Are S2000's ITR competitive?

[Cobrar05]

I am thinking about getting a Honda S2000 race car. Is this platform competitive in ITR?

[tnord]

nobody has really tried yet, so it's tough to say. i'd love to try it, but the 3005lb min weight scares me.

[gran racing]

I know it would be a fun ride but the weight will kill it. There are other platforms which have more potential.

[Knestis]

At this point in history, ANY of the platforms - fully prepared and driven with talent - would be a winner, but that's because we're just in the early days of ITR evolution and the competition isn't very strong.

K

[JeffYoung]

It is just hard to say at this point, with any of these cars. I've yet to see any ITR car (even very well driven ones) go significantly faster than an ITS car, if at all, so there clearly is a lot of work and development left in them. I have yet to see an ITR Supra or 300ZX, or 968, and I think all three could be way fast despite the weight. Same with a Boxster or an S2000.

Too many variables right now to know. The S2000 makes excellent power, near best in class, but probably won't respond very well to IT tweaks and is torque deficient. It kind of looks like the RX8 in many regards. We'll see.

Build one and find out! An expensive proposition in R isn't it?

[JoshS]

We have an ITR S2000 here in SFR. It's not a fully-built car (stock engine) and he's got limited racing experience (I think almost nothing other than the 20+ races he's done in the S2000 over the last 2 seasons), but he's been doing pretty well. I think it could be a good car. But as others have said, we have yet to see many fully-built ITR cars, other than ex-ITS E36 BMWs.

[Cobrar05]

I have access to an S2000 that has been running Honda Challenge in NASA. I race my Mustang in NASA and have been wanting a SCCA enduro car. I have owned an S2000 as a street drive and know them pretty well.

If they are not ITR friendly and that is the only IT class they are legal for, then I am not sure it makes a lot of sense for me.

[JeffYoung]

I am pretty sure they are in T2 or whatever it is called now as well.

No one is saying that they aren't ITR friendly. No one really knows at this point. Right now, R is interesting because it is the great unknown. No one really has any idea which car is the best or most competitive one for the class.

[Ron Earp]

If you have access to it and don't have to build it from the ground up, well, that is a different proposition all together. If the milk is for free don't buy the cow to find out if she'll race.

I don't know how I'd fancy my chances with an S2000. The popular BMW's that make up the bulk of the current racing ITR class are at lighter weights, sport larger engines, and are well-known power producers.

Didn't someone just run an S2000 in the 13 hour? I could swear I saw one on track and commented about it on a thread here. You could have a look at their lap times and get a rough idea.

Ron

[Greg Amy]

Is [the S2000] competitive in ITR?

It's the same answer to my wife's question about "how many men does it take to swap out a toilet paper roll?"

Answer? "We don't know, it's never been done."

Try it (the S2000, not the TP roll)! Does the HC car vary significantly from IT-prep rules? Take the car and go out there, see how it runs, see where it's got advantages and disadvantages, think about where it can be improved. Worst case you've added a few races to an existing HC ride...

[ekim952522000]

The H1 s2000 you are looking at should be very close to IT legal since H1 s2000's had to run with H3-H5 rule set. I think the s2000 will prove to be one of the top cars in ITR those cars always seem to go faster than the math says they should.

[Cobrar05]

I appreciate the input. I am just finishing my second year of racing. I want more laps. I also want to be able to race at VIR more often. Since I am a Mustang driver and the SCCA classing and rules are fairly unfriendly to Mustangs, I have been racing more NASA stuff than SCCA. Since NASA Southeast does not include VIR, I don't get to run at the track I am closest to as much as I would like.

My thinking on the S2000 is to find a more SCCA friendly race car that is allowed to run enduros without having to get special permission and then run the full schedule at VIR. BTW...my primary I would continue to race the Cobra R in NASA competition and the ARRC Enduro.

I don't really need to win anything. Seems to me you guys are encouraging me to give the S2000 a try in ITR. So, we will see if things can get worked out.

[JeffYoung]

I think it is one of the more attractive options in ITR, along with a number of other chassis. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out. If you like a revvy powerful motor, with good rwd handling, the S2000 looks like a good choice.

[spnkzss]

Is the "interesting" handling something that can be fixed or does it handle the same just at higher speeds with some good shocks/spring on it? The reason I ask is I've driven a few, kinda hard, and find they start to push pretty good and then damn near snap loose when you roll out. Fun car, would love to track one, but I'll stay in A thank you.

[GKR_17]

I think the s2000 will prove to be one of the top cars in ITR those cars always seem to go faster than the math says they should.

Especially since it's already 100 lbs lighter than the math says it should be...

[gran racing]

Yeah, if it would respond to an engine build like most other cars do. This one won't. 240 hp out of an 4 cyl, you really think you'll get much more out of that from building a "race" engine?

[type r rocket]

Nope I doubt you would gain much messing with the lower end.I think a nice IT prep to the max cyl. head work would help some.Nice shock/springs,real bushings,camber/etc. ,header and exhaust,intake,shorter rear end gear and maybe an after market ecu but once again I have been told thats pretty well set as it is.