RolanTHUNDER

Picked up this fine JDM AF exhaust system to replace my stock one with. Price after trading the stock one with a dude who wanted something milder (he daily's his car) was way less than the $2088 price tag of a new one! This system is so well made and so light! Love the blue-ish/purple colour gradation. Weight savings are significant for sure and as for the performance - I can feel more torque below VTEC and more power in VTEC. Accompanied by this menacing, authoritative, fiery, JDM AF exhaust note...its INSANE! Race car!! I did not reset the ECU trusting it to optimise values as it gets used to it. Will do a dyno run soon. Invidia 60mm TP feeds it after the stock header and airbox do their part. Engine response seems to have improved as well. Blipping the throttle on rev matches/down shifts is amazing and addictive. Crackles and pops!! I can see why this system may not be for the daily driver or faint of heart though (?)
My head is still adjusting to the deepness of the tone at low RPM when accelerating moderately to WOT but any drone is controllable with RPM/throttle positioning even on the highway. 3000 rpm = no drone. 5000 + rpm = no drone. In between that, yes there is some drone. Again, throttle positioning tames this. It's a very exciting, visceral experience. My face lights up and I verbally express myself whenever I get on the loud pedal now, more than I used to when VTEC kicked in with the stock system
I feel my F20 can fully express itself now

I suppose I'll get used to the open hole on the left of my bumper but hey, not complaining lol. This system readies the car for my Vortech V2 later on, No need to worry about a bottle neck caused by the stock system come time for boost. If you're looking for an exhaust that really brings out the aggressive side of your S2000 then this is it

P.S. I feel like my gears shift even smoother/easier than they did before the J's arrived...



After polishing the tip


Before polishing the muffler

Before polishing and install

After polishing the muffler

Kyle

RolanTHUNDER

Thanks a lot friend! Hehe "reserved fellow" goes loud and proud on this one
You're right. I literally debated which exhaust to get for a whole year before making a choice. You know the dilemma we as S2K owners face when it comes to dual or single, mild, medium or all out race volume levels. I reasoned that single would ultimately give me more power and save more weight as referenced by many exhaust threads in our forum. I like the look of dual more (a big single is still killer though) but considering the cost of importing a Q300 or even more so the dual version of my FX70RS, it was just too much and this is after realising it will cost less to boost my car (SC) than to buy such an exhaust, it made the choice a bit easier. I knew I wanted something lively and not reserved like the Medallion system Chuck speaks highly of. Not dissing it. I appreciate it but I felt it would be too reserved for my build. HKS Hi Power single was the most affordable single exit I looked at for a long time but when the J's came up second hand for even less I was all over that.

Hopefully your T1R 70-EM single will get your heart racing! When it comes to pleasantries think about it this way - have you heard a Ferrari on the highway? Even at low speeds its pretty damn loud so why must an S2000 be as soft as possible when it itself is a thoroughbred sports car too?? You got your answer
Bring on the boost!

Kyle

I think the single exhaust looks great on an AP1 because you can fit the bumper cap; looks hella proper! The AP2looks good either way; I'd go dual myself because there's no solution really (that looks good) for the open cutout. I'm also very partial to the look of an oval muffler over a canister type. And I guess I'm kind of a prick, but I can't stand most exhausts on 4 cylinders....Raspy and farty loud Hondas are just annoying, and I don't want to be someone spreading around the same noise that I myself cannot stand. But I'm sure the J's sounds excellent. It's hard to get a high-revving N/A 4 cylinder to not sound high-pitched, but a few exhausts pull it off; I've heard a few nice Hondas throughout the years. I just hope my exhaust doesn't sound like shit, lol.

RolanTHUNDER

I'm looking into a carbon type of diffuser for mine that could block off the open hole but still allow that hole to be opened if I ever decide to invest in a Q300 for example down the line. Doubt that but hey, you know how we tuners are. I have the AP2 rear bumper and lights which were swopped out by the previous owner and I could swop them back out with the AP1 versions but I actually like the more aggressive look of the AP2 rear bumper and the LED lights too. I love both!! It's just nice to have these options available to us as straight up original bolt ons/offs. Thanks Honda!
I do not like the cheap exhaust sounds either. You are correct, my J's Racing sounds excellent. It does not have that weird sounding way too tinny raspy nature even with the Invidia TP installed. It does have rasp but its that cool sounding rasp I like off throttle. The cool thing about it is it has a "palette" of sounds and not just a monotone type of exhaust note. Changes attitude depending on the rev range nicely. It ain't no B series Civic exhaust lol (I know there are plenty good Civic exhausts there too, just saying it ain't that kind of rice). Friends are asking for a fly by video and I need to record one this weekend. May start a car channel and feature my S2K on it then share the link with all of you, my comrades
Exhaust sounds are subjective so some will love it and others may not. Nothing sounds like an F20 at full chat and when it is allowed to run free by a good exhaust, oh man

Curious to hear what your exhaust sounds like but from what I've read here, guys seem to like it!

Bubbels**

Haha, I loved reading your review Almost makes me want to buy a 70RS myself! I have an 05 so same bumper as yours but went for the 60RS dual and J's decat because I knew the open hole in the bumper would bother me.
Haven't regretted it since, even though I have a J's rear bumper now so a single exit exhaust wouldn't be a problem anymore. The sound of the 60RS (for me) is just perfect, not too loud on normal drives but in vtec all hell breaks loose.
I drive top down most of the time and no drone whatsoever, which was one of the things I feared most after reading about the J's Racing exhaust systems on an S2000. I've heard the single 70RS before, it's definately loud but I kinda liked it haha!

If you ever get tired seeing an empty hole in your bumper, JDP makes one of the best looking diffusers for the facelift/AP2 S2000 imo and they also have a single exit version

RolanTHUNDER

Thanks a bunch Bubbels! Appreciate that. The hole in the bumper is the bone of contention lol. Um, I like my single a lot and don't mind the hole too much but yeah I would like to get that J's bumper like you have or the JDP diffuser you mentioned. If cost isn't too high. That way I can keep my AP2 bumper which I like a lot. The 60RS has the same tone as the 70 minus the volume, correct? Then again the dual inherently sounds a bit different to a single so can't really compare. If you like Best Motoring then you may have seen Orido vs Tsuchiya in the Gunsai Touge many times and in one particular race with the J's yellow S2K vs Amuse orange S2K the way the J's sounded was absolutely insane! And that's what mine sounds like I think that may be a 70RR and if it is then its too loud for me but this means the tonal character is the same as the RS

Do you get a boomy bottom end when accelerating from a stop? How's your off throttle between 3-5k rpm? Is yours a titanium system or SUS304?

S2Ker206

Hmmm, that is interesting. I have an J's FX70RS too, and mine is a single piece? Google show's it should be single too, lol, how did you get a 2 piece single?

RolanTHUNDER

This also struck me as weird the first time I saw it which led me to create a thread here asking about it. KamiSpeed responded saying that J's started offering an EMS version of their titanium exhausts making them two pieces to allow faster shipping than a long single piece. This was an option with later models.