Shak's S2000.

[wongy]

Man the GTR looks perfect on the track, can't wait to take my EG to wakey to see what the D15 can do haha, nice updates shak!

[Shakeel]

Can u hurry up with ur posts and get to the footage where u are doing 1:12 stock please

Perhaps if I had new tyres and a clutch that wasn't slipping that would have been achievable!

More updates plz

Yes boss.

Man the GTR looks perfect on the track, can't wait to take my EG to wakey to see what the D15 can do haha, nice updates shak!

Thanks Nate. EG's are cool but you should have bought an s2000 instead.


1 April 2015 - JDMYard Private trackday at Wakefield Park
A few of the CITR guys got together and attended this trackday. Going back to the track within two weeks was quite good. I was able to concentrate on my lines better and really build on what I had gathered from the previous trackday. Gopro footage was corrupted unfortunately so I need to find out why that happened. I think the memory card has pooped itself for some odd reason. I was out on track for quite a bit during the day, sometimes going out for 20 minutes at a time. The track was empty at times and this is why I love open pit format trackdays.

The only thing different on the car was two new front tyres (Michellin Pilot Sport 3), to replace the cracked nine year old RE001's. Also ended up getting a better track focused alignment. It's truly amazing how adjustable the S2000 is from factory, Honda did well!

Broke my PB in the very first session with a 1:16.25. After the first session I installed a Cusco brake stopper which I purchased earlier in the year with Alex (plAythiNG). It made a considerable difference to the brake pedal feel. After installing and going out again I felt I could brake harder and more consistently. Definitely a worthwhile investment for any S2000 owner. Ended the day with a PB of 1:15.7.

Check out this awesome car who was waiting in the pits for his owner to pick him up from a trackday on the weekend.




Cool picture of the car thanks to Sugi's brother Josh!




29 May 2015
In preparation for the upcoming trackdays I had the car booked in at Top One to get a couple things done:
- Install Goodridge braided brake lines
- Minor service
- Fluid flush (Brakes, diff, transmission)

The diff oil was extremely black and looked as though it hadn't been changed in a very long time taking into account the previous service logs from Hanny's Performance saying it was done not long ago... Got the brake lines replaced as I was a bit concerned that the almost sixteen year old lines may fail on me whilst on the track

Brake lines






1 June 2015 - JDMYard Private trackday at Wakefield Park
Once again some of the CITR guys got together and attended this trackday. Unfortunately for me this trackday felt like it was a real waste. No matter how hard I pushed the tyres weren't very confidence inspiring at all. I was behind my PB all day long and couldn't seem to get anywhere close to it. I even had Alex do a few laps to see if it was just me being a worrywart but he also said it was quite scary trying to push hard. I made the choice to stop around midday as pushing on would lead to something silly happening. There and then I made the decision in my mind that the next time I was at the track, I'd definitely have some new tyres that would serve me well. On this day I also noticed my clutch was slipping quite badly.. Best time on the day was 1:23.7.

Pic thanks to Jono at ISO-Media.




19 June 2015 - Ohlins DFV
Something I wanted to adhere to on this car was to never cheap out on anything. The S2000 in my eyes is one of the best cars ever produced (no bias of course). The stock suspension in the AP1 is simply amazing. I wish I could have gone back to the track with some better tyres on the stock wheels, whilst on stock suspension. However I felt that would be just wasting money and I'd be quite restrained on the stock 16's. I wanted to make sure that if I was going to upgrade the suspension then it would HAVE to be an upgrade, not a downgrade. After researching on s2ki for months I had narrowed it down to one, Ohlins DFV. All that was left to do was to find a dealer who could get them to me! I decided to go with Urge Designs in the U.S after reading many positive reviews about them, and their service. It was probably the easiest transaction I've ever gone through and the level of service provided far exceeded my expectations. The main bloke (Patrick), would even reply to my emails when it was 3AM over in the U.S.

I received the Ohlins in late January and immediately moved the box to a dark corner far away from my eyes. If I had left them out in the open I would have installed them on the same day but I wanted to experience the car completely stock for a while. After much pestering from the S2000 CITR crew I finally decided to get them installed. I'd like to thank Andrew, Alex, and Danny for coming over and giving a hand. My stock suspension went onto Alex's car so he could sell the trashy coilovers that he had

Will give a review on these later.

Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures of the assembly of the Ohlins, and installation..












22 June 2015
I picked up my wheels from Magman which I had dropped two weeks prior. I had the wheels repaired as they had bad gutter rash when I purchased them. I also took the opportunity to have them resprayed a glossy white (they were gold). If you know me then you know there's really only one type of wheel which I love the most -

For those wondering the specs are 18 x 8.5 +35






10 July 2015
Received the first item from my order with Summit Racing. ACT heavy duty pressure plate.




20 July 2015
Received a box from good ol' mate Mr Streeter. Inside was a pair of J's Racing front offset balljoints. I purchased these to help me with the daunting task of trying to fit those silly spec wheels on an even silly-er car...






22 July 2015
Received some OEM goodies from Amayama which would be needed for my clutch replacement. I'm happy to provide part numbers if anyone needs them. In the box was:
OEM Pilot bearing
OEM Release? bearing
OEM Clutch disc - After reading many opinions, this was the best disc to go with. Almost every aftermarket clutch disc gives off the infamous S2000 "clutch buzz" sound.
OEM Flywheel bolts x8
OEM Rear main seal




Also received the second item from the Summit Racing order. ACT streetlite flywheel, basically a lightened flywheel. It has been a tested and proven combo when matched with the ACT pressure plate and OEM clutch disc.




18 July 2015
Took the wheels to Jax Tyres in Liverpool to get the new tyres fitted. I purchased a set of 245/40/18 Hankook RS3's from St George Tyres. I brought the tyres/wheels to Jax Liverpool cause I know they take care when fitting the wheels and ensure no damage is done while fitting. Later this day I went Danny to pick up his new Advan TCIII wheels... I think I made a mistake buying the regamasters :P

23 July 2015
Car was booked in at Top One. Had the following done:
All four guards rolled
Machined front and rear rotors - They were warped from the three previous trackdays... :P
Replaced front and rear brake pads with Project Mu HC800 (Purchased from Garage460 - ClubITR Vendor)
Replaced front ball joints with J's Racing ball joints - Moar camber
Replaced engine mounts with Hasport 62A engine mounts - My stock mounts were cracked
Replaced clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, bearings, and rear main seal.
Replaced stock headers with Toda headers - Dedy mentioned to me on a previous occasion that the headers would be removed when doing the clutch replacement. Co-incidentally one of his customers was parting out his car a week before my booking and we struck a deal, my stock headers + cash for his Toda headers. Alex gave his stock headers to the guy a week before, and I gave my stock headers to Alex when it was removed from my car. Thanks Guy!



The car feels really good to drive now. The lightened flywheel is definitely a great thing to do when replacing the clutch. The car accelerates quicker than before! Car sounds quite a bit louder due to the headers. The engine mounts were really unbearable in the beginning but in the time since they have broken in nicely.

More to come soon!

[wongy]

" Shakeel, how are you gonna drive this car " haha

[felixR]

That's a sweet update Shak.

When are the wheels going on the car?

[plAythiNG]

damn i forgot to have a go in ur car and see the mounts. i think it will still settle even more considering how rare you driv eur car!

[Toddxxx]

Nice shak! Also new wheels look real good on the car

Would've been interested in seeing mounts as well. I've gone the 75a route haha

[Shakeel]

" Shakeel, how are you gonna drive this car " haha

Oh Dedy.... Always says bad things with a smile on his face...

That's a sweet update Shak.

When are the wheels going on the car?

Thanks Boss. Wheels have been on the car for a while now, in this update they are officially on the car

damn i forgot to have a go in ur car and see the mounts. i think it will still settle even more considering how rare you driv eur car!

I would have liked to have gone with Mugen or even the Hardrace engine mounts, let's see how they are further down the track.

Nice shak! Also new wheels look real good on the car

Would've been interested in seeing mounts as well. I've gone the 75a route haha

Thanks Toddy! I honestly don't have the will to go with stiffer mounts. I'm also sure the lady friend would prefer the services of my car, rather than my own


The mounts have further settled in since last time but they are still quite annoying for me. They have gone from the original violent earthquake experience to a $2 Westfields massage chair experience. The car vibrating isn't the main cause of my annoyance. Rather the creaks and rattles which the interior now makes as a result of the increased vibrations transferred into the car. Perhaps I've been driving a stock car for too long... Good luck with the Amuse exhaust Shak



24 July 2015
I was working around the corner so I decided to take the car to Tyres N More Wetherill Park. Long story short, I had a terrible experience and will most definitely not be going back there ever again. I gave them the specs I was after and they said they got 'close enough' to my specs. After asking for a final print out of the alignment, and getting a generic "printer isn't working" excuse I knew the guys there were complete duds... I didn't want to create more drama so I paid the fee and left.


25 July 2015
Called Danny over to hang out, and help do some minor things on the car.

The front tyres were really close to the front guards, scrubbing the splash guards and guards itself on bumps. The driver side had literally 1mm clearance. Having doubts about the alignment being correct anyway, I decided to raise the front about 20mm both sides.








Replaced the amber side indicators with OEM clear indicators. Also replaced the clear indicator bulbs with OEM amber bulbs. Once again if anyone needs part numbers, just let me know!




Tried to debadge the guards. Ended up getting most of the glue off. As patient as I was, some of the glue pulled away bits of the paint. No biggie as the guards need to be flared and resprayed one day. Didn't take a picture of the end result, will have that in the next update hopefully. The glue was really stubborn...




Replaced the AP1 interior radio door with an AP2 CR radio door.




Replaced the sixteen year old cabin filter... Yuck!




Installed some blue tinted convex side mirrors lenses which supposedly help to eliminate most of the blind spot area in the S2000. Not much of an install, it's just double sided taped on haha. Pics in the next update.

Finally we installed an OEM bootlid spoiler which I've been after for a while. I was lucky enough to pick this up for dirt cheap and it was already painted red! Some pictures taken at night, it really completes the rear of the car IMO.






31 July 2015
Booked the car for another alignment at Jax Tyres Liverpool... I should have just come here in the first place. Gave the guys the specs I was after and requested for a print out. I mentioned the previous workshop alignment issue and they said they would look after me like they always do. They managed to get the alignment as close as possible to the specs I was after. Smiles all round thanks to Jax Liverpool.

3 August 2015 - JDMYard Private trackday at Wakefield Park

What was different for this trackday compared to last:
New engine mounts
Project Mu HC800 pads + Machined oem rotors
New clutch + lightened flywheel
Toda headers
Ohlins DFV coilovers
New alignment
Bigger wheel/tyre setup
18 x 8.5 +35
245/40/18 Hankook RS-3

Miraculously everything fell into place and I was able to get the car ready in time for this trackday. My main worry were the parts for the clutch replacement arriving in time as they were on backorder from Summit Racing. Despite having the car ready (mechanically), I was close to selling my spot anyway as I was concerned about the clearance of the tyres to the guards... After talking to a few friends and adopting the "she'll be right" attitude (thanks Peter), I decided to just go anyway. It was extremely cold on this day and it was hard to get temperatures into the tyres in the morning. The car was scrubbing quite a bit when I had a passenger but that was the least of my worries now that I was at the track. I honestly think the front guards flared themselves in a way haha.

Despite having what was now a completely new car (in a way), I wasn't really going as fast as I wanted to be going. Racechrono times were showing consistent times in the 1:17-1:19 range. The times were a bit disappointing and I did feel I was all over the place on the track. I got Master Andrew to sit in with me and teach me his ways. After a few laps I could immediately see where I was going wrong, it really helps to have a veteran sit in with you and give you pointers. I went out alone after Andrew jumped out and immediately smashed some consistently quicker laps with mild traffic! This was very encouraging to say the least, and I now know what to work on in the future. Unfortunately the joy was short lived as it began sprinkling and then there was some light rain. This definitely rained on my parade

Once the rain started I packed up for the day and watched some of the Nissans frolicking in the grass as they attempted to skid race. Ended the day with a PB of 1:15.4, 0.3 seconds quicker than my previous PB in April. I was pretty satisfied with the day. There were a few new guys holding me up at times but what can you do. I kept the Ohlins on the softest setting, Alex had played around with the passenger front so that may have been a bit stiffer... Brakes felt really good, as did the new clutch. The car overall felt okay but not okay, maybe the move from the previous 16" staggered setup to the now 18" square setup has something to do with it.



Three consecutive laps of 1:15 with mild traffic




I'm eager to head back out again soon, perhaps Tarmac Attack on the 24th or even Circuit Club in September, then JDMYard again in October. Car will stay as it is for a long time as I want to further improve on my PB. I'd like to squeeze in about 4 more trackdays for the year, and in the meantime I'll think about what I'd like to do regarding the other white car that's been in an eternal slumber for a while now.

[Toddxxx]

White on red is always a winner!

You're also more of a track addict than I am :P

[eskimo_firefighter]

Nice update Shak. More pictures of the car as a whole please and nice work with PB!

After talking to a few friends and adopting the "she'll be right" attitude (thanks Peter), I decided to just go anyway.

Haha, you're welcome.

[plAythiNG]

haha the knob went back to its original place man!

yeah ur car needs no more work;

brakes
suspension
wheel/tyre

Just need driver time in better conditions!

Need to get that oil cooler off u prior to the next track day!

[fn33ch]

looking good Shak! some quality parts you have there

[sugz]

this guy tracks his car more often than i change my undies!
love the update thus far Shak

[Bluscreama]

Not happy shak, don't see updates...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kinjaz]

[Shakeel]

White on red is always a winner!

You're also more of a track addict than I am :P

Yes it always is the clear winner. Well when you start having a lot of fun it's hard to stop tracking haha.

Nice update Shak. More pictures of the car as a whole please and nice work with PB!

Thanks Pete! More pictures shortly.

haha the knob went back to its original place man!

yeah ur car needs no more work;

brakes
suspension
wheel/tyre

Just need driver time in better conditions!

Need to get that oil cooler off u prior to the next track day!

Yep more driver time is needed. Definitely a lot left in the car with this setup.

looking good Shak! some quality parts you have there

Thanks Dan, I mean Frankie.

this guy tracks his car more often than i change my undies!
love the update thus far Shak

Thank you Jun Tao.

Not happy shak, don't see updates...

Sorry Charbz, I always tend to fall months behind

7 August 2015
I was bored. I wrote wash me on one of my wheels which was dirty from the trackday. I took a picture of said wheel. It was a very productive day.




18 August 2015
Received my Ikeya Formula rear toe arms from everyone's best mate, Mr Streeter. Purchased these so I could gain some more camber adjustment without running out of thread on the toe arms. Perhaps I should have went all out and purchased front and rear upper camber arms too while I was at it... Silly Shak.






27 August 2015
I picked up an OEM hardtop from AUS S2K admin George. I really hated myself for not jumping on the last OEM hardtop that was sold on AUS S2K, it was berlina black too which was exactly what I wanted. I told myself the next time an OEM hardtop would pop up for sale I'd buy it, so I eventually did. Seeing how George's car was Silverstone, the hardtop was also Silverstone... George helped me install the fitting kit which was included in the sale and even gave me a hardtop stand (which I'm yet to pick up).





I really like how the OEM hardtop flows with the car and isn't really in your face which the Mugen hardtop is. I do want to purchase the Mugen hardtop one day but it's just too expensive at the moment. With all the replica Mugen hardtops floating around, there isn't much of that exclusiveness anymore. I decided to settle for the OEM hardtop as it was the next best thing and exclusive in it's own right. Driving around with the hardtop is an amazing feeling, there is now so much more room inside the cabin and you don't feel claustrophobic anymore. There is a dramatic reduction in wind noise on the highway, which was one of the main reasons for me purchasing a hardtop.


15 September 2015
Mr Streeter delivers yet again. This time in the form of a Zoom Engineering TS carbon mirror. I saw this on Andrew Hake's build thread on s2ki and immediately fell in love with it. Another nice subtle touch to the interior whilst being able to see a lot more out of the hardtop rear window. Amazing piece of work, I had second thoughts about installing it on the car. I wanted to keep it in a display cabinet for years to come.








24 September 2015
I went down to support Cars For Hope's #IAMDRIVEN meet. Saw a few of the CITR guys there, as well as some of my fellow #ClubS2K friends. Thanks to all those who came down and supported a great cause!
Parked together with Berty's, and Todd's cool cars. I wish I was a bit lower but then again I enjoy the 18's as they make the car seem low whilst being high, if that makes any sense.




27 September 2015
Finally got around to installing the Project Mu SCR Pro rotors on the car. These were taken from my DC5R as this car is more deserving .






7 October 2015 - JDMYard Private Trackday at Wakefield Park
I didn't really prep the car much for this trackday. Went with the same setup from the August trackday. This was a very productive trackday to say the least. I became a lot more comfortable with the car and the conditions were great. The morning sessions were all about learning the car/lines, again. After lunch I decided to push a bit harder and the lap times were dropping ever so slightly. Ended the day with a PB of 1:14.0 which I'm really happy about. I had to leave at 3PM as I had other commitments that evening but I'm sure I could have broken into the 13's had I stayed longer. I was blocked on one pretty fast hot lap and I was really annoyed by it. Racechrono showed an optimal of 1:13.87 for that session... Oh well, hopefully I can break into the 13s during the next trackday. I'd like to start playing around with the dampening settings on the Ohlins during the next trackday as well.






13 October 2015
I had the hardtop wrapped in gloss black. I missed having a nice looking car, and I was hardparking at the WTAC Show N' Shine on the coming weekend so I had to get it done by then. I had quotes ranging from $600-800 to respray the hardtop black, I couldn't justify that kind of money at the time. The Silverstone paint was really nicely done. If I ever had to sell the hardtop it would be a selling point, as there are 1000 Silverstone s2000's in Sydney. Wrapping costs less than half the amount of the respray and it made sense to go with this option.

15 October 2015
Together with Alex we made a bundle purchase from a dude selling a couple items that both of us wanted. For me it was the AP2 front bumper with AP2 lip. The main reason for buying this was simply because it was already red. I gave the guy my red AP1 front bumper and took his goodies.

16 October 2015
Attended day one of WTAC. The weather was ridiculously hot and had a major impact on the cars (and spectators ). Tom's car was great to hear in full flight down the main straight. Left early as not much was happening due to the heat.

In the evening I decided to tackle the job of installing the AP2 front bumper. I thought it was going to be a simple install but it proved otherwise. The front crash/reo bar had to be trimmed on the ends at an angle so it wouldn't foul on the bumper. I think this is easily overlooked, and was overlooked by the guy I purchased the bumper from. In the pictures below you'll see two paint chips, this is the reason why you need to trim the bar...







I am a bit disappointed in the fitment of this front bumper. I will get around to playing with it a bit more later on. Maybe I need to purchase the complete AP2 undertray and splash guards as they were pushing against the front bumper. The ends of the front bumper don't meet the front guards as nice as I'd like. At the end of the day it is just a temporary bumper so my thirst to modify the exterior of the car is quenched, for now...

17 October 2015
Attended day two of WTAC. The car was in the Show N' Shine as part of the ClubITR display. Unfortunately the group got split up upon entry and we didn't get to park together. Hopefully next year we can organise ourselves a bit better and take out best club like we did in 2013. It was good to see another large gathering of ClubITR members for the group photo.



Packing up after a long day!



Sorry for the delay of updates. I've had a lot going on in the past few months. Not much planned for the rest of the year. EXE Trackday at Wakefield Park with just over a week to go. Planning, and execution of the Annual ClubITR BBQ which is coming up very soon! For next year I'd like to bring down the spending of money on car parts to maintenance/expendable related things only. Like that's really going to happen haha...