While we are talking about flashpro, remember that this will allow you to raise your redline to 8500rpm or so, and drop VTEC down as low as you want it. With mild bolt ons, 4500rpm seems like a good spot. This will give you 3500-4000rpm of VTEC engagement.

 

i have to agree

 

sorry for going of topic but is there anything bad in setting your vtec for 3.5-4k ? why is it at 6k from the factory ?

 

I would say go with the ap2. I mean look at the specs..

ap2 has a more refined suspension and more torque. Your going to use mostly the first 2 gear in auto-crossing so I'm guessing more torque = better?

 

Small high revving engines make their power up high. The way the car is geared means that you'll only be out of vtec for the first 25mph or so, above that point you can always be in vtec. Besides, you'll accel faster in the lower gear, so unless you were short shifting out of a gear, you wouldn't notice the vtec being lower.

Oh, and ap2's have all of 9 more ft/lbs or torque at peak. Honestly, if you're looking for a track car, get a cheaper ap1, and save the money for a set of wheels, and a few sets of tires. Modding this car is damn near pointless, as you'll spend a LOT of money, for no if any very small gains.

edit: And a friend and I PBOX'd our cars down the same straight, my ap2 gained all of a quarter second up to 80. Amazing.....wider tires gain a lot more time in turns.

 

There's a point where it doesn't make sense to have VTEC engage, but 4.5k rpm is a little low if you ask me (for a stock S2000 aim for 5.5k rpm) - the idea behind VTEC remember is to extend the useful range of the engine with dual-personality cams, so to speak. Economy car down low, race car up high - VTEC won't work at low rpms - its like having a bad cam profile and the engine will not run efficiently.

There are cumulative changes of the AP2 with the F22C. In addition to more torque the revised engine makes, the engine's power band is shifted 1,000 rpm lower, gearing is revised, VTEC mapping is revised, and the engine has about 20-30 more hp before VTEC phase. It adds up to a big difference in the feel of an AP2 under 6k rpm as the power band is fatter and available sooner. Car and Driver did road tests in 2003 and 2004 and found the AP2 stronger in rolling acceleration tests, which is what you'd expect with the revised power curve. An F20C needs to be in the 6-9k band to make power, but keeping it in that rpm range is not difficult, and the 9k redline is fun.

 

AP2, hands down. 06 plus if you can get it for flashpro

Stronger Valve retainers
Stronger suspension mounts to the frame (upper A arm)
Revised rear geometry to eliminate bumpsteer
Glass rear window
More torque
Revised gearing
Transmission updated with carbon synchros
Better speakers
17 inch wheels (important for finding a variety of performance tires)
VSA for daily driving where conditions are unpredictable (there is always the off switch)
lastly, subjectively, better looking front and rear bumper with the oval exhaust

Yes you can apply all these changes to an AP1 and maybe have the perfect S2000 with all the updates but still the 9K, but i think for most people the AP2 is a much better platform. The AP1 v AP2 debate in my mind just doesn't exist. The AP2 is a newer, better car built out of the experience of the first years of production. Absolutely nothing against the AP1 guys, and there are definitely upsides to it, but if a friend of mine said they wanted an S2000 I would certainly recommend AP2, as new and low miles as you can afford.

 

Well, since it has inevitably come to this...

AP2 has a few updates (only *some* of which i'd characterize as "improvements)"), but it's also 100 lb. heavier than the AP1. So that despite having 10% more displacement (hence 10% more torque), 5% more power, "better" transmission ratios (IMO, not really, prefer AP1's closer ratios) and bigger wider wheels/tires, it is *no* faster than an AP1 in a straight line, around an autoX course, or at the track.

Long/short, it's 98% the SAME car, AP2 has more torque/power/tire but also has more weight. AP2 does have better rear suspension geometry eliminating the stupid/goofy/gimmicky bump steer on the AP1, for me that's the single biggest *real* improvement.

When I have to replace my S2000, I'm going to get the best one I can find for the price, be it AP1 or AP2. For *me*, it's not worth paying $1000s more for a newer one that has zero additional performance potential, but if I found a deal I wouldn't turn it down.

 

I'm sorry ZDan, but the car didn't gain 100 pounds in weight, it was closer to 25 pounds (where would Honda even add that much weight anyway?), and Honda stated over 2,000 changes to the car that were designed to make it all-around better, from the revised powertrain to a stiffer chassis and improved components.

Still, depending on the overall character of the car and what appeals to people, either model can be a favorite. The cars are different, but not so much so that you wouldn't recognize an S2000.

 

Early AP1 = ~2750 lb. +/- (mine weighed 2765 with a roll bar and 1/8 tank of fuel, sans spare and tools), AP2 = 2850+ lb. (2866 according to CandD test of an '05) Could be some of the weight gain was in the '02/'03?

In any case, weight gain or no, the AP2 has not proven to be any faster at all in a straight line, and top-level autoXers seem to do equally well with AP1, AP2, even the CR doesn't show much if any advantage. In the top ten (52 car field) in BStock from the 2010 SCCA nats, there were 3 AP1s, 3 non-CR AP2s, and 2 CRs.

It is a fact that the AP2 makes more power, and has wider wheels/tires. Yet it isn't really any faster, in any contest. Funny, that...

The cars are practically identical in terms of performance. For a track car, either one.