Hello everyone my name is Rob Nacarato. I am a proud owner of a 2002 s2000. I have been in the performance industry working for Vms performance. My experience has mostly been with european cars, mostly swedish. I have watched these forums and people here seem pretty cool and helpful. So let me tell you a little about my s2000.

I had the car for 2 weeks till i tore it up. Leave it to me to break something cause i always seem to do it Anyways i threw #2 bearing. So this made me decide what i wanted to do with the car. Since i cannot leave anything stock i decided to go ahead and build the car up. I already have 2 turbo cars making around 400whp so i figured why not go another route. I hooked up with ERL performance in New Albany In since we are a dis for them. They have some awsome product so i decided that i would do the short block with them. After some discussion I decided to go with the ERL superdeck 1 short block.

Sleeved with there block gaurd. Next were the internals which i used crower rods,the F22c Crank and Wiseco pistons which we used 12.0:1 C/R. Also we went from a 87mm bore to the 89mm bore. This makes for a very nice short block which should stand up stress i am going to be putting it through. Next i contacted Joe Alaniz to do my head work. We ended up going with the Competition headwork which includes


Complete visual inspection of complete head.
Check all surfaces for straightness.
Complete disassembly.
Inspect all valvetrain parts for wear.
Remove all studs and lap all surfaces.
Degrease and clean head of oils.
Baseline flow bench test.
Full Competition port and polish head.
Deshroud, polish and debur all chambers.
Install oversize seats on intake side.
Install oversize valves on intake and exhaust.
Competition valve job.
Resurface and hand lap head to customer specs, or up to .030 material removal.
Final flow test with data sheet.
Reassemble complete head. Final CC check.
Includes new valve seals.

.5mm oversides valves were used on the intake side and 1mm were used on the exhuast side. Along with that springs and his ti retainers were used along with new bronze valve guides. I have kept the stock cam for now as i want to test the baseline cams first then make the correct steps after. To hold the head and block together we used ARP head studs. This is where i am at right now and my choices now are which exhuast/header to use and to do the throttle body. For clutch flywheel i think im going with J;s racing. For exhuast J's header seems to be very respected and for exhuast i have heard good things about the T1R 70MM. Engiine managment will be the AEM standalone Ems.

Anyways i just wanted to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about my car and the plans i have. i'm sure i will have much more to talk about but i will do it in the correct forum. Thanks for a awsome place to come post thought and i hope to learn alot from everyone here.

 

That sounds familiar. I sold my 02 Spec V after I bought my 02 S2000.





As you know, the S2 is a totally different car. My Spec was lightly modded, and it felt very fast with the torque it made. I thought the torque lacking S2 would feel weird in city driving, but that is not so.

I also agree to drive the S2 stock for awhile. It is a great car that feels very well connected, not like the B15 that always feels awkward.

If you have any specific questions on the Spec V to S2, let me know.

Dan

 

I just bought (well not just about 2 months ago) an '05 S2000, and let me tell you a little story about that. I went in to the Honda dealer to Co-sign for my brother to buy a Honda Civic SI, and while he was looking around, I saw this cool little yellow convertible on the show room floor. Well I've been stationed overseas in the Navy for the past 4 yrs and hadn't seen one of these, plus I knew the salesman would suck up to me so I wanted to go screw around in this car while I was waiting. Well I took it for a test drive, and ended up trading my '04 Jeep Wrangler in, and test driving it right to my front door. That was one happy salesman that day, 'cause my brother still got my signature for his SI also. lol But I've had no regrets I like it a lot more than my Jeep, the only problem is there are to many silver S2Ks on the road that look like mine, so I need to get a body kit put on it sometime soon. And it's quick, but I'm going to have to find out just how quick I'll be able to make it Well If you are in the Dallas area you will be seeing a lot more of me. James

 

Thank you for your service, James, and best wishes with the S. Please get accustomed to it before modding the engine / running gear. The car requires your attention just as it is bone stock.

 

Welcome, Rob. It sounds like you will be participating in the Under the Hood forum soon (if you haven't found it already). There are some folks on the board who have done rebuilds along the lines of yours. Any idea why you had trouble with the bearing?

Anyway, best wishes, and welcome aboard!

 

I was drifting the car at a local place where we all meet up. The car could have been a tad low on oil. Really dont know the exact cause but it just gave me a reason to rebuild and take it to the next step. This car is going to be a nitrous burning car. I plan on 100 shot direct port on pump gas if not more. On race fuel with the proper tune i wouldnt mind doing something along the lines of 150-200shot. Im looking for around 400-425whp on nitrous. It will give me the torque that i am looking for without going to a turbo setup. All motor im looking for around 275whp on race fuel with enough timing. ITB may be a good option when i get the tuning under control and see where i stand.

 

Thanks guys, and I really do appreciate your advice. My first car was an '98 Mustang GT, so I have some experience with RWD. I know the S2K will be different, but I know what to look out for. Also, its cool to meet a former Spec V owner(are you on thevboard by any chance?) the main thing I think I am going to miss is the torque, which is really nice. I have driven an S2K, but not alot, so Im not sure how it feels at lower RPMs. Let me know what you thought after switching over.

 

Well, the car really doesn't have any grunt off the line, flo (so, yeah, you're right), but when you get into VTEC things are a real hoot. A car like the stang or a late model Camaro would be better for straight line performance mods, but you will grin ear to ear once you put the S on a curvy road / track. It's sublime.

I'll leave it with you like this... If you're looking for a dragster to smoke folks at stop lights, I wouldn't buy the S -- it'll cost you a fortune on broken driveline parts and engine mods. On the other hand, if you're looking for a car that makes you want to drive 20 miles out of your way to buy milk, the S is your choice!

Oh, one other word of advice... Your location isn't listed, but if you're in a place where the temp drops below 40 during the winter, you want to consider your tire options. The Bridgestones turn into bricks at lower temperatures and provide dangerously low levels of grip when the mercury drops.

 

Oh man... Well, I'm glad you have such a good attitude, Rob.

I would concur about the oil situation. You really have to keep an eye on that with these cars.

An ITB is an incredibly cool option. What a sound!!! And, lots of power too.

I don't think there are many folks drifting the S (simply because the low-end grunt really isn't there for that purpose -- at least not in stock trim), but that sure sounds like fun. Post some pictures in the Gallery when you get your work done!

 

thanks, that was very helpfull, im guessing then that spares/replacment parts also only come from main dealer.

What im looking for is most of the front end, eg wings (fenders), lights, bonnet(hood).

any good place where I could start to look for these other than main dealer??


thanks