When I got my S, I already knew I wanted to do some modding. I scoured these forums to find the EXACT combo that would fit my preference for looks, and good performance increase.

My mods are in my sig, and to sum it up, just on I/H/E/tp/vafc tune I spent $3,316.
Now granted, I didnt drop this all at once. I thought "Hey, I can get an intake for now, then exhaust later, then header after that. That seems like a smarter financial decision."

So I did, and as far as the aesthetics department went, I was satisfied. Time to put these to the test and put my S on a dyno.

Untuned, I get ~136tq and 201hp. Hmm.. Well thats not impressive.. So I get a VAFC controller and install that and head back to get it tuned today. THE RESULTS!!!

~137tq and 204hp.

2.5 hours of tuning and 10 or so pulls. And this isnt a crappy shop or tuner. I got this done by Justin Nenni at Boost Logic, who has built and tuned the worlds fastest Nissan GTR, as well as their Texas Mile record holding Supra that runs 246.2mph, which was pulling off the dyno just as I pulled on.

Justin's opinion: N/A mods simply arent worth the price since everything is damn near at its max potential from factory on s2k's. And I cant agree with him more.

For the price I have paid, I could have been half way to a brand new turbo/SC kit.

So for those of you who were like me when I first got this car, keep your money in your pocket and away from flashy brand name snorkel intakes or ITB's and expensive headers, and save it for FI.

 

when planning to stay n/a the best bet is going with a good set of gears, and 70mm single exhaust, and pumping the rest into suspension.

 

We could've told you this. It's pretty widely known.
Anyhow, thanks for sharing your personal experience with others who might not believe the truth that has been sung by others.

 

I understand that every car is different and that some people may see results with mods, but there is also a lot of information floating around such as the "14hp proven!" in regards to my exhaust. A lot of it was me taking a jump at some parts like my header which there is almost zero information available.

Anyway, I just hope someone who might be thinking of NA bolt on's will read this and decide to go FI for more power, or at least buy my parts when I sell them for FI parts

 

LOL dude a gain of 1 tq, 3 hp, for 3k!!! honda tuned the 2.0 with as much high tech engineering it could squeeze out of the block. Its pretty safe to say there's not much leeway in terms of increasing the HP from the small block. FI imo.

 

If you think peak numbers are so important, then you just needed to do more research. The benefit in modding and tuning is mostly about area under the curve. My car is a totally different animal after what I've done, but the peak numbers aren't impressive at all.

 

^^ I understand that. We were unable to flatten out the TQ curve regardless of where VTEC was set. There was always a surge of TQ at VTEC then it falls flat then gradually increases. Peak numbers arent important, but I didnt really gain much anywhere else either.

 

you also didn't test your car prior to modding. what did it put down stock? who knows, right? what if you were putting down <180 to the wheels stock?

 

If you go SC, the only thing you will get rid of is the intake which you can sell. NA is not going to yield high numbers. end of story. considering you "scoured" the forum to decide what I/H/E combo you wanted, you should have also discovered you will not make a lot of power. You are not the first person to have "low" numbers all motor. I am always blown away when people are surprised they are not making more power..... You have a high reving low displacement motor which is very well tuned out of the box.

if you are that unhappy with your numbers go FI.

 

$3.3k for that? Seems like a rip-off to me.

Emanage Ultimate - $500 + $200-300 tune
Test pipe $100
Exhaust $300-700
Intake $200-300
Headers $400-600

So about $2k?... Less if you buy used or get hooked up.