Hardtop and Aero

At this time I wanted to get some mods that I'd use at the track that were still within the rules of STR. In 2010, wings were still legal in Street Touring so I added an APR GTC-200 wing so I could keep the back planted during high speed corners at the track (when I eventually go). I got the standard S2000 mount for it,  added the gurney flap and started with a mild 5 degree angle of attack which I think was listed as 150lbs of downforce at 80mph on the APR spec sheet (don't quote me on this). Why 5 degrees and not any other angle? I don't know! I had to start somewhere so I figured 5 would be an ok starting point and I could tweak it from there. You've gotta love my tuning by guesswork by now, not exactly what you'd expect from someone with an engineering background but my approach to car tuning (which isn't my strong suit) is to do things the way of old scientists...learn by experimentation and observation. Not the fastest and cheapest way to get set up correctly but you learn a lot doing things the wrong way too. Mistakes are only mistakes if you don't learn from them.

APR GTC-200 Wing with Gurney Flap

5 degrees Angle of Attack

A lot of tracks and clubs on the east coast won't let you run a soft top at the track even in the rain since you could get impaled by one of the soft top cross bars in a rollover so I figured while hard tops were still relatively affordable on the used market, I'd try to nab one (it's insane how much these things are nowadays...highway robbery if you ask me). I scoured craigslist to find a black OEM one but couldn't find any. Eventually I found someone in PA selling a white one which came off an AP2 S2000 he had sold (he moved onto a BMW Z4...sucka!). He only had the hard top so I ordered the hardtop catchers from Hard Top Guy and installed that myself. I scored a sweet OEM hardtop stand too with this deal which I sold right away. 

Hardtop Catchers

Hardtop Catchers (trim installed)

I was finally ready to go and pick up the hard top. Dan "the man" Cheung helped me out. We drove there to pick it up and drove home with the white hardtop latched onto the car. Looks super silly and we got some looks but it's all good. I asked around if anyone wanted to trade me for a black hardtop since this one was super mint but there were no takers so reluctantly I decided to get it painted.

GPW OEM hardtop on Bumblestook

Took it to the body shop and a few days later, she was ready for a new photoshoot. Added an OEM front lip too to help protect the bumper and improve the lines of the car. Bumblestook went from a relatively fruity yellow stock AP1 to an aggressive, sexy looking race car in less than a month. 

Initial transformation complete!

A lot of people wonder why you'd get a hardtop for a convertible but here's the deal. While I like being able to take the top off once in a while I found out that driving around with the top down really wasn't for me. I'm very allergic to pollen and I generally burn easily from the sun and I hate the heat. I love the look of the S with a hardtop, it gives greater rear visibility (at least with the OEM hardtop) over having the soft top up, it reduces road noise and well, it's kinda special. The best part is that you can still take the top off when you're racing to save the weight or working on the car for easier access so it's really the best of both worlds.

I also noticed that the air coming from the vents was kinda musty. I figured the previous owner probably never replaced the air cabin filter so I went and replaced it. Nassssttyyyyyyy!

New cabin filter [left] | nasty old one [right]

It would be another month before the next autocross but with Bumblestook looking the part, she was ready for her debut event in STR trim...