Suspension - Attempt #1

June is super slow period for autox in the NY area so I took the downtime to get cracking on the build. I didn't have the foggiest idea how to set up a S2000 but I did know I wanted some adjustable shocks and be able to adjust my ride height. I wanted to keep the investment small since I knew from experience I was going to be replacing this setup sooner rather than later so it would just have to be a starting point. To keep things simple I went with a Koni Yellow + Ground Control setup with 550lb springs up front and 440lb in the rear. Not sure why I picked these rates but I wanted the rear to have about 100lb less and this is what they had available. I probably read it somewhere. Too long ago to recall.

Koni Yellow + Ground Control coilovers (550f/440r)

Koni installed

Koni Installed

With the car finally lowered, it was off to Camber Toe in Lynbrook to get the car aligned on my birthday. Yeah, that's right folks. This is how car guys ACTUALLY want to spend their birthdays, doing stuff with their car. 

Alignment at Camber Toe, Lynbrook
6/11/2010

Alignment Specs

Front:

-2.3 degrees camber
6 degrees caster
0 toe

Rear:
-3.7 degrees camber
1/16" total toe in

Yes, you're seeing that right, -3.7 rear camber. Haha, yes it's ok...laugh with me...I had a WTF moment when I looked back at my notes too writing this post. Did I mention I didn't know what the heck I was doing in terms of car setup for the S at this point? I'll tell you one thing though, that definitely made the rear settle ;-)

Needs More Growl

Sports cars need to sound the part and the stock S2000 exhaust is basically weak sauce. I had a Greddy SP2 (at one point) on the RSX and I liked that sound so I figured going with Greddy again on the S2000 would be a good choice. Greddy along with GoTuning developed a new 70mm exhaust for the S2000 called the Spectrum Elite which came in either a dual or single version. The single was lighter but a tad louder and made a hair more power than the dual so it was the clear choice. Bonus points for the burnt tips for the little show car ricer in me. Nothing like a bit of growl when cruising around. BWAAHHHHH...VTEEECCCC.....fierce!

Greddy Spectrum Elite Single

Greddy Spectrum Elite Single

Dat Ass

...and two weeks later back at Nassau Coliseum with the NY BMWCCA to try and figure out the car again. Still haven't fixed the alignment but at least the RWD jitters were gone and I could start to figure out what the car liked and didn't like. Still slow as balls and getting my butt kicked but it's ok...baby steps. Loving this car more and more.

NY BMWCCA 6/5/2010

Yep, still on that music overlay phase so don't watch it. 

It's just here for reference.

Initial Prep

The original goal for Bumblestook was to become a full on track car but she was my first rear wheel drive car and with the S2000's reputation for being a bit of a "jiggly butt" I didn't want to chance going to any track events without being very comfortable controlling her first. At this point I had already been regularly autocrossing for 5 years but mostly for fun doing local events and improving my driving. Naturally, autocross was where I was going to take this car to push the limits and understand how to drive her properly in a safe and controlled way. The plan was pretty simple...stick to autocross in 2010 and get back on the track in 2011. I had two weeks before the next autocross so I scrambled to get at least a few basic goodies installed. K&N FIPK intake for extra grunt, a bigger front sway bar to help keep the rear in check and since the car had stock wheels with 8 year old tires, some fresh 255 Z1 star specs all around on black 17x8.5 O.Z. Allegeritas (+59 offset). This was the beginning of the Bumblestook color scheme. The tires were a bit too wide on the stock alignment so the fenders got rolled and we just pushed the wheel in to get maximum negative camber up front. The 255s weren't a coincidence as the new Street Touring Roadster (STR) class in the SCCA was starting to get popular at this time and I felt that I could get the car STR legal and still be a good track car so I just went with the maximum tire size the class allowed. Of course, all the fluids and plugs were replaced and I put on Hawk HP+ pads all around because I'm crazy and like grabby dusty brakes. Again, no intention of being competitive here, I just wanted a class other than Street Modified to run in.

K&N FIPK Intake

Whiteline 30mm front sway bar

255/40/17 Dunlop Z1 Star Spec on 17x8.5 OZ Allegerita all around

Fender Roll

Of course, me being me, I also required some creature comforts and visual mods to start setting the car apart so I replaced all the emblems with the black chrome version to stay with my theme and an Alpine iDA-X303 head unit with the modifry harness so I could hook up my iPhone to listen to music and still use the stock audio controls on the dash.

Black Chrome Emblem

Black Chrome Emblem

Alpine iDA-X303 Head Unit

The two weeks went by quickly and I went to my first event in the car with the NY BMWCCA at Nassau Coliseum. It's too bad I didn't have the video working on my first run as I had Alan in my passenger seat "instructing" me as I giggled like a school girl all the way to the starting line worried about how many times I'd spin that run. I had pretty much dominated "G-class" (4-cylinder non-BMW) every year up until this point in my RSX so a 5th place finish was dismal but learning this car was far more important than winning local trophies. I spent 5 years manhandling the RSX to get it to turn but the S2000 was a completely different animal to drive and I had to unlearn all these bad driving habits. I learned two very important lessons that day...you need to drive it like the precision machine that it is (smooth inputs) in order to not find yourself facing the way you came from and more importantly that I had a long road ahead of me. This event was a rude awakening but I wasn't expecting anything less. My goal was to improve as a driver and running back to my FWD comfort zone wasn't going to happen. That's not my style. As the saying goes "you're not in Kansas anymore".

NY BMWCCA 5/22/2010

Excuse the music...I was going through "a phase"

It's pretty embarassing really so don't watch it. It's just here for reference.

In The Beginning

I'm starting this blog to record the history of Bumblestook and chronicle her progress.

It was May 10, 2010 and after searching far and wide I finally found the car I had been looking for, a 2002 Spa Yellow Honda S2000. The owner was a very friendly woman in her mid-50s. She loved this car and she spent what felt like hours telling me stories about it including how she waited eagerly outside the fences of the dealership when she found out it was getting delivered. This was important to me because I wasn't just looking for a car. I wanted a car that was going to grow with me and it needed to have character and personality and not just be a collection of metal, plastic and leather. She drove it regularly but managed to only rack up 27,000 miles on the car since her work was close to her home and she would often switch it up between this car, her Jeep and her Harley.

I previously owned a heavily modified RSX Type-S that I had autocrossed and track with but after 5 years I reluctantly sold it since I knew that to evolve as a driver I had to switch to a rear wheel drive platform. I didn't have in-depth knowledge about S2000s at the time but I did know that it was a car that would teach me things (looking back that was an understatement). I test drove it and it instantly felt special. It's hard to explain this sensation to people who have never driven one but everything about it just felt "right". I knew I wanted it so we agreed on the the price and two days later I took her home. This was the beginning of a journey that even I couldn't have predicted that cool spring evening in 2010 when I parked her in the garage for the first time. She was stock...bone stock down to the original Bridgestone S02s the car was delivered with in 2002...but we all know that wouldn't last for long.

May 12, 2010