|Cloud 9k| My '00 GPW Journey

[Cpt. Spock]

Current Setup and Mod list



Suspension/Chassis
-Ohlins DFV w/Swift Springs (13k/11k)
-AMR Rear Lower Mounts
-Js Racing strut bar
-Eibach FSB
-06 RSB
-Megan Racing front camber joint and rca
-Megan Racing Axle Spacers

Brakes
-Spoon Sports Monoblock calipers
-Project Mu hc800 front pads
-Stoptech stainless brake lines F+R
-Centric slotted rotors F+R
-Motul rbf600 brake fluid

Wheels/Tires
-Advan RSii 17x10 +50
-Forgestar F14 17x10 +55
-Hankook RS4 & RS3v2 255/40

Engine
-Password JDM Kevlar snorkel
-Password JDM Kevlar (OEM) intake lid
-Password JDM Kevlar cooling plate
-Password JDM Kevlar coil cover
-T1r 70em dual sparrow exhaust
-T1r 70mm test pipe
-Spoon Sports magnetic drain bolts
-Spoon Sports radiator cap
-Ballade Sports radiator stays

Interior
-Recaro pole position seat
-ASM Recaro side seat bolster
-Buddy Club rails
-Mugen Racing III Steering wheel
-Works bell hub
-OEM 4pc Premium floor mats (Red)
-SOS/NSX Shift knob
-SRP gas pedal extension
-Pioneer HU w/bluetooth
-Memphis audio three way door speakers

Exterior
-Shine Amuse R1 Front Bumper
-Tamon spoiler
-VIS carbon hood


How it all began

My love for the s2000 started when my mom purchased an 03 sebring silver brand new from a local dealership. Was instantly hooked from then on, and always told myself i would have one one day. Flash forward to three years ago, i made that dream a reality. I picked up an all stock, 85k original miles, 2000 Grand Prix White w/Red interior. I waited around to get the color scheme i wanted, and wasn't going to settle for anything else. Ended up finding this one in Kansas City, MO, and am super happy with finding a "southern car", as it is SO easy to work on compared to salt strickened Ohio cars. I met up with the seller halfway in Chicago to make the purchase, on probably the worst snow day of the year. A 6 hour drive home turned into 10, but man did it feel good to park that thing in my garage for the first time...

The first picture i ever took of it



Loaded the car up and made the trek home. Random gas station shot



And finally in its new stable







The first three things i bought right away for the car were wheels/suspension/exhaust. Which later, i ended up replacing all three of those modifications with other/better things. But to start the Journey...

I picked up a set of Fortune Auto 500 coilovers



And installed...I bought an OEM spoiler for the car around the same time as the suspension, so i installed that as well.




Wise Sports Wade Racing

The Original M7. If you're not sure about the history of the M7 and these wheels, google it, although there isn't much information out there on them. Ive always loved M7s, and knew the WiseSports were pretty rare and hard to find, so started searching for m7s initially as i knew id probably have an easier time finding those. I ended up finding a trashed set of wisesports through deep searching that needed restoring and refinishing, so i made the plunge and had a wheel restoring/refinishing company completely rework these wheels.

I ended up going with gloss black lips with matte black centers, and all new hardware.






During the process of getting the wheels powdercoated and the tires mounted, i picked up an ap2 front bumper and got that painted.

and fitted to the car



Invidia q300

I was a cliche s2000 fanboy, and bought a q300 initially for the car. I didnt mind how it looked per say, but it was loud and raspy AF... I later hated life, and the raspyness of it, and swapped it for the t1r dual sparrow which was the best decision i ever made.



and fitted...




After i got all three of these things squared away, i took it to get an alignment. I ended up going with aggressive alignment specs, as i planned on actually using the car vs going to car shows.



The car handled phenomenally, and felt absolutely wonderful. It left me wanting more from the car.

I gave it a complete detail for the first time inside and out. The paint correction turned out awesome, the car looked absolutely gorgeous once it was done.




So, in a nutshell, that's the beginning phase of ownership of my s2000. The car stayed in this configuration for almost 6 months, adding a few small things here and there. I think this will be a good stopping point for my first post. More to come on the car, and the direction/journey I ended up going with it...

[Cpt. Spock]

That summer i got the opportunity to do the Honda Indy 200 parade lap with the Ohio S2ki group. 30+ s2000s going around the track, toting the drivers of the race, it was a pretty cool opportunity (shoutout to Mocky and pgarratt for putting this on every year).







When i bought the car, the seller said that "all fluids have been changed", but after finding some things about the car he lied about i wasnt going to take his word for it. I did a full fluids change:

-Brake/clutch fluid: rbf600 motul
-Trans: honda MTF
-Engine: Penzoil platinum 10w30
-Diff: Mobil 1 75w90



A few more parts came in. I started working on the engine bay at that point, i also picked up a 70mm berk HFC and installed that along with the password jdm kevlar bits, and a spoon sports radiator cap.



Im not new to hondas. Ive built up a few 92-95 civic si hatchbacks from the ground up back in the day, and would take them to car shows with my friends. Back then, it was a lot of fun, i enjoyed car shows. Now, its just not the same, the scene is not the same first and foremost. Which in turn, i feel has changed my taste in what i like to do with my car. Knowing i was going to use this s2000, i knew i needed a different set of wheels/tires specifically for track use, as i wanted a square setup with meatier tires, and did not want to ruin the wisesports.

Forgestar F14 17x10 +55

After doing a bit of research, i felt the forgestars were the right fit for me. I picked up a set of forgestars and test fit a 255/40 Nitto NT01 on one of them to check clearances front and back.





Ive read that most people who ran the 17x10 +55 set on an s2000 had to do minimal rolling,. After test driving around the neighborhood, there was slight rubbing on bumps and turns. To be safe, i did the front and back and relocated the rear bumper tab, problem solved.



After fixing that issue, i ordered a set of 255/40 Hankook RS3v2's for the wheels and installed them. I loved the way it looked, and more importantly, loved the way it handled. It was night and day difference from the staggered wisesports setup. There was no more push when turning in hard into corners, the grip was way better than the hankook evo2's, my confidence level when pushing the car at my personal limit was rising.



The 2000 s2000 has the stiffest sway bars from the factory, i decided to purchase an Eibach front sway bar for more roll stiffness up front, and ditched the '00 Rear sway bar for an '06 oem rear sway bar as it has one of the softest rates available for the s2000.

Initial driving impressions: The turn in was more linear, and the rear end didnt feel as snappy, like you could push the car harder without feeling like the rear end was going to break loose. A lot more confidence inspiring to say the least.

The next weekend i took the car to its very first autocross event. It was with the miata club of ohio, but there were a few s2000s and other various cars there as well (Mustangs, viper, rsx, civic, brz's). There were a total of 51 cars that registered that day, i ended up placing 16 of 51 time wise. Not bad for my first time with the car! Overall, i was very pleased, and had an absolute blast.











I did a few more autocross events with the miata club, ohio valley region SCCA group, as well as the porsche club of america. Autocross is fun, but i felt i was ready to try my first track day.

[Cpt. Spock]

NASA Great Lakes was holding an event at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. I have a few friends that run NASA, and spoke very highly of their program and how things are run. They said if you're looking to jump into tracking your car, there isn't another program better. So i signed up and started getting ready for the event. I was like a kid on christmas the night before. I made sure all fluid levels were topped off, checked wheels/tires, torqued down wheels, your typical list and headed to bed early. I got to the track around 6am (its about an hour drive from where i stay), and went to Tech. Got all settled in, did one last check of the car, and my instructor and i were off.











I learned A LOT that day...the instructor i had was super cool, the classroom instruction was very informative, i left there that day with a wealth of new knowledge to go and apply. By the end of the day, my instructor was clapping and cheering me on, he was impressed with how i was driving for my first time being on-track. From then on I became hooked.

I did the next year's Indy 200 parade lap again with the Ohio s2ki group. I ended up toting around Carlos Munoz, which ended up getting a podium finish that day!




Catching the track bug, made me want to research more about the car, and make my car more capable. So i ended up making a few purchases...







I picked up a Jersey Red Recaro Pole Position, Ohlins with Swift springs, and Mugen Racing III steering wheel I also picked up a set of Project Mu hc800 front pads as well, as i kept running into brake fade issues.

[Cpt. Spock]

So let me start this post off by saying...Getting Buddy Club rails to fit to the car was a MAJOR PITA...after several hours of finagling the dam things to fit the car, i finally got them to line up properly. Maybe user error? who knows. they're in, F it...



The Ohlins install was super straight forward, as any other suspension install is really. I bought a set of Megan Racing camber joints with RCA as well for the front and installed those at the same time. As for the Swift springs, i went with 13k springs in the front and 11k in the rear, per Urge designs recommendation. Initially i set them up per Ohlins instructions (pre-load/ride height), with the camber joints in the front, it worked ok in the front. But having stiffer springs in the rear of the car, made it sit a lot higher than usual. So i ended up cranking the rear lower mount as low as it would go, it got me "closer" to where i want to be, but not 100%...I still needed an alignment at this point, as the new suspension and camber joints knocked it out of alignment pretty good, but man were they night and day compared to the Fortune Auto's. My biggest gripe with the Fortunes, is that they didnt feel planted, they were very "floaty", especially over harsh bumps. it felt like they didnt know what to do over harsh bumps. I specifically remember hitting a huge bump on the freeway one time, and felt like the rear of the car was going to come off the ground. Very pogo-stick like, im trying to paint a picture, with the best words possible, but thats what i envision when trying to describe it. With the Ohlins though, it was like a completely different car. It soaked the bumps up beautifully, and did it with poise as well. It wasn't jarring or send you to the opposite side of the road way, which i was very shocked with moving from 10k springs with the Fortunes to 13/11, i thought for sure i was going to sacrifice comfort/ride quality a bit. I would argue that comfort and ride quality actually increased with the Ohlins, its all in the damping of the shocks for sure.



And installed, here is what it looked like initially. Sorry for the shitty cell-phone pic, I picked up at t6i for Christmas this past year, so i plan on using that more often for my car related pictures, bare with me...



Installed the Project MU hc800 pads



I have not installed the Mugen steering wheel yet, as i ordered a cruise control bracket, and it turned out to be the shittiest quality thing ive ever seen. Couldnt get my money back...lesson learned, no cruise control. So i plan on installing that here shortly. During the ridiculously long wait for the shittiest piece of cruise control bracketry ive ever seen, I came across a good deal on a set of Spoon Sports Monoblock calipers, so i pulled the trigger on those. I also purchased StopTech stainless lines for when i go to do the install.





And this is the point in time, where i realized the Invidia q300 had to go...During one of my last track events, the exhaust was moving a bit too much, and the tips actually melted the inlets to the bumper. It was too loud, and ricey sounding, i wanted something more tame and refined sounding....Enter the T1r 70em Dual Sparrow. I swapped out the berk 70mm hfc for the t1r test pipe as well. Aside from a little more drone than the q300 had, it is a WORLD of difference. In quality, in sound, in performance, i was completely satisfied with the decision to switch.



Heres a shot of it installed. I guess i should mention that i swapped the OEM wing for the Tamon Spoiler right before the exhaust as well.



Picked up an ASM Recaro side seat bolsteralong the way, as i knew i would wear out that bolster getting in and out constantly



My buddy was parting out his car, and basically gave me his Js Racing strut bar, still wanting an ASM GT front bar down the road...



Thats a decent update for now...more to come.

[Cpt. Spock]

I came across this hood for a steal randomly scrolling craigslist one day. Its barely been used, made by a reputable company, and comes with hood latch and washer nozzles. My plan is to get it painted body color and slap it on. If i don't like it, or doesn't fit to my liking, ill just scrap it without much hurt to the pocket.



Password JDM was running a Christmas sale this past year, so i ended up picking up the last piece to the intake puzzle. This snorkel is no joke. The inlet that mounts in the bumper is HUGE (see picture below). Butt dyno approves, and looks way better finally completed. This is also my first attempt at full Manual mode pictures on the T6i...so my photog friends out there, be kind. Also, if you have pointers for better pictures im all ears. Still learning!







At this point we are pretty much caught up. I purchased a few little things here and there over this "winter" break. Like the SRP gas pedal extension, Megan Racing Axle Spacers, Spoon Sports magnetic drain bolts, and the Honda 4pc Premium mats (Red) pictured below. I'll tell you what, i know they're only floor mats, but holy cow....LOADS better quality and durability than the factory mats. Would highly recommend them, and worth the coin to change to them in my opinion. Thoroughly impressed.



So here we are. In its current state. I've got a few more things i want to purchase for the car this year that are on my "To-Get" list, so stay tuned. Future short-term plans are:

-Get hood painted
-Install steering wheel (fuck the cruise control bracket fiasco)
-Install Spoon calipers/stainless lines
-Install axle spacers
-Get the car re-aligned
-Have loads of fun driving the car

[Cpt. Spock]

Test fit the hood today. Fits quite well actually, I was surprised. The hood latch needs adjusted a bit for it to actually close, but everything lines up pretty good. Going to paint this coming week.

[MikeRT4]

Have you got pictures of the way you attached the seat belt buckle?

[Cpt. Spock]

Have you got pictures of the way you attached the seat belt buckle?

i do not, but http://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-modifi ... p2-960344/ has the details/instructions i used to install my seat setup.

[Cpt. Spock]

Mugen Racing III Steering Wheel + Hood painted






Got the hood back from paint. Really happy with the way it looks color matched. There are a few things that need fixed (paint-wise)but definitely like it more than carbon fiber.










Put the steering wheel on today after going back and forth with the cruise control situation. Decided to say screw it for now and threw the wheel on. I can always go back and put it on later. I forget who had it (haga? on s2ki), but I saw the sparco steering wheel buttons used as cruise control buttons and looks super clean. I might look into that later on down the road. The steering wheel feels GREAT. Love the size of it, look of it, overall really happy and goes well with the rest of the interior bits in my opinion.

[andrewhake]

Looking good!

[Cpt. Spock]

Looking good!

Thank you sir

[Cpt. Spock]

Small update:

ive been meaning to replace the windshield on the car ever since I bought it. There were two minor chips in the windshield that were repaired when I bought it that bugged me and There was also micro cracks all over from being 17years old. so when the sun hit the windshield, it was very hazy and hard to see out of. Safelight did a great job and the mobile service is super convenient. Well worth the money and I'm glad I did it. Night and day difference in visibility.





I also picked up a science of speed nsx shift knob. I wanted something that sat a little higher and had a smaller ball vs the moddiction anvil. Quality is awesome, looks like it belongs on the car in my opinion, and the feel/weight of it is great.

[Cpt. Spock]

Another quick update. Got the bumper back from paint finally. Fits pretty well, I need to figure out a better solution around the headlights where the bumper meets the hood/fenders. The tabs stick up a bit...the oem brackets that bolt on the bumper then onto the car don't work very well on the aftermarket bumper. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. Other than that I think this rounds out the front end perfectly. Facelift complete.

Just ordered some more motul brake fluid to get started on the brakes as well as some amsoil synchromesh for the trans. More updates shortly.

[Kenny]

Car looks great, always loved the look of the Amuse style front bumper.

[MikeRT4]

Andrew should be able to help with regard to the bumper fitment, as he has the same one and is also meticulous when it comes to fitment requirements . Whiz him a message over to come and look and advise .