I know this topic has been discussed several times but it's hard to come down to a conclusion.

My car is stock except for exhaust for sound and I plan on keeping it stock until I need more out of it. The thing is, I've had my 2nd track day and I guess you would say I'm a fast learner and some people suggest I should move up to intermediate. My only problem is that I don't have experience in knowing what to upgrade. My tires have a slight squeal in some corners especially the rears. They are Sumitomo HTR ZIII 245/40/17.

So my question is, is it better to increase the width to 255? Or get better tires and stay with the stock size? Or is it my driving technique with steering inputs?

 

Thank you acknowledging the obvious, between "what alignment" and "what tire" "what setup" etc type of posts, these forums get cluttered, many of us don't respond, and some stop returning to the forums. There are soo many discussions on tires, its hard to not find a few active discussions in the first couple pages. These are off the first page of a google search...


https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/105...ster-laptimes/

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/104...treet-driving/

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/106...zii-vs-rivals/

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/968...tocrossstreet/

That said, if you have stock wheels (ap2 assuming the 17" size listed), 225/255 is great. If you have 17x9s, 255 squared is great. Z2s and RS3s are the streets tire to beat. With a stock setup, rear stability is sketchy at best. Use all the rear grip you can and save for a proper setup. Happy tracking!

-Marc

 

I had those HTR z3's on my street S for a little while. They're really not a bad street tire. I tracked them once, and they're not too good there. Not a lot of ultimate grip, and seemed to overheat easily.

I'd agree with above post about width. I'll tell you that ZII, Rivals, RS3, or Bridgestone RE11a are all gonna be a good upgrade. Plenty of threads debating merits of each. We run ZII on our chump car, and it's a good economical tire. I'm partial to RE11a, as a street tire on my track S. I like that they provide a bit of squeal to reinforce what you're feeling, and have a predictable break away of traction. They're also marginally better in the rain.

Please, if you're gonna track: get stainless brake lines, and proper high temp brake fluid. Also consider track pads (not street/track). These are really safety items

 

I would start by just upgrading to better tires within the same sizes (i.e. change as few things as possible so you can determine what to do next). Any of the tires BlueBarchetta listed would be an upgrade. I would recommend the ZII's first from that bunch as it's a great starter performance tire. The communication it provides on the limit (noise and feeling) provides good confidence building in going fast.

 

I apologize, I should specify my settings first. I was thinking of going with the RS3s but just had to ask around about what's best to learn on or best to upgrade and still be able to learn. I don't have friends that track so I'm the only one that's on this path. Coilovers will be my last resort if I need more from the stock suspension as of now, it's still a really good setup.


After my recent track day I knew exactly what I needed to mod the most which were my brakes. I've already flushed out the brake fluid before the event with DOT 4 high temp brake fluid. Just bought Hawk HP+ all around and can't wait for next weekend's track set up.

I didn't get the SS brake lines yet. The main benefit out of the SS brake lines over the stock is that since the stock brake lines are rubber, in high temperatures the brake pedal would feel "mushy" or soft, upgrading to the SS lines would eliminate that. Is that right or am I getting the wrong idea?

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

In general, the size of the brakes on the s2000 is the absolute minimum to get the job done. Works good for street, but introduces issues on track. Pads and fluid get overheated/overworked easily. Rotors crack from hot/cold extremes.

Brake lines: unfortunately you have the wrong idea. The rubber lines can crack with a catastrophic loss of brake fluid. This isn't about pedal feel, it's about loosing your brakes, wrecking your car, getting hurt.

Pads: HP+ is a street/track combo pad. It'll probably be ok for now, but if you progress further, you'll need something better. Hawk makes some that are acceptable. Most here use Carbotech Xp series or Cobat XR series (many threads on each). We have Carbotech on our chump car, I have, and prefer Cobalts on my S2000 track car

Fluid: again, a safety issue. Boiled brake fluid = loss of braking capability. Not sure what you're using. Motul 600, or 660 is a good minimum place to start.

Rotors: eventually you'll start cracking them (many threads on this also). Simple suggestion for now. If you're driving back and forth to the track, put a spare set of front rotors in the trunk.

Enjoy your next track day, and get some good instruction. It'll help you progress even faster

 

Also keep in mind that with better/sticker tires, you'll be using your brakes more. Better tires will give you more grip in the corners which means higher exiting speeds (and in turn, higher speeds on the straights). Lower lap times means your brakes have less time to cool between braking points.

 

Brake duct also help cool down the brake. I make my from Home Depot parts.