craigmatthews17

Thats what Ive been wanting to hear ! Thank you Steve. My mind is at ease

m1bjr

No worries, you've taken a big hike in potential performance that's all.
I came from the halfway house of the tuned Impreza, but it was just as different.

Nailing a car to 9k whilst still maintaining smooth control and the engine going mental takes a fair bit of discipline. This is no point & shoot 4x4.

Worth noting that the single biggest factor (in my opinion) that affects how the stock car can handle is its geometry settings.
Before you change anything else (and I reckon you will) try having the chassis aligned correctly by an expert.
It's money well spent and often results in a far safer, easier handling car.
A lot of used cars never get this done, and this chassis is VERY responsive to geo changes.
That was my experience anyhow.

Enjoy, it's long time to practice before we get hot, sticky tyres again

Gaspode

What everyone else said.


0-6K it is a bog standard 2 litre car engine. so it will perform like one.

Now...6K-9K.... that's the fun zone.

WHen you are confident on a dry day with a straight road, 1st gear up to 9K, change to 2nd.... notice that the revs are at 6K, when you get that up to 9K and change to 3rd... you are still at 6K.

Honda designed it that way.... it rewards good driving.

Now... remember the speed limit for each gear at 9K. ( At least the first 3 or 4 )


Going from 8K in third to second isn't recommended
We don't want you going down the box and trashing the engine


BTW - Get a ride drive course and some track days, the S is designed to have lots of fun on the twisties.


Oh... and Enjoy.

craigmatthews17

, i do plan on changing it abit in the future, but im not sure on wheel sizes and offsets ect.

i would like to wack on some BBS Lm's and some coilovers but again i'm not sure were i stand with drop links etc etc. just scared to modify this car as its abit posh for me atm

BTW: i was cleaning the back boxes up yesterday ( sad i know ) and i noticed at the middle section on the exhaust there is a pipe that comes out 90 degrees and does nothing?? about 15inchs long maybe.. any 1 no why thats there?

Oh just thought ide add, i drove it for the first time in the dark last night and the headlights are amazing!!! u can see foreva, nice blue tinge to them also. very impressed

m1bjr

Wheels - expensive.
The later model 04 onwards standard alloys are 17" and a worthwhile upgrade. They come up on here in the FS section occasionally.
The offsets are a bit strange, and few companies make the correct ones.
Rays Volks are popular IIRC.
There is a MASSIVE amount of wheel upgrade info on here so I won't repeat.
Its also very technical. Do a search.
Someone will be along shortly to chip I'm sure. Its a bit over my head tbh.

See my siganture for coilover install links. Its not an easy job, nor is it cheap.
Toe arms need changing both ends after lowering or you increase bump steer problems. Again, have a read in my sig links.
This car suffers from over lowering too, you can make it handle worse than stock unless you spend the cash and do it right.
Budget about

craigmatthews17

Oh i see thats quite interesting to know.

Have i got HID's then?

is the engine not restricted atall then, because on my polo i fitted a 4branch manifold and longlife system with a BMC filter and it seemed to pick up alot better than standard.

i really like the new style wheels there like multispoke, not the 5spoke splits 1's.

not sure if u get what i mean.....

i have been looking for newer style wheels everywere but cannot find any at the moment

Heinz '57

Wixer has some refurbed 17" for sale. Look at the For Sale section.

S2000Si

Your first sunny day next year on some empty roads with the roof down and you will fall in love with this car..

I came from a 320 bhp audi s4 and this is so much more fun..

and partly due to the challange and fear factor.

get your geo looked at straight away.. IMO good geo is the difference between the loose handling that wipes people out "s2000 specific diesel" and wiping yourself out because you are trying to get the car sideways (in which case you knew it was coming)

I'm not far from you - we should do a "south coast meet" down in the purbecks somewhere when the weather clears in spring.

be careful and watch the number of posts about crashes and spins appearing at the moment to remind yourself to continue being careful.

you will love this car when the time is right..

welcome

craigmatthews17

cheers m8, ya deffo up for a meet bud

J_D

Hi mate,and welcome. Youve probabley bought your S at the worst time of the year. They are truely rubbish in the winter, and makes you realise just how good front wheel drives are in winter conditions.

My advise is only boot it in bone dry conditions, as even in a straight line in the wet, the car can oversteer without warning IE when hitting VTEC.

Also when you do get a dry day, build your self up, and remember when entering a corner, slow in fast out. Hold the throttle mid corner then apply the accelerator when exiting the corner.

Hope this helps.