Daily Slideshow: S2000 Enjoys 400 Supercharged Horses
Stolen Honda CRX paves the path to supercharged AP1 S2000 fulfillment.
With Every End
"I bought this S2000 to replace the CRX. My CRX sucked up so much money, only to be stolen and stripped. With the S2000, I figured I could do a few subtle things and be happy, but you know how that goes," tuning shop tech Jason Hutchinson told DSport magazine. We've already touched on the story of Jason's 2002 S2000, and how he went beyond doing just a few things, in our recent Best Builds piece, but his project warrants a closer look. Like a lot of us, Jason wanted something he could daily but was also up for track duty. In Jason's case, that meant every part of his AP1 would get some attention.
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Modified Boost
It didn't take long for Jason to grow fond of the F20C's ability to rev at will, and he knew he needed a way to coax more power out of the S2000 without losing that instant response. Jason decided to go with supercharging and chose CT Engineering’s S2000 centrifugal blower—not only would it be lag-free, he felt it would be more tweakable as well. And tweak it he did. "In order to make more boost than the factory kit, we had CT Engineering fabricate a custom prototype 10psi supercharger pulley," Jason shared. The system includes a Novi 1000 supercharger and uses an HKS SSQV4 sequential blow-off valve to keep compressor back surge under control. Jason called in Haltech tuner Matt Wright to help in getting the higher-flow Injector Dynamics 1,000 cc/min injectors to work with the boost-dependent adjustable fuel pressure regulator that was included in the CT Engineering kit since it wasn't designed to deal with the pressure levels generated by the extra boost Jason was now making. Jason confesses that it's an ongoing process: "Once I’ve adjusted to how everything runs with the car wearing the remaining planned upgrades, I’ll have Wright remove the FPR and get a final re-tune on the setup,” adding: “For now, the 405 wheel horsepower is more than enough on the street and the track.”
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Finer Tuning
Induction isn't everything, some of that horsepower comes from a Skunk2 Megapower exhaust manifold feeding into a BERK Technologies high-flow cat, and finally to a 75mm HKS HiPower exhaust system. Jason's F20C sends power through the factory transmission via a Competition Clutches Stage-3.5 ceramic clutch, and the factory differential is equipped with 4.44:1 gears from J’s Racing. Jason says the new final drive ratio strikes a reasonable balance between keeping the S2000 in the power band during track days, and unreasonably high RPMs on the highway. Track cars need to stop too, so the AP1 is fitted with a Project Mu Club Racer brake kit that includes slotted rotors that are the same size as stock, street-to-track pads, and stainless steel brake lines.
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Grip City
To keep his S2000 planted, Jason equipped his AP1 with an Endless Zeal Function X Coilover kit with Endless X-Coil springs, and to give himself a little flexibility in ride height he went with Swift Spring rotation collars. Wheel and tire selection has been an ongoing process, with each track day adding to the AP1's development. That development has brought him to the present combo of Enkei RPF1 wheels (17×9.5 front, 17×10.0 rear) wearing Falken Azenis RT615K tires (235/40R17 front and 255/40R17 rear).
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Outside Now
Naturally, Jason's rolling stock required a little more room to operate than the original fenders would allow, so he had Lloyd’s Collision in Santee, California roll them out 10mm. Jason's habit of performing ongoing mods meant that each time he brought a new aerodynamic aid home, it had to be altered to fit, and function correctly with, the wider fenders. And he brought home a few. "I first started with J’s Racing everything but I ended up selling all of it and starting over after seeing so much knock-off stuff on the market. I didn’t want to be associated with that," Jason said. His current set-up includes a CWEST version-2 front bumper with carbon fiber canards and an extended APR carbon fiber splitter up front, a Chaser Aero hardtop, and a Top Secret carbon fiber diffuser out back. Jason has high praise for the diffuser, saying "The rear diffuser made a huge difference in the amount of rear downforce on the track. There was so much downforce generated, I really had no choice but to widen the fenders to maintain the proper ride height and suspension travel." To keep Jason inside with all that aero going on outside he installed Buddy Club Racing Spec seats with Takata MPH harnesses, but he left his options open—the factory belts can still be pressed into service. Though that too could change—if there's one thing we learned about Jason's build it's that its a journey, not a destination.
>>Join the conversation about this supercharged S2000 right here in the S2ki Forum!