It seems that going lower than 1 inch lower than stock ride height causes issues with suspension geometry and bump stops. The bump stops are different on different shocks/coil overs and of course spring stiffness plays a part. I personally don't know of any fast track S2000 lower than about 1 1/4 inch (East Coast S2000s). In general, the stiffer the suspension the lower you can run so the West Coast guys may run a little lower out there.

I've never played with rake, I've always run flat to no more than 1/4 inch higher in the rear so I can't comment on it.

 

Assuming the 'stock' heights listed in the first post are correct as measured from wheel center to bottom of fender, I am 1.75" low in front and 2.25" low in rear. Rocker seam is horizontal as the car sits. I think the car is very fast and handles great. I have one TTC track record with the car, and the previous owner has three TTC records, and hopefully there will be a couple more made this year. I think the spring rates are 700f, 650r.

 

So you are level at 12.5 all around? interesting. will compile the observations. May i know your alignment/wheel setup and if u run any aero?

josh7owens and oinojo , may I know your alignment/wheel setup and any aero?

Would like to do a comparison.

 

Yes, 12.5", or perhaps 12 5/8. somewhere in there. Rear wing. Square tire setup, primarily 225 Hoosier. ~3.3 camber front, ~3.1 camber rear. Stock AP1 sways.

 

I'm not really anyone but since you asked heres my set-up (autox STR)


wheels are 17x9 +62 with 255 kooks all the way around.

Front
Gendron 1.25" solid bar with ball bearing mounts 6/6

camber -2.9
caster 6.5
toe- 0

12.5" ride height

900 lbs springs
Rebound 6/14
HS compression 10/14
LS compression 3/5

Rear
Gendron rear bar with ball bearing mounts 3/5

camber -2.5
toe in .29 each side (1/4" total)

12.5 inch ride height

800 lbs springs
Rebound 9/14
HS compression 10/14
LS compression 3/5


Heres is what my car looks like at 12.5" ride height...



you can look here for shock dynos and get a idea of what my shock settings are force wise...
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/818.../page__st__200

Also curious to see his set-up... hopefully he will post it up as detailed as mine

 

I guess I just wanted to point out that it is certainly possible to run your car very low and have it be fast. That said, I don't know that running the exact same setup would give the same results for everyone, there are too many variables. Each person will have to tune their setup for themselves.

For example, the following specifics will all significantly affect what setup you need for your car:
-Driving styles vary dramatically person-to-person
-Damping differences
-Different tracks (autocross vs road course, bumpy vs smooth, low speed vs high speed corners)
-Amount of downforce from the rear wing
-Weight distribution in the car (for example rear weight bias)
-Chassis torsional rigidity (for example caged vs not caged)
-Tire choices
-more...

 

^^^ very true....

 

Speed & Josh, what shocks/coil overs are you running? Did you modify your bump stops?

 

I'm pretty sure Josh has 3-way JRZs and Speed has AST4100s (He has Aaron Leitchy's old car).

I've kept up with Josh's STR build thread and I'm pretty sure his JRZs have been shortened a good bit to allow for a low ride height.

I had talked to Aaron for a little while on the phone with a lot of questions about his AST setup and they are the normal length shocks (they actually have about 1/8" less travel than KWs at the same height) yet he ran the car very low and didn't seem to have any problems. I actually just picked up a set of AST 4100s myself and plan on running them at a very similar ride height.

 

What steve said ^^^ I have some billy badass triple adjustable JRZ Motorsport series shocks. the fronts had tons of travel to start with but I had to pay big bucks to shorten the rears 1.25" over where they started. From the clevis (sp?) hole to the top of the dust cap is 10.75". My bump stops are very very tiny, they are made to fit inside of the cup on the bottom of the top hat. So I prolly have around 3" of rear travel. So more then enough even at my super low ride height.

If I didn't run so low I prolly wouldn't run as stiff of springs but since the "messed up" roll center causes more body roll at my height the car requires more spring to control this roll.

I have a "build thread" that's on the fist page of the racing forum. The thread started as just a thread about my shocks but a few weeks ago I changed it to a build thread and started posting more stuff to share with everyone.

With my new adjustable rear bar I'm able to crank back up my front bar without causing push. This makes me very happy because my driving style likes a big bar. I like to be agressive with the wheel similar to Matt's driving style if you watch his videos. The big front bar allows me to throw the car in without upsetting it.


As for Aaron and the ASTs I'm a fan. He talks very highly about them and since I've seen his car in person many times at his shop it's very low. I would say as low as my car. I need to get to Aaron in a few weeks for some corner balancing.