Is there the possibility that when you’re turning through those tight turns the transmission oil sloshing around doesn’t have something to do with it? I know when driving my boat on the lake and I make a tight 180 type of turn just for fun, you can hear it make a cavitating sound.

Just another thought.

 

Have you met Zo?

it's not just one missing nut, but many that needs tightening!

 

The issue with my brakes is mostly due to the built up pad material that still hasn't worn off from my last ECR trip (months ago). You can still see the dark patches all around both front rotors. I need to take the rotors off, and scuff them with sand paper, or have them lightly resurfaced. They don't work well cold or hot.

I'm currently using OEM pads all around for street and autocross, but was planning to get Cobalt XR2's for the track. They get great reviews for track use, but I don't know how well they would work for autocrossing. I'm sure pads have gotten better over the last few years, but my past experience showed that autocross pads and track pads had very different design parameters, so I never expected to find a perfect all-purpose performance pad. I don't think I've ever had any issues with my brake fluid, which IIRC is Castrol synthetic.

My issue with 3rd gear was definitely not a muscle memory thing. I don't even try to shift quickly, and 3rd gear so easy to find on our transmission. It just takes a palm push forward, and the spring automatically pulls the lever over to 3rd. However, on Saturday, it would just stop at the gate, and wouldn't go in.

 

The S2000 transmission has a mechanical oil pump, and the oil pickup is all the way at the very bottom of the transmission. I don't think oil flow or pressure could be a likely issue.

 

FWIW, I've been using stock AP2 pads for all my auto-xing and don't like them. They feel wooden, with not much bite or feel. I'll probably be switching to PBR/Axxis Ultimates for street & auto-x duty. These are inexpensive and worked great on my RSX, which had identical brakes to the S2000. You could also try the AP1 OEM compound, but I hear these are tough to find.

For track duty, I use Carbotech XP8. They work fine at lower temps, but just like the Panther+ they replaced, are embarrasingly noisy on the street, dust quite a bit, and aren't very rotor friendly. They're wonderful on the track.

For fluid, I've been using Motul RBF600 for about the past 15 years with no problems.

 

Thanks, it was just an idea

 

If I didn't mention it already, I am using AP1 pads in the front, since they produce less dust. I haven't had a problem ordering them from hondaautomotiveparts.com.

 

AP1 pads are readily available. Just make sure the Honda parts number on the box has "000" as it's last three digits, and that Nissin is cast into the pad's backing plate.

 

Pad compounds - like tires - have definitely come a long way in the last few years. Gone are the days of track compound pads that didn't work worth a damn until they got heat in them. The Carbotech XP Series have very good initial bite, even from ambient temperatures. They really do work anywhere from 50-X degrees, X being the pad compound's temp limit. I use XP10/XP8s on my car. I used to use XP8s up front, but found I was exceeding their capabilities on brake intensive tracks like ECR.

Unfortunately, no one (that I'm aware of) has yet found a pad that works well in extreme track use and is quiet/friendly enough for daily driving. The XP pads work well enough at low temp to daily drive, but they will dust and squeal a lot. They are also very abrasive at lower temps - great for initial bite when cold, but not so great for overall rotor life.

One plus of that last characteristic - put a set of XP8s or XP10s on your glazed rotors and take them to an autocross. You'll wear all of that uneven pad deposit off in one event, I promise. Much better way to "clean" rotors than using sandpaper. I speak from experience.

 

XP10 works even for autocross? I'm a big fan of the Panther Plus (aka AX6 these days) for autocross, but I'm surprised to hear that such a high-temp pad works at autocross temps.