I did my first auto-x in the S last night and quickly found out what they meant by softer rear end in the 04. On tight corners, the car plowed. Not quite as bad as a FWD car, but it was there.

I suppose the obvious answer is, I should have just gone slower into the corner and tried to rotate the car. Which would mean that I should learn how to drive the car, as opposed to adding parts to try to correct my lack of skill But what's the fun in that???

Anyways, I was contemplating what I could do to stiffen up the rear end and I wanted some opinions from the collective. Here's what I came up with:

1) Bigger rear sway bar
2) Stiffer rear springs (say from an 03)
3) Adjustable struts (Koni's or the like)

Pros and Cons
A bigger sway is the more traditional answer to this problem. But it would also bump me out of stock class. And I'm sure I'd get my ass handed to me in the next class up.

Since Honda softened the rear springs on the 04+ to make the car 'safer' at the limits, why not just reverse their work and find some 03 (or older) rear springs? The disadvantage is the springs will no longer be matched to the fronts springs or rear struts. I don't exactly know if the strut valving in the 04 rear is tuned exactly to the springs, so changing one component and not the other could be bad for ride quality. On the upside, I'd still remain in stock class.

Changing the struts to an adj type (ie Koni, etc.) would be the best of both worlds. I could dial them in to my liking and adjust them for 'comfortable' daily driving. And I could still stay in stock class, I think. The downside to this.....it's the most expensive option.

Like I said at the beginning, I probably need to learn the car more before I go changing things around. But I'll eventually get to a point where I know the car well enough and am looking to 'graduate' to the next solution.

So, what would you do?

thanks

 

The first thing I would try is adding more negative camber in the front.

 

You can also play around with alignment and tire pressure settings to help promote rotation.

 

Changing springs would bump you out of stock class too. I don't think there's a backdate/update clause in stock

 

Just do an alignment on it. The factory settings are set for understeer. Doing a proper alignment will make the car just as tail happy as the older cars. You will need a bigger front bar after the alignment. I have a Saner Front bar for sale for $150.00 plus shipping if your interested.

Ken

 

I think that the softer rear suspension on the 04-05 really helps with preventing inside wheel spin when driving with race tires.

There are two national level autocross drivers in my region that drive the same 04 in A stock, here's what they have done...

- Max'd out camber front and rear, not sure of their toe, they do drive the car on the street so it must not be tow'd out, otherwise tires would go quick
- Comptech adjustable front sway bar (full stiff)
- Race tires (Hoosiers past, I think Kumho 710s now)
- Adjustable shocks (Penske)
- 0.25 (?) inch spacers behind each wheel

S2000s have a lot of potential out of the box with just addition of race tires and a stiff front sway bar. So, as others suggest, I would just start with a max'd out camber alignment, but make sure the toe is right so your tires don't go quickly on the street. And, get help from an experienced person to get your tire pressures right. Also get one of the best drivers at your autocross to drive your car with you riding along every few events so you can see your cars potential and judge how your are progressing. When you're consistently within a second or so then move onto a stiff front sway bar and race tires (unless you want to stay in a street class, I'd still get a stiffer adjustable front sway bar). Then keep comparing yourself to a really good driver as indicated above. When you are consistently within a half second of that really good driver then consider other refinements.

This car has very balanced handling which IMO means that the biggest factor in getting understeer vs. oversteer is the driver. I have had other S2000 owners drive my car and complain about understeer on a particular turn while I would be getting oversteer on the same corner.

I'd also recommend taking the Evolution Phase 1 and Phase 2 training if it's available in your area.

Good luck.

 

Another minor improvement would be brake pads.