We’ve often heard of how well the S2000 does on the racetrack and how competitively a well set up S2000 performs alongside higher horsepower rivals. Case in point, the ASM S2000 holds the lap record for the fastest Naturally Aspirated (NA) car at the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan having won the Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive (FR) NA Class five years in a row. This car is considered by many as the benchmark for NA S2000s.
In the Super Lap Battle in 2009, the Evasive Motorsports S2000 took 1st Place in the FR Street Class setting a new Street Tire course record. Amazingly, the car that accomplished this retained its daily drivability and was driven to and from the racetrack. These are just two of the many examples of record breaking S2000s winning throughout the world.
While the aforementioned cars have been built by tuning companies to showcase their mettle, we want to know how successful the S2000 has been in local racing competitions for you. Over in Singapore where I live, due to the limited number of S2000s available, the representation in local motorsport competition is almost zero despite S2000s regularly seen participating at local High Performance Driving Events (HPDEs). I’ve met endurance racing competitors in Australia who’ve spoken volumes about how reliable and quick the S2000 has been resulting in strong results throughout the course of the series. Have you seen more successful S2000s at your local tracks? Tell us what you like about them. What classes do they run in and how dominant have they been in your local racing scene either in HPDE or in proper competition?
For racers who are currently competing with the S2000, do tell us why you picked the S2000 and in what class you are running, e.g. Stock, Street Tyre, Unlimited, etc. Was it Honda reliability, the rigid platform, good suspension setup or other reasons that suit your class that led to you picking the S2000? We’d like to know what competitive strengths you banked on when choosing the S2000 and how successful this has proven for you. We’d like to hear from all the racers out there about how the S2000 fared against the competition.
Let us be reminded and inspired by how the S2000 truly shines on the proving grounds of the racetrack!
Photo courtesy of Triple-H
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on May 11th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
I loved my S2000. I still do. I actually saw the guy who bought it last Sunday at the Safeway and we talked about the car. He’s convinced he doesn’t treat it was well as I do. I said, “What’s the first thing you will do when you decide to sell that car?”, “Call you? But I won’t sell it.” I love that he loves it too. But…
I go to the track once or twice a month. I instruct now. I started doing this with my S but bought a different car to carry it on. I know there are S’s out there who completely rock the racing and tracking world… but there are blower, alternate engines, and admittedly awesome drivers who are responsible for that. The bottom line though, is that if that S2000 doesn’t have a blower, an LS3 engine, or Jenson Button (a happy S2000 owner at one time) at the wheel, it’s going to be passed by Porsches, Corvettes, Lotuses, and others.
I know who’s forum this is, it’s our forum, the people who love the S2000, but lets be realistic. The S2000 is the best car I will ever have owned, but it’s not the fastest on the track.
on May 11th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Well around here in Europe, the S2000 is not used much on tracks. I track a S2000 myself, but i must say that the FWD Civics with B18′s and K20′s are much faster then a S2000. To be really competative you should either strip the car from weight, or ad some power, or both.
A stock S2000 isnt really that competative. It needs a lot of $ to be really fast.
on May 12th, 2011 at 8:14 am
That picture is convincing me that the S2000 was inspirited by a Hatch Back!!
on May 12th, 2011 at 9:44 am
Personnaly , I like the s2000, I’ve seen it on best motoring battles, and it quite gave me some chills once they had to stop battle cause it was getting way to dangerous lol…
What is impressive in its OEM form is the 2.0 or 2.2 liter engine that pumps all that power in N/A form. This is what makes me like this car. Yes it as a X chassis configuration and a F* load of aftermarket support is available . But for reasons of weight explained above earlier, its not the car I would track to beat porshes and lotus’s. I settled for the engine of the beast in a relatively lighter car of the same confihuration, a AE86. fully mod w/ all the suspension goodies and chassis rigidity upgrades. Weighting 600pounds stock from stock compared to a s2k, this car is a punch of raw meat on a silver plate for competitors at the track. I’ve seen people pushing these mixes fast enough to bypass the porshes and follow up to some expensive supercars.
Honda did a hell of a good job in engineering this stout motor, lighten the s2k and you got yourself some serious buisness to deal with if you’r up against it on a track!!!!
on May 12th, 2011 at 11:01 am
e30 FTW
on May 13th, 2011 at 4:08 pm
S2000′s can be VERY fast and competitive. Take for example the N1 Racing S2000 (n1racing.blogspot.com). It finished 3rd Unlimited RWD in Super Lap Battle last year (8th overall) with it’s Naturally Aspirated F2.3L engine producing 231whp. Their driver, Andrie Hartanto put down a blistering 1:51.055 lap time at Buttonwillow which is amazing.
The car was recently featured in DSPORT and it also won the 2010 Redline Time Attack championship in the Super Modified RWD class.
on May 13th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
S2000s are impressive in its own ways. However, having “only” 240bhp it is no longer competitive in many areas. Most cars nowadays have over 300 bhp and lots more features and while I still applaud the S2K’s competitive edge in braking and cornering, it’s been over 10 years since its debut and since then many newer and better cars have emerged and taken over.
on May 20th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
i believe the s2000 is quite possibly the best racing layout ever, the X frame chassis, race designed braking system, and high rigidity make the car a competitor through sweepers, S corners, and hairpins; but back straights have always been its weakness.
I have always wondered why i do not see more S2000′s racing on televised events. then i realized that it could be because of class restrictions, perhaps the car is restricted from some events due to its lack of size? but if that is true, than the Sport Compact actually has an unfair advantage!
True the engine is outdated as many cars just come with far more displacement these days and turbochargers or superchargers right from the factory. but the recent Fad in Japan has been stroking of the F20c engine to 2.3ltrs; such as Tracy Sports’ engine which can spin just past 8,000rpm! there are quite a few 2.4ltr kits now and every different variation and configuration of either of these options coming out of Japan since the car has seen its last production year.
well… at least id hope…. 
And at our shores, i see builder after builder installing turbos that are near the size of the engine! though these 500-700hp rockets may never see a road course like that Flat Black TopFuel turbo monster that kills Tsukuba in japan…
In my opinion, with the S now out of production and the price of obtaining one, less and less, we could see a few more racers doing the fabrication needed to keep it competitve with todays field
on Jun 20th, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Yes although the rest of production cars are headed to higher horsepower levels, modifying an S2000 to become a car that weighs just past 2500lbs with 280-290hp and well thought out aerodynamic aids will still deliver outstanding performance on road & track.
Only slight tweaks are required to get there and the car would have power just 10-15 hp shy of the current Boxster S with 440 lbs less which is significant as the Boxster S is pretty much the most relevant benchmark of all convertible sports cars in the market.