o_O S2000 | Mk I — Stage II

[andrewhake]

Yo!

New site, new project thread. Feel free to check out my my original thread if you want to see all of the original discussion. I am going to start this topic with all of the major posts and milestones from the old thread so newcomers can see the timeline and ask any questions about how it got to where where it is now. Enjoy!

Current Spec



Tires:
-F 255/40/17 R 255/40/17 Bridgestone RE71-R

Wheels:
-Rays Engineering Volk CE28n 17x9.5+47 F+R
-Rays Engineering Volk ZE40 17x9.5+47 F+R
-WedsSport TC105N Dark Gunmetal 17x9+49 F+R

Suspension:
-Öhlins DFV dampers custom valved with Swift springs – 13kg/mm F+R
-Sakebomb DFV remote adjusters
-Ikeya Formula front upper arms
-ASM 3-way adjustable anti-roll bars
-J's Racing Front S1 camber joint and RCA
-J's Racing Rear RCA
-J's Racing driveshaft spacers

Drivetrain:
-OS Giken 1.5 way LSD
-Cryo-treated rebuilt diff assembly with EVS high capacity diff cover
-Spoon engine, transmission, and diff mounts

Brake Calipers:
-Spoon Sports monoblock 4 piston

Brake Pads:
-Endless ME20 F+R
-Winmax W5 F+R

Brake Rotors:
-Girodisc 2-piece floating rotors (front)
-Girodisc/Urge 2-piece vented floating rotors (rear)

Brake Fluid:
Project µ G-four 335, Project µ Stainless brake lines

Chassis:
-Spoon Rigid Collars
-ASM GT Front Tower Bar
-ASM GT Front lower bar (w/steering rack braces)
-ASM front lower subframe u-brace
-ASM rear lower subframe brace
-Spoon rigid steering rack bushings

Alignment:
Camber F= -3.0 | R= -3.0, Caster = 6.4, Rear Toe-in = 1/16th (total toe)

Interior:
-Recaro Pole Position seats (Jersey Red)
-PCI drivers side slider seat mount (w/Pole Position specific side mounts)
-PCI passenger side adjustable fixed seat mount
-Schroth Racing harness lap belt and bracket with modified OEM type seat belt receptacle (mounted directly to seat mounts)
-Zoom engineering TS mirror
-FD2 Type R Shift Knob
-FD2 shift knob collar (customized to fit)
-Momo Monte Carlo 350mm steering wheel (red stitch) w/NSX-R horn button
-Honda Access Premium floor mats
-2 Audio-Technica Pro35 mics mounted for audio recording
-Modifry windscreen mount for camera
-Alpine CDE-BT149HD
-Alpine SPR-60C component speakers
-Modifry DCI
-OEM soft top removed

Exterior:
-Amuse R1 front bumper
-Amuse dry carbon hood (street version)
-OEM Hardtop
-Downforce 1x1 carbon side diffusers
-ASM rear bumper 04-S
-JDM rear bumper support
-ASM GT-09 dry carbon trunk/wing
-Spoon aero mirrors

Engine:
-Amuse Euro-S exhaust (70mm)
-Toda 60mm to 70mm testpipe, or custom EVS High Flow Cat and 70mm testpipe
-Mugen airbox
-ASM/Toda AP2 throttle body
-ASM throttle body spacer
-TODA + ASM pulley kit
-TODA timing chain tensioner
-ASM radiator plate (cf)
-ASM radiator tank
-Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 w/Kinetic Custom Machine battery tray
-Spoon Magnetic drain plugs
-Spoon radiator stays
-Origin radiator
-Samco radiator hoses
-Spoon radiator cap
-Hondata FlashPro tuned by Jei @ BlackTrax

Current weight): 2626lb measured during corner balance

Thread Index:

stage I



October 2012
20121004 | Car purchased..
20121004 | Initial driving impressions
20121007 | driving impressions
20121007 | golden Gate loop (eye level
20121009 | stereo cable removal
20121011 | stereo harness issue resolved
20121013 | FlashPro and factory service manual
20121015 | driving impressions
20121018 | OEM floor mats, OEM car cover, Spoon Reservoir cover, Wax and polish, headlight restoration
20121019 | Fluids, FD2 shift knob, basic maintenance
20121019 | FD2 Shift knob
20121020 | Walk around video
20121022 | Project µ HC+800 brake pads
20121026 | driving impressions (tire pressure)
20121029 | Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 (225/255), fresh OEM alignment, driving impressions
20121031 | Full fluid change, brake pad swap, axle nut re-torque, soft top squeak fix

November 2012
20121116 | Arai GP-6S helmet
20121118 | First track day in S2000 at Thunderhill BlackTrax Test & Tune
20121128 | HyperRev Vol. 166 - S2000 No. 7

December 2012
20121221 | Valve adjustment

January 2013
Happy New Year!
20130110 | Project µ HC+800 update
20130111 | Cabin air filter change
20130116 | New front rotors and fresh Project µ HC+800 up front
20130119 | 4:30 AM
20130121 | Chasing Ferrari Challenge Stradale

February 2013
20130203 | First time driving Laguna Seca!
20130212 | New windshield
20130212 | Project µ HC+800 re-up! (In the front)
20130216 | Project µ G-four 335 brake fluid
20130221 | Project µ HC+800 rear re-up

March 2013
20130308 | Driving impressions! (Test drive 2 other S2000s and Audi S4 Touge Monster)
20130329 | Autonomous Touge Monster

April 2013
20130408 | Laguna Seca track day photo
20130413 | Race with a mountain lion
20130417 | Bridgestone Potenza RE-11A
20130417 | Girodisc 2 piece floating rotors
20130427 | WASP Composite brake ducts

May 2013
20130529 | Project µ re-up!

June 2013
20130606 | Tein SRC Evasive Spec
20130612 | California coast
20130627 | Girodisc 2-piece floating rotors and Project µ Club Racer pads installed

July 2013
20130701 } Thunderhill Raceway (bypass)
20130719 | Spoon Rigid Collars
20130726 | Deer...

August 2013
20130801 | Spoon Rigid Collars installed and tested
20130802 | Puma Furio gloves
20130817 | Science of Speed rear brake rotors
20130820 | Motul Motylgear and Project µ re-up
20130824 | Local unsanctioned motorsports event
20130830 | Back from the body shop
20130830 | Highway 9 Gunsai corner update

October 2013
20131021 | Volk CE28N Bronze 17x7.5+50 17x9+63
20131030 | Updated alignment
20131031 | Alpine CDE-HD149BT installed

November 2013
20131103 | Making friends...
20131108 | I wonder what these are for?
20131112 | Girodisc revised rotors update
20131112 | Science of Speed rear rotors & fresh Project µ Club Racer pads
20131113 | Öhlins DFV with HyperCo springs
20131113 | Torque wrench and extended non-marring socket
20131115 | Mugen Intake & ASM radiator plate
20131117 | Thunderhill Raceway 2'07.3
20131122 | J's Racing driveshaft spacers
20131127 | J's Racing RCA/camber joints
20131128 | Craftsman Impact wrench and air pump for track
20131129 | Buttonwillow Raceway 2'08.0

December 2013
20131215 | Thunderhill Raceway 2'06.4!

January 2014
20140121 | Honda F1 visor sticker


stage II



Janurary 2014
20140123 | Welcome to Stage II — Ohlins DFV, CE28N
20140124 | Arai Iridium Silver visor
20140125 | Ohlins DFV / Stage II Driving Impressions (Street/Touge)

February 2014
20140201 | Thunderhill Raceway Park
20140222 | Tracking weight savings
20140222 | Rays Hubrings & Snap-on bag

March 2014
20140306 | Amuse R1 front bumper & S-factor splitter
20140310 | Amuse R1 front bumper mesh tabs
20140311 | Lightly jumped...
20140311 | ASM GT Front Tower Barj
20140316 | Honda Tuning Cup 5 Lap Battle
20140316 | Buttonwillow 13CW 2'07.398 (w/ lift)
20140316 | Buttonwillow photos
20140316 | Buttonwillow Shenanigans
20140321 | APR pre-preg dry carbon brake duct inlets
20140327 | Touge hand shake

April 2014
20140404 | Touge pole dancing
20140413 | Tire puncture
20140414 | Amuse R1 mesh anchors installed and test fit
20140415 | Shorai LFX36L3-BS12 Lithium Iron battery and Kinetic Custom Machine battery tray

May 2014
20140503 | Recaro teaser
20140511 | Winmax W5 brake pads
20140511 | Recaro Pole Position (Jersey Red) & Ballade Sports seat rails

June 2014
20140603 | Project µ brake lines
20140604 | Rolled fenders
20140613 | Recaro Pole Position (Jersey Red) passenger seat installed
20140622 | Winmax W5 pads installed

July 2014
20140710 | Honda Access Premium Floor Mats

August 2014
20140824 | Spoon Pressure Plate, new wheel hubs and bearings

September 2014
20140913 | Advan AD08 R, new alignment
20140919 | Mugen intake weighed and wrapped in DEI reflect-a-gold
20140923 | Amuse hood teaser
20140924 | Thunderhill West 1:28.332
20140924 | Amuse dry carbon hood (Street Version)
20140926 | Thunderhill West photo

October 2014
20141007 | o_O S2000 maintenance template
20141015 | Valve adjustment + NSX encounter
20141019 | Right near the beach..
20141021 | Honda Access Premium Floor Mats (Red)
20141026 | Updated alignment
20141029 | It's happening!

November 2014
20141123 | Motec D153 mockup
20141126 | Amuse R1 front bumper installed + Wedsport TC105N
20141127 | ASIMO googley eyes

December 2014
20141207 | Side under panel 3D mockup
20141220 | Tool cart
20141222 | FlashPro tune
20141231 | Amuse Euro Single 60mm exhaust + J's racing testpipe

January 2015
20150122 | Amuse dry carbon hood installed
20150131 | windshield washer tubing

February 2015
20150202 | Front emblem mounted to Amuse R1 bumper
20150206 | Mugen intake installed
20150224 | 100,000 miles!

March 2015
20150312 | Spoon monoblock calipers
20150312 | Amuse sticker on Amuse hood
20150320 | Spoon aero mirrors
20150320 | Craftsman impact wrench
20150324 | Brake ducting concept
20150327 | Right near the beach, again

April 2015
20150402 | Amuse Euro Single exhaust + J's Racing test pipe installed
20150404 | Amuse exhaust piping color shift
20150408 | Amuse exhaust sound check
20150409 | AP2 vs AP1 flywheel
20150410 | Brake duct concept render
20150411 | Spoon monoblock calipers + WedsSports TC105N 17x9+49 installed!
20150413 | 255 square setup and Spoon calipers initial impressions

May 2015
20150516 | OEM hardtop installed
20150518 | Hardtop tin removed
20150522 | Sound recording setup upgraded
20150526 | Sunset on skyline
20150520 | Ray's CE28N 17x9.5 +47

June 2015
20150618 | Paint correction, detail and coating

July 2015
20150702 | ASM steering hub
20150710 | Momo Monte Carlo 350mm w/ NSX-R horn button
20150713 | Momo Monte Carlo 350mm (red stitch) + NSX-R horn button + ASM steering hub installed!
20150716 | FD2-R shift knob collar installed
20150716 | Audio-Techinca mics installed
20150718 | Alignment update
20150719 | Hardtop dents removed

August 2015
20150822 | Zoom Engineering TS mirror
20150823 | Zoom Engineering TS mirror installed

September 2015
20150925 | Ray's CE28N 17x9.5 +47 mounted
20150926 | Spoon engine, transmission, diff mounts

October 2015
20151010 | Sonoma Raceway — 1:55.1
20151016 | Downforce 1x1 carbon side diffusers
20151019 | Downforce side diffusers installed
20151026 | ASM radiator cooling plate installed
20151027 | Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans screening with Porsche 917k and Ferrari 512S

November 2015
20151110 | Endless ME20 brake pads
20151119 | ASM 3-way anti-roll bars

December 2015
20151208 | Ikeya Formula front upper arms
20151212 | Mugen air filter
20151214 | MoTeC display animation mockup
20151215 | ASM anti roll bars installed
20151221 | MoTeC display startup animation

January 2016
20160126 | Mugen license plate bolts

February 2016
20150205 | Cleaned my car
20160209 | ASM I.S. Design Rear Aero Bumper -04 Type S
20160210 | Amuse exhaust photo
20160223 | New neighbor (991 GT3)
20160229 | Endless ME20s installed

March 2016
20160303 | Ohlins DFV (custom valving) + Swift 13kg/mm springs
20160321 | ASM radiator tank + ASM rear tow hook + KYB hydraulic scissor jack
20160322 | Toda 60mm to 70mm test pipe + Toda oil pan

April 2016
20160402 | ASM Throttle Body IS-09 + ASM throttle body spacer
20160403 | Toda 60mm to 70mm test tipe installed
20160409 | ASM radiator plate (carbon fiber), ASM radiator tanks, Mugen bolts, Mugen radiator cap installed


May 2016
20160503 | Audio-Technica microphone setup
20160509 | Spoon radiator stays
20160516 | ASM 07 exhaust manifold
20160527 | Ray's Engineering ZE40 17x9.5 +47
20160528 | Ohlins Super DFV + CE28N Unicorn Spec installed

June 2016
20160603 | ZE40s coated
20160607 | Urge rear rotors
20160611 | Local S2000 meet
20160614 | OEM catalytic convertor swapped on for smog
20160615 | Tool closet
20160623 | Rear soft top tray garnish mockup
20160624 | ASM throttle body installed
20160624 | Ride height measurement
20160629 | HKS metal catalyzer

July 2016
20160709 | ASM Exhaust Manifold 07 installed
20160715 | Ikeya Formula arms measurements
20160723 | New front rotor rings
20160728 | OS Giken 1.5way LSD in PM Stage 1.5+ rebuilt housing + EVS high capacity diff cover
20160731 | Ride height adjustment

August 2016
20160819 | Parking garage shot

September 2016
20160916 | Updated tune
20160916 | Diff installed + new rear hubs/bearings + ARP studs
20160925 | ASM front lower + rear lower brace

October 2016
20161014 | ZE40s + Brigestone RE71R installed
20161014 | Rear tray photo
20161029 | Back to the present! Welcome to S NI SEN

November 2016
20161105 | Alpine SPR-60C speakers + Modifry DCI
20161122 | Ray's Engineering Airguage overseas edition
20161122 | ASM GT Front lower bar + Spoon rigid steering rack bushings
20161122 | Samco radiator hoses
20161127 | Ikeya Formula front upper arms installed
20161128 | Origin radiator

December 2016
20161204 | MoTeC C125 display logger mockup
20161218 | Origin radiator + Samco hoses installed

2017

February 2017
20170214 | Honda - The Power of Dreams license plate frame
20170217 | ASM GT-09 dry carbon trunk + wing
20170218 | ASM rear diffuser
20170219 | EVO SS 3-axis GoPro gimbal

March 2017
20170301 | ASM rear bumper + ASM GT-09 trunk installed
20170326 | ASM parts paint progress
20170326 | New remanufactured alternator from Honda
20170326 | New rear emblem modified and ready to mount to new trunk
20170326 | Perma-Grit dremel bits for carbon fiber trimming
20170326 | More progress on MoTeC C125 dash design, adding more modules
20170326 | TODA Racing crank pulley set and timing chain tensioner
20170326 | Endless ME20 re-up
20170326 | New F22C short block from Honda

[andrewhake]

10-04-2012

Arriving back at it's new home, I live in a recently built apartment complex and was lucky enough to be able to pick out this perfect parking spot:


Very happy car!..












Some tasty touge leaves it munched up and spit out. Nomnomnom..




Already made friends with a new MX-5 Roadster!


OEM duckbill spoiler I was planning on purchasing already installed.


Super clean soft top!


And even cleaner interior! The only thing it's missing is the original floor mats, which I plan on picking up soon.


JDM OEM Honda G-force meter. AKA ASIMO plush co-pilot.


Showroom floor clean!




In this photo you can see the large stereo fuse grounded to the battery that is fed through the firewall hole to the back of the car. I will remove this but it looks like i may have to pull up the carpet and things to pull it out. My current head unit (Alpine) seems to be functioning normally and is controlled by the built in dash controls, but I am thinking my door speakers might have been removed along with the sub as I am getting no sound from the stereo. Which to be honest I really haven't even tested as I have been enjoying driving the car so much.


NOM NOM NOM!


Came with Bridgestone S-04 Pole Positions in OEM sizes all around, which have so far been great tires to learn the car on. Nice and responsive, perfect amount of grip, very linear at the limit, no complaints really. For my next set I will probably be the Dunlop Star Specs, AD08, or RE-11. Planning on trying out as many tires as I can.


And along with the ASIMO co-pilot my only other mod so far.


Initial driving impressions:

I have done about 2 full nights of touge driving, one solo, and one with my usual group of friends. Probably about 210 miles.

I have driven S2000s before, a few AP2 in OEM form, just normal driving for just a few blocks here and there, and have also driven Casey's CR suspension equipped AP2 in anger, but not too much anger ya know, so finally being able to drive this car near it's limits is truly the most fun I have had in any car period.

I know how to drive FF cars very quickly and still enjoy FF very much, but the driving style is entirely different. I am definitely in a whole different mode in FF cars, super late braking, sometimes some quick left foot braking or lifts of the throttle to help rotate the car, and easy on the exit. So fast in slow out, as you will just understeer trying to accelerate too much out of a corner. Some well put together FF cars feel balanced similar to a good FR, and can exit corners very nicely as well as enter them quickly, and as soon as the S is paid off I will likely end up with a nice EG6 if anyone wants a demonstration of that sometime. I have also driven many FR cars in anger, but none like the S.

With the S2000 it is very different obviously, much earlier on the brakes, turn in and ease into the throttle to quickly exit the corner after the apex. The cornering speed of the car is brilliant, even in stock form. Very little steering input needed as the car is so well balanced, like a very easy to drive and longer go-kart. I really had to put myself into Kart driving mode (which I have done plenty of) after driving so many FF cars for so long. Being able to control the rear end of the car with the throttle is a whole new world. The amount of power is perfectly balanced to the grip level of the car. I really wouldn't want any more power with the current suspension/tire setup. Definitely though, the best part for me is being able to simply apply more steering angle to the point of generating some oversteer, the harder it gets tossed the more you can generate, and there is the sweet spot to get the perfect amount of grip front to rear.

The brakes are also very well balanced, I got the car with what I believe were very new pads, I think they fully bedded in after my first night of driving. The pedal feel is unbelievably good, maybe under pretty extreme downhill conditions and warm temps I could see myself cooking the brakes but I can go so much easier on them compared to an FF car. The OEM pads seem like a good match, but I will definitely be trying out a few different after market pads designed for the street to see how they compare.

The engine is just pornographic really, so buttery smooth with the usual Honda manual transmission perfection to match. Smooth from 2k-8k. The pedals are perfectly spaced for some nice heel & toe, whether you want to do the full pivot off your toe to blip the throttle or the roll from the brake pedal to the throttle. The LSD seems extremely linear as well, with no dramatic changeover from not locking to locking.

The Potenza S-04s are really a pretty good tire. Comparing the price point to some other tires, like the Star Spec or RS3s, I think you can definitely get more grip for less (S-04s are 280 treadwear), but they definitely are a great match for the car. Very responsive with good steering feel, I do feel like it is easier to find the limit in higher speed corners than in low speed, but that is more just me needing to attack low speed corners a bit more aggressively I think. I can definitely carry more speed than I give the tires credit for at low speed.

Normal city driving I also couldn't be happier with! I am totally fine with a super hardcore/loud car but the S in this state is just a perfect mix. Top down or up, I enjoy myself driving the car anywhere for any distance, with no music at all.

Will post another impression soon!

[andrewhake]

10-07-2012


Car found a good parking buddy at work the second day after I picked it up!

20121007 driving impressions:


Did right around 100 miles in the mountains tonight, this time paired up with another S2000 in the lead (Casey). My night started coming up on a Porsche Cayman S with a fairly competent driver, I was definitely faster but it is great having a car in front to help pace. The Cayman was so quiet! Even with the stock AP2 exhaust it felt like my car was roaring behind him on every downshift. I think the S2000 definitely has higher cornering speed but the driver plays a big role in that so it's hard to tell. Even under acceleration I feel the S had the advantage, but again, it is hard to directly compare as on the mountains people tend to let off pretty early on long corners that are actually straights, and there are always corners coming up, so they don't give it the business up to the braking point like they should. After a nice downhill run following the Cayman, who's driver said he was getting a brake temperature warning from (brakes were totally happy on the S!) I led back up hill and it was basically just a solo run. I still feel like I can improve my low speed cornering a lot.

After the chance run=in with the Cayman S, I met up with Casey in his yellow AP2 with CR suspension goodies, and the usual engine bolt-ons (intake, header, exhaust) and some grippy 140 treadwear Federal 595RSRs, and I followed as he paced me through many different roads. Definitely the best way to learn the car. Following a similar car with the same gearing and brakes, with a good driver leading the way but not ever leaving you behind. :thumbup: Casey would definitely pull ahead in many low speed corners (anyone who has ever driven Alpine road with him will know why!) but I felt I was able to match him under braking in most cases. As soon as we get on a road he is more familiar with though it is much harder to keep up. We started the night off with me following on a road I know very well and he has driven very little, so it was a great way to pace the lead car and keep me from getting in to trouble. Don't be surprised if you see a yellow and silver S2000 duo out doing their thing in the mountains from now on.
:drive: :drive:


Another tasty touge leaf to add to the pile!

[andrewhake]

10-08-2012

This morning I used my cyborg eye to film a nice calm drive down a nice steep road..

[andrewhake]

10-09-2012

So I spent a few hours last night sorting some things out with the stereo. I started by removing the fuse that was mounted in the engine bay and connected to the battery. Just ziptied up so simple to remove. It was run across the engine bay to the drivers side firewall hole, and down along the side garnish panels under the carpet, up and behind the driver and passenger to the passenger side of the trunk, where there was another aftermarket ground wired connected to the body, and some plenty of zipties to remove along the way..

The S2000 is so easy to work on!! I have worked on many different Hondas over the years, and why they are all very straight forward, this is by far the simplest, all the same simple screws and clips, but designed in a way that requires even less screws but is still very secure. I didn't damage a single clip, and found that I am missing one the passenger side floor garnish that I now am aware of.

The main goal here was just removing the large fuse that was mounted in the engine bay, and this is what I ended up removing:

Wiring that was run from the head unit to the amp/sub that used to be in the car and was simply cut at the trunk by the previous owner when the sub was removed, Sirius satellite radio modules and interfaces, antennas and cables that I will never use, and a sirius antenna that was mounted to the dash and removed without a trace left. Luckily whoever did the initial install did a pretty clean job really, everything was neatly zip tied up and it doesn't look like anything was horribly spliced into or cut. There has to be 3-4 lbs of crap that I would never use in this pile..


And I found a McDonald's monopoly peel off in the card holder part of the radio lid. (.001g? maybe)

The best part about this process was learning that I already have a USB cable wired up to go into the center console so I can easily charge my phone and play music from it, which is the only way I will be listening to music in the car, I just don't listen to any radio period, even though it looks like that should all work normally as well. The USB cable had just fallen back into the hole that was neatly drilled into the back of the center console pocket, anyone know of a good gasket/grommet I can put into that hole to keep it sealed up a bit? I suppose I can ask the stereo shop if they have something.


The one remaining problem is that while the head unit is clearly working and charging the phone as it should, and can be controlled by the dash controls as a DCI box was spliced into the aftermarket head unit harness, but it isn't outputting any sound to the speakers. It looks like I will need to have a stereo shop take a look at sorting out the main stereo harness for me, but no major crisis, it looks like it should be pretty straight forward, just not something I want to take the time to mess with.

Sorry for the crappy photos, but just thought I would share, super happy I pulled all the extraneous crap out of there on my quest for OEM zen. It got me past that, I just bought this car I don't want to mess anything up stage, and I know how easy the car is to take apart and put back together, really is the best car in the world! :thumbup:

[andrewhake]

10-12-2012

Stereo all sorted after hardly any work. As I mentioned I spent a few hours pulling any extraneous wiring and Sirius components, and today stopped by All Pro Audio for about 15-20 minutes and they reworked my stereo harness on the spot for $50. Technician knew the S2000 very well, hardly had to explain anything and he went to work and had it outputting sound correctly in no time. He also helped me identify the aftermarket speakers in my doors as JL Audio or Focal without removing the door panels, not certain on that but I don't care what they are, they sound fine and keep me entertained on the way to the mountains.

The head unit I am using is the Alpine CDA-117, can't really say anything bad about it really. This all worked out quite nicely considering I got about a $1000 discount on the car since the stereo wasn't working correctly when I purchased it.

[andrewhake]

10-13-2012

Factory service manual arrived from HELMS and picked up a FlashPro from a local bay area member for a good price! (thanks again Kaan) :thumbup:



I won't be using the FlashPro any time soon, as I already mentioned I plan to drive the car for quite some time before making any modifications, but I have many things in mind for the future once I fully understand the car. If you have ever seen me drive a rental car you will understand why road knowledge and driving skill are way more important than any modification you can make to a car. :drive:

[andrewhake]

10-15-2012

20121015 Driving Impressions:

After driving the car for about 1500 miles my initial impressions haven't changed much, and if they have only for the better! The 2006 suspension setup with 245 rear tires definitely feels more neutral to me compared to the CR suspension setup I have driven before on similar roads with 255 rears, which makes perfect sense after looking into the CR spring/swaybar rates. I was always a bit surprised the CR came with a 215F/255R tire setup and also stiffer springs and swaybar at the front, and interesting that the JDM Type S model still used 245 R tires. I definitely think the CR setup might be a tiny bit easier to drive faster, as it is easier to find the limit of the tires, but I am absolutely loving the 2006 OEM balance. If I was to install CR suspension in the future I would definitely stick to 245 size rear tires if using OEM tire sizes up front.

I definitely think the S-04s aren't the best match for the car (the RE050s are 140 tread wear tires while the S-04s are 280) and I am excited to get some tires with some more usable grip. They have been great to learn the car though, can be at the limit with a little less overall speed, and they are nice and linear like most good Bridgestones, but the sidewall is definitely a bit on the soft side for my tastes. They definitely do perfectly fine in the wet though. They hardly make ANY noise though, at the limit where many tires will give some audible feedback, these are pretty silent. The dampers are great for mountain roads though, and the suspension has plenty of stroke for everything but the bumpiest roads that just stop being fun to drive anyway.

I love that car car is very linear and easy to handle when simply using momentum through the corners. I definitely can get a tiny bit harder to handle just powering out of a corner after entering at low speed as you have to counter steer extremely quickly. When the car starts to oversteer simply from momentum, it is pure joy.

The best part is that while the car is easy to drive it takes some time to master, so every time I go out driving I learn something new. S2000 why are you so f@#king awesome!?

[andrewhake]

10-18-2012

Some new basic bits and pieces and took my car in for detailing after getting a good recommendation and good deal through work. I mainly wanted to get my headlights polished up as they were getting a bit foggy, ended up getting a great deal on a full wash, wax, seal, and polish!


I have always loved getting these boxes..


New OEM floor mats, OEM car cover, and some OEM oil filters and drain plug washers.


I have used Castrol in many Honda engines over the years, and like what I hear about it in the F22C from others, so I will be giving the Castrol Edge Titanium 10w30 a go for the next two oil changes. I like to try out an oil at least two times before trying another one to see if I get consistent results. I am planning on trying Motul 8100 5w30, and ENEOS 5w30 next. I plan on doing 3000-5000 intervals on the Castrol. We'll see how it goes.


Probably the only part you will see actually installed on my car over the next few months, while other parts are stockpiled. You can absolutely boil brake fluid in the mountains, especially with the OEM DOT3 fluid. Downhill mountain roads can be brutal and these have saved a brake master cylinder from some spicy brake fluid for me in the past. I don't really get the point of the clutch reservoir sock, and my other one has seen better days after doing its job on another car. Direct from Type One years ago!


If you are coming to the meet this Friday in Milpitas bring some food and you can eat it off my engine bay.


The new floor mats do a great job of being between my feet and my carpet.

As I mentioned, the car got a nice shiny coat of Zaino, and the headlights were restored by Deep Reflections in Los Gatos. Probably one of the only times my car will get properly detailed, so I figured I would have them do it while getting the head lamps fixed up. They did a great job, my car is shiny and slippery! I think my drag coefficient must have dropped significantly :LOL:






Usually my front wheels are gunmetal/brakedust colored, here they are shiny!








Usually my car sleeps naked but here it is wearing it's pajamas. The OEM car cover is pretty nice! fits perfectly, has a nice soft lining, and heat resistant material to cover the exhaust tips. :thumbup:

Should get the rest of my fluids in today! Any recommendations for coolant? I am in the sunny bay area with 50-80 degree temperatures year round. I will probably just stick to what the service manual tells me.

[andrewhake]

10-18-2012



Got the rest of my fluids (Honda MTF, AMSOIL Severe Gear 75w110, and ATE Bremsflüssigkeit Amber, wheel locks, spark plugs (for replacing down the line), FD2 Type R shift knob, touch up paint, and some Shin-Etsu grease.

About to give my knob a shakedown tonight, if you know what I mean.. eh? eh!?

And I almost forgot, OEM Honda Super Racing Air Induction System:



Mine was replaced right before I bought the car but this will keep me from buying a Mugen or J's intake right away. Hopefully..

[andrewhake]

10-18-2012

It's not really a build for many months still.

Went out for a short drive and thought I would try out the FD2 shift knob. The OEM knob is definitely heavier but I think the FD2 still has a nice weight to it and sits a bit lower than OEM without making the the shift feel shorter, which is a good thing. I don't really have any problem with the OEM knob either so I will probably swap back and forth, maybe throw the Spoon knob that I have on there. It's a shift knob and it's OEM Honda, so it doesn't break my rule. :thumbup:

[andrewhake]

10-19-2012

I also did a simple walk around video of the car in it's rare shiny state as motivation to keep it shiny in the future.

[andrewhake]

10-22-2012

Project µ HC+800 pads





Sounds like these pads will be perfect for my type of driving (heavy street use and occasional track visit), looking forward to trying them out!

[andrewhake]

10-27-2012

20121026 driving impressions:



Tonight was the night everything just clicked. Make no mistake, I was having an absolute blast driving the car from the moment I got it to today, but tonight it came alive. When I picked up the car the tire pressures were likely set to the standard 32psi all around with a bit of margin of error by whoever checked it. Some probably higher/lower than others. I of course checked the pressure not many days after owning the car and all seemed normal, but I am guessing what was going on is I was running just a little less pressure in the fronts and more pressure in the rears. After very carefully adjusting them for tonight to 32psi rear (cold) and just a hair higher in the fronts, right around 32.5-33psi, the way the car behaved tonight made it feel quite numb back in it's earlier state by comparison. What a difference! It would never do anything crazy that wasn't predictable, but I just couldn't feel what the tires were doing the way I can now. Driving before I felt I was balancing more on the rear tire grip, now I feel all four tires are doing the work the way they should be, and response from the front of the car is increased. Although I am describing these as massive changes in the cars behavior, I think most people would barely notice them and would feel the car drives the same, but it is an absolute night and day difference for me. Everything about the car seems better, even the engine is saying "nice you finally got the tire pressure right idiot, let's do this." The change in tire wear also makes this difference pretty clear, the front tire wear has balanced out with the rear.

This is why I spend so much time driving in whatever setting available. As much as I can't wait to go to the track, dialing the car in on the street is far more rewarding, as there are many other variables to consider when setting up the car and it isn't just about outright speed. To put it simply there are way more things on the street that are trying to slow you down, so the car must be setup in a way that the driver is comfortable with so those things can be overcome. The only way to really learn is by putting yourself at a disadvantage and finding ways to change your own approach to overcome them. The great part about learning a new car is when you think you have reached it's limit and get in a bit of a slump, you re-evaluate and try something different and realize there is still a lot to learn. A week ago I was starting to get pretty disappointed in my tires, but now I realize that the S2000's limits are still incredibly high, even when it is lacking tire grip, and you don't have to rely just on the tires to go quickly and have fun. I still have a lot to learn, and I couldn't be happier about that.

I think the 1 psi higher in the front balance is great on the 2006 AP2 suspension, but I am going to try to increase by 1-2 psi all around keeping the same balance, test the car, and keep increasing until I find the sweet spot. :thumbup:

[andrewhake]

10-31-2012

If you tell me my car or my wheels are dirty I will be offended.

New tires! Unfortunately I got a puncture in my left rear tire and it was no longer holding air very well, the tire would lose almost all pressure after about 12 hours, and I believe the front may have had a small puncture or developed a slight leak as one of the tires was losing pressure a bit more than normal. I was planning on getting new tires before the upcoming track day in November but this forced me to get a set a bit earlier. I was planning on getting Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs in oem 215/245 sizes but shipping times were a bit longer than I wanted to wait as they weren't in stock in the nearby Nevada warehouse. Luckily Andrie saved the day after posting up some 225/45/17 and 255/40/17 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s for an amazing price, I bought them right after he posted them up and had them fitted yesterday morning. I was really set on keeping the 215/245 OEM tire size with whatever tires I purchased, but this deal was just too good to pass up. When getting the tires installed I also had a fresh OEM alignment done as it was on my list of basic maintenance and I wanted to make sure it was to spec before going to the track and to make sure I was going to use the tires efficiently. Caster before was at 4.9 F and now at the standard 6.1 F. Camber was at -0.3 FL and -0.1 FR and now at -0.5 F. There was a very slight Toe on the front which is now at 0. Camber in the rear was at -1.3 and is now at -1.5. And toe in the rear was already correct at 0.15(degrees) or .30(degrees) total toe. The alignment was done at Tech 3 in San Jose along with the tire mount and they did an excellent job. No complaints what so ever and everyone at the shop was great. A very nice FR-S was there ahead of me getting an alignment done to match a new wheel/tire/coilover setup, and all the mechanics were very familiar with the S2000. Thanks to Edwin for the recommendation.













Here is my review of the tires: :drive: :feint:

20121031 driving impressions (225/255 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11, fresh OEM alignment):
Bridgestone Potenza S-04 215 F, 245 R (280 UTQG) -> Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 225 F, 255 R (180 UTQG)

I will give my impressions of the tires in an order that matches my experience with them so far. Just initially driving the car it was pretty easy to feel a difference in the basic compliance of the car going over rough sections or bumps in the road. I suppose this could be a slight placebo effect after installing the tires but the car actually feels stiffer in the places it should and more compliant over the rough bits. Coming from a mid range tire like the S-04, which most likely has a softer sidewall than the RE-11, I wasn't expecting this, but maybe a stiffer sidewall is letting the dampers do the work they should be doing, and getting rid of a bit of extra slop? I suppose the slightly meatier tire may contribute to this as well but the car absolutely feels for stable during city/freeway driving. Also quieter! This was never a problem with the S-04s but the brand new RE-11s are definitely a tiny bit quieter under normal driving conditions

I of course had to give them a proper shake down so I made a visit to my favorite closed course test road and proceeded to give them the business. Basically my impressions are this: O_O but I will try to provide a bit more information than that. A more descriptive summary is that this is the best street tire I have ever driven on in my life.

Grip: Since I was coming from Bridgestones I think the UTQG ratings are pretty accurate, what a massive improvement in grip. I was testing on a road I know individual cornering speeds quite well and know where I would normally be shifting up. I am able to carry so much more speed through every corner, just an exponential increase in overall grip across the board. It doesn't matter if it is in a solid state corner like a long hairpin, I tight hairpin where the car can be tossed a bit harder, or long high speed corners where you need confidence in the tires to maintain momentum. Not only can I carry much more speed through corners, the car is much more stable on corner exit through tight low speed corners as well because of the basic grip improvement of the rear tires, and the stopping distance and braking stability is greatly improved when braking at the limit. The tires are a MUCH better match for the car than the 280 tread wear S-04s. It feels like a proper Go-kart now. While some of this can definitely be attributed to the slight upsizing of tires it is very easy to feel the difference in compound. I can't see myself ever wanting more grip than this on the street, any more and the fun factor starts to drop I think. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Balance: This is more a review of the tire size differences and slight alignment changes than the tire itself. I feel like the balance of the car hasn't changed due to the size up all around, and maybe has more to due with the slight changed in alignment. With the S-04s and the older alignment, I always felt like I was relying on the rear tire grip more than I should, a basic tire pressure adjustment definitely improved it as I mentioned on earlier posts, but wow this is so nicely balanced now. I am running 35 psi F, 34 psi rear in the RE-11s and am extremely happy. Although the balance feels the same at the limit, that limit is just so much higher now and maintains so much more momentum, which perfectly suits the engine. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Drivability: One of my favorite things about the RE-11 so far is that it makes the perfect amount of noise at the limit through a corner, it isn't wailing like some tires do and it wasn't near silent until it's over the limit like the S-04s were. I tend to not really rely on noise to determine grip obviously but when it is nicely matched to the tire grip it is never a bad thing. The RE-11s are so easy to predict, the amount of grip feels perfectly linear all the way up the limit and once past the limit the amount of grip decreases in a linear way. Never any wild snapping around and you really have to toss the car purposefully and shift weight rather than relying on the lack of tire grip to get the car sliding. I don't feel that the 225 tires upfront cause any significant problems, I would guess that there is a slight increase in the weight of the steering, but not enough to cause alarm, I don't feel like the front is any less responsive but it would be interesting to compare with 215 RE-11s or Star Specs at the front. I have SO much confidence on corner entry compared to the S-04s. All the tires are working together nicely. It only took a couple of corners for me to start using higher and higher entry speed into corners I know very well because they were so consistent corner to corner. I was actually joyously yelling mid-corner on some of the longer continuous corners because the corner speed was so much higher. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I will keep updating as I use the tires more and more, but wow, it will be hard to go to another tire after this I think, which brings me to the only bad part about the RE-11s, the price. :angry2: Really if other tires were similarly priced to the RE-11 (more expensive than they are now) and always were that price I doubt anyone would complain, but with other tires like the Star Spec and RS3s available at that lower price point i definitely understand how the RE-11 is difficult to justify. Does anybody know how I can get Bridgestone to sponsor my touge driving? If I had some extra cash laying around I would buy another set right now.