jimrankin

I drive mine on the street whenever possible as an easy way to add just plain fun to what would be a daily chore and then take it to the track as often as possible because, well, that's even more FUN!! I have a basic "stock" honda S2000 2.2L motor and six speed and other than no air conditioning or rain protection it's just as easy to drive in traffic as any other "stick" car would be. I live in the SF Bay Area so we get lots of sunny but cool days so the car actually is "practical" most of the year. I have driven it in pretty heavy rain and other than me getting soaked the car ran and handled fine with no electrical or other issues.

Send Lawyers, guns and money, the shit has hit the fan... Whoops, that's my home life after buying a "7", not this web site. LOL

Thanks Twobone. Now, if I could just get her into doing the oil and brake fluid changes.....

My wife isn't big on just going out and driving around on the streets with me in the S2K but just loves track days. Honestly, she checks out HOD and the local Lotus Clubs Emails for dates we can make it to the track. What is really wierd about her loving the track is that she is very short (5'2") and can't see directly in front of the car because the dash hump is in her line of site. She claims it doesn't matter in the corners because she can see the track better when we are a bit sideways. Personally, riding "blind" down the straights at way over a 100MPH would scare the crap out of me! I get to track all I want and go out for a drive down the coast or up into the hills anytime I feel like it with out having to make sure she is free or wants to go. Like I said, Lucky Me!!

Hey Rahul, Are there any cars left that you haven't snapped a photo of yet???? LOL

Thanks for the Morgan link. Always loved those cars but they were just about as impractical as the 7's we drive now. I had a '59 for a short time in 1965 that I traded my 57 Chevy BelAir for. Had to dump it pretty quick as it had a Triumph engine in it that was better on gas than it was on oil and the brakes, top, defroster, electrics and just about everything else on the car were either gone or soon to go and the New England winter was closing in on me fast.

Interesting suspension set up and tube chassis but your right about the drive train being lacking. Even a big twin just can't turn out the HP needed to stand out at that price, and no matter how light the car is made it's still a lot heavier than a cycle frame and wheels. Anybody see the old V twin air cooled Morgan influence in this?

Took me a while to dial the pressure down far enough to find the real grip in the Nittos NT1's but once I did they really do stick well. Good turn in and give you some warning when your pushing it a bit too far. Running 17" X 235F-275R and now they seem to have most of the tire in near equal contact at about 15-16 Lbs cold front, 16-17 rear. My S2K is a bit heavier than RNR's being a bit more dressed up and I also am usually caring a passenger (I do this for fun, not points or bragging rights. Love to see the smiles and wide eyes! LOL). If I'm alone in the car I can drop the rears 2 Lbs. for better handling but don't go back out with a load without adding more air or you won't beleive how your "Super 7" turns into a Lincoln Mark 7. Not having been on track with any other "track" tire on the car I can't give an opinion of which brand/tire is better, but the Nittos sure were an ample upgrade from my Dunlop Starspeck street tires. Three track days and about five hundred street miles on them now and they still feel fresh, no sign of heat cycling and I get them hot enough to melt pieces all over the car.

Ever notice how many 2 seat "roadsters" you see compared to "coupes"? If I'm going to give up room and practicality I want to go all the way and drop the top when the sun shines. Complete roll cage will keep it just as stiff and if designed in from the start won't detract from the looks or the "open car" feel. Redesign it with a removable top for the northern exposure crowd but make it open up for us sunny state dwellers. Just my 2 cents worth but even though I loved the look of the MGBGT back when it first came out I still bought the roadster.

Was with HOD at ThunderHill friday 8-13 (yes Friday the 13th) and was getting a bit more comfortable with the cars set up and also brakeing points so was able to glance down at the speedo quite a few time at the end of the main straight. Was pretty consistant at about 120MPH, a little plus or minus depending if I wanted to avoid upshifting and just held the last bit at redline or if I wanted to upshift the last 1/4 of the straight and deal with both braking and down shifting into turn one. Since it's not a race and 120 was fast enough for my comfort and talent level I opted for just holding it near red line all but a few times. There was a lot of speed still left in the car, if not in the driver. The car does seem to get quite a lot of air under it at speed and some of the chin spoilers/splitters posted here may be my next track day upgrade. Sure was a lot of fun and a lot of track time, since the advanced and "race car" groups got combined there were only three groups. I was in the combined group so got to be on track with some really fast cars.

If you ever looked into the rate of climb for a Sopwith Camel you would probably up-grade the "7" experience to something more akin to a Spitfire or Mustang. Still really basic hands on non-fly by wire airplanes with no creature comforts but with all the power and performance possible from the technology of the time. But then again, those two did have real windshields and something to keep the rain out. OK, how about a Camel with the motor swapped out for a big Wright Radial "9". LOL

The AMG is pretty cool but your 7 and the car off to the right of the AMG probably get 50 times more interest.

GoPro has a really small HD camera that will work in low lux. It has a bunch of settings for both regular, HD, full motion of still picks at timed intervals. On the timed setting it will record way past your time limit on a fairly low MB chip and the onboard battery life is pretty good. You can even set it for stealth so that the "on indicator" little red light is defeated. Really cool part is it can be used on your car when not monitoring your local low-lifes.

A 55 gallon drum of brake fluid, just enough for one stop! LOL

(1) How much ground clearance did you gain? I have a stainless steel skid plate that sits about 1/4"+ below the pan that so far has worked out pretty well, lots of road rash on it but the stock aluminum pan seems to still be intact. I looked at the engine sump casting to bell housing castings ratio and it looked like a really marginal gain (without modifying the bottom castings for the flywheel/clutch housing) (2) What do you want for one of those pans? I've got a big Honda dealer about two blocks from work but they never seem to have what I want in stock. Either those Hondas never break or these guys have learned to work with zero inventory and live buy UPS overnight. Third bonus question. Did you do the sump mainly for serious track use? The tank looks really trick by the way, nice work.

Both Porsche and BMW make some great, and fun, cars, but have you ever noticed that they seem to draw both ends of the performance driving spectrum. Some of the best and a lot of the worst people I have met at track days are Porsche, and BMW, owners. Brings up the old joke; What's the diference between a BMW and a porcupine? With a porcupine the pricks are on the outside. As a BMW driver myself I make sure I don't act like one of the pricks. LOL

Drove the S2K to work again today. Wide open freeway and across the Bunbarton Bridge at about 85+MPH at 5:15 AM gets me grinning! Even at that time of the morning I still get people catching up to get a better look after I go by. Have to be everywhere from the Delta to San Jose today so I'm going to put on way over a 100 miles of smile and be getting paid for it. LOL

That is one of the best looks I've ever seen sitting on top of a small block chevy, bet it sounds like pure sex at red line. Wouldn't want to drive it on a dusty road though, those screen won't keep out much but your shirtsleeves.

Gave a friend of mine's 6 year old boy a ride around the corner to his friends birthday party. Other than a bunch of screaming kids yelling "Hot Wheels Car!!!" so loud it made the S2K seem quite it was a blast. Too bad he couldn't see over the dash during the ride, but he was able to get out without un-doing the 5-point harness. LOL

OK, something new for bankers who fell off their factory built and dealer maintained custom Harley "Choppers".

Drove my S2K to work yesterday, first time in a while I've wanted to get up just to go to WORK.

Stirling Moss called, he wants his helmet back!

Holy Ceramics Batman!! At 2.0 was the brick tested standing up on its end with the flat side forward? Might as well have tested a parachute just to see where it came in. LOL. I can feel the wind drag start to matter at about half way down the main straight at Thunderhill but haven't really looked down to see what speed that is as it also starts to nose up a bit at the same point. 2.2L Honda in the S2K seems to really need the Vtec r's about then also.

You can only lower the engine to the point where the pan now sits level with the lowest part of the flywheel so on some motor/trans units you don't gain a lot of ground. Dry sump does however gain a bit of horsepower by keeping the splash off the crank. It also helps keep the oil cooler so it keeps the motor cooler in turn. Unless your seriously tracking the car it's a bit of overkill, but then again, we all have thought about it. LOL

Make that DB level, as in decible, not BD as in "i din't tyep wel"