My S2000 project (I'll take 4 more cylinders and one of them turbo thingies, please)

Hey guys! Some of you may remember a couple posts I've made about this in the "Post a pic of your real car" thread. I figure it's gotten to the point now where I should create one all-inclusive thread for updates and such, so here it is.


3 years ago, I bought my '01 S2000 with 50k miles on the ticker, bone stock, the only previous owner being an older guy who'd outgrown his midlife crisis. After I enjoyed the car for about a year, I decided it was time for a change... something a little less ordinary. About 6 months of solid research and option-weighing followed, the end result being an e-mail to a little shop just a couple hours up the road called Hinson Supercars. You may know them as the guys who played a huge role in popularizing the V8-swapped RX-7. I proposed to them the idea, shared with them what I'd learned and what the rough goals for the car would be, and after several e-mails back and forth, the decision to carry out the build was made. In late '08, I made a deposit to secure the S2000 a place in line.

In April '09, the time had finally come to deliver the car. Months of planning, measuring, designing, and fabricating soon followed, with the bulk of the prep and design work being completed in November. Fabrication came next, and as of today, the project is moving very swiftly toward completion. The front subframe is finished and installed, and steering rack solution is complete and mounted, the transmission mount is finished, and the mounting brackets for the new rear differential are being built as we speak.

But you know we all come to these threads for pics, so without further ado, here are some pictures to tell the car's humble story.

Stock in '07:


First waxing:


First taste of snow:


First taste of inspiration:


As it was in late '08:


Soon after delivery to Hinson, F20C removed:


Early test-fitting:




Now, I visited the car yesterday, likely for the last time before it's dyno'd, tuned, and on the road again. I can't say enough how impressed I am with Hinson's work.

Custom front subframe complete + steering rack (click below for larger pics)


Custom rack assembly from above


Hooked up the driver's side lower linkages (sans swaybar) to show how it all bolts up in the stock position


Last time I'll see my baby before driving it back home




Between delivering the car in April '09 and now, a handful of completed V8-swapped S2000s began popping up on the internet, and so did a forum dedicated to the swap, v8s2000.com. There are now 4 completed swaps (that we know about) in the world. One has a 5.3 liter iron block, one has an LS1 and was built entirely by one man in his garage, one has an LS2 with a powerglide trans and seems to be primarily a drag strip build, and one is a crazy widebody LS7-swapped monster of a car. They're all very unique, with a wide range of solutions to the same number of problems. Mine continues that trend as the first of the bunch to be developed with forced induction in mind. The manifolds you see in some of the pics above are the same ones designed for their single turbo FD builds, bolted onto the heads to test for fitment. They'll need to be slightly redesigned so that the middle section (where the turbo is actually mounted) will mount the turbo in some open space to clear everything else and leave room for routing the downpipe out. They've got header tubing on hand, so those manifolds should be complete soon.

Conservative estimate on completion as of yesterday is May, if no further obstacles or delays in receiving parts are encountered.

Basics:
'06 LS2, stroked to 402ci
T56 with Viper internals
Ford 8.8" IRS differential from an '04 Cobra
Turbonetics T-76
K1 rods, Diamond pistons
Spec flywheel and stage 3+ clutch
Full fuel and cooling system by Hinson


This is just the phase 1 of a long-envisioned project. After the powertrain swap is completed, I'll have lots of progress to make yet. Stay tuned!

Awesome post, keep the updates coming :-) 👍

This is one of Honda's perfectionist cars.

OH YEAH A S2000 WITH A REAL ENGINE!!!

Keep us posted!!! this may turn out as a real monster!!!

Wow, I had no idea you were going that crazy on the car. How does the LS2's weight and mounting position in the chassis differ from the F20? Is is just as far back as the 4 cylinder? It's going to have a much lower center of gravity now which should help the handling despite the extra weight. Gotta love pushrods for being low. Now you should be happy that you've got an engine that isn't delicate in the slightest.

Someone call the ricers and tell them how to really upgrade a car

A 402 should be able to get you to work in the morning

Keef

How does the LS2's weight and mounting position in the chassis differ from the F20? Is is just as far back as the 4 cylinder?

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Excellent question. The F20C fully dressed is around 330 pounds, and I'd have to assume the transmission adds close to 100 or so. Probably anywhere from 420-440 combined weight. According to Hinson, the LS1+T56 combo is 470 pounds. LS2+T56 shouldn't be much more than that if at all. The new subframe and steering rack replacements are lighter than the stock ones, so that sheds some weight, but the turbo parts will add that weight back and then some. We'll be relocating the battery and getting rid of as much unnecessary weight in the engine bay as possible--weight balance is of utmost importance. When it's all said and done it shouldn't be too much heavier up front if at all.

The block is mounted as far back as possible, and the front of the block is lined up with the strut towers, much like the F20 placement give or take a couple inches. If you take a look at these pics:

you can see the front of the block is centered over the front-most tubing of the subframe, and the front of the lower A arm (where the coilover bolts on) is centered on that line as well, so the front of the block is pretty much flush with the front suspension. Couldn't have asked for better placement.


In terms of the future, I'm looking into aero pieces that eliminate as much lift as possible, hopefully ending up with a combination of pieces that will provide legitimate downforce to all four corners of the car. A front splitter and canards are no-brainers. The Mooncraft hardtop waiting in my garage should help reduce drag and send a cleaner stream of air to whichever rear wing I decide to use, and I'm hoping to develop some basic framing in the trunk to have the wing disperse its force directly into the chassis rather than onto the flexible trunk lid. Air passing under the car and causing lots of turbulence in the underbody creates a lot of lift, so I'll be looking into some sort of undertray solution. Password JDM makes a nice full carbon/kevlar undertray, but it's quite expensive. I could probably buy sheets of thin ply carbon fiber, measure, cut, and mount them myself for much less money. A functional rear diffuser is going to make sure air going under the car joins the air passing over it cleanly, and I'm pretty much in love with Top Secret's piece. Since this is a single turbo build, we'll be running a sizeable single exhaust, so I'll have to make sure it's tucked up enough in the rear to clear the diffuser like the stock exhaust would. Wheels are also a major concern, specifically at the rear. I've measured and should be able to fit a 10.5" width wheel with +36mm offset and retain the same backspacing as the 9" SSRs that are on it now (which are +55). However, that's going to place the outer lip of the wheel almost 2 inches beyond the stock quarter panel, so once I figure out exactly which wheels I'm going with, it'll be time to cut the quarter panels off until they're just about flush with the top of the inner wheel well, then find some cheap overfenders/flares to tack on and keep the rubber covered.

Lots and lots of work yet to do, and I can't wait to get my hands on it again and get started.

949Racing has a new wheel out called the 6ULR. They make sizes they recommend for S2000s, but of course they're more into practical track fitment than the flush scene. How would a 17x10 +52 or +72 sound? They make those. They have a 17x9 +48 also.







According to this post those are 17x9 +63 all around. They leave something to be desired in my opinion, in particular more flushness. Looks like some small studded spacers could take care of it, maybe 10mm. Or you could just do the lowest offsets lol.

Crazy! But crazy in a very good way. When I'm thinking about engine swapping, I dream about taking your F20 C and putting it in my BMW E30!
I've got a GT4 hybrid who comes pretty close to that (F20 C in a BMW 2002).

But back on topic and real life:
What are you going to do about the brakes? These tiny discs are not staying in there, are they?

Rather put in something like this?
www.nocar2fast.com/ S2K/suspension.html


Or maybe something like that?
http://roccosperformance.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10_32&products_id=164

Question...why not a Mopar or Ford mill? why a Chevy?

Keef

[wheels]

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The SSRs on it now are 17x9 +55 all around. Front fitment is perfect, rear fitment is flush with the quarters, though it leaves a good bit of space inboard (which is why those 17x9 +63s you posted look a bit more tucked in). 17x10 +72 would give me over an inch less space inward on the rear... throw in some negative camber and I'd be a bit worried about clearance issues at full compression. +52 might work on a 10 inch wheel, meaning +40 might work on an 11 inch wheel without putting it tooooo far past the lip of the quarter panel. Either way, with the tire width I'll be running and the limitations on inboard space, the quarter panels will have to be shaved.

Mr. Apex

[brakes]

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Brakes are going to be the last piece of the puzzle before it's track ready. I'm looking at something like StopTech's kit, which offers larger rotors and stronger calipers in the front and rear while maintaining close to stock brake distribution. Only problem with the rear big brake kits for the s2k is that they eliminate the e-brake. This isn't going to be a drift car, so that's not a problem in terms of track use, but could be an issue with streetability considering I may not always be able to park on level ground, and wouldn't want to use the transmission as my parking brake. There's actually a local guy with a supercharged s2k who has upgraded his rear brakes and machined his own caliper mounts to retain the stock calipers as well as the new ones, the stock ones being used only as an e-brake. Might see if he could help me design a similar piece. Not sure yet. But yes, a big brake upgrade is an asbolute must.

Also, there's a thread here about an SR20 swap into an E30 which you might find interesting if you haven't seen it before.

Jim Prower

[chrysler/ford options]

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Pretty much because Hinson does excellent work with Chevy blocks, and they're very lightweight for the numbers they can produce. Hinson was the most local shop that I'd trust to pull this off, and they're a GM shop, so it worked out great. I think the biggest reason though is that my father bought a C5 Corvette (LS1) back in 2000, which is what he used to teach me to drive on the street; I even took my license exam in it and passed the first time. That car was really special to me, even though he'd only let me drive it two or three times a month. When he passed away, I decided to sell it. Didn't want to just take his baby as if it were mine... wanted something special of my own. Going the LSx route is my nod to those memories.

Cool project 👍 I like the S2K's standard engine but can't complain about some V8 awesomeness either.

Now the really important question, what are you going to do with this:



...so that it doesn't get sad from no longer going past 6k? Seriously though, is there any way to recalibrate it so that it works with the new engine?

Hahaha

Luckily, the tach and speedo signals can be sent to the stock dash with relative ease. The rebuilt rotating assembly will be balanced, and I guess we'll have to see where it stops making power with the stock valvetrain and the new fuel system to decide where the fuel cut will be set. If I had to guess, I'd say around 7k rpm. I'll just put some transparent red tape over the unused rev range and a little frowny face below.

Zenith013

Someone call the ricers and tell them how to really upgrade a car

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You use that term too loosely.

i do not approve this not that it matters
s2k with slow lazy american v8 is just not right any v8 in s2k is not right
but if you really want v8 you should have put something that can rev high like v8 from m3 or something similar
anyway i'm a big fan of s2 but it has to remain a 4 cylinder that revs like mad donkey and if you want more torque just stick a supercharger on it

This is certainly a very interesting project, I look forward to the updates!
As bad as many (see above) may think this is, I enjoy the fact that someone wants to do something out of the ordinary in any instance, it lets those who're curious and those with dreams see something materialise, I can only wish you a great time with the final product and wait to see what else you'll being adding

R1600Turbo

You use that term too loosely.

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I think he used the term just right.

By the way, this sounds and looks awesome so far. 👍

Yeah that's how you do it.
Great job, you should put a sticker that says powered by chevrolet as a wink to the ricers who put powered by honda on a honda.

In that case I should put Powered By Ford on my Mazda.

Not happening.

you should not have any problems shifting it at 7000+ rpm, a friend of mine has a low-buck turbo in his 99 Camaro and he shifts it at 7000, the car has never missed a beat. You could try to shift it at 8,500 as it is in an S2000 tough, haha!

about the Ford/Mopar options over an LSx, I would have loved to see this with a new-gen HEMI indeed, but they are heavier than the LSx engines (even in aluminum form, I reckon) and they are not as compact... of course, they react better to mods than LSxs (which is saying something, considering how well the LSx family responds to tweaks) but it would have been harder to package in the S2000 engine bay. and of course, the Ford engine is way worse, getting an aluminum one is way expensive and near impossible (hello Coyote) and they are ENORMOUS. I dont know if a Modular engine would even fit in ther without absolutely destroying all the surrounding stuff.

And, heh, about the emblem issue people were talking about up there, I think there is a good way to blow minds: make it the SS2000! you'd have to produce custom or hybryd emblems with the SS off a Camaro and the 2000 from your car, but I think it would be awesome, it would be the perfect crowning touch!!

SS2000 is pretty good, haha.

I've decided on LS2K though.

aah well, that works too... but I'd still go with SS2000, as it would be absolutely obvious and in your face, and it would make people go WTF, haha!

Lucas

I think he used the term just right.

By the way, this sounds and looks awesome so far. 👍

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While I love seeing swaps like this...mostly, I think using the term "ricer" to cover all import tuners is not necessary. Some of us know how to do it "right" and it doesn't have to involve a V8 swap.

toni_cro

i do not approve this not that it matters
s2k with slow lazy american v8 is just not right any v8 in s2k is not right
but if you really want v8 you should have put something that can rev high like v8 from m3 or something similar
anyway i'm a big fan of s2 but it has to remain a 4 cylinder that revs like mad donkey and if you want more torque just stick a supercharger on it

Click to expand...

Yeah, S2000 + supercharger creates an incredible bush-ripping 250ft-lbs at 6000rpm...

The stock LS2 is going to be doing more power than most boosted S2000s are, while being so easy to drive without having all the peakiness and no low end. Then, add a turbo.


And before you decide to jump my case that I'm some redneck V8 lover, check my signature.

R1600Turbo

While I love seeing swaps like this...mostly, I think using the term "ricer" to cover all import tuners is not necessary. Some of us know how to do it "right" and it doesn't have to involve a V8 swap.

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Which is ironic, considering where you work

This is magic, I thoroughly approve of this engine swap. What's going to happen to the F20C?

I suggest donation to a good cause/put it in an AE86 or something.

homeforsummer

Which is ironic, considering where you work

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Read my post again.

I'm saying I'm ok with V8 swaps. I don't like how he used the "ricer" term as a generalization of all import tuners.

This is an epic build. Can't wait for the finished product!

R1600Turbo

I don't like how he used the "ricer" term as a generalization of all import tuners.

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If that's how he meant it, I agree 100%. It's not fair to guys who put their hearts and souls into a great build to call them "ricers" if they don't swap in an American V8. I have nothing but respect for any car purpose-built to move, whether its a naturally aspirated, high revving, high compression 4AGE making over 200 hp at the crank, or a 2JZ with a turbo bigger than my head making 7 times that number.

Now, I don't know Zenith013 or his post history, but on the chance that he's talking about "ricers" in the sense of guys who are more concerned with purely cosmetic body work, tucked rubber, and gutted exhausts than actually building a car to perform, I'll say he has a point. If he meant it the way R1600 interpreted it, then he needs a clue.



R1600Turbo: I was looking over the Imports thread and noted the comment about your job here. Do you work for FM?

Lookin' good. 👍 Keep us posted!


M