Storage Wars.

Guy buys car, guy buys parts, not much else happens.


TsukubaCody
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Joined: Nov 2016
Zimbabwe

Storage Wars.

#1

Note: Largely copied/pasted from the other forum, this is just the new improved version.

I have wanted an S2000 for quite a few years and in March of 2016, thisdreams became a reality. The car is a 2000, 140ish thousand miles on it, all stock other than a K&N intake & a stereo of some sort, along with some rust for weight reduction. Well that & a rusty battery tie-down, incomplete maintenance history (IE: almost none), interior wear, a fairly major tear in the top and....zero evidence of any collisions anywhere on the car. Additionally the car just felt better than any of the other seven I drove over the few months I spent searching for the right base for me to start with.

My goal for the car is to improve any weaknesses that I come across; all while sticking to an aesthetic vision inspired by the car that originally opened my eyes to the S2000, the J's Racing original Touge AP1 w/ J's half bumper, SSR Type C, etc. That era of Japanese automotive modification has always felt right to me, whether in the way Civics were modified for Osaka's Loop, drift style and even period JGTC cars.

Before we get to any of that, here is the car when I first started driving it.


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After getting the car & putting the AP1 wheels/Direzza ZII on, the next priority was sorting out basic maintenance. Over the years & past projects, I've found that it doesn't matter how many cool parts your car has...when things start going wrong that you could've prevented, it really sucks the fun out of things. With that said, the first things I picked up were some basic fluids, I wound up with Motul 90 PA for the diff, Motul RBF600 for the brakes & clutch, and OEM Honda MTFII for the trans.

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I got the rust repaired before I had even put 100 miles on the car (outside of the 200 mile drive home).

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With some basic maintenance performed (in addition to fluids the car got new coil packs, spark plugs, a valve adjustment & an alignment) I set out to pick up the parts necessary to fulfill my vision for the car. I began with the exterior, picking up the following:

J's Racing Half Bumper & Carbon Canards.

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J's Racing 60RS Ti Catback

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**I bought & sold the Advan RG before ever using them, I've got something else in mind for the car.

HKS Hipermax IV GT

With this car I wanted everything I added to the car to be street worthy, but also as good or better than the OEM part it was replacing. While no Ohlins DFV, I trusted HKS to develop a quality product & the spring rates seem to fit my need perfectly (install to come).

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J's Racing S2 RCA

As I like my cars lower than ideal, I wanted as tall an RCA as I could find.

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Mugen Compliance Bushings to keep things tight. (Bolts are now installed with Spoon radiator stays)

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The interior was also deeply important to me, with the car needing to walk a fine line between early 00's Japanese tuner dreams & a car that I daily drive (for the most part) during the summer. As such I chose the Recaro Pole Position ABE to replace my worn & torn OEM seat.

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As far as actual updates on the car itself, I've very much lagged on this. I didn't want to install anything until I had all the parts in hand, most notably wheels & tires. I can't imagine how goofy an otherwise stock AP1 would look with a J's half bumper & canards, thus I wanted to hold off. Recently I got the itch & installed my coilovers, this is the result (with the rears about as low as they'd go without removing/modifying anything & the fronts with plenty of room to go lower).

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Thus far, I've been tremendously impressed with the GT. The car rides exceptionally well, better than my daily Honda Fit (stock w/ RPF1) in many instances.

There are a couple other trinkets & parts bought/sold along the way, but no need to waste words.

Thanks for reading, I hope to update this with more parts hoarding in coming weeks & with actual progress this spring. I just really like build threads.
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andrewhake
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#2

Very nice. Definitely going to enjoy going back through all of these project threads I missed out on before.
o_O S2000 | Mark I Stage II...

That’s thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.

Kenny
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#3

Nice car, good to see you taking care of it. How are you liking the Recaro Pole Position ABE? From what I've heard it's slightly larger than the standard PP? I'll be looking to get a seat that will do double duty for the street and track, and I love the PP but I'm on the larger side and I know the harness holes on the standard seat won't work for me. Would love to hear your feedback on it.

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TsukubaCody
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Zimbabwe
#4

Kenny wrote:Nice car, good to see you taking care of it. How are you liking the Recaro Pole Position ABE? From what I've heard it's slightly larger than the standard PP? I'll be looking to get a seat that will do double duty for the street and track, and I love the PP but I'm on the larger side and I know the harness holes on the standard seat won't work for me. Would love to hear your feedback on it.
I sat in it the day it arrived at my home and have not touched it since. I probably won't have it installed until the end of May, I'm going to go with a fixed mount. As such I'm waiting to install it until no one else has to drive the car (so after paint, corner balance, etc).

And thank you both!

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TsukubaCody
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#5

Car has now been in storage for 3 weeks & will remain there until May 1st (I store in a relative's barn & am beholden to them moving their own cars, thus the long storage). This is a photo of its last drive of 2016. I have purchased a couple other parts, but nothing really worthy of many words (EVS 63.5 high flow cat, lug nuts & a deposit on wheels that will arrive in 3-5 months).

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TsukubaCody
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#6

Cat arrived from Evasive.

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Also included this.

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andrewhake
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#7

I had no idea Evasive was including cats with every purchase now. A+ customer service.
o_O S2000 | Mark I Stage II...

That’s thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.

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TsukubaCody
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Joined: Nov 2016
Zimbabwe
#8

andrewhake wrote:I had no idea Evasive was including cats with every purchase now. A+ customer service.
100% would buy from again, such a small, cute cat.

Updates since my last post.

I bought a house.

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I filled it with car parts.

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The J's lip/canards, exhaust, HFC and seat have been basically seen earlier in this thread.

That said, here are pics of the seat with the side mounts on, just to get a feel for how I fit in the seat (Answer: Meh. I'm way too thin to really benefit from the Recaro's width, I fit better in a Bride Zeta 2, I just wanted OE seatbelt safety)

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I acquired a set of Falken's new RT615K+, in 255/40/17 sizing.

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And to mount them somewhere, I picked up a set of 17x9 +45 Advan RGIII from Kami Speed.

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That is probably about it until I take the car out of storage in just over a month.
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andrewhake
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#9

That is the ABE pole position right? I am thinking the ABE is probably a little bit wider than the FIA version so might be pretty difficult to fit in the S2000. I am thinking about doing a little velcro strap like that in my FIA pole position to hold up the seat belt receptacle.

Consider yourself lucky that you have a lot of nice options for seats.
o_O S2000 | Mark I Stage II...

That’s thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.
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MikeRT4
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#10

andrewhake wrote:That is the ABE pole position right? I am thinking the ABE is probably a little bit wider than the FIA version so might be pretty difficult to fit in the S2000. I am thinking about doing a little velcro strap like that in my FIA pole position to hold up the seat belt receptacle.

Consider yourself lucky that you have a lot of nice options for seats.
The ABE PP fits spot on with zero mods required - if you look at my thread, you can see the two seats together (ABE and non-ABE). The OEM buckle even fits with the ABE aperture, so no need for the strap with the ABE item (which I assume you are wanting as you have your buckle on an extension strap with the non-ABE seat - well you can junk this extension with an ABE seat....).

I am still struggling to find a solution to the seat belt buckle issue on the non-ABE seat, due to the narrow aperture :(. So only driver's side has the race seat at present.
Mike R
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Nordschleife, there's only two barriers to worry about - the ones on the left and the ones on the right :lol: .

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TsukubaCody
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Zimbabwe
#11

andrewhake wrote:That is the ABE pole position right? I am thinking the ABE is probably a little bit wider than the FIA version so might be pretty difficult to fit in the S2000. I am thinking about doing a little velcro strap like that in my FIA pole position to hold up the seat belt receptacle.

Consider yourself lucky that you have a lot of nice options for seats.
Yep, ABE. A lot of options as far as fit, yes, but I'm super, super anal about keeping my safety equipment as OEM-ish as possible, so my options are pretty much the ABE or a reclining seat.
MikeRT4 wrote:The ABE PP fits spot on with zero mods required - if you look at my thread, you can see the two seats together (ABE and non-ABE). The OEM buckle even fits with the ABE aperture, so no need for the strap with the ABE item (which I assume you are wanting as you have your buckle on an extension strap with the non-ABE seat - well you can junk this extension with an ABE seat....).

I am still struggling to find a solution to the seat belt buckle issue on the non-ABE seat, due to the narrow aperture :(. So only driver's side has the race seat at present.
Interesting, I'm going to head over to your thread right now, to get a feel for that.
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andrewhake
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#12

The seat belt extender through the FIA style seats works very well for me. And safety wise I think it is more than adequate. Lots of variables to account for depending on seat rail and seating position though. For me it worked out though.
o_O S2000 | Mark I Stage II...

That’s thirty minutes away. I’ll be there in ten.

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TsukubaCody
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Zimbabwe
#13

I don't doubt that for a second, I also wanted the least 'fitted' bucket I could find. I don't track the car & I fully intend on many long road trips in it so maximizing space was my main effort.

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TsukubaCody
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Zimbabwe
#14

Update: I took the car out of storage, raised the rear a little bit to get some more travel & improve the aesthetic (reverse rake is not for me). Got an alignment, just need to roll the fenders & get the Advans on.

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Topic Author
TsukubaCody
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Joined: Nov 2016
Zimbabwe
#15

Advans are mounted.

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I posted my Recaro for sale, would rather just keep the OEM seat in the car & would not mind some additional cash as a newish home owner. Y'all welcome to purchase it, PM me for info.

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