable track setups and cost effective upgrades. So here is the plan:

Tires/Rims: I picked up AP2v1 rims and plan to run Bidgestone RE11a tires in 255/215. I went with these sizes because it matches the factory Ap1 stagger and will hopefully keep the front end sharp. RE11s seem to be the best do-all tire around. I don't want R-comps and RS3s seem to have a bad ride.

Suspension: Cost is an issue here as I don't want to spend much more than 1200. A coilover setup that has similar or better quality than OEM at this price is not easy. After looking at all setups, the best value for me seems to be the Koni/GC setup. If you factor in the details, its a tough setup to beat. They dyno the shocks, top hats give more travel, pick your spring rates, quality components from Koni and Eibach. Bump damping may be a concern but it seems that can be mitigated by staying on the stiffer end of available springs. So it really comes down to the spring rates. I want to stay on the high side to help the damping, but I don't want to max the damper. Plus ride is a concern. I am thinking 520/500 or 520/480 or something similar. I actually liked the car better on the factory springs which were stiffer in the rear, so I don't want to go with a crazy front bias. I thinking a mild front bias or maybe even neutral like 500/500.

So that's the plan, please help me with your experience and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

 

Nothing much to contribute except i find the rs3 to have the best ride. I find the soft sidewall very nice

 

Why would you want front bias spring rates with 215/255 tires? I would stick with the factory AP1 bias or neutral. If it was me I would stick to the stock suspension (assuming it's in good condition) and move the the AP2 wheels and tire setup as most of the performance improvement will come from the tires. Especially if you have only driven it on crappy tires that are worse than the OEM S2000 tires.

 

Looks good, but I would strongly consider a non-staggered setup if I were you. The ability to rotate tires really helps a lot with tire expense.

 

Because there is already too much body movement on crappy tires. Once I go with extreme summer, I will need more body control. So I would go neutral or maybe rear bias then...

 

Maybe just try to pick up a CR suspension. If ride quality is a concern I don't think you will be happy with ots koni yellows.

 

Really? I have never heard of a ride complaint with ots yellows. Usually the complaint is they are too soft on compression.

 

Good point, I meant to say they have higher (supposed) nvh. At least compared to the re11a

 

I'd do this in at least 2 stages. The AP2 wheels and RE-11A tires are probably all you need and will give you a good base for measurement, I'd stick with the AP2 stagger. For one thing the wheels are different widths and Honda went this way to help cure the quick oversteer of the AP1 cars.

Coil-overs do not seem cost effective (to me). You (certainly I) can get lost in all the adjustments possible. Maybe next season if you still think there's a need. You're already on non-OEM springs. I've seen guys spend thousands to drop their lap times by a second. (Yawn). For what's primarily a street car it ain't worth it to me. Recall the winning cars are usually setup for each specific track and you hit the same corners again and again and again -- very different from street performance where you've not been thru endless rehearsals of the same corner. The definition of compromise means "not either." Track cars don't make good street cars and vv.

-- Chuck

 

^^^

So if you want more body control with stickier tires, but don't care for adjustments - the CR suspension has the most upside for you. You don't have to mess with ride height, no damping or spring preload adjustments needed. Just a well controlled and balanced suspension that was tuned to improve an already great platform.