Wow. You don't mean NT05's do you? Same sizes? I ran the XS before and they are really fast, but I didn't think they'd even be in the same league as a tire that claims to be r-compound.
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Yep, same exact sizes, same wheels and YES the NT01 race tire vs the XS street tire. And you'll find this odd but the XS's were TERRIBLE in wet testing. Like Hoosier Dry kinda terrible. Yet I ran the NTO1's in a rain soaked race at sebring in 2010 on the Focus Showroom stock car and nearly lapped the whole class. (2nd place car was on Hoosier wets). I ran the NT01's that day because we had a set and I didn't have Hoosier Wets. I expected to be fighting for last. I'm not claiming the are better then a hoosier wet but my goodness they were a lot better then I expected. I stuck my nose in the tire tracks left by a car a class higher then me on hoosier wets and just did my best the whole race to drive in the wake he spread. It worked.

Anyway, my point being the NTO1's are not an R-compound (atleast not in the same league as a Hoosier or BFG or Kumho).

 

I have some tore up old 255 R888's and I don't think they are more than 2 seconds slower than a 225 A6 in the cold
I might not be using the A6 100% but the R888 is a step up from RE-11's and those are the best street tires I ever ran.

I don't think you need a big front swaybar with a wing unless you love understeer!

The 06+ with the remap is the car to have it has more horsepower class it as an AP2 to start

 

I really like the balance I got with my comptech bar on full stiff, non-staggered 225 hoosiers, and cr aero. Leans a bit toward understeer but makes trail-braking a lot more manageable for me.

 

ok well I guess it varies with preferance wing etc but you can save some points there if you have suspension

I always ran a bar before I had shocks - taking the bar off mine was a revelation!
I run more rear-toe now so the thing is more stable and I set the shocks and wing

 

Thanks for all the replies. The crux of my inquiry is to gather info on what course to take. First of all, i have time to consider my options, i'm assuming i'd have to join NASA, and start in HPDE1? Generally speaking, how many events would it take to get to HPDE4? I know this is a question that's on par with asking, "how long is a piece of string?" But from personal evaluation of my driving skill, i'd say i'm ahead of the curve for someone with the limited driving experience i have, and feedback i've gotten from track instruction as well as my results in auto-x. So best case scenario, how long?

I understand the weight issues, as well as the deal with the CR aero. 14 points seems to be a lot and the front lip may not be worth the points, plus i'm sure that a different (adjustable wing - J's or something) would be better than the stock CR wing. I would also have to do the A/C delete (about 50lbs) and look to trim weight in other ways (ie: seats), the problem I have is i still owe about $15k to the bank, and i don't want to alter the original look of the car because i love it. plus if i remove the A/C my wife will never drive with me ever again.

I think until i get to HPDE4 i'll drive it as is and figure what the next move will be. I was on the fence about fully prepping my CR for TTB (if it could compete), or just trying to find a track-ready, non street legal TT car that i could trailer to events and beat on. I would consider an old Miata or something, so i'm trying to guage the cost of competition (brakes, tires, gas, spare parts, wheels, etc). A Miata would be fun and cheaper to track, but i really love the S2k, so maybe i could find a race ready TTC s2000 in the future.

Anyway, ramblings aside, i have a couple of questions:

1- Hoosiers - i figured it was a no-brainer, but how many events can you expect to get out of a set of 4, assuming i'm non-staggered and can rotate them? That's still gotta get real expensive.

2- I was looking at used '06s (Hondata Flash-Pro compatible) and they're going for about $16k right now. If i were to stick to TTC (the s2k's best class) how competitve are the AP1s? how about an '04-'05 AP2? $16k is a bit steep of a starting point for me to prep a TTC car. But from my experience with the Flash-Pro, my CR picked up some serious mid-range gains and 13 peak hp at the wheels, so I'm assuming a re-flash of some sort is a 'must have' to be competitive. Especially when the cost is 0 points.

 

HPDE4 is for instructors, you only need to get to HPDE3 and get a checkride to TT. If you've been on the track around 10 times maybe try to go straight to HPDE2-3.
If you stay learning to drive 100% in HPDE with Nasa it might take u a while to get to HPDE3. The best thing to do is get out to trackdays where you get more seat-time and practice. Turn One Events at CMP and seat-time.com at Roebling are good places for cheap seat time in the southeast.

As for the car I realy wouldn't worry about the setup too much to start out, a CR is more than fine for HPDE/learning.
I used an AP1 with a lowerring springs and street tires for about 2-3 years before I built mine for TTC.

You got to remember its not just going fast or whatever for the checkride. TT is open passing and you will be on track with 100HP Civics as well as Time Attack/Racecars with silly amounts of power. You have to not be able to freak out when a 700HP Supercharged Viper comes up the inside of you thru the Kink at CMP! It helps if you can think about slower cars and be able to maybe wait a few corners and pass them on the straight where you won't f@#kup their lap.

I'll be out at the CMP event, that'd be a good place to start: http://www.nasa-se.com/2011Apr30.php