NFRAP1

Well not much I regret on the S, other than my Spoon N1 exh. I liked it but got to be too loud, and the fact that Im on my 3rd set of rims(coughcoughwheelwhore?), anyways
1 product I regret very,very much was on my civic :
SSBC bbk
The rotors were warped bad and my steering wheel would shake/vibrate baaaddd when braking!!
Their service is horrible, they made me pay for the replacement rotors and they were just as baaaaaddd!!!
I finally got refunded for everything but in the long run wasted $$$ on the labor

OCMusicJunkie

I regret installing my own stereo. I broke a lot of snaps in the process, and there is still a slight humming because I couldn't find a perfect place to run the preout wires. Plus, when you rip everything out an install it yourself, you know every tiny flaw of the install... if you take it to a stereo shop, you'll never know the small things that went wrong.

As for major regrets... I just ordered the Invidia. I have a feeling this will either be something I love or something I sell in two weeks... I don't see much middle ground on this one.

minboost2

I don't think that it is correct to directly link price to quality. There are plenty of expensive "name brand" mods that have poor quality. There are some mods that are cheaper than the competition, but still good (if not better) quality.

As far as the boost controller thing, I think it is a great mod. It allows you to "turn up" your boost. Ofcourse, if your car isn't tuned to handle that boots, you'll screw yourself, but that's your own fault for being lame.

I think alot of people who haven't worked with turbo cars much, don't understand how a boost controller works and why they are good. They think you can set it to 6 psi and you get 6 psi or turn it up to 12 psi and get 12 psi (that's not the case). They also think that is ALL it's for. That's not true either. anyway...

I regret...

JIC FLT-A2 coilovers (on my AP1) - The JIC coilovers suck. Wrong spring rates. It's like they didn't even test it and just guessed (which might be the case, I don't know).

Buddy Club Spec 3 Exhaust (on my AP2) - too loud. Same with...

Veilside ti muffler + custom piping (on my AP1) - this was WAY too loud, even at IDLE. But in VTEC WOT it was awesome. When I changed this exhaust out, I enjoyed driving the S much more.

Any aftermarket head unit + PAC SWI-X - I don't like losing the functionality of the radio controls on the left and using the PAC SWI-X thing to use those controls with an aftermarket deck SUCKS. It is very slow to respond. The deck I had was a Pioneer Premier MP3 player, if that matters.

Any aftermarket BAW (big-ass wing) - This is really an installation issue, but the trunk is very weak/flexible and so alot of wings move around too much under hard driving. I had the APR GTC200 Carbon Fiber, which itself is a beautiful piece but the mounting points were too far from the edges of the trunk. If you get a BAW for your car, be sure the mounts are near the very edge of the trunk lid, or with some crazy custom mounting set up that makes it so the wing doesn't fly around everywhere.

Wheels with the wrong offset - I got a set of Gram Lights that were like +42. I thought it might work...it didn't. Be very careful when you buy rims! If you like rims that arent' made in the right offset for your car, just move on!

ScottyBallistic

Independent suspension has noting to do with If you have a strut or not .


Yes while the meaning of strut comes from the McPherson style that eliminates the upper control arm and the strut becomes the lateral support . Over the years the term has been adopted to any style shock that has a coil over system ( where the strut and spring are assembled as one unit )And called a shock if the spring is separate .


While I also used to run the exact setup you had , I was disappointed with the performance . The car is very fast at unloading the spring when you transition from left to right or visa versa . This is due to not enough dampening on the rebound . When the time comes to replace your struts, try some adjustable Konis so you can set it up correctly to your spring rate . I will bet anything you get a better ride .

Heres the kicker I drive a Red MX5 now w /Tein set to full stiff in the summer . Anything softer than 8 and the car becomes a instant drifter and thats just from changing the dampening . On a 60 sec auto-x coarse there is a 3sec difference from full soft to full stiff .


MinBoost , most of your regrets fall under what i was saying about Offroad use only . They were designed for the track .

JIC struts are another issue , I dont think I have come across a application that they did not become a issue on . 350z rattle like crazy in the rear . I have a set for a Maxima that need rebuilding after 2 years and it is only a supercharged grocery getter .

I agree offset is everything when it comes to wheels for this car . Customers get upset when I rag on them because they put a non stagered setup on the S just so they can have bling .

Johnny Sack

i regret getting Raybrig 10k HID bulbs. i kick myself cause i DIDNT LISTEN TO THE GUYS THAT KNEW WFT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT. i cant see shit at night and it was such a PITA to get them in, i am dreading putting my stock blubs back in. god im a dumbass.

RED MX5

I agree that it has become commonplace for lay people to confuse struts and shocks (and you obviously know the difference), but any serious discussion of suspension design has to make a distinction. The two are actually quite different things (and that will always be the case, no matter how often the terms are misused or who misuses them ). The word "strut" actually refers to "a structural element used to brace or strengthen a framework by resisting longitudinal compression." It's a general term, not restricted to automotive suspension systems, and it doesn't apply to our shocks. Companies like Monroe still acknowledge the distinction (see the link below), and just because many Americans drop the "e" off the end of "Porsche" doesn't make the car a Porsch.

If a million chinamen say something incorrectly, does that make it right?

You don't need this, but here's a link that will clear up the difference for anyone who might want to check it out. http://www.monroe.com/tech_support/tec_struts.asp

When you lower a car with struts there are more problems to address than when you lower a car with fully independent suspension, so the difference is important in relation to this discussion.

--------------------------------------------

Your observations about the handling of your car with the Pro kit are interesting. This is the first time I've had a chance to compare notes with anyone (knowledgable) who had the same setup. We both started out with the same setup (suspension wasn't changed until 2002). Any differences are (probably) due to different driving styles, so comparing notes should be interesting; Especially since I like the Prokit more than you did.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you say "unloading the spring" during transitions; Before I installed the Prokit I felt that the transitional handling of the car needed improvement. LOL, this is not an easy topic, because everything needs to be qualified. As much as I hate making so many long posts, I'm afraid this one is heading in that direction. I like to slide the car around a lot, even when I'm autocrossing, and the car was a handful when transitioning from sliding in one direction to sliding in the other. There was not really any problem when driving the car through a series of transitions as long as I wasn't trying to wag the tail while going through a chicane or series of switchbacks. However, as the back of the car rolled from one side to the other there was a lag before it settled, and for me, it made the sliding transitions harder than I liked. The car still has a lag, but the transition is now much easier to control. Before the Prokit I over corrected from bad slides more often than not, but since installing the springs I have not had a single "second wag spin." For me, the springs made it much easer to keep the back tires under the car during sliding transitions.

From what I've read, the Koni yellows have more rebound damping but less compression damping, and I'm already banging my strakes too often. Less compression damping would likely make that more of a problem, even though it does (apparently) make for a nice improvement in the ride and handling of the car. We actually put the Prokit on the car just to see if I could live with the drop on the street, and had intended to replace them with a fully adjustable coil-over setup, but the car's handling matches my driving style so well now (especially since we installed the KAAZ) that I really hate to change anything. I decided to stick with the OEM shocks until they wear out only because I want to see how long they'll last (as an answer to all the claims that they're going to fail because the car was lowered). At this point it's looking like the're going to need replacement at about the same mileage they'd have needed replacement if the car had the stock springs. When the stock shocks do go, we'll be replacing the springs and shocks with something much more flexable. All our Miata's have fully adjustable suspension setups, and eventually we'll have the same flexability with the S2000. I just don't need it right now, and don't see any reason I would need more until I go to something with more grip than the OEM S02's.

If it were just me, I would not be bold enough to evaluate the cars handling. It suits me, but I have no way to know how others might like (or hate) the handling. However, I go to Evolution schools an average of at least once a year, and at the schools the instructors are all natioal level SOLO champions with years of experience in all manner of cars. I encourage them to push the car the way they would if they were competing in the nationals, and they invariably give in to the temptation. Of the half dozen or so national SOLO champs that have driven the car, every one of them, without exception, has been amazed at the cars handling, and every one of them has had nothing but good things to say about it. This has not always been the case. When the car was new, and I went to the first school, the instructors were NOT impressed with the handling, and were more than willing to make suggestions on how I might make it better. Since the Prokit was installed and the alignment tweaked, they no longer find anything to criticize.
Go figure.

Little red MX5's are a blast; no?

ScottyBallistic

Redmx5 --

It would be hard to compare to two as I was running on 17" CE28n . So the tire combo is different and so is the profile and contact patch which overall effects springrate .

Granted , controlling the car in a slide was exceptional the tendency to snap oversteer while changing direction was unacceptable .

No doubt the Prokit is a great setup for the street as the ride quality was great .

I forgot to address my comment about damper longevity. I made that comment as a general consensus and not S2000 specific . The S2000 does come with a great damper ( how many cars come factory with a separate reservoir . I think Honda did there research ) The Eibach spring is not that aggressive with only a 1" drop . Try it with say a 2" drop .

But there is still no doubt a matched set of springs and dampers will rain supreme ( this does not mean you need to buy the most expensive )

minboost2

No, but if millions of Americans say something incorrectly, it can make it right.

Usage is a common measure to determine words that are to be added to the English dictionary. Does that make them actual words? Well, at the least it makes them legal for use in games of Scrabble!

Maybe we can start a new word? How about "strock" - any strut or shock. Usage: "I just bought some Koni strocks and they work great!"

Ok. Maybe Not.

RED MX5

[QUOTE=minboost2,Dec 1 2006, 07:48 PM]No, but if millions of Americans say something incorrectly, it can make it right.

Usage is a common measure to determine words that are to be added to the English dictionary. Does that make them actual words? Well, at the least it makes them legal for use in games of Scrabble!

Maybe we can start a new word? How about "strock" - any strut or shock. Usage: "I just bought some Koni strocks and they work great!"

Ok. Maybe Not.

RED MX5

Yea, with the difference in tires and wheels, we can't really compare our results. Well darn.

I think the OEM shocks may be manufactured by Showa (did I spell that right ).

If it's all the same to you, I don't think I'll try that 2" drop. Somewhere between one and two inches of drop is where the problems start, and I'm not going there.

Other cars are more apt to have problems when lowered, especially if they have lame shocks to start with, and especially if they have (I don't know any other way to say this) *struts*. Lowering a car with struts is much more of a PITA, and struts take much higher loads than shocks (and in more different directions). I think I've got about 54,000 miles on the car now, and the Prokit has been on it since 36,000 miles, so I have about 18,000 miles on the shocks after the springs were installed, and they're still doing their job. I wish I had a better feel for how long the dampers normally last (with stock springs), because I may well be approaching the mileage where they're due for replacement anyway. The stock shocks on the Miata were gone at about 60,000 miles (and the Miata has never been driven as hard or tracked and autocrossed as much as the S2000).

Who has worn out a set of stock shocks over stock springs?
I'd really like to get a feel for how long the OEM shocks last.