Mods for Best HP Gains

[jembr325]

Hey Guys!

The s2000 is pretty well built from the manufacturer and there are a lof of aftermarket parts. However, many of these (that are street/carb legal) cost a good chunk of change and either 1.) provide only slight hp gains (e.g., exhaust that provies an addl 2 hp) or 2.) actually reduce performance.

What modifications are fellow owners/previous owners doing that have provided the biggest HP bang for the buck?

[89accordlxi]

thats already a street tuned machine stock. personally big gains would be fuel consumption such as injectors and air fuel ratio with your ECM/ECU. as well as turbo's and maybe through in a HP clutch because there made for more handling than pure off the line for 0-60 or drags

[8695Beaters]

Actually the reason parts for the S2K are so expensive is not because of legality (well that's part of it), but mostly because finding any sort of gain takes a lot of work. Mugen would be the place to start for you. The parts are very expensive, but well worth the price of admission. The first upgrade you should make is to Ferrara valve springs and titanium retainers and keepers. The S2K has notoriously weak valve retainers which will wear through over time. Better to get them taken care of now if you plan on racing the car at all. Better valve springs will also prevent valve float which may happen if you spend a lot of time in the red zone of the tach.

Just do your research before buying anything. And realize that most parts will only gain a few hp, because that is all Honda left on the table. However, the S2K can be massaged in the chassis department quite a bit, so that would be a good place to invest money and time.

You are in great luck as this month's Sport Compact Car has a shootout between 9 different S2Ks. They are all mild street machines, exactly what you are looking for. See what parts they run. It will give you some ideas.

[dre5491]

On the exhaust part you should be gaining more than 2 hp. If I were you I'd still get one because if you plan on modding the engine in the future a good exhaust with all your other mods and a right tune you'd notice more than working on the engine and not changing the exhaust. Deff change the retainers and valve springs like beaters said. But no doubt, if you plan on performance throw some forged pistons in that too. Get meaty injectors and a fuel rail for better fuel flow. Then the next route to go would be forced induction or adding in some spray. I would personally rather have boost than spray but thats just me...

[8695Beaters]

The easy gains on an S2K are the ECU (Hondata reflash), spark plugs, a good intake, header, and exhaust. The valve springs and retainers are only needed for relaibility (and since you autocross, you will want that). You can do a cam, but there's about 3 horsepower to ber gained and it's only from about 7500 RPM. Plus you lose some of what little torque the S2K has. There's no gain from cam gears, since i-VTEC does its own tuning anyway. Also, don't swap the valves. You will not find anything better in the aftermarket. There might be some power left in underdrive pulleys. There might also be some power left in the intake manifold too, but I'm not sure. You could also get some higher compression pistons, but that's pushing it on a street car. After that there is forced induction, but you may not want to go there.

[MugenEJ6AutoX]

Someone really needs to write a nice long article on this for all honda's their is a post in every genre on this. And on some of the mechanical basics. So beaters, you gonna step-up?

[8695Beaters]

To Do List:

1) Get A's on all 3 of my exams so I can pass my classes. (Due by May 27)
1.5) Move back home and gte rid of the usless stuff I own (after 5/27 and before 8/30)
2) Get a summer job. (ASAP)
3) Get my Sil-Eighty to pass inspection (start on 5/27, end before 6/27)
4) Build a Lemon (Before 8/25).

Think I got enough to do? After exams and a job I will be putting up some more articles. The S2K has been put to bed as far as simple bolt-ons. I will try to do an article on the basics of engines, but that will take a while. Be patient bro, I do have a life outside this forum (believe it or not) and that has to come first.

[MugenEJ6AutoX]

I'll write one soon on the most basic power mods. And one on the basic components of the engine, schools over for me and I got alot of free time.

[PrimeTimeV6]

I wish I was still in school.

[MugenEJ6AutoX]

How old are you primetime?