lol, speaking of which I popped my neck today on a highway off ramp... one of those ones that circles under the highway. Those aren't even my race tires!
... but seriously... my neck hurts.

 

IMO that pretty much agrees with my statement. Your bottom line is less than 50% of what you have into your car, and it probably gets 90% of the blade sharpened for the knife fight.

I guess I also assumed if you are already an s2000 autocrosser, you likely have some shocks on hand, already have a front bar, etc from BS. I'm probably only into my build just over 2k.
$1200 for TSW wheels 255 RS3's
$25 to rent a fender roller
$400 for springs
$75 for helper springs
$??? valving for the koni's listed below (I have yet to do)

Carry over from BS:
$500 (i think) for used AS valved Konis
$350 for Gendron FSB
$50 for DIY shorty exhaust
$??? Hawk pads

Really only cost me under 2k to jump to STR from BS. If we find a way to reliably tune AP1s that will go up some.
I think a good basic STR build could be done for less than 3k, if you take my number, add it the Koni valving I need to do. I'd be willing to argue that small hp jumps from intake, headers, etc, are nice, but not necessary unless you are really focusing on tours or nats.

 

I'd take the ECU off the list as not necessary, although I'd call the swaybar more like $800 if you're going to buy new (mine was $300 used). Very good brake pads can be gotten for $200, but you don't even need them unless you are running with a club that gives you lots of back to back runs on a high speed course. The estimate for shocks may be a tad high, although if you do spend $2000 you can get some really good shocks. So...call it around $4200, compared to about $3500 for a baseline Stock setup. I guess it depends on what you consider "expensive" -- maybe either of those options seems expensive to you. But the S2000 isn't a cheap car to begin with.

You'd spend about that much to prepare a Civic for ST...and that's a $1500 car. I don't see those guys complaining about the prep costs.

 

Not anymore. Minimum buy-in for an ST Civic/CRX is at least $10k including purchase price of the car. Of course, everyone who is in ST at this point goes to Nationals and plans on winning. I don't think that expectation exists quite yet for STR. And none of them are DD'ers.

Early 89 Japanese Model that is 100lbs lighter than the Canadian 89 Si's = $$$$$$$$ if you can find one.
Motor = $2000
Shocks = $3000 minimum
ECU = $800
Header = $1500
Bushings = $200?
Wheels = $1500 unobtanium 9lb Volks or SSR's.
Rear Sway bar = $600
Seats = $600

Total = $10,200 + the car

STR will get there eventually. Well, we were there already and turned around and went home.

The ECU is definitely a must have for an AP2.

 

Hi guys, I just started doing some autox last Summer with my 07 AP2 --- COMPLETELY stock. I am NOT at the stage to do any serious prep as I am still working lots on my driving skills. Having said that, my original set of OEM tires (with ~33,000km = ~20,600 miles on them) should be swapped out now for something better for street and for STR. I am NOT prepared to change my wheels/rims though, so here is the quick question about tires options (specifically the front) on OEM wheels:

The Tire Rack search gave me 245/40 Front and 255/40 Rear; will the 245 actually fit on the 17x7 OEM front wheel?

The Spec tab / link says it needs 8" to 9.5" rim but I thought to just ask if anyone has actual experience. Thanks guys.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...ype=bestseller

 

I guess my point is that most of that is not really needed. I pretty sure (but not positive) the Washburn/Delay civic doesn't have anything near that in it, and they still do quite well. The engine we put in his car last year after the original went bad was just a few hundred bucks (used). Also, they use OTS Single Konis. All the top end stuff definitely helps, but the cheaper options will get you 90% of the way there... and someone such as Pat can drive well with whatever tool is under his but.

For the large majority of us that would like to go to Nats "for the experience", and autocross mostly locally, we probably can't even drive well enough to justify paying twice the money for a tire that's .3s faster. There is probably a few dozen STR S2000 driver nationwide where it makes sense, and the rest of us have plenty of driver modding to do before we purchase that expensive last 10%.

 

This is the key for me... I am able to mod to my taste, and still be reasonably competitive at home, and have a car that (if I could drive) would not embarrass me at a national event. Meanwhile, unlike in stock, I can tune the car for autox, and it will perform almost the same on the street with no real changes.

 

I dunno about you guys but I was getting bored driving the car stock. Had STR not come along I would have probably supercharged the car or something. Also not having to change the wheels on race day is an added bonus.

 

My car just needs another seat and it will be a fully modded str car. I say fully modded and not prepped because the car needs a full season of dialing in. For me I look at buying str parts as my hobby and a long term investment.once the car is done I'll only have to buy tires and maintence each year. Autocrossing a s2k is a blast and it's very difficult to drive at the limit without nicking a cone. The thrill is like no other. Unless the tuning option changes the game for the ap1 and allows it to be more competitive I'll be looking for a blue cr in a couple years after I get out of school. I'll just buy a cr and transfer all my parts, then sell my ap1. Until then I need to work on the driver mod. I'm far off national champion winning. haha

 

I can't imagine going to Nationals "For the experience" unless I lived super close. For me, it's $150 for entry (or was it $180?), renting a trailer, driving 900 Miles, getting a hotel, etc... The cost is SO significant I would never do it for "fun." I go with the intention of gaining experience... or better yet... getting a trophy.

Hell, I'm doing just about all this just to go to El Toro, Packwood, Lincoln Super Event, and the Colorado events this year... This is where this sport gets VERY expensive. Forget about the car build... it just hit me.

That being said... I still enjoy the hell out of it. I have a great co-driver... and we have a good time.