Consider me a newby racer. I understand that people have talked about this in the past but I want NEW opinions since things change so fast.

Having visited PIR a few times no with my S2000 that

 

If you are looking to drop your track times, and don't have to worry about class restrictions and limitations like some of us here, you have a great deal more flexibility in what you can do. However, from talking to some people who just drive on the street in a bone stock s2k and autox a slightly prepped s2k, there are a number of similar investments you might want to consider.

Alignment - Ask yourself - how often am I willing to get new tires? Getting the car aligned for track racing will decrease tirelife. I've got autox settings, but I don't have any for the track. Ideas, folks?

Brake pads - Aye, get 'em for track days. However, you can usually count on going through a set of pads at a track day, so find an option that fits your budget. We're going with Porterfield 4s's, about 200 bucks total (assuming you change 'em yourself). BUT, don't forget....

Brake fluid - VERY important for track days! When you start really hot lapping, you can boil the regular stuff and get some serious brake fade. I'd recommend Motoul RBF 600 - it's got a boiling point (dry) of about 600 degrees. Always keep some in your racing kit, just in case, along with oil and spare brake pads. It's no fun going home with no brakes. As expensive as the stuff is, it's still pretty cheap compared to the next few steps up:

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Racing school - Fix the "loose nut behind the wheel." Invest in driving skill, and the go-fast toys will be put to better use. Skip Barber, Bondurant, etc. The back of Car and Driver and Road and Track have a few schools to check out.

Race tires - a real fun time. Race tires increase stick and let you really put the power down and go deeper into corners. Choices include Hoosier Roadrace compound (as opposed to autox compound), and Kumhos (they'll work fine on a track) as well as others, suggestions folks? Remember, some race tires aren't street legal, others shouldn't be driven on the street due to excessive wear (plus, race tires in the rain <shudder>). Again, do this in conjunction with a....

Bigger front sway bar - this will reduce oversteer to manageable levels, and is a MUST with race tires. It'll help you on the street quite a bit too. Bill Gendron (sp?) makes a good adjustable swaybar that would be pretty useful for you, and pretty reasonable, about 520.00 or so. Do a search on swaybar and etgar (username), and you should find the info.

Now, if you're really into it, you can go with.....
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Exhaust - get one with verified dyno charts with people from personal experience. Mugen is one, but at 1500 its a little pricey for some people.

Coilovers - This will take you out of stock class for autox, but if you are just interested in track lap times, no problem. It'll let you adjust your suspension and improve handling a little. I don't have prices on these, as they aren't an option for me. With coilovers, however, you don't need to invest as heavily in shocks as some autoxers have (we can swap shocks, but not springs).

Top of the line stuff includes:
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Supercharger - boy, this will really show up on the ol' butt dyno. Expensive, but excellent go fast stuff. About 5k or so, and I think Comptech is the only vendor atm. Say Mike, how about that sponsorship? How's the paperwork coming?

Racing shocks - Ohlins at 830 a corner, Penskes at 850 or so, Motons at 1100, etc. Really serious stuff, and with the coilovers, of limited benefit IMO. If Koni comes out with some single adjustables, those might not be too bad for the price.

 

Bigger front sway bar - this will reduce oversteer to manageable levels, and is a MUST with race tires. It'll help you on the street quite a bit too. Bill Gendron (sp?) makes a good adjustable swaybar that would be pretty useful for you, and pretty reasonable, about 520.00 or so. Do a search on swaybar and etgar (username), and you should find the info.



Will a tower strut bar and that front brace (group buys) help with this? I would prefer to go with a simple bolt on at first

 

Will make little difference on the track. Nice additions, and I have both, but will not impact your lap times.

 

The front sway bar is a glorified bolt on. You might have to get new end links, but speed shops can get those pretty easily. To do a front sway bar swap:

1. break the front lug luts loose.
2. jack up the front of the car and use jackstands (some lucky %^$& have access to a lift)
3. Take the front wheels off
4. pull some plastic clips out from the underside
5. unBOLT the endlinks and the frame mounting brackets
6. take the stock swaybar off
7. Grease the new bushings and put around the new swaybar
8. bolt the frame brackets (with the bar it em') loosely to the frame.
9. bolt on the end links to the bar
10. tighten the bolts on the brackets
11. put the front wheels back on
12. tighten lug nuts
13. Drop the front back to the ground
14. tighten lug nuts.

The whole thing took me and soloiiracer about 30 minutes, tops. It's really easy.

The tower strut bar and front brace don't do much at all. The sway bar gives much better results, plus it's adjustable so you can dial it in to your driving style.

 

A driver's education course or two will probably make the biggest difference, both in times and safety. No one likes to admit that there are things they could learn about driving (or sex), but there are. Team Continental has some schools coming up at PIR in October; I'm thinking of driving down for one. Last time I checked, they will accept the S2000 stock roll hoops (always an issue when some poor instructor has to get into a stranger's car and put themselves at your mercy).

Have you noticed your brakes fading? If so, the first, low cost, things to upgrade are brake pads and fluid. I got a set of Porterfield R4S pads from Bulletproof; I use 'em on the street, too. Much better, for me, than the stock pads. They do make a lot more dust. Some have reported crumbling, but I guess I'm not as hard on them. ATE SuperBlue or Motul 600 both seem to be good DOT 4 brake fluids.

Have fun,

Ted

 

Yes, driving school is a great investment. Contact your local speed shops to see if they sponsor or conduct DE at PIR or some other local tracks. Then, if it all feels right, move on to some 2-3 day DE. That's what I plan to do.

As for mods, I wouldn't bother with the STB if you are looking for an improvement on the track. I have the Comptech bar, mainly for looks, but it does provide a little more rigidity over rough roads, etc.

I also wouldn't suggest an exhaust if you are looking for bang for the buck performance gains. I paid 1000 dollars for my HKS and while I love it, I'd be hard pressed to say that there was any real noticeable performance improvement.

The S2000's weakness is torque (or the fact that it is in short supply) and in the words of Scott Zellner in a recent discussion of King's racing program, he said that "torque is what wins races." So, what I have found is the additional midrange torque from the Mugen header is an excellent addition to bring a little more to the pedal. I have also done the Mugen ECU, and that really brings out the low end. Mugen assumes that if you get this, it's a race car now, so it's really tuned/mapped for racing. Pricey, but those, IMO, are the two best things you can do for pure engine performance. An intake is very high on this list too. I have the MG Racing and love it.

To my mind, the next most importan thing is brakes. Have DOT4 racing fluid, like Motul or Redline (and Speedbleeders) on hand. Track time is hard on brakes and having good fluid is absolutely essential. I am running Hawk pads now in the front only (street version) and I will be trying the Project U pads from MG Racing this Thursday at Gingerman. Will report back on those. Other brake improvements are stainless lines and cooling ducts, two good things, as well.

Suspension. Having driven Nick's car at G'man with the Mugen front sway bar...big bang for the buck on this one. One of the most noticeable additions to keep that tail tucked in. Get it. Then you can talk shocks, springs, etc. I haven't done those, so I can't really speak to that.

It's nice now that the car has been out for a while, there is a good variety of things out there for the S2000.

Report back what you decide to do!

 

Agree with most of the above comments...

My list:

1. Track instruction, private if available. Best performance dollars you will ever spend.

2. Brake pads and fluid. R4S's/Ate Super Blue if you want to run the same setup track & street, Race pads (hawk blue?) and Motul 600 for track setup with frequent fluid replacement.

3. Tires. You will eat tires if you drive aggressively on the track. I'm on my third set of rears and pretty much toasted my second set of fronts in 9,500 miles. DOT race tires (Kuhmo, Yoko's, Hoosiers) on seperate rims would be nice, but also some added hassle unless you run the Yoko's full time.

4. Mugen sway bar / X-brace. Maybe it's in my head, but these seem to make the car much easier to drive fast.

...and of course LOTS of track time. Our local track offers test & tune almost every weekday, $60 half-day (four hours), $100 full-day. Pretty low cost for track time.

 

hecash => I went looking for the Front fascia brake cooling scoops (King Motor Sports).. I cant find it... how much they want and where can I find it