There was not a good way to place the intake air filter in a location to get cold air, so I took two strategies to minimize it sucking in hot air: an air deflector plate and a cold air duct grabbing air from the bumper. Now I needed to measure how effective my strategies were. I placed one thermocouple in the front bumper opening to measure the ambient air temperature.
I jammed a thermocouple into the K&N air filter element. I squeezed another between the aluminum intake tube and the rubber base of the filter. The goal was to be touching the aluminum but I can’t confirm that it was.
The last thermocouple was taped to the aluminum pipe after the intercooler. The tape lost adhesion midway through the drive and I found the thermocouple dangling in the air, but that actually provided useful information.
I routed the wires for the four thermocouples to our handy datalogger through the passenger window. I got my bro-in-law to drive while I kept tabs on temperatures.
100 seconds to 240 seconds was on the highway with a number of full-throttle pulls. You can see those pulls by the spikes in the IC_outlet temperatures which are the yellow dots. This is with the tape still holding to the aluminum pipe. The ambient temperature was about 60degF and the thermocouples at the air filter measured about 20-25degF warmer. I had observed over a few weeks of driving that the intercooler coolant temperature would settle in about 10degF warmer than ambient. The Intake Air Temperature reading would be another 10degF above the coolant for a total delta temperature of 20degF above ambient during cruising. After going full throttle for a bit, I could see the coolant temperature increase on the AEM gauge. Looking at this datalog, you can see how the IC_Outlet temperatures increased during a pull and then would cool off when not in boost; this matched what I typically saw as the trends for IATs recorded by the Hondata KPro. After 240 seconds, we were sitting at a red light after getting off the highway. The air filter started to suck in hot air as the car was sitting still, and therefore not getting cool air flowing into the engine bay. The air coming out of the intercooler still stayed relatively cool due to the thermal mass of the coolant in the system. I didn’t use it in this test, but I wired the fan on the heat exchanger for the intercooler to turn on when the A/C fan turned on. So, the intercooler coolant temperature can be kept from increasing while sitting stationary by turning on the A/C.
12 comments
Must not of liked it much if you sold it right away after over a decade of building. Simple, fast builds with lots of time to play and selling it completely wore out is the goal isn’t it?
I loved it. I was driving it a couple times a week to work. I let about a dozen guys drive it, a few with racing licenses, and they all loved it. I gave a ride to a couple co-workers who are ex-McLaren engineers and they loved it. So when I told everyone I was selling it, they were shocked. Until I told them what was coming next, then they all said, “okay, that makes sense.” I didn’t plan to sell it so soon at all; I had five oil filters and two oil changes worth of Motul 300V in my garage. But the perfect buyer came along. It’s just how the timing worked out. It’ll probably be about a year before everyone finds out what’s next.
Congrats on the sale!! Thanks for the years of thoughtful, no compromise modification. We’ve all learned a lot from it.
I’m going to guess Boxster Spyder.
Way back, I was at Autoclub track testing the ram air NACA duct and vented hood. I was doing somewhere around 130-135mph on the main straight and Kojima was behind me in one of his Dog Car race cars. At that point, I was like…. I really wish I had a solid roof.
Khiem my friend, congrats on finishing it!!! Seems like a raving success and looking forward to the next project!
Wow, bittersweet day to read this project has wrapped and moved to its next owner. I bought my 05 AP2 13 years ago and always aspired for the science and need based approach you took at addressing various aspects (or some may say weaknesses) of the platform. Congrats to the new owner, I’m entirely jealous not knowing the car would have been offered for sale!
Excited to see what you take on next, based on your hardtop comment I would posit a cayman gt4 with gt3rs capabilities and stock road manners. Can’t wait to see what you pursue next.
I’ve always said, the only way to do better than the S2000 is to go mid-engine with the engine behind the driver. There’s no getting around the physics of placing the engine as close to the center of the car as possible to reduce the rotational inertia if one wants to make a car that rotates quickly. That’s all I’ll say with regards to the next car.
Can’t wait for the next project car!
I wonder it’s the Boxster for OEM+ or a capable Exige but with OEM+ characteristics 😀
Many thanks for all the detailed sharing
I’m speechless. Simply didn’t see this coming.
Looking forward to what is next!
No combination of words can adequately capture the sensation of driving this S2000. It’s exceptional balance, remarkable maneuverability and ever present torque imbue an indescribable sense of fun and thrill. This car is even more fun than my heavily modified 992 Turbo S, as it’s way more approachable to tear up the canyons or B roads. Because the gears are so short, you FEEL like you are going so fast, and then you look down and realize you’re only going 90, but you did indeed get there quick.
I face a truly daunting task in attempting to augment the perfection of what Khiem did with this car, because I can’t leave anything alone ever. Modifying the fuel tables for the new exhaust and perhaps water/meth seem to be the only viable improvements that I can think to make. I am very apprehensive about doing anything to this car, as I don’t want to disrupt it’s OEM like equilibrium and balance. Any change I make may actually make the car feel worse, and that’s a very real concern, because it’s just THAT good.
I want to thank you for taking the time to document everything that you did with this vehicle as a teaching tool for those who would seek to build the prefect s2000.
Thank you again Khiem
— Steve
Hello, Khiem Dinh. I have an offer for you, can I contact you by email?