Gary Wong's S2000: The Right Rate of Development
Over the last fifteen years, this AP2 S2000 has been given the right sort of upbringing. Gary Wong’s thoughtful approach to driving and tuning has resulted in a car that’s fast, reliable, often intimidating, and always electric. If his experience with this car teaches us anything, it’s that there’s a right way to approach learning the intricacies of track work without getting mired in the modification side of things.
Incredible that just eight years ago, Gary hadn’t been to a track. He’d owned the car since 2006, and some of his other friends had urged him to try it on track, but he’d never been completely comfortable with the idea. Or in his own words: “too chicken shit to do it.”
When Gary’s best friend—the kind we should all be so lucky to have—wasn’t able to attend a track day due to a scheduling conflict, he offered his ticket and his 240SX to help Gary pop his cherry. That was a clever move, since it’s a lot harder to make excuses when you’ve got all that given to you.
By the time he’d gotten home, Gary realized he was going to have to reprioritize large parts of his life—the racing bug had bit and he was now thinking night and day about getting back on track. Over the next six months, he changed out his cut springs for Bilstein PSS9s, added some fresh consumables, and installed a pair of knockoff Bride seats to get it in track-shape. After that first event in his own car, he looked out at the sun setting on those golden Sonoma hills and realized that maybe he’d been just a little too worried in the past. With the right preparation, there wasn’t that much to worry about.
Part of that peace came from picking a reliable vehicle. From just two events in his first year of tracking to nearly thirty the next, he never had any issue with the machine. He kept it very much a street car, but eventually began tweaking things here and there for a little more speed and/or dependability.
With Elite Performance helping him down the most prudent modification path, Gary was able to grow with the car and avoid the common mistake of obsessing over upgrades too soon. He had all an eager novice really needed. He knew that this stage would be more about honing his driving skills than eking any more performance out of his setup.
The S2000’s natural pointiness, maybe it’s defining trait, kept him challenged throughout this first phase. He developed the quick hands needed to wrangle the S2000, and although the car bit him a few times, he was never fazed. Even a spin into the walls outside Laguna’s Turn 6 didn’t frustrate him much. He took a look at the scratched Berlina Black paint and took the opportunity to repaint the car Audi Glacier White.
When it came time to repaint the car, he decided give it a nickname, too. Meet ‘TayTay.’
Over a couple years, he’d reached to the point where he was no longer looking for whole seconds, but tenths, and so he started making setup changes that would help him push, all without compromising the streetability of the car. Out went the Bilsteins and in went a set of Ohlins DFVs, and when he’d maxed those out, he went for a set of “big boy” Ohlins TTX.
The brakes seemed to be a constant source of irritation, so, eventually, he opted to stop searching for the right pad and instead grabbed a set of Stoptech Trophy brakes for the front axle. Interestingly, made his money back pretty quickly, because, while the stock brakes ate pads, he only had to change the pads on his big brakes once a season.
With the car mostly sorted and his confidence peaking, he realized he was reaching a development crossroads. The car was nearing its potential without the help of any aftermarket aero, so he set a series of lap times he'd like to reach before adding any big wings. By the end of 2017, he’d been able to exceed those aims.
Sonoma: 1:51.1
Buttonwillow: 1:59.7
Laguna Seca: 1:41.9
Thunderhill East Bypass: 2:01.8
Thunderhill East Cyclone: 2:03.x
Thunderhill West CCW: 1:23.9
Then came the aero package. With a Voltex Type 7 wing with swan-neck mounts, one of Elite Performance’s custom Alumalite splitters fitted to a Sorcery front bumper, Password JDM canards, a set of eBay skirts, and a chopped rear bumper for a few more miles per hour at the end of long straights, he’d transformed the car into something that was much faster, but also easier to drive.
“It took me a while to re-learn the car, although, honestly, it wasn’t too tough. It wasn’t as twitchy as it was without aero, but I had to drive a lot smoother than I used to. If I tried throwing it around, it just wouldn’t work.”
With the wings in place, Gary had to learn new braking points and entry speeds. Accepting the car was capable of more, he put his faith in the machine, softened his inputs, and chopped as much as four seconds off some of his previous records.
Sonoma: 1:47.01 (his favorite)
Buttonwillow: 1:55.4
Laguna Seca: 1:38.9
Thunderhill East Bypass: 1:56.45
Thunderhill East Cyclone: 2:00.658
Thunderhill West CCW: 1:21.61
Thunderhill West CW: 1:21.1
Thunderschleif Double Bypass: 3:07.3
Over the last eight years spent tracking this car, Gary’s spent a good deal of time, sweat, and money getting his car to where he’d like it, but compared to cars offering a similar level of thrill, the experience has been fairly straightforward.
He’s put 74,000 miles on it since 2013, and it’s never stranded him once. Aside from breaking a couple RUCAS and a wheel hub, both wear items for a tracked S2000, it’s been solid. Since then, he replaced them with sturdier racing items, it’s been dependable and fairly easy on consumables. But you can’t look at an emotive car like the S2000 through such a clinical lens. More than merely offering a cost-effective seat time, it’s allowed him to enjoy a steady drip of adrenaline, regardless of the situation, all while bonding with other speed freaks and overcoming his own limitations.
“It’s not the easiest car to drive, but it’s definitely one of the most rewarding—and I’ve been able to enjoy it often because it’s been so reliable. Now, I can get in most other cars and go fast right off the bat,” he laughed.
Suspension
Ohlins TTx with Eibach 16/14 springs
Eibach front sway
Spoon front strut bar
Cusco rear lower tie bar
J’s S1 front lower ball joint
SPC upper ball joints front
Megan rear upper arm
Spoon subframe collars
Spoon steering rack collars
Blox axles spacers
Exedium diff collar
Spoon compliance bushings
Engine
Mugen intake
ASM cooling plate
Toda Headers- Heat treated
Berk test pipe
EVS 70mm single
Fluidampr crank pulley
Radium dual catch cans
Spoon baffled oil pan
Koyo Radiator
Drivetrain
Innovative transmission mount
J’s engine damper
ACT heavy duty pressure plate oem disc
ACT flywheel
Cusco 1.5-way LSD
4.44 final drive
Puddymod Stage 4 rebuild
EVS diff housing with additional capacity.
Wheels/Tires/Brakes
Volk CE28RT Black Edition 17x10”
255/40/17 Nankang CR-1
Stoptech Trophy kit
Urge rear 2-piece rotors
CSG C2/C11 pads (F/R)
Endless fluid
Body/Aero
Sorcery front bumper with Alumalite splitter
Shine “Spoon” fenders
ASM hood
Rockstar Garage hardtop
eBay side diffusers
Voltex Type 7 wing
Password JDM canards