sam_spider's 2005 Berlina Thread
01-15-2015, 01:44 PM
#1
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
sam_spider's 2005 Berlina Thread
Long overdue as I'm coming up on 10 years of ownership.
Bought the car July 2005 after almost buying a Mazdaspeed Miata. Berlina was not my first choice, but as it was all they had at the local dealer (and my wife didn't want to wait) I said yes and drove it home.
Signed up here within a day or so of buying it and started looking through all the aftermarket stuff available and all the other S's in the gallery, said to myself "one day".
First mod was the OEM front spoiler. Soon after, I picked up a BYS spoiler in CF. I didn't like the way the CF didn't flow well being unfinshed in CF, so I had it partially painted to flow better.
Underside was painted as well
2006
Fast forward to the Spring of 2006, I saw threads about the Wake the Dragon meet in NC/TN and decided I needed to go. I met up with another owner from Kalamazoo (Derf) to drive down together. This was the first time I'd met another S owner, he was in his 50's and had his wife with him, he asked if I'm comfortable driving at 'speed' and I said 'sure' thinking he's old, no way his idea of speed and mine were the same, let alone different. Boy was I wrong. I will never forget the drive down to Cincinnati, this was the first time I'd ever pushed the car this hard, it was fun, but I was a little out of my comfort zone as I'd only put 2000 miles on the car by this point.
I met up with a ton of really great people at the dragon event, and saw a lot of aftermarket stuff, most of which I decided I needed
I didn't want to go too far though as my S was a 3 year lease and due to my previous cars knew the S2000 wasn't going to be a keeper beyond the lease term.
Pics from my first dragon event in 2006.
Necessary rain shot since it always rains during the dragon event
After a great long weekend and meeting a ton of really great people, I decided I needed to buy some stuff.
Ordered a set of Muz mats in black with grey trim. Found a set of used Volk Evolution IV wheels on the forum and bought those, along with Eibach springs, HKS exhaust, new tires for the new wheels, a Comptech intake, and the crossmember cover thingy.
2007
Went to the dragon event again in the Spring of 2007 and saw even more stuff I needed to buy, and meet even more great people, who also persuaded me it was okay to mod lease car...
I fell in love with the RE30's on Greg's (GTMotoring) S2000. He suggested them in mercury silver to match what I'd done to the interior, so they were ordered.
I went to a Tech day in Wisconsin and had the CDV removed.
After seeing Vadster's car at the dragon, the interior was next, so I got in touch with Cyclon36 (Joe) and sent him lots of money...
Custom door panels
Custom shift boot, that may or not say 'S2000' on it
Custom center console cover and elbow pad
All done in black leather and grey and black alcantara.
Fall of 2007 I decided the stock stereo simply wasn't going to cut it anymore. I went a bit overkill...
A friend of mine owned a shop, so we tore it apart.
Stereo
Alpine DVA-9861
Diamond Audio D971 components for the front
Diamond Audio Hex subwoofer
Alpine PDX 4.150 (components speakers were bi-amped, 150 watts to each speaker)
Alpine PDX 1.600 for the Sub
Went old school and installed my Fosgate Symmetry unit for EQ duties
All done
I was really happy with the stereo, I could now drive 70+ top down and hear music!
October 2007 I was playing soccer and broke my leg...
New shiny titanium rod inserted into leg
I then spent the next few months recovering and after a few more surgeries and looked forward to the next dragon event, hoping I would be able to drive the car.
Bought the car July 2005 after almost buying a Mazdaspeed Miata. Berlina was not my first choice, but as it was all they had at the local dealer (and my wife didn't want to wait) I said yes and drove it home.
Signed up here within a day or so of buying it and started looking through all the aftermarket stuff available and all the other S's in the gallery, said to myself "one day".
First mod was the OEM front spoiler. Soon after, I picked up a BYS spoiler in CF. I didn't like the way the CF didn't flow well being unfinshed in CF, so I had it partially painted to flow better.
Underside was painted as well
2006
Fast forward to the Spring of 2006, I saw threads about the Wake the Dragon meet in NC/TN and decided I needed to go. I met up with another owner from Kalamazoo (Derf) to drive down together. This was the first time I'd met another S owner, he was in his 50's and had his wife with him, he asked if I'm comfortable driving at 'speed' and I said 'sure' thinking he's old, no way his idea of speed and mine were the same, let alone different. Boy was I wrong. I will never forget the drive down to Cincinnati, this was the first time I'd ever pushed the car this hard, it was fun, but I was a little out of my comfort zone as I'd only put 2000 miles on the car by this point.
I met up with a ton of really great people at the dragon event, and saw a lot of aftermarket stuff, most of which I decided I needed
I didn't want to go too far though as my S was a 3 year lease and due to my previous cars knew the S2000 wasn't going to be a keeper beyond the lease term.Pics from my first dragon event in 2006.
Necessary rain shot since it always rains during the dragon event
After a great long weekend and meeting a ton of really great people, I decided I needed to buy some stuff.
Ordered a set of Muz mats in black with grey trim. Found a set of used Volk Evolution IV wheels on the forum and bought those, along with Eibach springs, HKS exhaust, new tires for the new wheels, a Comptech intake, and the crossmember cover thingy.
2007
Went to the dragon event again in the Spring of 2007 and saw even more stuff I needed to buy, and meet even more great people, who also persuaded me it was okay to mod lease car...
I fell in love with the RE30's on Greg's (GTMotoring) S2000. He suggested them in mercury silver to match what I'd done to the interior, so they were ordered.
I went to a Tech day in Wisconsin and had the CDV removed.
After seeing Vadster's car at the dragon, the interior was next, so I got in touch with Cyclon36 (Joe) and sent him lots of money...
Custom door panels
Custom shift boot, that may or not say 'S2000' on it
Custom center console cover and elbow pad
All done in black leather and grey and black alcantara.
Fall of 2007 I decided the stock stereo simply wasn't going to cut it anymore. I went a bit overkill...
A friend of mine owned a shop, so we tore it apart.
Stereo
Alpine DVA-9861
Diamond Audio D971 components for the front
Diamond Audio Hex subwoofer
Alpine PDX 4.150 (components speakers were bi-amped, 150 watts to each speaker)
Alpine PDX 1.600 for the Sub
Went old school and installed my Fosgate Symmetry unit for EQ duties
All done
I was really happy with the stereo, I could now drive 70+ top down and hear music!
October 2007 I was playing soccer and broke my leg...
New shiny titanium rod inserted into leg
I then spent the next few months recovering and after a few more surgeries and looked forward to the next dragon event, hoping I would be able to drive the car.
01-15-2015, 02:12 PM
#2
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
2008
Picked up a set of NRG CF hood dampers
Started to hang out with the Ohio crew more and participated in the parade lap for the IndyCar race at Mid Ohio.
Got to put stickers all over the car.
It then pissed down on us waiting on pit lane for the drivers, and since we had our tonneau covers on, we were stuck
Still completely worth it, I'll never forgot that day.
So, summer of 2008 my lease was up. I'd had a great 3 years in the S, met a bunch of really great people, and made some lifelong friends, so I realized I didn't want it to end, so I bought the S.
After going to a few more meets in Chicago, I decided I needed a Mugen hardtop. I called Greg @ GTMotoring and bought one, drove out to him a week later and had him install it.
Greg, is not the Asian guy in the pic (that's Jae)
Here she was in all her glory
2009
Decided this was the year I'd start tracking the S, since I really loved my RE30's I decided I needed a different set of wheels for track duty. I reached out to Greg yet again for a new set of wheels.
He offered me a set of Volk LE28 Formula edition for a great price, so I said yes.
I also got in touch with Cyclon36 (JPM Coachworks) again to get my steering wheel redone to match my interior
Out with the old
In with the new
Joe's idea to add a center stripe to the wheel, I said yes, but it had to be orange
GoTuning was offering their line of custom inerior pieces, so I had the door sills and visors done to match.
Also ordered a set of Clazzio seat covers in black leather with black suede centers to finish it off.
Went to Ohio to for the annual Arthritis foundation car show and to hand out with the Ohio guys.
The judges seemed to like it and I won Best of Show for the S2000/NSX Class
I think I won due to being friends with Mocky, but that's okay, I'll take it
Picked up a set of NRG CF hood dampers
Started to hang out with the Ohio crew more and participated in the parade lap for the IndyCar race at Mid Ohio.
Got to put stickers all over the car.
It then pissed down on us waiting on pit lane for the drivers, and since we had our tonneau covers on, we were stuck
Still completely worth it, I'll never forgot that day.
So, summer of 2008 my lease was up. I'd had a great 3 years in the S, met a bunch of really great people, and made some lifelong friends, so I realized I didn't want it to end, so I bought the S.
After going to a few more meets in Chicago, I decided I needed a Mugen hardtop. I called Greg @ GTMotoring and bought one, drove out to him a week later and had him install it.
Greg, is not the Asian guy in the pic (that's Jae)
Here she was in all her glory
2009
Decided this was the year I'd start tracking the S, since I really loved my RE30's I decided I needed a different set of wheels for track duty. I reached out to Greg yet again for a new set of wheels.
He offered me a set of Volk LE28 Formula edition for a great price, so I said yes.
I also got in touch with Cyclon36 (JPM Coachworks) again to get my steering wheel redone to match my interior
Out with the old
In with the new
Joe's idea to add a center stripe to the wheel, I said yes, but it had to be orange
GoTuning was offering their line of custom inerior pieces, so I had the door sills and visors done to match.
Also ordered a set of Clazzio seat covers in black leather with black suede centers to finish it off.
Went to Ohio to for the annual Arthritis foundation car show and to hand out with the Ohio guys.
The judges seemed to like it and I won Best of Show for the S2000/NSX Class
I think I won due to being friends with Mocky, but that's okay, I'll take it
01-15-2015, 02:30 PM
#3
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
So, I'd bought all this stuff, but had never taken the S to the track. In the summer of 2009 after quite a bit of persuading from other members, I decided to do it.
It was also the time for the next Indy race at Mid Ohio, so I had the decals on again.
The event is West Michigan Honda Meet, supposed to be an all Honda event
I had a blast.
We lined up for the all Honda parade lap
It was also the time for the next Indy race at Mid Ohio, so I had the decals on again.
The event is West Michigan Honda Meet, supposed to be an all Honda event
I had a blast.
We lined up for the all Honda parade lap
01-15-2015, 02:30 PM
#4
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
2010
Decided the side of the car needed a bit of something, so I picked up a set of CF side diffusers from AJ Racing.
Also picked up a Mugen SS rear wing and a new trunk for the wing so I could switch them out when I wanted.
Parade lap at the Indy race at Mid Ohio for 2010 and my passenger, Dan Wheldon. He was a super nice guy, we joked around the whole time. RIP.
Picked up the all important Mugen license plate bolts, an oil cap, and key chain
Did the WMHM track weekend again, and also another track event in the fall
I also added a Whiteline front sway bar along the way. No pic.
In the fall I decided the hardtop needed to be quieter, so I had a headliner made for the hardtop. Black alcantara with grey stitching to continue the theme, also has a foam backing for sound deadening.
Decided the side of the car needed a bit of something, so I picked up a set of CF side diffusers from AJ Racing.
Also picked up a Mugen SS rear wing and a new trunk for the wing so I could switch them out when I wanted.
Parade lap at the Indy race at Mid Ohio for 2010 and my passenger, Dan Wheldon. He was a super nice guy, we joked around the whole time. RIP.
Picked up the all important Mugen license plate bolts, an oil cap, and key chain
Did the WMHM track weekend again, and also another track event in the fall
I also added a Whiteline front sway bar along the way. No pic.
In the fall I decided the hardtop needed to be quieter, so I had a headliner made for the hardtop. Black alcantara with grey stitching to continue the theme, also has a foam backing for sound deadening.
01-16-2015, 05:54 AM
#5
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
2011
Decided I didn't really like the color on the LE28's so I had them refinished in silver
Up to this point I was running my original pads & rotors, although I'd changed to ATE super blue fluid a couple years back. Time for new brakes with some help from UMW'ers at a Tech Day in Wisconsin.
Also picked up a Comptech rear tie bar somewhere along the way
Summer of 11 I again called up Greg as I wanted some coilovers, he obliged and sold me a set of his Challenge coils. Drove to Chicago and had them installed just in time for another track weekend.
Decided I didn't really like the color on the LE28's so I had them refinished in silver
Up to this point I was running my original pads & rotors, although I'd changed to ATE super blue fluid a couple years back. Time for new brakes with some help from UMW'ers at a Tech Day in Wisconsin.
Also picked up a Comptech rear tie bar somewhere along the way
Summer of 11 I again called up Greg as I wanted some coilovers, he obliged and sold me a set of his Challenge coils. Drove to Chicago and had them installed just in time for another track weekend.
01-16-2015, 06:09 AM
#6
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
2012
Quiet year for mods. I changed the sides from the AJ Racing ones to the Downforce sides as the AJ ones were essentially just planks, the Downforce ones flow better with the car.
I also had the front repainted due to years of rock chips, in the process the fender emblems were removed.
WMHM
Gave Greg a call (again) and ordered some custom Recaro pole positions
I had to wait to install them
2013
Pole positions installed
Rest of the year I just enjoyed the car, and more track days.
At Mid Ohio vintage race
Parade lap @ vintage race
WMHM
Indy car race @ Mid Ohio parade lap with Scott Dixon
2014
Bought a Zoom rear view mirror.
Got a set of orange front & rear tow hooks from Greg
WMHM 14
Quiet year for mods. I changed the sides from the AJ Racing ones to the Downforce sides as the AJ ones were essentially just planks, the Downforce ones flow better with the car.
I also had the front repainted due to years of rock chips, in the process the fender emblems were removed.
WMHM
Gave Greg a call (again) and ordered some custom Recaro pole positions
I had to wait to install them
2013
Pole positions installed
Rest of the year I just enjoyed the car, and more track days.
At Mid Ohio vintage race
Parade lap @ vintage race
WMHM
Indy car race @ Mid Ohio parade lap with Scott Dixon
2014
Bought a Zoom rear view mirror.
Got a set of orange front & rear tow hooks from Greg
WMHM 14
01-16-2015, 06:51 AM
#7
Site Moderator
Thread Starter
2015
We shall see....it's been a fun journey and it's not over.
We shall see....it's been a fun journey and it's not over.
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01-16-2015, 07:27 AM
#8
Moderator
Awesome! It's cool to see the entire progression of your car all at once. 
I think I like the color on the newly refinished CEs better than the original LE color scheme. A polished lip on one piece wheels looks out of place to me.
I think I like the color on the newly refinished CEs better than the original LE color scheme. A polished lip on one piece wheels looks out of place to me.
