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IntroductionsMake your introductions to the S2000 owner community. Discussions and comments from new and future S2000 owners. You will get a warm welcome, friendly and helpful advice. The 'Start Button' of the forums.
I am new to the forums but not to cars! I've had my S2000 for a few years now and love the thing. It has been my weekend car and couldn't have anymore fun. My current mods are HKS coilovers, Stoptech BBK, Enkei PF01's, and an Invidia exhaust.
Recently I have been doing a lot of research about taking my S2000 to the track however I have something in the back of my mind and I was hoping to get some other opinions who are in my current situation.
My car is in really good condition. Its a 2001 AP1 with 42k miles. I know generally I just want to enjoy the car and do what I want with it and I know i will regret it later if I never took it the track but whats everyone's experience with taking their future collector car to the track? I think my car has passed the point of show car status however the car is in extremely good shape and I know the value of the car already appreciated in value since I bought it.
What do you guys think? Should I just shut up and go to the track or is this something I should be concerned about?
It will be harder to sell (if you ever try) if it has been tracked. If it were me and budget allowed for it, I would buy a higher mileage car that needed some TLC and prepare that for track use so I can keep a nice example ... nice. I have no track experience besides 1/4 mile. Maybe S2000 owners take their stock examples to the track with no problems aside from dealing with wear items.
It will be harder to sell (if you ever try) if it has been tracked. If it were me and budget allowed for it, I would buy a higher mileage car that needed some TLC and prepare that for track use so I can keep a nice example ... nice. I have no track experience besides 1/4 mile. Maybe S2000 owners take their stock examples to the track with no problems aside from dealing with wear items.
I have a 2002 S2000 with just 38,000 miles on the odometer all original so we are in a similar situation where the car is worth a decent amount. I purchased it back last November and had the same types of concerns tracking it as you have. At the end of the day, I decided that for a few track days (2-3 max) per year, you aren't going to really lose any value in selling the car afterwards by a few track days. Just buy the track day insurance to protect your 'investment' in case something does go wrong. It's a matter of risk like everything else in life which is why I go for the track day insurance + basic mods like brake fluid and tires to enjoy the car on track. No, it's not a fully prepped car that's going to 'win' the local HPDE events, but it does what I wanted to best which is occasion drives to work, mountain runs, events, and occasional track duty.
I track a close to stock 2004 with just over 30,000 miles. Track day mods are stainless steel braided brake lines and Carbotech pads. I consider myself to be a moderate track day driver, still running in Intermediate despite holding a vintage competition license. Stated differently, I'm driving 9/10 rather than 12/10. Sometimes I buy track day insurance, sometimes I don't. I take particular care of my brakes and fluids. You will pick up some small chips and dings on the front bumper and hood from track debris. Other than that, and depending on your own driving, a properly run track day shouldn't be any riskier than normal highway driving.
Watch the curbs and remember Taruffi's Rules:
1. You must never lift your foot in a corner, but must keep just enough throttle on during the central phase to hold your speed constant, so as to be ready to open up as you leave the corner, widening the radius as you go. Page 85.
2. The really important thing is that, once you open up again halfway around the corner, you must not lift your foot for any reason at all – either through coming in too fast, taking the wrong line, accelerating too hard, or miscalculating the slipperiness of the road surface on the way out. Page 91.
3. When cornering rapidly it can happen, through excessive speed or an unexpectedly slippery patch, that the … two back wheels … lose their grip. … [When the] back wheels … lose adhesion in this way, and the rear part of the car starts sliding towards the outside of the corner … [y]ou must unwind the steering wheel immediately, to bring the car back in the right direction. At the same time you should apply a little engine torque to induce a slight pitching movement, thus transferring weight to the rear wheels. To lift your foot right off, or worse still, to use the brakes (and also on … powerful cars, to open the throttle too wide) will turn an already desperate situation into a disaster. Page 92-93
4. When it is the front wheels that go (one of the most unpleasant situations to be found in racing) … you can only lift your foot and turn the steering so that the wheels are pointing straight, hoping that they will regain their grip before the car goes off the road; if this succeeds you must lock over again to get around the corner. Page 93
Rules 1-3 translated: Whatever you do, don't lift in the corners!
09-13-2018, 05:30 AM
To Track or Not to Track....
Maybe S2000 owners take their stock examples to the track with no problems aside from dealing with wear items.
