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

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All I'm paying for are the off-the-shelf parts for the swap, so including the cost of the car as I bought it in '07 and the rest of the parts I'll need to buy after the swap, it'll be right around the range of a used C6 Z06. It shouldn't be pushing more than ~$50k total investment in full track trim, which is excellent for a car built to this level without much help from sponsors. You'd be hard-pressed to build a car that meets nearly all the guidelines for the RTA Modified class with this power output for less money... definitely a budget-oriented build... I'm hoping to get a few more names on board for the 2011 season to help cut some traveling costs at the very least.
 
This is awesome. I was actually lookin @ my friend's miata and was dreamin how sic it would be to throw a v8 in there.

Just out of curiosity, are S2k's better chassis / suspension / handling wise than miatas?
 
Stock for stock, s2000s are stiffer and are capable of higher constant gs on a skidpad, but they weigh quite a bit more than the NAs and NBs.
 
It'll be around 400 pounds heavier than that without a driver, taking into account all the turbo parts.

I'm thinking with a bit of work we could get it down to around 2500... but not much less without some very expensive pieces.
 
speed157
:drool: That looks EPIC. Do you know how close it is to being finished?
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Probably a couple more months. They've got to design some headers to go with an NA setup for the kit they'll be selling, then they've got to rework their existing single turbo setup for the RX-7 a little bit in order to fit within the S2000's bay.
 
VERY hard... but when it's back I'll have a LOT left to do myself... coilovers, brakes, flares, hardtop... can't wait to get it back in my hands with its new heart and finish the rest. :)
 
I was just thinking, this is a strange swap you're doing. It's like you thought "This S2000 handles pretty well. If only it had more power. How will I go about that? A turbo? How about an ex-Corvette motor that's been turbo'd? It'll weigh the same, have hundreds more horsepower, and roughly four trillion foot pounds of torque. Great idea!"

I actually do want to know what made you follow this path.
 
A friend's LS1 RX-7.

My father's '00 Vette to some extent. That's what I took my drivers license test in, and he'd let me drive it now and then.

Really, it just comes down to the desire for torque and reliability.
 
It's also a 2 liter that makes 200 hp and revs to 9000 RPM. I don't care who you are, if you make anything that high strung, it isn't going to last very long.
 
After those two responses, I feel I need to fully explain the build from my perspective... so here goes. Lots of words incoming.



R1600Turbo: Reliability = drivetrain dependability, plain and simple. My car for all intents and purposes is no longer a Honda. It's a Honda chassis, but that's about it. OEM Honda engines are reliable as they are, but not at this level of output.

StigNumbers: Thank you. You recognize the exact problem I saw from the start. The F20C was designed to be reliable at high RPMs with around 200hp at the wheels, but the power figures I wanted would have placed the stock engine FAR beyond the realm of reliability, and even a built F20C with forced induction would need to generate around 30 psi to make the same power, which is pushing that engine to its absolute limit considering the restricted displacement and high RPMs necessary to spool a turbo capable of flowing that much air.

On the contrary:

A built LSx block can make ridiculous numbers at its limits... 2,000+ hp. I'm only asking about one third of that. Stroked, it's more than three times the displacement of the F20C with minimal weight compromise, and that displacement produces a LOT of exhaust gases to spool a turbo. If the LSx can make close to the same power at 10 psi that an F20C can make at 30 psi, I'm going to choose the more reliable of the two, and a built/stroked LS2 @ 10 psi is leagues more reliable than a built F20C @ 30 psi. It was a no-brainer for me.

I became aware of Hinson through the friend who owned the RX-7, and when I realized they were only a couple hours away, I immediately began to imagine how perfect the same swap would be for an S2000. This was in 2007, when I'd first bought the car. After reading just about everything I possibly could, weighing a number of options, and talking to every hardcore GM enthusiast I could find in my area (most of whom were locals at the drag strip about 2 miles away, which doesn't really interest me, but their input was priceless nonetheless), I decided the swap would be the best route to take for the power I'd like to see from the car.

I e-mailed the guys at Hinson in 2008 and after some phone calls and discussion, we decided it could and should be done. The fact that they could derive a new LSx swap kit for the S2000 application from my car was all the more incentive to give them a chance to make it happen. I delivered the car in early '09, and now it's nearing completion. I feel like my efforts to get in touch with Hinson for this project, and of course their efforts to make it a reality, have contributed significantly to the aftermarket possibilities available to S2000 owners everywhere. Though there have been a handful of examples of this swap completed before this one is finished, none of those are promising a retail kit to allow others to do the same without starting from scratch. This is as much my dream car as it is opening the door for others to do the same. That's why I can wait as long as I need to wait for it--that's why I'm very excited about it.

Think about the AC Ace + Carroll Shelby. This project is the Honda S2000 + Hinson Supercars. I don't have any illusions that it'll attain ANYTHING next to the level of legendary automobile status as the Shelby Cobra, but I want you guys to understand it's an idea forged on the same principles. Lightweight roadster + lots of power + availability to others. A modernized take on that concept is exactly what this is. It's that simple.
 
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It is, however, going to see some relatively high revving in order to get anywhere near the powerband. If you drive around one of those, you'll see what I mean. No, and I mean no, low end power.
 
StigNumbers
It is, however, going to see some relatively high revving in order to get anywhere near the powerband. If you drive around one of those, you'll see what I mean. No, and I mean no, low end power.
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I drive a 100hp Civic. That is no low end power. :P
 
StigNumbers
It is, however, going to see some relatively high revving in order to get anywhere near the powerband. If you drive around one of those, you'll see what I mean. No, and I mean no, low end power.
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Stiggy, I think you're underestimating the power that cars make. The fact that any of these chunks of iron and aluminum make enough power to move as much weight as they do as easily as they do is amazing when you think about it.

R1600Turbo
I drive a 100hp Civic. That is no low end power. :P
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Right. I've been in my fair share of annoyingly slow cars before, including my dad's 120 horsepower Ranger. That's not much power when you've got 3500 pounds to shuffle around.

I've driven an S2000 before and even with the lack of torque that all the magazines always complained about, the thing was quite a bit quicker at any rpm than the Civics I've owned. My RX7 might be able to keep up with an S2000 in a given gear at low rpms, but that's just because the Mazda has more torque available at those rpms. The S2000 obviously keeps building even to higher peaks as the rpms go up and would then beat my car handily.

But of course when you're talking about replacing a 160 pound-foot engine with a 500 pound-foot engine then yes, S2000s are dogs lol.
 
Keef
I've driven an S2000 before and even with the lack of torque that all the magazines always complained about, the thing was quite a bit quicker at any rpm than the Civics I've owned.
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Just goes to show - everything is relative. Most VTEC Hondas are quite peaky but the bigger the engine you're still going to notice the extra torque. I've no doubt something like an RX-8 would feel a hell of a lot torquier than my Miata, however high the maximum torque is produced.
 
Keef
Stiggy, I think you're underestimating the power that cars make. The fact that any of these chunks of iron and aluminum make enough power to move as much weight as they do as easily as they do is amazing when you think about it.
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Yeah, mainly because I haven't actually driven a car past parking them, I don't know the ins and outs of a car.

But the point really was to explain why the engines won't last long even though they're Honda engines. I said it's because they're high strung, and a counter argument was that the engines will likely never see the redline in their lives.

I don't know enough about cars to prove the short life of those engines, and I was trying to explain it in a way I though could be.

Anyone else, with more knowledge, care to explain?
 

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