A few minor mods and the first win of 2012

I had a few extra parts and things on the TODO list that I didn't get around to before the Tobay event. The first was to add 10mm spacers all around. While this does make the wheels more flush, more importantly I had to do something up front since the wheels were hitting my brake ducts.

H&R Wheel Spacers - 3/24/2012

APR Extended studs leave plenty of tread left even with spacers - 3/24/2012

My DIY catch can was working quite well last year but it didn't look quote right in the engine bay so I ordered a catch can from Saikou Michi with the billet tie down. Really great piece that fits nicely next to the stock battery.

Saikou Michi Catch Can - 3/24/2012

Saikou Michi Catch Can - 3/24/2012

The rear bumper tabs were also shaved and relocated to get better tire clearance.

Relocated rear bumper tab - 3/24/2012

And since the engine bay was already looking pretty dapper and to fulfill my need for a bit of rice, some PasswordJDM radiator bracket stays. Actually I wanted black stays from the CR but those actually cost more than the PasswordJDM ones so in this case I was choosing the more frugal option to achieve the same look.

PasswordJDM Radiator Stay - 3/24/2012

The next day it was of the the Meadowlands for an autocross with the MSNE where I was able to take the win in B-class but more importantly was able to get the 2nd fastest time overall with only Don Slevin killing me in his Mustang GT on R-comps. Considering I was on street tire, I'd say I was pretty happy with that result. I also picked up the Zoom H4N audio recorder and was messing with it these events to see if I could capture better audio in my videos by mounting it to my windscreen and putting a dead cat on it. Definitely improvement in audio quality but it's such a pain to sync the audio in post I think I eventually gave up on doing it for regular events.

MSNE Autocross - Meadowlands, NJ - Winning Run

3/25/2012

Final pre-season prep and first event of 2012

With only a few weeks left before the first event of the season, I had to finish up what was left to do. First up, a fresh set of NT01s were mounted on the track wheels.

NT-01 - 3/3/2012

Then it was off to SJF Performance so Steve could get my car aligned at its new ride height.

Aligned and ready for the season - 3/3/2012

The following week was the first event of the season and the first time trying out all the changes over the winter. To recap what was done:

• Haltech Pro Plugin ECU tuned by Evans Tuning
• Puddymod built AP2 diff housing with 4.3 FD and OS Giken LSD
• Moton triple adjustable shocks
• Recaro Pole position seats
• Koyo Radiator, FAL fans and Mugen thermostat
• Mugen hardtop
• Mugen hard rubber front compliance bushings
• Innovative 75A motor/tranny mounts
• Fresh set of 255/40/17 Dunlop Direzza Star Specs all around

The car felt great. It was a chilly, windy day which it always is in early March by the beach but at least the surface was dry and it's always great to get the cobwebs off early.

Metro NY PCA - Tobay Beach - 3/11/2012
Photo Credit: CWong Photography

Metro NY PCA - Tobay Beach - 3/11/2012

Compliance Bushing and Recaros

The day after getting all the cooling stuff installed, I headed over to see Billman to install the new Mugen compliance bushings in the front lower control arms. I had been feeling something weird up front and sure enough when he unbolted the control arm, the old compliance bushing just fell out.

Torn 10 year old compliance bushing -  2/25/2012

Nothing to fear of course because I had already purchased new compliance bushings which strangely Honda doesn't sell separately so I had to get Mugen ones which actually have the exact same OEM stamping on them but it supposed to be made of a harder rubber. They got pressed in and I was good to go. The bolt was seized to so that had to be sawed off and was replaced with a new bolt and anti-seized to death.

Mugen compliance bushing pressed in - 2/25/2012

New Mugen Compliance bushing installed - 2/25/2012

The next day, it was grilling / hanging out / tech meet time at 234. The weather was great for February so I took the opportunity to install the Recaro Pole Positions the I finally was able to get a hold of after my failed attempt to acquire them the previous year. These seats are so comfortable and just fit perfect inside the S2000. It doesn't even block the glove box or hit the door panel.

Received the Recaro Pole Position seats - 2/9/2012

Recaro Pole Position installed - 2/26/2012

Recaro Pole Position installed - 2/26/2012

Recaro Pole Position installed - 2/26/2012

Motor Mounts, Cooling Upgrades and Air Pump Delete

With only 2 weeks left before the first event of the season, it was time to get cracking and finish up what was left to get done on Bumblestook. One thing I had been wanting to get done for some time now was to improve the cooling for summer track days. I ended up convincing JDV to sell me his old Koyo radiator with Integra FAL fan setup. We also replaced the stock thermostat with a Mugen one (yeah, of course we did). I also wanted stiffer motor and tranny mounts so the stock rubber ones were replaced with Innovative 75A mounts. These mounts make a very noticeable difference. No movement anywhere. Intense (massage chair like) vibrations everywhere and anything loose will rattle but who cares right? Because Race Car!

Koyo Radiator with Integra FAL fans - 2/24/2012

Mugen thermostat, Mugen radiator and oil cap,
Innovative 75A Motor/Tranny Mounts - 2/14/2012

Stock radiator out - 2/24/2012

New (to me) radiator in - 2/24/2012

Stock motor mounts were still in good shape - 2/24/2012

Samco radiator hose - 2/24/2012

S2000s have an air pump that sends air towards the cat so that it heats up faster for emissions purposes. I really didn't need this so I got a block off plate and air pump simulator so we could get rid of all these extra pieces and save weight.This stuff eventually fails anyway generating a CEL. Definitely useless for a track car.

Air pump delete kit, Block off plate - 2/24/2012

All the air pump/EGR crap we took out - 2/24/2012

Once it was all done, we finally put the splitter back on after leaving it off for the winter. She was almost ready, just a few more odd ends to sort out.

APR splitter re-installed - 2/24/2012

Moton Tripples

While I had my Moton club sports out, an opportunity to buy Moton tripples came up. They had been used on a time trial car and were recently serviced by PSI in California. Jeremy bought my club sports and I picked the tripples up and Jeremy helped me install them at his house.

Moton tripples - 2/12/2012

I had them shipped to Jeremy's place so he could move my springs over so the install itself was straightforward.

Moton front canisters installed - 2/12/2012

Front shocks in - 2/12/2012

Rear shocks in - 2/12/2012

Rear canisters installed - 2/12/2012

Of course with my luck, it started snowing pretty hard by the time we were done and I had to drive home in the snow on star specs. They actually felt pretty good and I got home ok. That evening I went to see Billman, who I had asked to redo the welds on my Buddy Club seat rails. I simply didn't trust the weld they came with so he redid all of them to put my mind at ease.

Re-welded Buddy Club Seat Rails - 2/12/2012

Re-welded Buddy Club Seat Rails - 2/12/2012

More Mugen stuff and bronze wheels

I really can't help myself when it comes to Mugen stuff so when I found a Mugen steering wheel for sale, I had to pick it up and match it up with a Mugen shift knob.

Mugen Steering Wheel - 2/3/2012

Mugen shift knob - 2/7/2012

I was also going for a new look and was in search for some bronze wheels so when Jeremy sold me his set of 17x9 949 Racing 6ULRs. I picked them up and had a fresh set of Dunlop Direzza Z1 star specs on them. 

Bronze 949 Racing 6URL - 2/5/2012

So when we got a bit of a warm day I put the new wheels on and installed the new (to me) steering wheel and shift knob.

Bronze wheels on - 2/9/2012

New Mugen interior in - 2/9/2012

Shock maintenance

The following weekend I was able to get some time with JDV so I went over to Evans Tuning. I kept driving Bumblestook every night and timed it exactly so that I'd have exactly 500 miles on the diff when I got there.

500 mile diff break-in - 1/14/2012

While I was there, I had JDV take off the Motons so I could get them rebuilt.

Moton club sports taken off - 1/14/2012

That meant that I'd have to roll around on the stockies for a while with the nasty 4x4 stance but we were expecting snow soon anyway so I wasn't really going to drive her much anyway.

Bumblestook on stock suspension - 1/14/2012