A. Dos Santos

so here is my dilema (firstworldproblems), I need recommendations as to where to go next with my car.

This is the long version of my story, if you don't want to read it just skip it and get to my main point. it just helps in getting some general info across as to my current situation so you can get a better idea of why i'm asking for help.

I'm 19 and right after highschool I took a year off to work and buy my dream car (s2k) in cash so I could race it. I live with my dad and he's pretty "generous" when it comes to money. so he's paying for my insurance, food, clothes and he's also paying for my school so I don't have to worry about not having money for important things. However, any parts for my car come from my own pocket, be it oem replacement or aftermarket mods.
so now I'm back in school, car payed off, and I have 2000$ in my bank to spend on modification(s). next summer I will get a job again, but that money will just be to pay for the time attack slots, and any other expenses like tires, gas, brakes etc. So until I graduate (in four years) the money I earn is just going to be to keep the racing going as opposed to having a disposable income for parts and mods.

I spent most of the summer racing my s2k, and have done autoX events and general lapping days so I've got a good feel for the car, and kind of have an idea of where I want it to be in the future.


TLDR:
I have no living expenses,
I have 2000$ to spend on my s2k over the next 4 years.
I DD my s2k.
I want to compete in time attack over the summer throughout these 4 years, and will willingly sacrifice drive-ability for performance.

What mods do I get that are the best bang-for-the-buck mods? Brakes? better suspension? aero? exhaust?

Also this has proven to be a pita so far, but a big thing for me is that I don't want to hack into the car. if it involves hacking the bumper for brake ducting or something like that, I don't want to do it. I want to keep the car as reversible as possible. I have no idea why I want this, as I plan on keeping it until it dies, it's just the way I am.

so suggestions like a wing would need to go with a CF trunk, (or if someone wants to sell me a bb CR trunk/wing +shipping for 1g I'll take that too.)


List of current modifications:

Upgraded to AP2 V2 wheels, dunlop direzza ZII tires, 255/215, new, tires also AP1 wheels which have r1r's on them in stock sizes. (and I bolded "upgraded", because this is by far the best improvement I've made to the car.)

cheap coilovers (bc racing (good enough for me, for now)) haven't put them on, so I don't know if they're really as crappy as the price would suggest.

k&n fipk intake, sounds good, doesn't make a difference performance wise.

mugen style cf hardtop (not on car currently, not a real mugen one obviously)

invidia N1 exhaust (not on car currently, too loud, obnoxious, no noticeable performance difference, took it off after 2 weeks etc.)


If I were to be stupid right now, I would drop 2g on a big brake kit and call it a day or I would buy a CF trunk and an apr GT200 wing.
If I were smart, I would spend that money on things like a puddy mod diff, new master cylinder (mine's squeaking), and/or AP2 retainers, but those are all boring non-gofast stuff. ( i have been very good on downshifts so far, so AP2 retainers don't seem like a vital for me right now.)

The reason why I'm asking this is because I can't afford to waste money on my car like I did with the invidia exhaust system. /So before my basic teenager instincts take over and I order a 2g bodykit off of ebay, I want to do a little research and not blow the limited money I have on stupid shi... things.

any help is greatly appreciated

miloking

where to next? tidy up engine bay, get some little cheap mods... ETD, header, polish/paint things in engine bay etc..



Paint calipers...




Just things that you can do yourself with bit of effort, you will appreciate much more then just bolting random crap to the car...

But if you insist on bolting "crap" to the car, maybe get something nice looking like OEM spoiler? (instead of GT wing!)

S~Factor

The basics.

drop springs
wheels or spacers (if you like the OEM wheels)
exhaust
intake

Everything reversible. Everything fairly cheap if bought used.

Ryuu

save up for decent mods, you'll need roughly 6k to 8 k...take your time and do it right... S-Factor listed the cheap and easy stuff.. none of which, really do much good to a NA car.. some even do harm.. but save weight...

mugen_rsx09

If I had $2,000 to spend on my s2000 in 4 years I wouldn't be racing it. Save your money.

chubbys2k

I was in the same situation u were except with 3000. I bought a dd the plan to buy wheels. Winters in new england suck.