solo2racer

Hi all -

As has been previously posted on the forum, Rob Falkner has clearly stated his intent to protest all S2000's at Nationals this year to determine if they have repaired their a-arm brackets. Based on informal conversations with SEB members and past protest committee members, this could go either way but will most likely be found against us as things stand now.

[since search is offline...]
As a quick re-cap, the problem is that the spot welds on the forward mounting bracket of the upper control arm break. This causes the front of the upper a-arm to pull away from the chassis. Since there is no way to fix the spot welds, all of the people (that I know of) who have had this problem have gone to a welder and had a seam weld done to hold the bracket to the frame.

The SCCA rules do not allow a non-factory authorized repair that, in any way, strengthens the car. Unfortunately, there is no other way to fix the car short of replacing the entire corner of the car for many thousands of dollars. And just replacing the parts means that they will break again within 12-18 months.

The only way to ensure that everything is legal is to have a Honda recommended solution that includes repairing it with a seam weld. Not dealer recommended, but Honda of America. This means a TSB, service bulletin, technical advisory, etc.

To this end, I have worked through a local contact at a Honda dealership (who conveniently drives an S2000). He has been directly in touch with the correct person at Honda of America who would issue such a document for us. He explained the situation, the SCCA rules, that the competitor threatening a protest drives a Mazda, etc.

My friend was pleasantly surprised at the positive response he received. The person at Honda would like to help us. But first he needs more info about the problem.

If you have had the problem, I want you to let me know. Email me your VIN, exactly what happened and when, how you fixed it, any photos or other evidence of the problem, etc. I will forward everything on to my friend.

Be aware that this info will be going to Honda, so if you are concerned about voiding your warranty, let me know and I'll sanitize your info before sending it on.

I'll be in Oscoda for the ProSolo this weekend, so I won't be able to respond to anyone until Mon. If the search comes back online or someone has the direct link to the photo that Jason posted last year, please add the link to this thread for others to see.

Thanks,
Brad
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Bradley Lamont
#91 BS - 2001 Honda S2000 Spa Yellow
lamont@mailhost.com
www.over6racing.com

Doug Hayashi

I have some pictures of the problem on my S2000 prior to having it welded by welder guru Andy Bondio, who welds from scratch and builds the winning midget cars..

Pictures are high res, 1.5 meg size:

http://www.nsxfiles.com/images4/317.jpg

http://www.nsxfiles.com/images4/318.jpg

http://www.nsxfiles.com/images4/319.jpg

http://www.nsxfiles.com/images4/320.jpg

I do not have any "after pictures" as the welding now has red paint over it.

I believe the problem happened from the stress and g-forces of me going too fast around turns (road racing courses) and the a-arm brackets couldn't go as fast as me.

It happened to both the right and left hand sides (not at same time).

And I blame the "broken" a-arm bracket for the only damage to a car that I've had in 12 years or tracking cars, causing my S2000 to go under a chain link fence at the Streets of Willow. More info at: http://www.nsxfiles.com/wurth_dec_02.htm

-Doug

It wasn't driver error, dammit, it was the ffing a-arm bracket that caused me to spin going into the bowl

RACER

[QUOTE=solo2racer,Jul 8 2004, 02:40 PM] Rob Falkner has clearly stated his intent to protest all S2000's at Nationals this year to determine if they have repaired their a-arm brackets.

As a quick re-cap, the problem is that the spot welds on the forward mounting bracket of the upper control arm break.

KeithD

Well this guy who is threatening a protest is obviously a douche-bag. He doesn't have enough faith in his driving skills to contend with the folks driving S2000s, so he came up with this bullshit protest so he can have a chance.

To me this nitpicking falls under the 'if you can't beat 'em, cheat 'em.'

Elistan

Which Mazda is classed in B Stock?

aklucsarits

RX8, MazdaSpeed Miata, ???

Andrew

Elistan

Cool, thanks.

fluxen

Bitterman also had this problem on his car, fyi. One of the locations broke at a Sears Point track day, and it was welded up on the spot thanks to Hayashi's (still plastic-wrapped) welder. His email is aaron@speedventures.net if you need details.

And to the guy threatening this protest. Dirty Pool

tmorrow

solo2racer, thanks for getting this rolling.

Out of curiosity, however, what advantages could be taken when reattching the A-arm brackets? Could you weld them a bit higher altering the ride height? Seems like both would need to be moved in order to gain any neg. camber or lower the ride height.

And just to fuel the fire - IF every S2K with rewelded brackets was DSQ'd or had +4 added to the event times, wouldn't he still have to contend with several other models that will be quicker (at least one 350Z, one blazing Z-4, a few Boxsters, and an RX-8 that's getting real fast)? Besides, there are surely a few of the "big dogs" that haven't had them fail yet.

Hyper-X

The dude probably can't drive worth cr-p. The re-welding process ensures safetey and is going to boost performance as much as changing to higher strength wheel studs.