If you're looking for cheap straightline speed, you should not be considering an S2000.

 

American V8s are, yes.

 

In the early 2000s, one could build a fairly inexpensive turbo four cylinder (say, an Honda Civic with typical B series swap and a run of the mill turbo setup) that would make 400+ hp fairly easily. At the same time, most of your V8 sporty cars made 300 hp. There was definitely something to be said about buying a Honda Civic for a couple of grand and tuning it to run 12s or 11s for less than the price of a newish Mustang or Corvette that would be far more expensive and slower. Back then, American cars were heavy and low on power. Hondas and the like weighed 2,400 lbs or less fairly commonly, so it didn't take a lot to make a fast car. But now, American cars handle, their V8s are making V8-worthy power, and you get the benefit of knowing that stuff isn't going to break every other day.

I have a buddy with 600ish hp Civic that he spent probably $20k on altogether, sparing no expense on his ECU, turbo, injectors, etc. It has all the bells and whistles to make a ton of power as reliably as can ever be expected, yet he will still break stuff all the time. To him, the idea of me spending $27k on a C5 Z06 probably seems nuts. To me, I'd rather have a "slow" C5 Z06 and be able to do all the fun car stuff one could hope to do without the worry of stuff breaking. He would rather have the bragging rights of obliterating my car with a turbo four cylinder.

My point is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Neither method is better, rather, one may be better for me and the other better for him.

Now, I will say that since you have an S2000, you lose much of the advantage of having a small car in that 2,800 lbs, while relatively light, is still much heavier than, say, an EG Civic hatch. That said, I promise you that it will be easier for you to make an s2000 accelerate on par with a modern Camaro while still handling extremely well than it would be for someone to make a modern Camaro handle in the same ballpark as your s2000.

 

Well to be fair you don't have to start with a 15k+ american v8, you could start with a fox body which will cost you the same as an ek and you could build them essentially into anything you want, abd I've seen enough of them that can hang in the corners. Yeah it ain't cheap to get world class handling out of a stick axle fox body but it's also not cheap getting world class power out of a fwd 4 banger, and i guess we can argue the merits of which becomes a bigger disadvantage when the power goes north of 400hp on a road course a stick axle or fwd.
Anyway, neither are cheap but it'll take alot to get an s into say a c5z's power realm and while it may not feel that way to us novice drivers but a c5z is more than capable to hang with an s around the twisties. A 400+hp boosted s2000 is hardly going to handle, more specifically feel, like a stock power s, especially considering its propensity to snap oversteer. Consider what it costs to get an ff20c just to match the power and reliability of an lsx engine, Then beyond that. Look up what a cam intake long tubes and a tune does for an lsx. Your brother is right. But nothing beats the dollar for dollar of a factory boosted engine at least in the short run.

 

This is the most important question to answer, OP. Answer this and your purchase decision is made, along with many of your mod choices.

AMERICAN V8s are what are under discussion here. You are correct, even so.

 

European V8s and exotics are not cheap? you don't say!!!
and V8s are generally more powerful and 4cylinders? Wow, learn something new everyday!!!

 

The funny thing is a C5 Z06 only weighs 3118....You add a turbo kit to a Ap2 (50ish lbs) and there's only a roughly 200lb weight advantage... Not a lot.

 

Exactly. I think history will remember the C5 Z06 as the bookend to an era. Notwithstanding the fact that I own a C5 Z06, I think the C6 is better, yet the C5 Z06 is brilliantly unrefined. It handles amazing well and is raw and noisy and powerful, but, above all, it predates a lot of the modern crash tests and umpteen airbags. It's right at that sweet spot where it's safe enough (it's got airbags, it doesn't weigh too little, etc.), but before everything became so safety focused. It really feels like a racecar for the street in a lot of ways.

 

Is there a V8 that costs less to modify than an S2000 engine?

 

Well, my Corvette's engine gained 40+ whp with headers, intake, high flow cats, and a tune.

Speaking of which, there is another thing that needs to be discussed in this thread, and that emissions. To make a bunch of power in 4cylinder typically means really pooping all over the emissions laws. To do so in a V8, less so.