c32b Time Attacking Again

I can’t say enough about how thoroughly I’ve enjoyed my five and a half years of S2000 ownership. Much of that has been due to the excitement and fun factor the chassis delivers in driving but an often missed point would be the ownership experience in terms of maintenance and durability. Rock solid reliable is how I would describe the S2000, even through the virtual abuse I’ve put the car through, including about 100,000 miles of daily driving, frequent 2-300 mile journeys, drifting events, track days, and time attack events.

Yet this durability comes with the caveat that proper maintenance should be observed and that’s something I’ve relied heavily on input from members of this forum which has at all times been forthcoming and generous. An exciting car can have the ownership experience marred by poor servicing routines or wrong usage of maintenance items such as transmission fluids so I’m really grateful that the community has always been forthcoming to help with guidance on what I should do to maintain my ride. Despite me being almost 10,000 miles away from many of the owners in this global forum, I’ve received so much support and advice that I can say without hesitation that the excellent longevity of my car can be attributed to a community effort to help an S2000 owner like me.

From something as basic as engine oil grade choice all the way to complex issues such as electrical gremlins related to my pedal position sensor, I’ve never had to go further than to open up a new thread or click through the search function to get the advice I needed. Comprehensive service DIYs are done by members who wholeheartedly share with less mechanically inclined types like myself and there are tons of reviews of products used with genuine opinions voiced to help the clueless owner decide what might suit their budget or product performance goal. Locally, there are virtually no workshops who can claim to be familiar with the S2000 as there are very few of them running around on my tiny little island country so I’ve been totally reliant on the forum to help me through the ownership process and the results have been wonderful for all these years of ownership.

This strong support is shown even in the area of modifications and what performance parts to purchase which goes a long way to help owners get the best bang for their buck. From dyno charts showing the performance gains of a product to product reviews done by folks who have picked up the products and even all the way to complex discussions on aerodynamic benefits of various modification options, the forum has proven a veritable treasure trove of data and experience that I have relied on to guide me through the complex route of modification. This has allowed me to pick the products which I hoped to wring the maximum potential out of my ride for the limited budget I have.

This support doesn’t stop there either but extends to the realm of my understanding of myself as a driver with respect to the car I own. Tips and frank discussion on driving technique with detailed breakdown of how one should expect to drive to extract the fullest performance from this race bred chassis are thrown back and forth for the sole purpose to distill the best advice we can share. Seasoned racers stop by to give their honest thoughts on technique that they are so familiar from areas as basic as gear shifting methods all the way to the finer points of racecraft. I’ve had many a rethink of the techniques I employ with the open discourse I’ve been exposed to in the forum and altered some of my techniques with discernible improvement which could only have come from this amazing culture of sharing.

It is in this light of the wonderful experience of being part of this forum that I’ve chosen to dedicate my recent results in my local time attack to S2KI.com by running the logo of S2KI on my car. It is my firm belief that the success I’ve garnered in my recent time attack is very much a joint success of what S2KI has delivered to me as being part of the integrated global community. The unity in the community has also resulted in me making good friends despite the many thousands of miles lying between us.

Here is my an excerpt on my blog post on how I’ve managed to surmount the odds in my recent time attack despite having to manage mechanical issues and stiff competition.

Before I knew it, it was time to get my gear on, say a quick prayer and prepare to exit the pit lane to clock our fastest laps together with all the other NA category competitors. A delay to my tyre shipment meant I was running my first laps on the waxy surface of my spanking new RS3s and I would have to be a little more cautious about the grip since I’d have less of it to begin with.

Here is my blogpost which I hope will make for enjoyable reading.  Back to Attack-ing 2013!