- 9,884
- Carthage, TN
- race_emhard
a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo Sport, its ok. But If you read my sig, I won't be driving it anymore 
GTP Member's cars directory. What do you drive?
- Thread starter Avenger803
- 4,035 comments
- 345,176 views
- 931
- Montgomery, AL
The rear end was a major concern--the stock S2000 diff can't hold much more than 400whp for long, even the hardened aftermarket casings and LSDs.
We're going with the Ford 8.8" rear end out of an '04 Cobra. I didn't want a live axle setup, so the rear from the Cobra is perfect. It's extremely stout and allows us to retain the IRS. Will likely be ordering custom half shafts from the driveshaft shop to mate the Cobra stubs with the S2000 hubs if Hinson doesn't develop a solution. (This guy in Atlanta is running an LS1, T56, and the same Ford 8.8" rear end with driveshaft and half shafts built by the driveshaft shop... he says they're excellent. These guys in Florida are running the Ford 8.8" as well, but they did a hack 'n' weld job on the axles and are running a 4L60E auto tranny. Actual video of their car making 1/8th mile runs begins around 1:05 into the video.)
Wheels and tires are the only gray area... I won't know how much rubber it's going to need until it's drivable. Before beginning the swap, the car was running a non-staggered setup on SSR Type C RS wheels, 17x9, with 255/40s on all four corners. They kept the car VERY well planted opposed to the stock rubber... so we'll have to see how they fair with a 200% increase in power. Oh, and a big brake kit is a no-brainer. Probably going with StopTech.
- 3,542
- Marin County, C
- 8,480
- P_Balance
I feel bad for that S2K.
- 1,035
That S2k is gonna be awesome when it's done! Should be a beast!
- 3,760
- rollazn
Beast for real! This would be nuts... has this ever been done?
Good luck with the project... i'm interested in seeing how things pan out. Keep us updated.
- 931
- Montgomery, AL
Do you have any particular reason? I'd like to hear it if it's not some die-hard Honda fanboy babble.
When I contacted Hinson about two years ago, there was an LS1 swap planned with a thread on ls1tech, but that project never seemed to get off the ground. As of now, it's still being built. That was the only one I knew of at the time. Then, around July of this year, a quiet little shop in Florida called Action Auto Care came out of nowhere with the first LS-swapped S2000 running under its own power. Over the next couple months, 2 more V8 S2000s popped up, bringing the running total to 3. The second was a 5.3l iron block V8 with the stock S2K rear end... definitely the most basic and least effective swap--that block is HEAVY and the rear end isn't going to stand up long to the torque. The 3rd to get running is an LS1-swapped S2K in Atlanta. The owner has done most everything himself in his own garage, and he's running the same Ford 8.8" IRS rear that the guys in Florida and I are using.
Mine will more than likely be the fourth LS-swapped S2K to be finished, and the first with forced induction. Both Action Auto Care and Hinson are intending to offer kits for the home-builder to complete this swap. The S2k is an excellent platform for it. Only time will tell, but I'm hoping it catches on like it did in the RX-7 community. 👍
- 3,770
- Boss-Barracuda
- 3,202
- Murcie LP710
Wanna ship that old S2K engine to Australia? I'm sure I could find some use for it involving my friend's Mini...
Eric.
Premium
- 8,515
- GTP_Eric
- Ebiggs
Or we can just drop it in my Si.
- 8,480
- P_Balance
I'm assuming you chose the S2000 because of it's balance and handling.
If I read correctly, you've already modified the steering rack, and are adding at least 60lb to the front end, which will be biased more towards the front of the vehicle, so what was that again?
I don't care for the "it's not going to make that much of a difference" argument. I doubt you're a better engineer than the men at Honda, so any difference it will make to the balance and handling will not be for the better. Personally I prefer that over gobs of power, so to me, the car is getting degraded, not upgraded.
My opinion.
EDIT: Although the car will probably be overall faster.
- 8,480
- P_Balance
- 3,008
- You're crazy if you think
- I can afford either of these.
Just for clarification, he's not engineering this all. He's working together with a shop that is developing an LSx swap kit thing for the S2k. His car is simply the mule
- 536
- R8_Man
- RacerSpencer
I meant in comparison to the cast iron LS2.
And if he puts in a cast iron LS2 compared to the stock S2000 and if the S2000 is all aluminum like you say, he's putting more than 60 pounds of weight into it. The turbo and intercooling weight is no worse than doing the same to the S2000 engine.
I'm all for the setup he's putting in there. Looks like a blast.
- 3,770
- Boss-Barracuda
- 931
- Montgomery, AL
Much faster. And,
He's correct. This isn't at all a question of my engineering ability. I did a lot of research and weighed the pros and cons as best I could before deciding it was definitely what I wanted to do with the car... it was purely coincidental and convenient that one of the premiere late-model GM and LS-conversion shops in the world was practically next door. I spoke with Hinson about the viability of the swap for a long time before delivering my car, and they know exactly what they're doing with it. They know balance is absolutely key in this build, as without balance, the power is useless. The guy overseeing most of the fabrication built and raced dirt track cars for years--those things are sideways 95% of the time and must be as balanced and predictable as possible.
They also helped build Gary Lang's drift car, an LS1-powered S13 (it's a '90 240SX, so don't be fooled by the S14 front end conversion), and have several dozen happy RX-7 customers. I trust this shop 100%--they do amazing work.
It is. The LS2 block is also aluminum (the only comparable cast iron 6.0l block from GM is the LQ4/LQ9 as far as I know), but the weight difference when fully dressed really is pretty slim depending on the accessories used on the LS2.
I'm excited that the car is finally nearing completion, but nervous at the same time. It's going to be ridiculous. The fastest car I've driven next to this one was a 520whp fox-body Mustang, a street car that truthfully saw the drag strip more often than the highway. It handled like a boat. An insanely fast boat, but a boat nonetheless. This car will be lighter, more powerful, and should handle as sharply as ever. No traction control. No electronic stability management. It's actually kind of frightening. I doubt it'll see WOT until I've put several, several miles on it and become comfortable with my limits in it. Let's hope it doesn't kill me first.
- 3,008
- You're crazy if you think
- I can afford either of these.
That's the way to go! Just tell the car: "You kill me, I'm taking you down with me"
McLaren
Premium
- 45,500
- Texas
- 931
- Montgomery, AL
Thanks for the feedback guys. 👍
Oh, and this may be the craziest thing I've seen yet in terms of V8 S2ks. Apparently this one was finished a few months ago... built for a guy in his mid-50s. It's crazy:
http://www.v8s2000.com/showthread.php?t=117
Originally posted by the guy who owns it. Later in the thread, the guy responsible for building it (jlc on the forum) posts a lot of great information about the build, complete with lots of pictures. Re-posting them here for convenience. Click for larger pics:
Yes, that's an LS7. Yes, those are nitrous solenoids.
Tracy Sports widebody kit. HRE C20 Titanium wheels ($$$!!!), 19x10 up front and 19x12 in the rear.
Nice view of how perfectly the transmission fits in the stock tunnel.
And here's the kicker. Corner weights:
That's full of fluid with the driver. 49.8 front/50.2 rear. 3021 total (subtracting the driver who is said to be around 200 lbs, that's 2821 total weight for the car--even lighter than the AP2's stock curb weight).
Two words for this one. Holy hell.
Oh, and this may be the craziest thing I've seen yet in terms of V8 S2ks. Apparently this one was finished a few months ago... built for a guy in his mid-50s. It's crazy:
http://www.v8s2000.com/showthread.php?t=117
Originally posted by the guy who owns it. Later in the thread, the guy responsible for building it (jlc on the forum) posts a lot of great information about the build, complete with lots of pictures. Re-posting them here for convenience. Click for larger pics:
Yes, that's an LS7. Yes, those are nitrous solenoids.
Tracy Sports widebody kit. HRE C20 Titanium wheels ($$$!!!), 19x10 up front and 19x12 in the rear.
Nice view of how perfectly the transmission fits in the stock tunnel.
And here's the kicker. Corner weights:
That's full of fluid with the driver. 49.8 front/50.2 rear. 3021 total (subtracting the driver who is said to be around 200 lbs, that's 2821 total weight for the car--even lighter than the AP2's stock curb weight).
Two words for this one. Holy hell.
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