Modded AP2 Lives One Track Day at a Time
The Honda S2000 makes a perfect track machine, especially once you treat it to a laundry list of performance parts.
Step-By-Step Guide to Greatness
If there's one thing that S2KI members love to do, it's buying a bone stock S2000 and transform it for track duty. Few of them, however, go to the lengths that initiald3s went with his AP2. And thankfully, those looking to do the same with their ride get a detailed description of how to do it in this excellent build thread.
Go Fast(er)
The OP's humble silver ride certainly didn't look like much the day he picked it up. But he wasted no time whatsoever replacing everything he could with aftermarket goodies that would make it faster around the track.
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Shaving Seconds
But even after installing a laundry list of parts, the OP's mission to go fast didn't stop there. He just kept making changes. And as a result, shaving seconds off his lap times.
"Had the chance to test out my new tune, HKS Hypermax 4 SP, and 255 Federal RS-RR square setup with the new wheels. My previous best lap time was a 1'48.8 at Laguna Seca with the stock suspension, Falken Azenis RT615K (non+) in staggered 225/255 tire sizes with an HFC, and exhaust with no tune. Out in the first session, I was able to shave 2 seconds off immediately with a 1'46.8!"
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Impressive Results
And if you thought that was impressive, a few other tweaks resulted in even better results. "Went to Thunderhill this weekend with OnGrid. Was able to shave about 6 seconds off my previous lap time after all the parts, which felt pretty insane. Went from a mid 2'12 down to a 2'05.8. The current setup with 255 Federal RS-RR, HKS Hipermax 4 SP, and Flashpro tune with HFC and exhaust made the car feel neutral with a bit of oversteer bias, which I prefer. Dampers were set to 15F/15R, which are the out of the box settings."
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Minor Tweaks, Major Results
Impressive results, indeed. A simple brake swap improved the OP's lap time even more, but he still wasn't satisfied. "Got to test out the Stoptech ST40 Calipers at Laguna Seca on 2/10 on Endless CC43 pads. Shaved off over a second and ran a 1'45.4. Brakes felt good all day long with no fade or any issues. So far, I'm pretty satisfied with the progress. But I'll aim to ultimately be in the 1'42s at Laguna Seca and 2'02s at Thunderhill with no aero."
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
More Power!
To achieve that goal, the OP knew he was going to have to add some power. So he headed to the dyno to get some baseline numbers. After installing the HFC, exhaust, and tune, he picked up a significant gain of 63 hp.
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Setting Records
As you might imagine, that extra power led to yet another personal best performance. "Went to Thunderhill West for the first time over the weekend. A much tighter and more technical track compared to the others I've been to. Ran a best time of 1'27.1, which was my target time for the day."
"New tune felt great and car handled well. Still impressed by the times I'm able to produce with the Federal RS-RRs. Had an opportunity to drive two friend's G35s on track as well set a best time of 1'31.9. One of them had RE71Rs and they definitely grip more than the RS-RRs, but cost twice as much basically."
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Bring on the Aero
The next obvious step, of course, was some aero. "Went to Thunderhill West again this past weekend. First time running Aero on the S2000. I have a Voltex/J's Rep 1600mm wing with an APR front splitter and CR Rep lip. Big wing was only noticeable on higher speed turns like 3, 5 and 6. I was able to more easily stay on the throttle in turns 5 and 6 with the added stability. Ended the day with a 1'26.1, which is 1 second faster than my previous time (also my first time at West)."
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!
Free Fallin'
From there, the times just kept dropping. "Hit up Laguna Seca again with SpeedSF. First time with aero on the track and the car felt much more stable. Set a PB of 1'43.8." But of course, that wasn't the end of this story. The OP has since been focusing on dropping weight, and also added a set of 14k Swift springs to his ride. So be sure and head over here to stay tuned as this track-loving S2000 continues to get faster and faster!
>>Join the conversation on initiald3s AP1 right here in the S2Ki Forum!