Mikey's BB AP2 Dual Duty build

[ap2_mikey]

Mugen replica (Ikon Motorsports) front lip 10/25/19
Kinda forgot to update this when I got my car back from the body shop a couple weeks ago. Everything went well, lost my original panels that got hit, but they were replaced with OEM parts. Paint match & blend came out clean.

Now that that's out of the way, I got a new front lip! Yes it is a replica. I'm not baller enough to get a real fiberglass Mugen front lip and I didn't want to cry if I ever scraped it on a driveway. Mounting was pretty simple, some of the holes lined up perfectly, some were off a few cm and needed to be redrilled. I did end up having to drill 4 holes into the bottom of bumper (2 in the center, 2 on the edges). I used the supplied 13mm nuts, bolts & washers it came with and 2 random 10mm bolts I had for the rear mount points.



Overall, not bad for 1/10th the price of the real Mugen lip, not to mention 2 day shipping (purchased Monday morning, received Thursday afternoon). I highly doubt it provides the same "aero benefits" the authentic one does since mine is floppy and the authentic is rigid. I'm hoping that this is my first and final "cheap/replica" part that goes onto my S2000. I just see the front lip as something that'll get scraped up and broken over time from just driving the car everyday, so I can't justify putting a really expensive piece of fiberglass on the lowest point of my car...

[ap2_mikey]

Pic dump 11/8/2019
Just dumping some pics that a friend took for me one Friday afternoon.

[ap2_mikey]

OEM hardtop acquired! 2/10/2020
This took a bit of saving up for and a lot of patience to get. I can't count how many times I came close to just getting a Mugen style top, but something always made me hesitate. Right when I had enough saved up, there was a mystical alignment of the stars and this OEM hardtop just happened to be for sale by some friends of friends. After some thought, some doubt that i'd be able to afford it, and some good old peer pressure, I finally decided to get the top. I didn't really have a plan for picking it up, luckily all the hardware was included and ready to go onto a car. Thankfully, the seller(s) helped me install and adjust the top in less than an hour. The top fit perfect, with the exception of one of the plugs not being compatible due to the top being from an 04 and me having an 06. The top is suzuka blue, wrapped a well matched gloss black. The minor difference in gloss intensity doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would since after about 10 minutes of being outside the car gets coated in random dust and pollen.







I really love how it changes the entire look of the car. The unique shape of of the rear windshield gives it a baby FD look and the OEM spoiler is just icing on the cake. Initially, this was such a hard purchase for me to make because of the amount of money OEM tops cost these days, but after seeing it go onto MY car (and seeing a Mugen & Spoon top in person) I knew it was the best choice for tops for me.
As for my soft top assembly, I think i'll just delete it and restore the interior panels to cut some weight while maintaining the street car look.

[1993]

Love the OEM hardtop!

[ap2_mikey]

Oil maintenance & hardtop defrost cable 2/26/20
I recently hit 7500mi on this oil so it's time to freshen up. The Mobil1 5w-30 I used for my last oil change did okay for daily driving, but I did end up burning about half a quart around 5k mi. This is probably just due to me taking the fun roads home and spending a lot time in vtec. With summer coming, I decided to keep using Mobil1 extended performance and step up to the recommended oil weight of 10w-30. I also picked up an oem filter from my local dealership which surprisingly had S2k filters in stock.



I also picked up an oem rear defrost cable for the hardtop. Since my top is from an 04 and my car is an 06, the plugs are incompatible. This should do the trick.

[ap2_mikey]

Greddy/GoTuning Spectrum Elite SS 70mm exhaust 2/28/20
I've been looking to get an exhaust for a while now, but couldn't decide on one. I was mainly looking for a 70-75mm single exit like the Evasive SSP, HKS or new Renegade exhaust. I didn't really wanna go with the 75mm options because of the increased weight and volume and the Evasive SSP just seemed a bit too loud for daily. Although I do love the way the Evasive SSP sounds paired with a HFC. One day while checking craigslist for parts in class, I came across this exhaust. I had never heard of it and it's been discontinued for a while, but after doing some research on the sound and it's quality, I decided to get it. From the seller, the exhaust was actually pretty clean besides needing a good polish.

Before polish:



After polish:



I find it interesting how some, if not all exhausts appear to use outer diameter as the advertised diameter.

[ap2_mikey]

Mountain fun 4/11/2020
Took a spontaneous trip to the mountains with some friends for some spirited social distancing.









During the run, I heard/felt my front wheels rubbing the wheel wells on hard corners and noticed the car plowing a bit. On the downhill, my brakes got a bit warm and sort of faded off, which resulted in me having to scrub speed in place of braking... I should definitely look into getting better pads next. 
Upon further inspection during a stop, I found that my fronts were suffering (nearly bald) from camber wear. I was sort of expecting this since I have ~9000 miles on the tires with such an aggressive alignment, most of those being freeway commute miles. The rears however have almost half the life left (~4/32), so I just rotated them when I got home. Square setup ftw!

[ap2_mikey]

Mugen racing III & Honda Access premium mats 4/18/20
I've always wanted an aftermarket wheel for the aesthetic, but after feeling my friend's suede Sparco wheel on their 370 track car I knew I had to get one for the more direct feel. I've wanted the Mugen racing III for some time now, mainly for the bling factor. I love the Mugen logos on it...  I saw that Renegade Motorsports was down to their last in stock so I just went for it, along with a set of premium floor mats because why not?
Unboxing the wheel, I immediately fell in love with the grip, grip angle, and the feeling of suede vs leather that all oem steering wheels are like. Since I daily the car and am a victim to sweaty palms, it might be a challenge to keep the suede clean & intact, but I think i'll manage.
For mounting to the car, I used an NRG short hub and quick release. Mainly because of the fact that I can take the wheel with me when I leave since I always park my car outside. Not sure if aftermarket steering wheels are a common target to theft, but I sure don't want to find out.