has any body tried ricks 6plus header? i have just done some research and it seems pretty good?, what sort of gains are we talking here torque/bhp and would any 1 have recomendations thanks

 

its one of the better choices for headers. Most bolt ons for our cars dont yield any serious gains as everyone else says, the car is made very well from honda. You want serious power you really need to go turbo or SC

 

sweet thanks for that am looking into turbos and superchargers they just seem to expensive for time being, i no am not going to gain loads with airfilter header and pigg ecu but every little helps i supose just want to get into vtec as quick as poss haha akso looking it to gears also but gona do the cheap things i can do myself first, then buy the gears etc and take it to honda for them to fit, any recomendations on a header? or mods? want as much torque at the wheels as poss and get in to vtec asap hehe

 

I cannot speak for real dyno numbers but my "butt dyno" says it helps. I noticed mostly in the mid-range. On the highway around 70-80 in 6th gear it definitely has better acceleration.

 

The gains from these mods in the S2000 are mostly felt due to the weight reduction.
Header (~10lbs; 3-7hp), intake (5-7lbs; 2-5hp), exhaust (15-25lbs; 3-8hp). The net performance (hp) gains are minimal over stock.
Surprisingly, another weight savings item you can look at is the battery. You can save about 12lbs by switching to a dry cell battery. At ~$145, this is lowest cost weight savings performance mod you can buy.

As for products from Rick's - I've purchased around $7000 in products from Rick's over the years (to include my Brake Man brake system - among many others), and the service has been nothing short of top-notch.
The header Rick offers is without a doubt the best deal on a new header - performance and cost. Don't expect a lot of HP from it (as with any header for the S2000), but be assured it's a high quality item that will save you close to 10 lbs. It's the best deal you can find on a header for the S2000 - new (or used for that matter!).

 

The biggest pop I felt on changing out the exhaust line was going with a test pipe. Chronilogically I replaced the catback first, then testpipe, then header (ricks).

I was like you and went cheapest parts first to increase performance, and recently just got a 4.56 pumpkin combo. If I had to do it all again, I would have gotten the gears FIRST. WOW what a change in how fast you get to redline

Obviously all the little mods add up but the gears really gives a seat in the pants kick.

 

You will realize even greater gains down the road with a header installed if you decide to install a super-charger. Performance mods often complement each other.

A lower gear ratio (4.57) will greatly improve your performance. You can purchase them through the HardTop Guy, or Ricks. 4.77 gears are also a fantastic mod - however, better suited for the track.

Another (albeit expensive) gear related option is to swap out your AP1 gearbox with an AP2 (USDM 2004 or later) transmission. The 1-4 ratios are lower and provide better low-end acceleration. 5th is also slightly lower - 6th gear is a bit higher.

I have 4.57 gears and an '04 (AP2) transmission. As "thetz99" said, the 4.57 gears are probably the best performance bang for the buck you can buy. The difference is very noticeable.

The biggest advantage of the '04 and later (USDM) transmission in an AP1 is realized in combination with 4.57 diff gears. The taller 6th gear ratio of the AP2 transmission brings the highway cruising RPMs of an AP1 (with 4.57s) close to the highway cruising RPMs of a stock AP1.
Otherwise, the cruising RPMs in 6th gear (4.57s in an AP1) is fairly close to cruising in 5th gear in a stock AP1.

 

Coupled with my other mods, it has been great.

Small/odd issue with it back in the day, Rick's jumped at the chance to make it right.

Highly recommended

 

If you are seriously thinking about forced induction in the next year or two I'd definitely hold off on the header and exhaust system. Once you strap on a turbo or supercharger you will simply want the biggest fattest exhaust system you can find of good quality...from the header primaries to the tail pipe, forced induction is all about as little backpressure as you can find. Especially true with a turbo where pressure differentials before and after the turbo are as important (for quick spool) as raw flow.

That might not be true with a normally aspirated setup where a really fat system will reduce exhaust flow velocity enough to start degrading performance. Slow exhaust flow reduces scavaging effect of your exhaust system...the slower moving exhaust gasses in your system don't do as good a job of pulling spent gasses out of the cylinders when the exhaust valves open.

While considering/saving for a forced induction system, the rear end options are probably a good place to spend your upgrade bucks.

 

I've had mine for 3 plus years and love it!