Been reading up on as many threads and FAQ as possible at the forum. Awesome stuff and I am so stoked.... But I need to get some good advice on the best sequence to mod my AP1 s2k... I am embarassed to say that I've had it for 2 years but only just starting now.

Here is what I'm looking for :
1) mostly city driving + weekend tracking, not much highway.
2) I live in the tropics, where temp is always at 90F/30C all year + high humidity
3) not really into the cosmetics... like stealth..hehe
4) want to get better handling on the car first
5) want to get better mid-end torque/power (thinking good for street + tracking)
6) eventually, if I am capable enough, up the overall power curve, but keeping it NA

So, here is the sequence I have in mind (have to save money, so 1 step at a time):
stage 1
1) spoon air duct to bring air temp down (already done)
2) KW Var 3 coilovers to get better handling (arriving next week)
3) get either 4.44/4.57 final drive
4) lightweight FW with PP/clutch (thinking toda)
5) larger 70mm throttle body (thinking toda)
6) toda header / mugen exhaust

stage 2 (if I can really control the car fully then)
1) replace ECU
2) high ouput cam
3) replace spoon duct / single throttle body with individual throttle bodies
4) 2200 stroker kit to take overall power curve up.

Question is do I have the sequence correct? Am I missing any steps important?
Need help !! I am open to all ideas.

 

I can only comment on the desired mods for weekend tracking. The KW's are a good step and maybe the Spoon duct for your environment. Of course you will need race pads (I recommend full race pads that you swap out with the OEM's) and high-temp brake fluid (leave in year round). Then the next recommendation (to improve laptimes significantly) would be a decent wing (mounted on a spare trunklid that you can swap-out if you don't want it on the street). As you improve you will want to have a second set of rims with R-compound tires (a huge step up in performance and laptimes). A race seat that you can swap out is also a plus. Finally, a rollbar and 6-point harness are recommended though not essential. A stock engine and driveline is extremely competent and reliable on the track, so would leave any mods here till the last.

 

Our weather here is usually in 90's as well with >75% humidity. This is what I did and would recommend to you since I track the car occasionally as well:

Stage 1:
1) Maintenance (fluids, brakes, oil change)
2) High-performance driver's education
3) Proper tires (ie. Potenza S02 or S03 street, Toyo RA-1 or Yoko A048 track)
4) ***Proper alignment***
5) Hardtop (oem, Mugen, Mooncraft)
6) Mugen coilover

Stage 1 will optimize your track skills and dial out oversteer. You'll need a custom alignment. This will be the bang-for-your buck mod by far.

Stage 2:
1) clutch upgrade (ACT)
2) 4.57 final drive gear
3) Mugen cooling mods
4) Mugen ECU
5) Mugen or Toda header

Stage 2 will optimize daily driveability in humid environments and help increase mid-range power. At this stage, you're pretty much done.

Stage 3:
1) Exhaust (Mugen, J's, ASM)
2) Intake (Mugen, J's, ASM)
3) Vented hood (Mugen, J's)

Stage 3 will help increase throttle response on the track, but the difference is small. On the street, the difference is negligible.

Stage 4:
If you still have penis envy at this point, you can consider a stroker kit, ITBs, S/C, or turbo, but your driveability will decrease and reliability on the track decrease as well. Unfortunately, I suffered a bout of this horrible stage of disease and going down the route of ITBs...migraine coming...

 

What's the reason for a clutch upgrade for the track? And a hardtop is necessary only if you are in competition looking for tenths of a second. This is just weekend tracking. Alignment does make a big difference, to a point where you compromise tire wear for the street, so depends on mow much tracking you plan to do (optimize it for track if you track a lot as you will go through many more tires/$'s there than on the street).
You can do a search and also see FAQ's on the Racing and Competition forum for more details if you intend to do a significant amount of tracking.

 

1. You need to modify your living arrangements . The People's Republic of California is nice all year.

2. Unless you have god like driving skills, I highly recommend training with someone that does. .

3. Handling? Make sure you have good tires, i bet the stock suspension with competition tires and the madman behind the wheel handles hella good. Dropping it most likely will upset the balance. If you really want to go down this road I suggest finding someone that tracks their car in a serious manner. There are probably two or three people here that might be able to help and one of them just took some of the big boys on open track ..... but they are few and far between.

4. Torque? Never going to have it, do you wanna supercharge it? If that isn't an option sell the car and buy a vette, or something with power. Gears will help, 10% or so, an AP2 swap when the engine dies also would be cool.

5. NA = NO ACCELLERATION


Ok, here is what I

 

Good advice. Gearing depends on the track, and even so, there are always arguments as to which is faster in terms of laptimes (shorter gears means more shifting too which eats time). I have stock gears in one car and 4.57's in the other, and it's a toss up to me; it really depends on the track.