Best Mods?
03-16-2012 | 11:09 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Best Mods?
Ive got the basics, Cat back exhaust and intake.
I was just wondering for the S2k, what are some of the best N/A upgrades
you can get for the car. What power adds help the most?
Also wondering the same for suspension,
i want to lower mine, and eventually get some 18s for her.
I really dont want to sacrifice ride quality though.
Should I go full coilover? Are Sway bars worth it on these cars?
Any insight is appreciated.
I was just wondering for the S2k, what are some of the best N/A upgrades
you can get for the car. What power adds help the most?
Also wondering the same for suspension,
i want to lower mine, and eventually get some 18s for her.
I really dont want to sacrifice ride quality though.
Should I go full coilover? Are Sway bars worth it on these cars?
Any insight is appreciated.
03-16-2012 | 08:38 PM
#5
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 886
Likes: 2
From: Ann Arbor, MI
Like Justin said, doing some research is the only way to get all of the information you're looking for. As an overview of current trends:
Power
Intakes - There isn't a huge amount of power for the s2000 to gain from N/A mods. You have the N/A mods most people buy, but there are obviously differences between each companies designs. Long, stepped diameter intakes like the AEM V2 (or V3) seem to yield the best results.
Exhausts - 70mm+ header-back exhausts or a 70mm+ catback with a matching diameter test pipe have shown the best gains so far. A few companies like Berk, Challenge, and HKS (only 75mm, 3 inches is ~76mm) make full, 3 inch exhaust systems. The Berk System is header-back, with no-cat or high-flow cat options. In the case of the Challenge an HKS cat-back exhausts, 3 inch test pipes are much less common that 70mm or 60 mm test pipes. In general, single-exit exhausts seem to produce the most horsepower.
Internally, the cylinder head on the F20/F22 flows VERY well. That said, some people lightly upgrade the valvetrain and run Brian Crower stage 2 cams. Supply on these cams seems to be limited.
Tune - None of these mods will show much of an increase in horsepower without a tune. Without a tune, you'll generally see some modest, high-end gains. AP1s get the short end of the stick in this situation. They have the option of a VAFC, which only ends up affecting WOT, or a full stand-alone like AEM EMS. There is also the option of GReddy E-Manage, which is more capable than the VAFC but less powerful than a standalone. AP2s have simpler to implement options provided by Hondata.
Forced Induction - Superchargers seem to be relatively reliable with respectable gains (300-350whp), with turbo setups, the sky is the limit for both price and power. With these setups, be prepared to replace your differential at some point. S2KPUDDYDAD, a user on these boards is the go-to guy for upgraded diffs. Some people have had success swapping in much stronger rear ends from other cars.
Differential - Like previously mentioned, you can change the final drive ratio in the rear end, in turn changing how many RPM the engine is turning at a given road speed. This affects acceleration (higher RPM at a given speed yields better acceleration). That said, these also leads to more noise from your exhaust (sucks on the highway) and possibly decreased gas mileage. 4.77 is the cheapest and most aggressive of the common aftermarket diff ratios(it is actually a Kia part number). There are other, more mild ratios like 4.3, 4.44, 4.56, 4.57, etc. Many of these are difficult to find or discontinued.
Handling
Springs - Swift and Espelir(sp?) seem to get good reviews for providing a drop but preserving the car's excellent handling
Coilovers - The stock s2000 suspension is very good. With that in mind, some people say the low-mid (D2, Megan Racing, etc.) priced coilover systems aren't very worthwhile, aside from the adjustment they provide. Their reasoning is the dampers in these system are sub-par compared to the stock ones. Many of the systems that receive consistently good reviews are in the $1000+ price range (the sky is the limit). The favorite among the track guys seems to be KW Variant 3s for their quality, adjustability, and reasonable (for what you get) price. That said, they can be pretty pricey.
Sway bars - The current trend is to get as much tire under that car as you can in a non-staggered setup and run a stiffer front-to-rear ratio sway bar setup.
TL;DR - For N/A, your mods are good. Get a tune and you're good to go. Get some decent coilovers, wide/sticky wheels/tires, and a stiff front swaybar and you will have a very capable car.
Power
Intakes - There isn't a huge amount of power for the s2000 to gain from N/A mods. You have the N/A mods most people buy, but there are obviously differences between each companies designs. Long, stepped diameter intakes like the AEM V2 (or V3) seem to yield the best results.
Exhausts - 70mm+ header-back exhausts or a 70mm+ catback with a matching diameter test pipe have shown the best gains so far. A few companies like Berk, Challenge, and HKS (only 75mm, 3 inches is ~76mm) make full, 3 inch exhaust systems. The Berk System is header-back, with no-cat or high-flow cat options. In the case of the Challenge an HKS cat-back exhausts, 3 inch test pipes are much less common that 70mm or 60 mm test pipes. In general, single-exit exhausts seem to produce the most horsepower.
Internally, the cylinder head on the F20/F22 flows VERY well. That said, some people lightly upgrade the valvetrain and run Brian Crower stage 2 cams. Supply on these cams seems to be limited.
Tune - None of these mods will show much of an increase in horsepower without a tune. Without a tune, you'll generally see some modest, high-end gains. AP1s get the short end of the stick in this situation. They have the option of a VAFC, which only ends up affecting WOT, or a full stand-alone like AEM EMS. There is also the option of GReddy E-Manage, which is more capable than the VAFC but less powerful than a standalone. AP2s have simpler to implement options provided by Hondata.
Forced Induction - Superchargers seem to be relatively reliable with respectable gains (300-350whp), with turbo setups, the sky is the limit for both price and power. With these setups, be prepared to replace your differential at some point. S2KPUDDYDAD, a user on these boards is the go-to guy for upgraded diffs. Some people have had success swapping in much stronger rear ends from other cars.
Differential - Like previously mentioned, you can change the final drive ratio in the rear end, in turn changing how many RPM the engine is turning at a given road speed. This affects acceleration (higher RPM at a given speed yields better acceleration). That said, these also leads to more noise from your exhaust (sucks on the highway) and possibly decreased gas mileage. 4.77 is the cheapest and most aggressive of the common aftermarket diff ratios(it is actually a Kia part number). There are other, more mild ratios like 4.3, 4.44, 4.56, 4.57, etc. Many of these are difficult to find or discontinued.
Handling
Springs - Swift and Espelir(sp?) seem to get good reviews for providing a drop but preserving the car's excellent handling
Coilovers - The stock s2000 suspension is very good. With that in mind, some people say the low-mid (D2, Megan Racing, etc.) priced coilover systems aren't very worthwhile, aside from the adjustment they provide. Their reasoning is the dampers in these system are sub-par compared to the stock ones. Many of the systems that receive consistently good reviews are in the $1000+ price range (the sky is the limit). The favorite among the track guys seems to be KW Variant 3s for their quality, adjustability, and reasonable (for what you get) price. That said, they can be pretty pricey.
Sway bars - The current trend is to get as much tire under that car as you can in a non-staggered setup and run a stiffer front-to-rear ratio sway bar setup.
TL;DR - For N/A, your mods are good. Get a tune and you're good to go. Get some decent coilovers, wide/sticky wheels/tires, and a stiff front swaybar and you will have a very capable car.
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03-21-2012 | 07:57 AM
#6
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Like Justin said, doing some research is the only way to get all of the information you're looking for. As an overview of current trends:
Power
Intakes - There isn't a huge amount of power for the s2000 to gain from N/A mods. You have the N/A mods most people buy, but there are obviously differences between each companies designs. Long, stepped diameter intakes like the AEM V2 (or V3) seem to yield the best results.
Exhausts - 70mm+ header-back exhausts or a 70mm+ catback with a matching diameter test pipe have shown the best gains so far. A few companies like Berk, Challenge, and HKS (only 75mm, 3 inches is ~76mm) make full, 3 inch exhaust systems. The Berk System is header-back, with no-cat or high-flow cat options. In the case of the Challenge an HKS cat-back exhausts, 3 inch test pipes are much less common that 70mm or 60 mm test pipes. In general, single-exit exhausts seem to produce the most horsepower.
Internally, the cylinder head on the F20/F22 flows VERY well. That said, some people lightly upgrade the valvetrain and run Brian Crower stage 2 cams. Supply on these cams seems to be limited.
Tune - None of these mods will show much of an increase in horsepower without a tune. Without a tune, you'll generally see some modest, high-end gains. AP1s get the short end of the stick in this situation. They have the option of a VAFC, which only ends up affecting WOT, or a full stand-alone like AEM EMS. There is also the option of GReddy E-Manage, which is more capable than the VAFC but less powerful than a standalone. AP2s have simpler to implement options provided by Hondata.
Forced Induction - Superchargers seem to be relatively reliable with respectable gains (300-350whp), with turbo setups, the sky is the limit for both price and power. With these setups, be prepared to replace your differential at some point. S2KPUDDYDAD, a user on these boards is the go-to guy for upgraded diffs. Some people have had success swapping in much stronger rear ends from other cars.
Differential - Like previously mentioned, you can change the final drive ratio in the rear end, in turn changing how many RPM the engine is turning at a given road speed. This affects acceleration (higher RPM at a given speed yields better acceleration). That said, these also leads to more noise from your exhaust (sucks on the highway) and possibly decreased gas mileage. 4.77 is the cheapest and most aggressive of the common aftermarket diff ratios(it is actually a Kia part number). There are other, more mild ratios like 4.3, 4.44, 4.56, 4.57, etc. Many of these are difficult to find or discontinued.
Handling
Springs - Swift and Espelir(sp?) seem to get good reviews for providing a drop but preserving the car's excellent handling
Coilovers - The stock s2000 suspension is very good. With that in mind, some people say the low-mid (D2, Megan Racing, etc.) priced coilover systems aren't very worthwhile, aside from the adjustment they provide. Their reasoning is the dampers in these system are sub-par compared to the stock ones. Many of the systems that receive consistently good reviews are in the $1000+ price range (the sky is the limit). The favorite among the track guys seems to be KW Variant 3s for their quality, adjustability, and reasonable (for what you get) price. That said, they can be pretty pricey.
Sway bars - The current trend is to get as much tire under that car as you can in a non-staggered setup and run a stiffer front-to-rear ratio sway bar setup.
TL;DR - For N/A, your mods are good. Get a tune and you're good to go. Get some decent coilovers, wide/sticky wheels/tires, and a stiff front swaybar and you will have a very capable car.
Power
Intakes - There isn't a huge amount of power for the s2000 to gain from N/A mods. You have the N/A mods most people buy, but there are obviously differences between each companies designs. Long, stepped diameter intakes like the AEM V2 (or V3) seem to yield the best results.
Exhausts - 70mm+ header-back exhausts or a 70mm+ catback with a matching diameter test pipe have shown the best gains so far. A few companies like Berk, Challenge, and HKS (only 75mm, 3 inches is ~76mm) make full, 3 inch exhaust systems. The Berk System is header-back, with no-cat or high-flow cat options. In the case of the Challenge an HKS cat-back exhausts, 3 inch test pipes are much less common that 70mm or 60 mm test pipes. In general, single-exit exhausts seem to produce the most horsepower.
Internally, the cylinder head on the F20/F22 flows VERY well. That said, some people lightly upgrade the valvetrain and run Brian Crower stage 2 cams. Supply on these cams seems to be limited.
Tune - None of these mods will show much of an increase in horsepower without a tune. Without a tune, you'll generally see some modest, high-end gains. AP1s get the short end of the stick in this situation. They have the option of a VAFC, which only ends up affecting WOT, or a full stand-alone like AEM EMS. There is also the option of GReddy E-Manage, which is more capable than the VAFC but less powerful than a standalone. AP2s have simpler to implement options provided by Hondata.
Forced Induction - Superchargers seem to be relatively reliable with respectable gains (300-350whp), with turbo setups, the sky is the limit for both price and power. With these setups, be prepared to replace your differential at some point. S2KPUDDYDAD, a user on these boards is the go-to guy for upgraded diffs. Some people have had success swapping in much stronger rear ends from other cars.
Differential - Like previously mentioned, you can change the final drive ratio in the rear end, in turn changing how many RPM the engine is turning at a given road speed. This affects acceleration (higher RPM at a given speed yields better acceleration). That said, these also leads to more noise from your exhaust (sucks on the highway) and possibly decreased gas mileage. 4.77 is the cheapest and most aggressive of the common aftermarket diff ratios(it is actually a Kia part number). There are other, more mild ratios like 4.3, 4.44, 4.56, 4.57, etc. Many of these are difficult to find or discontinued.
Handling
Springs - Swift and Espelir(sp?) seem to get good reviews for providing a drop but preserving the car's excellent handling
Coilovers - The stock s2000 suspension is very good. With that in mind, some people say the low-mid (D2, Megan Racing, etc.) priced coilover systems aren't very worthwhile, aside from the adjustment they provide. Their reasoning is the dampers in these system are sub-par compared to the stock ones. Many of the systems that receive consistently good reviews are in the $1000+ price range (the sky is the limit). The favorite among the track guys seems to be KW Variant 3s for their quality, adjustability, and reasonable (for what you get) price. That said, they can be pretty pricey.
Sway bars - The current trend is to get as much tire under that car as you can in a non-staggered setup and run a stiffer front-to-rear ratio sway bar setup.
TL;DR - For N/A, your mods are good. Get a tune and you're good to go. Get some decent coilovers, wide/sticky wheels/tires, and a stiff front swaybar and you will have a very capable car.
Thats exactly what i was looking for! thanks man! Much appreciated everyone!
03-21-2012 | 11:01 AM
#7
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 886
Likes: 2
From: Ann Arbor, MI
No problem. There is obviously more info available, and some of the things I listed are just current trends. Despite its age and discontinuation, there are people out their still developing parts for the s2000.
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03-21-2012 | 04:47 PM
#8
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,062
Likes: 1
From: Montgomery Alabama
I would have to say tune of any sort will be the best if you have an AP1.
Current Mods
PWDJDM intake
Berk 70mm test pipe
HKS 75mm single exhaust
My car hardly made anything more than stock and runs pig rich, my tuner said 15 mins with AEM EMS he could have pulled 10-15 hp mid range and 5-10 top end just by leaning it out. We didnt tune it b/c im putting on ITBs in the near future and i just wanted a base run pre-ITBs
Current Mods
PWDJDM intake
Berk 70mm test pipe
HKS 75mm single exhaust
My car hardly made anything more than stock and runs pig rich, my tuner said 15 mins with AEM EMS he could have pulled 10-15 hp mid range and 5-10 top end just by leaning it out. We didnt tune it b/c im putting on ITBs in the near future and i just wanted a base run pre-ITBs
11-01-2014 | 12:41 AM
#9
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 260
Likes: 1
If u want more power, ur gonna have to change the internals of the engine. Also the best intake u can get it individual throttle bodies. I just got my s2000 a few months ago and haven't done any mods yet but that's probably what I'm going to do once I start with power. At the moment I'm concentrating on the handling seeing as there is a little to much power for the set of wheels they give u from the factory
11-01-2014 | 04:38 AM
#10
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 138
Likes: 1
I wouldn't really consider 18's an upgrade unless you are going super wide or have some good power to put down. It adds weight (not sure about the physics of this i.e. rotational mass/unsprung weight) to the car and for an NA build i'd imagine that isn't what you're looking for
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Iketeru_S2000 (04-25-2021)