A Koyo radiator and Earl’s Performance oil cooler allowed me to beat on the car as long as I wanted to at the track without overheating or thermally stressing the engine.
The ARK Design MFD2 gave me the info on the oil temperatures and pressures which drove the cooling improvements.
My brake ducts significantly reduced brake temperatures reducing pad wear rate.
The AP1 flywheel was a large mass reduction compared to the AP2 flywheel, but not so light as to be difficult to move from a stop without being familiar with the car. The lighter flywheel made shifting up and down more fun and improved the engine responsiveness. Combined with the ACT Heavy Duty pressure plate and OEM disk, the clutch pedal was still near OEM light with Honda OEM engagement smoothness. I think one would be hard-pressed to find a better complete manual transmission combo of shifter feel, clutch feel, and ease of use on any car.
Working with Saikou Michi to develop the dual oil catch can setup for the S2000.
Hasport engine and rear differential mounts improved the responsiveness of the whole drivetrain while adding some nice vibration feels to the car and taking out the slop of the engine moving around. The shifter feel was cleaned up too because of reduced engine movement. The Blacktrax Performance baffled oil pan was another reliability mod like the additional cooling. The Whiteline lower brace was part of the recipe for stiffening up the chassis to improve responsiveness.
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?