The Spek-Pro gauges confirmed that the Canton oil pan and Mishimoto oil cooler keep oil temps under perfect control at the race track, and the Mishimoto radiator does the same for water temps.
And we can confirm that the Recaro seats (which we bolted in place with Buddy Club Super Low Down seat rails) and Takata harness keep our upper bodies completely supported, which means we can focus on ripping TEC and setting fast lap times instead of worrying about bracing ourselves and holding onto the steering wheel too tight like we had to with the OE seat and belt system.
The final piece of the puzzle in our pursuit of a sub 1:20 lap time was adding aerodynamic grip. Prior to installing the Seibon carbon fiber hard top, APR Performance GTC-300 rear wing, CR front lip and C3 Composites custom front splitter, the ASS2000 was struggling with rear grip, something we started to address by lowering the rear ride height a touch and adding more rear camber. Plus we reverted to the OE rear sway bar and added Winmax USA W5 front brake pads and W3 rear brake pads for some added stopping power and fade resistance.
But it wasn’t until we added the hard top, wing and splitter that our AP1 truly felt truly stuck to the track and inspired the confidence needed to post that elusive 1:19.92 lap time we ticked off during our last track visit.
In fact, here’s a complete in-car view of our 1:19.92 lap with data overlay. Feel the grip, people, feel the grip! Wooo! Rick Flair!
So what’s next for the ASS2000? For starters we’re renaming it the BADASS2000, because it’s now a truly awesome track day car, it looks badass as hell despite still being a bit rough around the edges, and it’s still a very comfortable road car.
We’re not just renaming it, though. We’re going to continue the project in pursuit of even more speed, this time with the objective of breaking the 1-minute 18-second barrier, since the current CSCS Time Attack lap record for a Super Street RWD class Honda S2000 is a 1:18.060. The overall SSR class record is a 1:16.910 by a V8-swapped S14 Nissan 240SX, so beating that time is a secondary goal, though an extremely difficult one given the power deficit we’ll be at.
As you’ll see in our ASS2000 Finale video above, we show you some of the parts we have coming for the next phase of the build, including Jenvey Dynamics individual throttle bodies, an AEM Infinity ECU, and some wide front fenders from Downforce USA and rear ASM overfenders sourced from our friends at Evasive Motorsports.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, since we have lots of other go-faster plans before BADASS2000 status can be fully unlocked, including SSR class legal semi slicks, a wider set of wheels to fill up the new fenders, and, well, you’ll just have to wait to see what else. We hope you enjoyed the ASS2000 portion of the build and are looking forward to the badassness still to come!
ASS2000 SPEC SHEET:
Power Mods: AEM dual chamber intake, Vibrant GESI high-flow catalytic converter, Tanabe Touring Medalion cat-back exhaust
Drivetrain Mods: AP2 transmission, SPEC Stage 2+ clutch kit and aluminum flywheel, Hasport engine and diff mounts, Blox Racing half shaft spacers, EVS Tuning high capacity diff cover
Cooling Mods: Mishimoto radiator, rad hoses and oil cooler kit, Canton Racing baffled oil pan
Suspension Mods: Eibach Multi-Pro R2 coilovers and anti-roll kit, Buddy Club camber adjustable lower ball joints, SPC Performance camber adjustable upper ball joints, Hardrace hardened rubber bushings from Stage Four Motorsports, Blox Racing bump steer kit, alignment by NV Auto + some fiddling by us
Braking Mods: Stoptech Sport Kit (rotors, pads, brake lines and brake fluid), Winmax USA W5 front brake pads and W3 rear brake pads
Interior Mods: Recaro Profi SPG racing bucket seats, Takata Racing Race-4 driver’s harness, Rockstar Garage 4-point roll bar and bulkhead bar, Spek-Pro water temp, oil temp and oil pressure gauges, Buddy Club seat rails and shift knob
Exterior/Aero Mods: Seibon carbon fiber hard top (held down with Rockstar Garage front and rear mounting kits), APR GTC-300 rear wing, C3 Composites custom carbon fiber front splitter, replica CR front lip, rolled and pulled (and kinda ruined) fenders
Wheels & Tires: Gram Light 57Xtreme 17×9” +40 wheels, Hankook Ventus 255/40R17 RS-3 tires
Stock Lap Time: 1-minute 31.10-seconds
Fastest Lap After Mods: 1-minute 19.92-seconds
Cannot wait! Been following this project from the beginning. I am also putting together my s2k for track duties and I love all the testing you do. Gives me a lot of data to pull from. Thank you for sharing!!!
I watched almost all 21 episodes last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’m also excited to see future episodes once they add ITBs, tuning, etc.
They do some irreversible mods I never would (then again, they are
rescuing an S2K and making it a track car) and learn some things they
probably should have known before, but that’s part of the fun I guess.