Before anyone says it, yes I’ve probably done months worth of research, watched YouTube videos, read all the old( some very old) threads on here on turbo vs supercharger, and debated this in my head for far too long lol

my car is an 02’ with 36k miles. It’s in very very good shape. No previous crashes and I’m the second owner. It was babied it’s whole life and I’ve had it for about 2 years now. Only things I’ve done are AP2 retainers and keepers, clutchmasters FX300 clutch, new clutch master cylinder ( all three installed by LHT performance...I’m located pretty close to them which is a huge plus), BC racing coilovers, RPF1’s 17X9 all around with Bridgestone potenza RE71R tires, rolled fenders, an HKS hipower single exit exhaust with berk testpipe ( sounds amazing imo), and small cosmetic things here and there.

I was deadset on a turbo build at first. I wanted around 450whp. Then I saw the cost and second guessed myself lol I also keep fighting with myself over going FI on such a low mileage s2000..I feel like I would be ruining the car if that makes sense.

The supercharged route also intrigued me mainly cause of the cost and ability to go back NA relatively easily. Then I watched some videos of turbo vs supercharged s2000’s. I don’t think the supercharged s2000’s won anything lol

I’m not tracking this car. It’s a street car that gets driven a couple times a month if that. I have a daily. The s2000 is pretty much the perfect weekend/ car show car/ fun car for me I just wish it had more power To keep up with some of the newer sports cars my buddies have. I mean I pretty much got walked by a new GTI with a down pipe and tune lol I was pretty disappointed lol I don’t know why I care so much about going FI since I plan on keeping this car forever so resale value doesn’t really matter to me. But for some reasonI care about it lol

if anyone has a supercharged s2000 in the Orlando area would it be too much to ask to give me a ride one day lol??

was just hoping for some input on the decision making process some of you went through and if you are satisfied or regret your Fi decision.

sorry for the long thread but thanks for any input!

 

Well if you do get a supercharger, get something with OEM reliability and proper fit and finish that isn't going to require hacking into the car to fit fmic etc, so in other words avoid the KW kit LHT will promote and go with SOS. Sounds like you care about the integrity of your low mileage car, so that's my strong advice. With the standard 1220 novi blower in the sos kit you can generally see about 420whp on the higher boost side, and or about 450whp on pump if you get the optional larger 1200 series blower. Either can be had on the sos kit. Id recommend starting out with the stage 2 kit which will put you anywhere from 350-400whp depending on the blower you choose. That will really wake up the car. After that if you decide you want some more, its just a pulley swap and re tune away.

 

What he saId...^^^

To push a bit harder...SOS stage 2, 1200 blower, ID1000, 1050, or 1300x (id suggest these) injectors, walbro 450 or greater fuel pump at minimum...it is very likely you will want more power as you go so its a good idea to start with higher capacity and capability parts from the start IMHO. I speak from lots of experience in upgrading and therefore spending lots of extra money on upgrades. Unless you want to do what I did or similar with the TTS kit...go SOS!

 

A third vote for SOS. I have an SOS stage 2 AP2 putting down 460whp and I strongly encourage you to take a ride in a 400+whp supercharged S2000 before passing any judgement on how slow or fast they are. I can be at jail time speeds in seconds at any moment with my setup.

The turbo cars are great, but once you start making above 300wtq, you're going to be pushing 2nd gear and the differential into unreliable territory.

 

Appreciate all the input so far guys!

thanks for reaffirming my decision to not go with the KW kit also. Although I do very much like what LHT does with these kits, they charge the exact same price for the KW and SOS kit installed and tuned. And from all my research, the SOS kit is superior in the reliability department so why not go with that one!

I guess my decision now is whether I want to go turbo or supercharger. I hear what your saying also about 300 + ft lbs of torque not being good for the driveline. That’s one big reason I would stay away from turbo. Plus I don’t think the FX300 clutch that I have is meant to hold over 300 ft lbs of torque..I’m pretty sure 300 is right at the limit of this clutch.

I would love to get a ride in a supercharged s2000 with over 400whp but I can’t seem to find anyone in my area that has one. I’m definitely leaning supercharger route as of now though! It’s also a bit cheaper and more easily returnable to stock if I needed to.


does anyone here regret going FI on the S?? And if so, why? Is it not worth the money, headaches, or is it not as fast as you thought?

 

SOS Stage 2 is great. Centrifugals are very low risk and seem to have a lot fewer problems. This is a safe, proven, powerful solution and SOS is an excellent vendor. I have quite a few of their products and have been impressed by every one.

The other option is:
Honda S2000 TVS Supercharger Kit
This is not proven yet and a TVS supercharger will put more stress on the engine and clutch than a centrifugal supercharger. That's because it's going to make a lot more boost (and power) over the majority of the power band. Peak power will likely be limited compared with a centrifugal. With that said, Roots blowers are an almost perfect match for a reciprocating engine and Eaton's TVS superchargers are used on a lot of factory cars. If the IMT kit is good, it should be one of the most reliable options out there and likely one of the fastest in normal driving conditions.

Tim

 

IMO a supercharged s2000 is not anywhere near as fun on the street as a turbo s2000. It all comes down to putting the power down and powerband. And a S/C just does not have a powerband that will make you happy with your end goal of keeping up with modern street cars. I was in the same boat as you 5 years back. 03 Suzuka with 32k miles. I knew I would never sell it so I just went with the turbo route. Here is my car at 461whp.

Bottom line. Reliability S/C takes the win
Anything else and the turbo will wipe the floor.

 

If you don't have reliability, you have nothing.

Start from there, then....

 

I don't know if you want to go down this route but, what kind of driving experience or skills do you have? In the above comments I haven't really seen anything that isn't true but it also depends on your driving abilities and skills. As said above a 400whp S/C'd S2000 is a very quick car and CAN be a handful if one is not careful with it...and a turboed S2000 making the same 400whp can be even more of a handful due to how the turbo comes on...turbos generally can be more fun due to the torque coming on earlier and therefore one can have a lesser need to shift all of the time. The roll on can be enjoyable on the freeway...or similar. I'm not a fan personally. I prefer the S/C's power band and and the throttle response better than the turbo myself. Just my preference though.

 

I have been a turbo guy for a really long time. PTuning makes an absolutely fantastic turbo kit for our cars. It is not cheap by any means, but you get what you pay for! The beauty of a turbo is that you can run low boost for daily driving, and flip a switch or turn a knob to turn it up and add a ton of power in an instant. These stock engines will easily do 600HP when tuned properly, but you don't want to be trying to launch the car with a stock trans/axles/diff. I ran my 150k+ mile 2005 S2000 at 560whp on a stock block/trans/diff/axles for a year and never broke anything. It's all about how you drive.

If you go with a turbo kit, you will be very happy!