youngjun91

I agree with the other poster that I need more seat time, and that would be the best use of $. But in addition to that, I would like a car that rolls less and sticks more. It's really bang for the buck I'm looking for, so not looking in particular at a certain dollar amount to spend. I would favor the HPDE or road course performance over autox performance. I would love to shave 5+ seconds off my laptimes. Practice will certainly get me a few seconds. How much will I get with the sways? How much will the suspension get me? How would a used CR suspension setup (cheaper I believe) perform vs the KW v3?

Thanks, you guys have been very helpful so far.

Squirtle

The answer to these questions is fairly simple.

A well drive stock S2000 shouldn't be much more off pace on most tracks from a coilover'd S2000 with the same supporting mods. From stock to a kwv3 I'd say its 1 second difference if not slightly more, certainly not "huge". This is because the OEM suspension is THAT good. The comfort you get from coilovers may make you faster, but the car stock is close to putting down the same time at the limit as with coilovers than without. I hope that made sense to you.

If you want to go faster I suggest you get some lowering springs, wheels and larger tires all around with a big front sway.

Budget setup:

OEM shocks with Tein S-Tech or Swift Spec R springs.
17x9 square setup with 255 square tires.
AP1 or CR front sway bar (Or even a 32mm eibach or neuspeed bar will work)


If you really want to swing for it, get camber joints for the front and a better alignment. And voila, you have a car capable of going faster than you should be going without any safety mods. All for ~1k (give or take a little depending how lucky you are with deals)


From here you get what you want, and you can do more seat time. This is just how I would approach this situation if I were in your position.

chuhsi

Squirtle is on point. You can go really fast around a track without coilovers. Inexpensive tweaks as stated, plus an experienced driver, can make this car go very fast. It's surprising

psychoazn

I'm gonna give you a slightly offbeat solution to faster lap times that probably isn't what you're looking for.

A APR GTC-200 (wing) and APR splitter will do more for your lap time than suspension will, and still cost under $1k. No, it doesn't reduce the body roll, but it WILL increase confidence on a budget, and give you a lot of high speed stability.

If you do want a "bang for the buck" set of coilovers, the KW V3 or EVS Eibach Multipro R2 are similar in price (~2k). I'd personally go with the Eibachs.

youngjun91

Now that sounds appealing. I didn't realize how much I like the word "budget" until hearing it just now. As for KW coilovers - $2K for 1+ seconds doesn't sound like great bang for the buck.

I'll admit, I like the feel/feedback from skinnier tires up front, I like the look of OEM wheels, so I think I'll put off the square setup for the immediate future, but it seems many people feel that's the way to go for laptimes and I may go that route if I keep on the trajectory to faster and faster laptimes.

Big question: Stiffer shocks (perhaps unmatched) with stock shocks - will it not cause long term damage to the shocks? Not that I doubt your recommenation - but I like hearing multiple people with the same opinion - thanks chuhsi for the +1 btw. Anyone else? I'm also slightly concerned about the ride quality on the street while commuting with this combination. BTW, thanks for letting me know that the OEM suspension is really that good. The Tein springs look like they'll lower the center of gravity of the car which in itself should be helpful.

As long as I'm on a staggered setup, would you recommend both stiffer front AND stiffer rear sway bars? I'm thinking of getting both the front and rear CR set now. Or maybe Eibachs if they are a significant increase in stiffness. And I'm definitely open to more aggressive alignment. Great ideas. Psychoazn - I'll do what you're suggesting if my car one day becomes a dedicated race car.

Anyone else like to chime in?

Squirtle

Stiffer springs on stock shocks ~WILL~ lower the life of the shock. It's not as bad as some make it out to be, but I will not write off that its okay to bolt on and expect similar life to a completely factory shock.

As per your sway bar question, I would just do the front. The MY car you have has an ideal rear bar setup stock, so it really doesn't need to be touched. I also surprisingly understand your concerns for stock size tires and feedback. The car does have better steering feel using the factory wheels and tires that came on your car.

psychoazn

Springs lower the cG, but they also change the roll center of the car (net effect is that negatively increases response time to steering inputs). While it does work, it's a cheap fix that ultimately will want you leaving more. On the flip side, you can find used OEM non-CR shocks for cheap, often at $50/set or less. Springs will decrease your body roll, enough to be noticeable, but not a WHOLE lot, especially if you're using sticky tires.

Are you using 215/245 or 225/255? What kind of tires?

While I typically recommend an aggressive alignment, that may not be the best option if you're only doing a few track events per year. If you do go that route on a budget, just a front camber modifier + springs will get you into the range for tracking.

youngjun91

Lag in steering response due to changed roll center - never heard of that but that sounds like something I should research a little to see how much it'll affect me. Seems like the Eibach springs will lower the car less than the Teins or Swifts. I do love the feel/feedback of the car so far. I'm using Direzza Star Specs 225/255 - nice street tires until they get really hot.

Can you give me a link or recommendation for where to get this camber modifier? Thank you!

robrob

The benefit of lowering the car on stiffer springs greatly exceeds the negative effects of a lowered roll center. Most of the record pace S2000s are lowered an inch or more and do not run roll center adjusters.

Offset front lower ball joints is the best way to increase negative camber but since you commute in your S you will wear out the inside shoulder of your tires much quicker.

For me the move to KW V3s was very dramatic. My car control and lap times changed dramatically with the V3s being the only change to the car at the time. My driving skill had plateaued and the change to KW V3s allowed me to slide the car in a very controlled manner which gave me the confidence to increase corner speed and dramatically lower my lap times. I'll never forget how cool that first track day on the V3s was.

berny2435

same could be said for me and running my clubsports for autoX. Change was dramatic and the car was much easier to control right out of the box which of course inspired more confidence. OEM suspension just wollows/wobbles/shakes too much in transition. It's a hurry up and wait situation or else you'll get burned for not being super smooth and precise with steering inputs. Smooth is allways good though.