Movin’ on up May 10, 2004
Our on-track performance has improved a bit lately--no more getting clocked by locals--so we figured it was time for an update.
On April 18, we ran with the Central Florida Region SCCA at Palm Bay, Fla. The A Stock class had a four-car field, and we finished in second place behind Ken Marion's well prepared 2004 S2000. This would be our last event running the car in as-delivered condition, as we're now done using the car as a baseline of sorts against our Volvo 142 project.
Last week we performed some simple yet effective modifications: tires and an alignment.
Even though we're running in a true street tire class, we figured that some improvements could be made, so we replaced the original Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires with something a little faster: BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD tires in 225/45ZR17 (front) and 255/40ZR17 (rear).
In addition to getting some news tires fitted, we knew that car needed an alignment. We have heard that the S2000 benefits from an alignment, and we discussed our situation with Ian Stewart. He finished third at last year's Tire Rack SCCA Solo II National Championship in his B Stock 2001 S2000 and offered some specifications for us to try: 1/16 to 1/8-inch total toe-out and -1.7 degrees of camber up front and zero rear toe along with -2.2 degrees of camber.
Granada Goodyear couldn't get -2.2 degrees of camber on our rear suspension, so they got as close as possible.
Not only do we now have a little more negative camber, but our settings are a little more constant from one side of the car to the other.
The shop returned the car with 36 psi of air at each corner, so we used that as our starting point for our next event. (We had been running 37 psi all around.)
With new tires installed and a fresh alignment under the car, we headed to Tavares, Fla., this past weekend for a Martin Sports Car Club autocross. Even though our car is still legal for their B Stock class, we're going to stick with the Street Modified Street Tire class, allowing us a little more freedom regarding future modifications.
We had four cars in this catchall class, including a MINI Cooper S and Robert Palmblad's supercharged Miata. (This car should be a contender in Street Modified 2 at this year's Solo II Nationals and ProSolo Finale.)
The S2000 was a transformed beast after the new tires and alignment settings--it behaved nicely through the slalom, put down the power well and felt solid through the sweepers.
This weekend's course had some tight, tight sections, and taking them in first gear seemed to be the ticket--not only did it allow the car to leave the corner at a quicker rate of speed, but we seemed to be able to follow a tidier line while in the lower gear. The course also had some fast sections, and we learned that lifting the throttle while at speed can produce some hairy rides. (Yeah, it was a textbook example of trailing-throttle oversteer.)
At the end of our three runs, we were second in class, about three-tenths behind the Miata. (It was on Kumho ECSTA 712 tires, not the Hoosiers it normally runs.)
On Sunday, we attended a test and tune day organized by the Evolution Driving School. The format was open, and we got in about 15 runs. We could have taken more, but we didn't want to scorch our new tires. Turns out the wear was negligible, as we didn't measure any.
Ian Stewart was at the event, and we put him behind the wheel of our car for a few laps. He said the balance of the car was pretty good, but some fine-tuning should make things better--and faster.
Here's what we learned this past weekend:
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The car is definitely tail happy--almost too much.
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There is a low-speed push, but we may just drive around it as not to make the car any more loose.
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We're slightly rolling the rear tires onto their shoulders.
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The shock absorbers feel too mushy.
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The driver needs to look up more.
We're still awaiting our times from this past weekend, and once they're posted we'll know more. We think we can cure our ills while keeping the car SCCA Stock-class legal, in fact.
Here's a recap of our season.
· Feb. 8, Martin at Tavares, 1st out of 3 in B Stock.
· Feb. 29, SCCA at Palm Bay, 3nd out of 3 in A Stock.
· March 7, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 2 in B Stock.
· April 10, Martin at Gainesville, 2nd out of 8 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· April 18, SCCA at Palm Bay, 2nd out of 4 in A Stock.
· May 8, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 4 in Street Mod Street Tire.
Taking the weekend off May 18, 2004
The S2000 was off this weekend, but the car wasn't totally neglected as we had some new numbers and class designations cut by Hawkeye Signs & Graphics. Once they're stuck on some magnetic material we'll take some pictures.
We have also been talking to some other 2004 S2000 autocrossers, and looks like ours isn't the only one that can get a little dicey at the limit. We still have some research to do.
It's not 100% scientific, but we did some math to see if the new BFGoodrich tires and alignment really helped our on-track performance. Using some of our regular competitors as a baseline, our math says our times dropped about 1 1/2 seconds per minute. Not too shabby.
Our math also shows that we're third in our class points race, which isn't too bad considering we had to throw away the points earned before we switched classes. On the other hand, rumor around the paddock says our class leader just picked up an S2000 himself. Could make things interesting.
Another workout Jun 15, 2004
Our S2000 got another workout this past Sunday, as we were back at the Lake County Technical Center for a Martin Sports Car autocross event. An SCCA event held the same day not too far away meant the overall field felt a little light, but our Street Mod Street Tire class was still full, with eight drivers present.
The class has continued to attract a varied field, as this Sunday's grid included a MINI Cooper S, a BMW 318ti, a Mazda RX-8 and a Subaru Impreza WRX STi. In addition to our S2000, class leader Dave Kingman is now also in a similar car, although his is a 2002 vintage.
We kept our tire pressures at 37 psi all around, and the setup seemed to work well on the fast course. We're also working on our 2-1 downshifts, as it seems to help on those tight turns.
After two runs, we were leading the field. However, Robert Palmblad, driving a borrowed WRX STi, got by us on his third run, taking the eventual win. We finished second to the Subaru, but by our calculations we have moved up the leader board, as we're now sitting second in the class points race.
Season recap:
· Feb. 8, Martin at Tavares, 1st out of 3 in B Stock.
· Feb. 29, SCCA at Palm Bay, 3rd out of 3 in A Stock.
· March 7, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 2 in B Stock.
· April 10, Martin at Gainesville, 2nd out of 8 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· April 18, SCCA at Palm Bay, 2nd out of 4 in A Stock.
· May 8, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 4 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· June 13, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 8 in Street Mod Street Tire.
Wrapping up Oct 20, 2004
Hey, an S2000 update. Why the long break in news? Well, our editor, who has been driving the car, has been a little under the weather since mid-June, so the car was pushed to the back burner.
Still, that doesn't mean the car sat idle, although we did adopt a "maintain" strategy for our season points. On July 11, we ran with the Martin Sports Car Club, once again in their Street Mod Street Tire class. The ranks ballooned that day as several others joined us class regulars in an effort to score some points for the overall club points race. (Martin awards a trophy for the member who scores the most points during the year, and more points are up for grabs in the bigger classes.)
As a result, our class was stacked that day, featuring some serious fast cars--Z06-spec Corvettes and Robert Palmblad's supercharged Miata, the car that took second at the SCCA nationals. We were in the trophies at one point, but in the end we fell to seventh out of 12 cars. On the plus side, we beat those were in contention for the class title. (This was the day before our editor's surgery, so honestly his head wasn't really clear.)
The car's next outing was Sept. 9, again with Martin at the Lake County Technical Center in Tavares, Fla. We finished third out of five.
Our most recent outing with the car was two Saturdays ago, as Martin hosted their semiannual Mini Prix at Gainesville Raceway. The speeds tend to be high, as the club usually lets the cars stretch their legs a bit. We only had a four-car class.
The first run went okay, as we set the fastest time in the class. The second run started on a sour note, as too much rpm at the start led to a slipping clutch. The clutch's action returned to normal after being allowed to cool a bit after the run.
The third run was going well, as the car just felt great--until the final big turn, when trailing-throttle oversteer reared its ugly head. We put the car into the grass, leaving a nice divot in the process. We think we tweaked the alignment a bit and need to get the car on the rack soon.
The fourth and final run went okay, although our time was only good enough for a second-place finish. Still, by our unofficial calculations we're second in class. At one point this year we were ninth overall in the club's standings, but now we're sitting in 14th spot. Still, that's not too bad considering we missed a few events.
The car also participated in some non-speed events last week. After the autocross, we headed up to RSpeed for their open house. RSpeed's main focus is Miatas, but the S2000 was given a prime display spot among the "other" car models. We were parked next to a nice BMW M roadster, and the S2000 seemed to have plenty of admirers.
The car was up at Virginia International Raceway the following Thursday, where it served as a camera car for some photography. Even though the Group 44 cars--TR6, TR8 and XJ--were the stars for the day, they all had to trail the S2000 as our editor hung from the car and took photos. (No, he wasn't driving at the time, although the S2000's cup holders will nicely hold a 15-30mm lens.)
The car's final stop was the Eurofest show at the BMW plant in Greer, S.C. We almost B.S.'ed our way onto the show field, but that wouldn't have been right. So we parked in the spectator lot, although we were two spaces away from a nice 1966 GTO convertible.
Season recap:
· Feb. 8, Martin at Tavares, 1st out of 3 in B Stock.
· Feb. 29, SCCA at Palm Bay, 3rd out of 3 in A Stock.
· March 7, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 2 in B Stock.
· April 10, Martin at Gainesville, 2nd out of 8 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· April 18, SCCA at Palm Bay, 2nd out of 4 in A Stock.
· May 8, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 4 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· June 13, Martin at Tavares, 2nd out of 8 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· July 11, Martin at Tavares, 7th out of 12 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· Sept. 9, Martin at Tavares, 3rd out of 5 in Street Mod Street Tire.
· Oct. 9. Martin at Gainesville, 2nd out of 4 in Street Mod Street Tire.