Try this, it's something I did 10 year ago as my first step in getting some more power in my 2006 S2000. Spoiler alert: I've not gone deeper than what some will consider a "baby step."

1. Berk 63mm high flow cat. Cat delete will work but is irresponsible and stinks.
2. FlashPro tune to drop VTEC to 3600 rpm and rev limiter up to 8400 rpm.

This adds significant power in the mid rpm range. Hit the rev limiter so fast I had to install a rpm alarm! Even 10 years later the alarm still surprises me it comes on so fast. Beep-beep-beep SHIFT!

The power increase is amazing. AND all is reusable if you do go forced induction -- no wasted money. Saturday morning installation if you've soaked the bolts on the exhaust in PB Blaster.

-- Chuck

 

So I did a little more research on the kit and it looks like it can handle more power. but I’m not planning to push it to the limit. I’d rather stay on the safe side and keep the power around my original goal maybe a little more.

I also started putting together a list of the parts I’m planning to get:

- CXRacing turbo kit (maybe upgrade the turbo later in the future)
- Possibly upgrade to a better or branded wastegate
- Hondata FlashPro
- Larger injectors
- Fuel pump
- Upgraded clutch
- Boost controller
- Other supporting mods
- Proper tune

I’m also planning to build the setup with enough supporting mods so that if I ever decide to increase boost later the car will already be prepared for it.

My goal is just a modest turbo setup that’s reliable and safe. I’m not trying to max everything out.

What do you guys think about this setup?

And thanks again for all the tips and guidance.

 

Your stock AP2 fuel pump will easily support your modest power goals. Also the injectors potentially will too.

The AP2 fuel system is returnless, and limits total power potential. But actually supports higher potential with stock components, vs ap1. If your goals were 500+ whp, you'd be looking at high cost and effort to swap to return line system. But with your modest power goals, its actually a lot less expensive, as your stock pump and potentially injectors are fine. So long as in good condition.

Suggest sending injectors out for cleaning prior to boost.

Stock fuel pump can support 350whp+
Stock injectors can support well above 300whp. They'll be near maxed out as you approach 350whp.

So if you stay around 300, you're good. If you want to approach 350, plan on injectors to have a safety margin. Don't want to destroy engine bc injectors get old and struggle to keep up.

700 cc injectors would be more than enough. But the best injectors, ID brand, smallest you'll find these days are around 1000 cc. Overkill but not an issue.

 

Aftermarket turbo (at any power level) and reliable generally do not pair with each other. I don't know anything about your back ground so no assumptions on my part, some open questions.

Is this a secondary toy car or do you actually need it for transportation use?

Have you ever done after market turbo on any car before?

What is your actual dollar budget that you had in mind?

Are you handy with a wrench? Will you be outsourcing all of the work? Are you able to tinker and perform basic troubleshooting yourself or will every single hiccup need to go back to a builder/tuner?

The car can be made to be "reliable-ish", but there will be teething pains with the initial setup. And, it will never be anywhere near the reliability level of NA with basic bolt-ons OEM-tune reliable.

There are no shortage of threads with people blowing up their cars and/or running into issue after issue after issue. Followed by selling the car and just buying a chassis making the power/torque that they want from the factory-OEM.

 

Yes, my S2000 is my second car, but sometimes I do use it as my daily.

I don’t really have experience with aftermarket turbos or building a turbo car yet. A cousin of mine has been guiding me a little though. He rebuilt an Evo 9 and Evo 10 to around 800hp, but he’s the type of guy who would spend like $30k just to build insane power. I’m not really trying to go that route — I just want a small boost setup.

Honestly I like getting advice from you guys more since a lot of you actually build S2000s and know the platform itself. My cousin builds different cars and engines, so it’s not exactly the same. Plus he always tells me to buy the most expensive stuff lol.

For budget, I’m thinking somewhere around $5k–$7k max, including parts and tuning if possible.

I’m somewhat comfortable working on cars but I wouldn’t call myself an expert. I worked on my 2020 STI before, so dealing with issue after issue is something I’m kinda used to already haha. Right now I’m just trying to gather information first and build it as safe as possible. Of course I know problems can still happen, but hopefully not issue after issue.

My goal is nothing crazy. I’d rather keep the car reliable and enjoy it instead of chasing big numbers.

 

Maybe revisit Chuck S advice. A flashpro tune, and a high flow cat, which allows lowering vtec rpm (lowering w stock cat actually loses power, due to a resonance issue, that hfc avoids). Wider power band, significantly bulked up midrange. Bit more power on top. Partly from higher redline (engine keeps making power beyond redline).

Really wakes car up.

No real downside, as still an ingredient in forced induction.

See if that alone makes enough diff for you. Still a very far cry from what FI would give you. But does enhance power with near zero affect on dd reliability.

 

I agree here. Doing this will give you a feel of what a little power increase would be like and then if it isn't enough, what you already put into it will be utilized with going the turbo route for a little more. No waste of money at all going this route first.

 

I think BW brought up some good points. Turbo will NEVER be as reliable as N/A, nowhere close. With that said, for a fun street/cruiser car it can be fairly reliable, but you need to think through a lot of things and details that often get overlooked (like keeping the hot parts away from the parts that shouldn't get hot), and understand things so you can fix/diagnose things yourself. Limiting the power to 3-350ish whp is a smart move. More power = more stress and more heat. I'd be careful with something like an ebay turbo kit, as generally speaking, you get what you pay for. With that said, sometimes you can find relative deals for knockoff products, but it's always a bit of a gamble. Good luck.

 

I decided to abandon the turbo setup for now and go with a simple NA build just to wake up the car a bit. I talked to a friend and this is the list I’m considering:

• HKS cam gear
• Cams (still deciding which ones)
• Valve springs and retainers (not sure what to get yet)

Also planning to add:

• Headers
• Test pipe
• Exhaust
• hondata

What do you guys think about this setup?

 

Has this friend even seen a S2000? What's he driving? Is he on here? I thought you had a 2006 car?

The Fast and Furious movies were 25 years ago and 6.2 liter LS3 crate engines were in many of the stunt cars including the S2000s. Movie magic. The S2000 wasn't that car 25 years ago and still isn't.

-- Chuck