Greetings Everyone!
Hope everyone is doing well and healthy during these times, and if you are on the east coast like me, hope all are stay warm & safe. (We just got 2 feet of snow) My name is Alp and I am from New Jersey and this is my story, thank you for reading!
2020 has seemingly changed our world almost overnight, while I can write a book about all the negatives of the era of Covid, for others it has given us time to slow down and reconnect with old parts of ourselves.
As my handle indicates (International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness) I am a retired (at the moment) Pro athlete, and with the additional time during 2020 I have literally dived back into my love/interest/hate for cars.
The late night Social Media binges began to dwindle (there is only so much fitness videos out there before they are all the same)
Then I came across it, "Donut Media" within one episode of Hi/low and I was hooked like a drug addict. I've always loved cars (IS300, Audi TT 2.0T, Cayman S) but I was never at the point where I needed to be to really enjoy them AND enjoy working ON them. Partially cause I was immature (still am), partially cause I was a broke youngin, and partially cause I didn't know anything. Watching the Donut Crew get inside and tear apart these two Nissan Z's really inspired me to get back into cars and seeing all their joy. I must have watched every episode 50 times, even fell asleep to it. I guess during that slumber something happened because one day I woke up and began looking at different tuner cars. After much debate (not really, S2K was a shoe-in) my family and I went up to CT to look at a Silverstone 2005 S2000 with 101k miles. Great guy, and very touching story behind the car that clearly held true because the 15 year old car was in absolute MINT condition. Drove it home with the biggest smile on my face, for all of the 3hr drive I might add.

 

The Story of Purist: Before buying her, the current owner was a hardworking man with beautiful family and a new one on the way, hence the reason for selling. He was an electrical engineer from GE who got his degree while he was on duty in the Navy. He had bought the car from a dealership, but it wasn’t any usual place. When he agreed on the price, the dealership asked him to return the next day for a final appointment. He was bewildered but agreed to the dealerships terms. Upon his return the next day, he was introduced to the previous owner’s widow. A small, fragile grandma with curly white hair but full of life, she wanted to meet the new owner of the S2K because her husband had truly loved the car, he had owned it for 8.5 years until he passed. Since the widow didn’t know how to sell such an item, a family friend at the local dealership took the car to sell, but from what I was told, no commission was requested. The transition was done on good faith and in will of the previous owner. Mr.Navy bought the car with great hesitation, NOW that he knew the vehicle’s past. He had all different plans on changing things on it, hard top ideas, supercharger ideas, he had an incredible vision however, he said every time he got the courage to change something the meeting with the widow kept he from changing anything. As time went on, he enjoyed the car completely stock and eventually gave it to his young daughter for her last year of highschool. (We found all her CDs under the seat) Now, with the new one on the way, his wife finally got him to sell the car to us! After bringing the baby home, weekend drive after weekend drive the S2K was blowing my expectations away. I keep telling people this when they ask me how I like it “She’s a kind of car that punches well above her weight class, better yet, she upper cuts the competition.” For the next few months we absolutely loved what she could do, how she drove, how that F22 screamed to 8,250RPM. I wanted to make additions however the story in which I was told from the previous owner really stayed with me. Neither the previous owner nor I were permitted or restricted by any means. I am sure Mr.Navy felt the same, this car must be left stock. There is a man’s soul in there for Christ sake!!

 

The Story of Rinzler: Making the final decision to leave “Purist” stock left some void in my life. Watching the Donut series, they had so much fun (and fails) modifying their cars. Seeing how the mods changed the cars and compared them was just so fascinating and that was the void I was missing. So, a lightbulb popped in my head! Let’s get a 2nd S2K! Most people would have thought I was nuts (my mechanic did) my family loved Purist so much I got the green light! We immediately began looking once again, but then I thought, we have to think different. If we are going to change most of the car, there isn’t much need for the car to be in mint condition. I already had tons of plans, exhaust, test pipe, intake, etc etc. So we began looking for a decent beater or project car. We didn’t have any expectations but we did want an AP2, primarily 04 or 05. We found one about 10hrs away in NC, 2005 Silverstone, black/red seats with a few additional goodies for a decent price. Contacted owners, got more information, analyzed Carfax, negotiated on price and pulled the trigger. Flew down Thursday, stayed the night, met with them Friday morning at a Honda dealership, car passed the 100 or 90 point inspection. There were some issues, Brakes: 0, Tires: 0, Soft top: NEED replacement, but for the most part it was something we could work with. Made the deal, shook the hand (more like bumped fists #covid), and we were on our way back. The first 3-4hrs were alright, top down, sunny NC, and we were flying. She was a bit creeky, she was a bit more rough, she definitely had a lot more issues but she was going strong. About 6hrs into the trip she began to act up. Wheel was shaking, creeks got louder, she felt like she was falling apart. Decided to take a piss on the side of the road real quick, and I’m glad I did. Took off, and immediately smoke, burning rubber, wheel light. We had just gotten a flat, luckily I had pulled over to piss because that tire didn’t have ANYMORE life left in it. (Life Lesson, never go anywhere on 0 tires) We were just lucky we didn’t have a massive blow out on the highway at 100mph! After a long exhausting time at the dealership who took 3hrs to put on 2tires, we were back on the road. Called my mechanic up in the late night, surprised he picked up, told him what was going on “did I hear you right? ANOTHER S2000? From NC? Yea bro, bring it in asap!” 10hr trip took 15hrs, it was a rough one but we ALL made it in one piece, even though this S2000 felt like it was in two pieces for the last 3hrs of the trip. Nerve-racking to say the least!! For the next 4 months my mechanic began tearing her down and checking everything out. We brainstormed different ideas, different mods, ones that were necessary others, not so much. Regardless, our first Tuner Car Build was underway!

 

 

Conclusion: So now we have TWO Honda S2000, both in Silverstone, both 2005, both with Red & Black interior! We have dubbed our Stock S2K, “Purist”, she is refined, proper, convertible top and absolutely perfect in every S2K way. Our modded S2K, well, I’ll list the mods at the end. She’s loud, angry, hard top, a true bat outta hell! We decided to name her after the Rogue program from Tron “Rinzler.” ( We are huge dorks over here.) So, we have two S2K’s and honestly we have been eye-balling a 3rd depending on how things go.

 

In my earlier years I worked on my IS300. Did the usual bolt-ons, Intake, Header, exhaust, but when taking the items out, man I sure messed up BAD. Resulting in thousands of dollars of repairs & adjustments. After this experience, I vowed never to touch my future cars again. As time went on, graduated college, got my first real job and eventually upgraded to a 07 Cayman S. Loved everything about her, the power, the suspension, the drive in itself was intoxicating. The one problem, I never felt more detached from my vehicle. I had NEVER even seen the engine in our 4-5 years of ownership. Love Mid-engine layouts but working on them seems so difficult.
The next few years, life happened. Things go up, things come down. Sold the Cayman S and got a Corolla and continued on my path. Next 2 years after that, well, once again. In life, things can go up and things can go down.
Picked up TWO 2005 S2000's and began planning the build. Feeling extremely nervous and unconfident in doing any work in either car, I took Rinzler to a Professional S2000 Mechanic here in NJ. I will not disclose for everyone's privacy.
We made quite a few plans, our mechanic was very hesitate at first. Random guy shows up with two of the same car and talking about big ideas of the modded one. We made a list of our first phase of the build, would be repair any existing damage, change out all wear and tear items, address any safety issues.
Then we began to make the list of performance upgrades. Right off the bad, the car's suspension, brakes, tires were all pretty much shot, not to mention the original soft top which looked like something out of a zombie movie.
So we went with:
KW V3 Coilovers for Upgraded Suspension
Wilwood 6 Piston BBK
18" SSR Matte Black Rims
Michelin Super Sports
We eventually found out the rear axle was a poor aftermarket axle put there to quickly button up the car. This was replaced with a new OEM axle, as well as a hole in the stock intake. Small, but next to the sensor so we decided to go CAI. We then focused on simple bolt-ons:
K&N Typhoon CAI
SOS 70MM TB
Skunk2 Ultra Race Intake Manifold
Skunk2 Alpha Header
Invidia Down Pipe
HKS Single 75mm Exhaust

After quite sometime at the shop. (4 months to be exact, I recorded everything) I received the car back but without the Skunk2 Manifold & Header. (Header was on backorder and Manifold was too difficult for him to install)
When we received her she was running well and we were generally happy with the outcome, we just wished we had received the car a bit sooner but it was a learning process.
Over the next 3 months we began adding our own modifications ourselves. We start very small, simple Titanium Dress-up kit, and as my ambition grew. After reaching out to a couple places for tuning and just being unimpressed with service, communication, knowledge, and general manners and professionalism. I was very turned off, and coming to the realization I can't trust anyone with my car. Maybe I am just new in this industry or being too sensitive but I currently have more negative experiences than positive.
So I decided to really invest time into becoming my own mechanic and begin able to take care of my cars myself. If I am not going to do it, no one is going to do it!
Luckily for me, as I stated before. Life goes up and life goes down. During Covid, with my aging parents they had asked me to return to the family business from my fitness life in LA at the time. I stepped up to the void that was made during the pandemic and began running the family company. Which happens to be a Natural Stone Fabrication & 20,000SF Warehouse. Equipped with 2 Forklifts, 3 overhead cranes, 1 Bridgesaw, 1 CNC Machine, Engine Hoist, 2 Jacks, half a dozen jack stands, tools glamour and a partridge in a pear tree. While I was, and still am NOT confident doing ANY auto work, I have the resources, space, and the hands/man-power to do so. (Remember, I am a retired bodybuilder with a family of athletes.) SO! RATCH RALPH (my auto alter ego) was born!

 

Hope all is well S2K Bros!
I am making these updating posts 6 weeks behind of where I actually am. Ironically keeping up with the posts sometimes seem like the hardest part. So, the first project we embarked on was the Aero Kit! I have a very clean vision of the S2000 in my mind and I truly LOVE the OEM CR look. Unfortunately, one would come across a real life unicorn before finding an OEM Hardtop. So, we decided to go with an Authentic Mugen Fiberglass Hard top to replace the worn out soft top. From what I was told it was the last one in the Cali inventory. We didn’t do the installation of the hardtop, our mechanic did. From what I was told, besides the failed Skunk2 Intake manifold the hardtop was the hardest part of the initial build. (Hence why I got a Professional to do it)

 

After much back and forth, and searching online, calling different “JDM” companies to only be met with rude, and short answers. Pretty much ALL of the Cali companies (Evasive, Art of attack, Etc) laughed at me when I was trying to learn more about aftermarket aero kits and which ones were available. Learning lesson, ANYTHING that comes from Japan is 3-4 month waiting time. Again, being a person with little to no patience I decided that CR parts were probably much more readily available and easier to install with giving me a beginners Aero Kit.

 

At this time, I was only a Lurker on S2KI and was researching different OEM Honda companies that everyone was purchasing from. I came across “Majestic” Honda Parts, which is now renamed “HondaAutomotiveParts.” I gave the number on their website a ring and got in contact with Jim. Jim was by far the most uninterested representative I have come across in my professional life. Begin a new S2000 owner as well as trying to do the rest of the build myself, I had a lot of questions. Believe it or not, I am not a questions guys, but I’ve learned at the ripe old age of 33. It’s always better to ask whatever question so the build will go according to plan. After trying to assemble the CR parts online and a few phone calls back and forth, Jim was pretty much done with me and my questions. I made my list of parts, I was very hesitant so I slept on it and the next morning I gave one last call to confirm the parts would be compatible and were indeed the correct parts to finish the Aero kit. I was once again met with an annoyed “Jim” and was transferred to an angry “Superior” would was pressuring me to confirm my order. I went ahead and confirmed it via email, was sent and invoice and sent my credit card info and was met with “Due to the size of this order, we can only accept wires.” I was utterly confused at what was going on. Not to boast, but over the course of the build thus far I have put upwards $35K into Rinzler ALL on my varies credit cards which the accounts were cleared before any repurchase. I asked if this was standard procedure, they said that since $2,296 was a “Large” purchase it needed to be wired. I have no problem with wiring funds, and quite frankly at this point in my life, I don’t have any problem with funds. However, I truly felt like I was being penalized for my prior questions. I even told them, I hope I am not being forced in this payment method due to my questions. Which I received

“This wire transfer was not part of you needing to learn more about the automotive industry but it is more so in doing business on the world wide web.” I can not even begin to tell you the amount of insult, frustration, and unfairness I had felt during this time. I would NEVER do business with HondaAutomotiveParts, and I urge ANYONE to stay away from them if they care about their vehicle. Not to spoil the ending but “Jim” missed plenty of additional parts that were needed for the installation. Would give then absolutely 0 Stars out of 5, just downright terrible service, knowledge and business practices. “Uh, yea looks good bro.” NO! FORGET THAT!

 

After my AWFUL experience with “Majestic” or “Hondaautomotive” I messaged HardtopGuys, which I found from their banner here at S2KI. When email HardTopGuys, I had geared myself up got another rocky experience. However, to my surprise I was the exact OPPOSITE! Jeff had greeted me with hospitality and respect. He understood my needs and listened to what I wanted and how I wanted my car to turn out. Jeff is extremely knowledge able and experienced, he knew exactly what I needed and what I didn’t. Within 35mins of emails back and forth we had achieved a solid Aero Kit list! As we were closing our transaction I became nervous that we would have a similar issue that we did with Majestic/HondaAutomotive. The will came out to almost $3,600 or so, but had every single bolt, nut, plastic, wire, cable that I needed to the installation. I sent Jeff my Credit Card info, processed, cleared, Invoice paid! HM! ISNT THAT WEIRD?! A $2,300 transactions deemed a “High value” order “required” a wire while my invoice of $3,600 DID NOT?! SO WEIRD?! Once again, STAY AWAY FROM MAJESTIC/HONDAAUTOMOTIVE. Jeff and I discussed timing an transit and within 10 days I had a knock on my warehouse door. OH MY GOD! JEFF HAND DELIVERED THESE PARTS HIMSELF??!???!?!?!? What seemed like an untouchable vision, now seems to be in reach! I invited Jeff in and we are huge Dunkin fans we always have a Box of Joe or Bagels /Croissants. Jeff quickly delivered the parts and we began chit chatting about everything Honda/Acura. From AP1 to NA2 all the way to Greddy Turbos vs Vortech Supers. Jeff was full of information and experience from his decades in this industry. I couldn’t thank Jeff enough, I wanted to give him a Token of our appreciation before he left. So my family and I decided to give him any one of his choice of Marble servings platters (we fabricate them in house) Jeff, being a man of great taste pick the only Carrara Oval sided tray with black handles. Excellent choice!