Gents,
I'm purchasing a late model used CTE supercharger kit for my 2007 car and I've been doing tons of research on supporting mods. I'd appreciate feedback from people running similar setups - I don't want to go overkill but don't want to cut any corners. For reference:
-I have no plans to reduce the pulley size since I live in CA
-I already own a Flashpro and will be getting the car tuned at a local reputable shop
-The car won't see significant track time, if any. More of a weekend toy vs a hard core track machine.
-My goals are to maximize reliability/keep things as cool as possible

So far I have the following mods on the list:

COOLING:
1. Koyo VH Series Aluminum Radiator (KOY-VH081226) and cap (KOY-SKC-13)
2. ​​SOS Racing​ ​Heat Exchanger
3. Water to Air Intercooler Pump and Harness, Bosch Cobra ($120)
4. SBG Oil cooler kit with 19 Row Setrab Competition Core and nylon braided hoses

​CLUTCH:
SOS Sport 325 Clutch kit with release and pilot bearing

CATCH CAN
Radium 20-0099 Dual Catch Can Kit, S2000, All RHD and 06-09 LHD

Thoughts on the above? The oil cooler is on the bubble, not sure it's needed since I don't plan to track the car extensively. Anything I'm missing?

Thanks for the input!

 

I prefer the pedal feel and engagement of the ACT HD PP + Honda clutch disc and bearings. The SOS was too soft and engaged a bit more abruptly IMO. Also if you're changing the clutch then you'll want to go to a lighter flywheel at the same time -- a steel 11lbs or AP1 (14lbs) would be a great change from the AP2 (22lbs)

Since you're in California - I think you'll need the oil cooler if you plan on hitting the track at all, I couldn't do more than 5-10minutes on track before my oil temps were higher than I'd like (250-260 IIRC).. FYI you will probably need to do some modifications to the SOS Race HE and the oil cooler mounting to make them both work together

 

Good to know, thanks for the feedback. Maybe I’ll keep the oil cooler and drop the race heat exchanger for now.

From what I’ve read the heat exchanger may be overkill for stock pulley diameter anyway.

 

Yeah and if anything large exchanger blocks the air to the radiator (in my case) so much so that during hot summer days water temps are on a higher end. That might not be as much of a big deal with a standalone ECU however with a Hondata or OEM ECU it could start pulling timing and feel lazy during hot summer days.

Anyways, your setup proposal is sound and I agree with above poster about the ACT combo. I had SOS clutch before my ACT and I like the ACT/OEM combo better.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the clutch, I naturally gravitated towards the SOS kit since I drove one years ago and liked it. How much firmer would you say the ACT/OE combo feels? Any clutch buzz with this setup?

 

It is my understanding that my SOS clutch might have been Gen1 and current offering is Gen2. That’s what I was told years ago when I shared my gripes with SOS.

My SOS chattered in reverse loud. Pedal pressure was harder than OEM. Other than that it was great and lasted 70K miles.

ACT/OEM felt noticeably lighter and dead silent, no chatter. OEM+ feel and held SC 360WHP. I will now be around 400WHP and I am told it’ll hold just fine as well. I am at 30-40K miles on it.

 

No buzz at all with the Honda clutch disc

In terms of pedal feel that’s a tough one since the OEM clutch pedal seems to stiffens up as the PP and disc wear thinner and the grease on the splines/inner bearing groove/etc dries up.

At the time I replaced the clutch on my 2005 (with 80k at the time) it felt almost exactly the same in terms of pedal feel and engagement as the ACT PP/Honda disc that went in to replace it. If you have a super low mile car you might notice the ACT PP being slightly stiffer than stock

I drove a friends oem ap1 clutch with higher miles (120k-140k range?) and the pedal felt like a rock. Super super stiff. He replaced it with the SOS kit and it felt like the soft clutch pedal in a Toyota Corolla to me (don’t ask, haha). Also the engagement was more sensitive/difficult to hold at the slip point. He tried my setup and loved it so that he ended up switching to ACT PP/Honda disc

I also tried another friends SOS clutch and it was exactly the same experience as the other one IMO. Although I believe he did have some clutch buzz from the SOS disc

if you’re going with any aftermarket pressure plate I’d definitely bypass the clutch interlock switch

 

I can attest to all of the above regarding the ACT/OEM clutch setup. It is ideal, even in my setup with a lightweight ACT Prolite flywheel (~8lbs) it's the same as stock in terms of pedal pressure and drivability. I don't have any experience with the SOS clutch kit except that I know SOS makes excellent products so it's sure to be of high quality, but the comments above would definitely steer me away if I was deciding between the two. Bottom line is the ACT/OEM setup is the tried and tested setup for moderately boosted s2000s and has been for nearly two decades now. There is absolutely no con, and since it's an OEM disk you can expect excellent longevity in comparison to other aftermarket setups so long as it isn't slipping, which it definitely won't be at your power level, or even if you decide to max out your supercharger. It'll hold fine well past 450+ whp, which is the ceiling for MOST supercharged cars.

Koyo radiator is a nice piece, but I'm not sure I'd call it a real upgrade over stock; especially if you'll still be running the stock fans. I don't believe it really has any increased cooling capability over an OEM radiator that's still in good shape. For increased cooling capacity you'd really need to go to a dual pass radiator with stronger fans. The best option for that would be the CSF dual pass setup sold by RSG; it already comes with stronger Spal fans and will be plenty of cooling. If your temps stay under control with the stock radiator there's no need to upgrade. Koyo makes for an excellent replacement radiator when the OEM unit eventually fails as it looks nicer and is all aluminum vs the OEM with the plastic tanks. I'd spend a little more money and budget for the RSG radiator setup if you need actual better cooling capacity for the track.

Just like the Koyo radiator above, I haven't really seen any real data suggesting that the Bosch Cobra is an upgrade at all over the standard water pump supplied by SOS & Comptech/Vortech if it's the same Johnson Controls pump that SOS uses. Dwell time in the heat exchanger plays just as important of a factor as flow; you don't want to be circulating so much coolant so quickly that you're not giving it adequate time for the heat exchanger to do it's job. So long as your pump is healthy and circulates coolant fine, the Cobra won't be a very large upgrade. On the other hand, if you don't already have a fluid pump, then the Bosch Cobra is the way to go as it's used specifically for the application in many OEM supercharged vehicles, and it is also relatively cheap. If you don't have a pump or your current one is dying, yeah, go with the Bosch Cobra.

As far as I've seen, SOS recommends the larger heat exchanger for any kind of track duty. If you strictly use your car for weekend warrior stuff on the low boost you're currently going to be running, you'll be fine. But heed my advice; you're going to want to up the boost, I can assure you. When more power is just a pulley swap away, it's unavoidable. I'd future-proof and get the larger HX, but that's just me.

I have no real experience with oil coolers or tracking, but for your climate I'd definitely recommend one for any kind of tracking. It can't hurt anything so long as your car is able to get up to operating temp during normal driving. You'll want to keep both your IATs as well as coolant/oil temps in check. I'd skip the SBG setup and just have some tabs welded to the HX to mount the oil cooler either in front of it or behind it on the passenger side (definitely don't put it in front of the condenser on the driver's side, lol) You'll save a decent amount of money overall if you buy a generic 24" wide heat exchanger from somewhere like frozenboost.com or siliconeintake.com. Literally you'll need the simplest of brackets to bolt this up between the frame rails on an s2000 as there's 27" between them; a 24" HX would fit absolutely perfectly with off-the-shelf L brackets or even straight pieces of bar stock to use the available holes beneath the frame rails.

Personally, I think the best course of action would be to go with the CSF dual pass, a generic HX, and build your own oil cooler setup. It will most likely come out cheaper than what you have listed above or break even with it, but you'll have increased cooling capacity on all fronts, and the dual pass radiator will mitigate the decreased flow due to the oil cooler & heat exchanger to a great degree. Just something to think about. I've researched all of these subjects pretty extensively for my own build/knowledge, and my opinions are coming from the results of said research, but feel free to look into it yourself if you're interested.

 

Wow, thanks again for all the thoughtful feedback!

I've been doing some more research and you've sold me on the ACT pressure plate/OE disk combo. I'll likely go with an AP1 flywheel and slave cylinder at the same time; not sold on the flywheel just yet.

I'm definitely coming around to retaining the SOS Racing heat exchanger along with an oil cooler in some form. I came across a custom ducted oil cooler setup below the passenger headlight which looks interesting. Risk will be ensuring adequate airflow, but this seems possible through the OE AP2 bumper duct and wheel well venting. I'm looking around to see if anyone has tested this setup (probably a stretch haha).

@Kyle, thanks for the radiator comments! As I'm looking into dual pass options, Mr Sideways x SBG is also interesting. I still need to do some more research but there seems to be lots of positive feedback for the Mr Sideways option, although it's obviously a bit more expensive. I also have the benefit of living near SBG which saves on shipping, etc. In fact they corner balanced my car after I installed my Ohlins FPspec suspension.

Also appreciate the power comments, haha. Living in CA is obviously limiting but I can't wait to see where this build takes me.

 

Kyle makes a good point, you are going to want more power! I tried a few different power levels, it's a bit difficult to describe but hopefully this helps:

OG Comptech Novi 1000 5psi 311whp - felt like stock but turned up to 11, I got used to this power level pretty quickly and I caught myself asking if I was actually making full boost/power (I was)
OG Comptech Novi 1000 9psi 365whp - felt like stock turned up to 13, this really woke the car up, it felt great but the blower oil seals were leaking so I ended up upgrading
CT-E Novi 1200 12psi 405whp - felt like stock turned up to 14, I feel like there were diminishing returns here though

Also you mentioned you were going to stay with the base pulley because you're in California, I don't think changing the pulley and belt will affect your CARB certification but I could be wrong