PENROD

I am a local autocrosser, and getting better. I've attended national events when they're in the area and divisionals when they're close, too. I attended about 26 events last year, and have attended one Ph1/ Ph2 Evo school, and several of their practice days. The seat time/ instruction is definitely numero uno as far as bang for the autocrosser buck!!

As for the brake pads. It's not much money to fork out, and you may need brakes at 35K anyway. This weekend I took my Proterfield R4S pads off since I won't be racing much next year in the S, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE THEY MAKE!! The stock brakes are good, but you would be surprised at how well the better pads grab. For something you probably have to purchase anyway, you might as well do it with a better product. The only problem is that they dust ALOT!!

As for pad wear, I have gotten a full year and a half out of the R4S while using them as a daily driver pad (45,000 miles) and autocross pad (Approx. 8 events this year - with a co-driver), and there is MUCH pad still left.

PS - check with carbon friction brakes, I think they may have a better pad than the R4S for AutoX now.

PilotSH

Ugh, whatever you do, DO NOT buy Koni OTS shocks and expect the car to drive any better. Having driven on all stock shocks of all different mileages (9000, 20000, 30000, 70000) and having driven on Koni OTS, the Konis are acutally a step BACKWARD. You'd have to get the shocks revalved to get them to acutally be better than the stock shocks, and that will cost you almost another grand on top of the price of the OTS. Plus you need to find a very dialed in setup to copy if you don't know what you are doing. I've found the Koni OTS slower than stock shocks period.

If you want to upgrade something that is a guaranteed improvement, get brake pads. If you have some more money, get JDMs. Owning a set of JDMs and the OEM wheels, it amazes me just how light the JDMs are. If you're gonna get shocks, do it right. Unfortunately, for the S2000, there is no happy medium. Its either stock shocks or bling bling shocks. Why didn't you pick up Pedalfaster's shocks when they were on ebay last week? They sold for a grand! And those are definitely an improvement over stock shocks.

glagola1

Thanks PilotSH, I just ordered some HawkHP+s. I've had them before on my civic and I liked them then so I expect to love them on the much better brakes of the S.

payneinthe

$400. Not quite "almost another grand"

tmorrow

1) Pedalfaster nailed it - new tires, more frequently. 2 extra sets per year=$1800
2) Evo 1 & 2 = ~ $500
3) Co-drive with someone that'll push you to get better faster. Maybe it'll cut your expenses as well. I improved more after getting beat in my own car several times. It's a motivational tool that kicks you square in the nads.
4) Bling blings - with all the S2000's being abandoned it won't be long before you see another set of Nationally competitive shocks for sale or auction. Big Blingin' Shocks = ~$ 1,500 used to $5,250 new.
5) JDM wheels have to be worth a few tenths per 60 sec. Big $$ but they'll never need rebuilt/revalved and you'll get a fair amount of $$ back out of them. Depending on condition and desperation = ~ $1,400-$2,200.
6) R & D tools. You may think you have your alignment dialed in but you'd be amazed what a pyrometer will tell you. Have you thought about a video camera? I'm sure others can vouch for what an effective learning tool it can be. And if you have a co-driver, whether for one event or all season, it's even better.
7) Different end links to use with your Comptech II FSB. There are much better ones than the OE's.
8) Brake pads - eh, that'd be the last thing but if you needed new ones anyhow than what the heck huh.



9-20)You can go to events where you run with guys that are as fast, or faster, than you. Which leads me to - why, now, aren't you coming for the FL State Championship event? We had a fairly deep field...and then guys started dropping out. I was looking forward to some out of state comp. And two of the guys on your " shoulda' beat 'em" list are running too. It's not too late to re-enter.

shaggy

I'll second a bunch of Todd's (tmorrow) recommendations. And Steve's (Pedalfaster) too.

Tires are always the biggest bang. Period. If you show up to an event with more than 50 runs on a set of A3S04's, you're giving up time.

Co-drive with someone faster than you! I asked Steve (Pedalfaster) to co-drive with me for two reasons... costs (it was cheaper for both of us) and my need to see what the car could really do. The S2000 is my first RWD car and I needed all the help I could get being "brought up to speed." When Steve wasn't at events, I put someone else in the car that could challenge me. I improved as a driver all season.

R&D Tools: I used Geez! and a camcorder on and off all season. I used it when I was in the car and when someone else was in the car (see the part about co-drivers better than you ). More than once, I learned something very significant about my style or the car from these tools.

Seat Time! For the last two years, co-drivers and I have put more than 250 runs on my car each year. I've logged as many as 20 runs in a single weekend. Treated properly, each run is a chance to log more data and learn more about the car.

Finally, the level of competition in your region is important. Its not a coincidence that the 4 of the top 10 at Nationals came from IL / WI and another 4 came from OR / WA. They constantly show each other how good you have to be in order to be the best. And it makes them all better for it.

Andy H.

tmorrow

And I didn't mean to sound preachy Matt. I'm probably a B- driver at best and I'm pretty sure you're right with, or slightly ahead of me.

Just my $0.02 and most of it is on my "to do" or "keep on doing" list also.

glagola1

Man, so much good advice... where to start? There's this guy here who drives a 350z and he's been awesome competition. At the beginning of the year he would have me by 1.5 sec and all year long I've been gaining on him. The last few events I coned away victory and lost by .1... so it's been a blast. He definately pushes me.

Todd, I decided not to come down there because I have a project due on the Monday after. I may have to work this weekend to get 'r done. There is also a regional event so I can still get my jollies. Just too much driving and not enough time to spare. I'm not happy about it.

The first leg of the national tour is going to be here in Atlanta in March so I better see you then! You didn't sound preachy. That was the kind of advice I was looking for.

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[QUOTE=PedalFaster,Nov 8 2004, 08:19 PM] I disagree with everyone here.