Looking to get an S2K for 50% track duty. Meaning, I will commute with the car 1-2x a week, but the money being thrown into the car will primarily be for the track. I intend to hit 6-8 HPDEs a year, if not more.

My initial research:
- Go for the AP2 - it's more stable. The rear end isn't as twitchy.
- Run compression tests on any S2Ks you see
- Avoid raped S2Ks

So far, I've been looking for :
- 60-95k miles
- Clean title or Salvage (but only if damage was cosmetic or theft)
- Good condition seats or Clazzio wrapped
- AP2 exclusively


Beyond that, I don't know too much about these cars. I know the differences between the engines, I know that 06+ has drive by wire. I don't know what is actually important for an S2K on the track.
Is it possible to convert an AP1's rear end to be as stable as an AP2's without a lot of $?
What mileage S2Ks should I really look at? At what point do they really start to fall apart? (bushings die, water pump/hydraulic stuff dies, seals start to go, etc)?

I see a lot of AP1s out there, but I dunno if I should bite for one. Stability means a lot to me since I'll be taking car to its limit quite frequently.

Which of the model year S2Ks are the best for tracking and is it possible to modify the less optimal ones to be just as good as the optimal ones?

 

I'm just going to throw out a bunch of statements not in any particular order. Feel free to take them as you will

• Per Billman, who is basically S2000 Jesus, the most reliable model years are 04-05
• You can fix an AP1's rear end stability with AP2 wheels plus a rear bumpsteer kit ($150), or a rear subframe and control arm swap ($1500).
• AP1s can have problems with cracked retainers and oil banjo bolts in the earlier models.
• DBW doesn't matter on a track car but it does if you want to tune the thing.
• Flashpro on an 06+ is waaaay cheaper than an AEM EMS or the conversion to KPro on an 00-05, so if you want to tune the thing that's the way to go, especially for a lower VTEC engagement point.
• Mileage doesn't matter unless the car isn't taken care of. I track my 04 with 105k on the clock, and it has held up fine with regular scheduled maintenance plus the additional preventative fluid changes and required consumables. There are plenty of people tracking 150k+ S2000s at this point.
• AP1 really isn't that twitchy with the right wheels and tires anyway.

 

I sold my 07 AP2 for an 02 AP1 because I wanted to track the car. 9k redline with a 4.57 rear gear plus the car was A LOT cheaper. That way, when I put it into a wall Im only out 16k instead of 25k.

With the right alignment the "twitchiness" of the ap1 is completely tame. Going non-stagger was the best thing ever. Corners way better than my AP2 ever did.

 

I've got a 00 with full suspension mods.its awesome. Its 95pct trackduty

 

Seems like I can summarize it to this:

- AP1 is cheaper. With the extra $$ from being cheaper, I can smooth out the suspension issues quite a bit.
- 9k redline is sexy for tracking?

Only thing I'm worried about now is the compression on the F20s that I'll be looking at. Hmm..
Thanks all!

 

To me it doesn't make sense to pay thousands more for an AP2 if you're looking to track a lot. AP1s are just so much cheaper and the car is so reliable overall, that the stuff you might want to change (checking for or replacing cracked retainers - mine had none - or taming the rear suspension) costs far less than the price difference in the cars themselves. The only sort of big one to me is FlashPro on '06+ models, but you're spending a lot more for an '06 vs. an AP1. I will also say that without FlashPro, an AP2 is only going to have 2k rpm of VTEC range compared to 3k for the AP1. It really is splitting hairs between various years regardless - they're all very similar and there's not a bad one in the bunch.

I even feel like my 69k mile AP1 is a little "too nice" for the track for my liking. A solid 100k mile '00 would be just as good. If I was just looking at a track car mainly, I'd get myself a $10k AP1 and save the rest for any changes I'd like to make, or consumables, rather than spending $15k, $20k+ on an AP2.

 

Not only will you smooth out the suspension issues, the money you save can be put towards a far far far more Superior suspension set than what comes from the factory.

 

I wanted to add some other negatives about the 06+ AP2 as a track car.

• If you go that route, you're going to run into issues with it on the street - the passenger seat weight sensor causes issues with the airbag system if you install aftermarket seats.
• On the topic of aftermarket seats, there is also the issue of harness installation - the 06+ has the belt mount on the seat rail rather than the body, complicating the install yet again.
• Finally, the passenger floorpan is different, which limits your rollbar choices if you are looking at something that's not a Rockstar or Hard Dog. Not that you should be, but Cusco/Safety21 and Mugen no longer fit.

Now that said, I believe the 06+ has the potential to be the best choice as an ST class auto-x car if just for Flashpro.

 

If you plan to be tracking 6 to 8 times each year - or more- you will soon want something closer to a dedicated track car - roll bar, competition seats, 6 point harness, big brake kit. And you will soon find, I think, that tracking the car is rather boring. So you'll want to move to TT or wheel to wheel racing.

Nothing wrong with building up a Honda, but there will be lots of Miata Spec racecars (and other fully developed race cars) out there this winter for relatively cheap money. Take the long view.

---- Of course, I offer this "useless" advice after just having placed a $900 order on some wheels I don't need for my little racecar! Then tomorrow, I'll spend another $450 on an entry fee for a race event at Palmer.

 

I live in California, so the number of tracks available to me won't make this car boring, I'm sure.

I'm trying to figure out the cost of sorting out all the AP1 issues:

- Cracked retainers
- Banjo Bolts
- ??
- Rear suspension (what exactly do I need to do to fix the twitchy rear end? How much am I spending for this?)

I am handy and I'm sure I can do some work, but I sort of want to know how deep I'm going to get into this.