I am trying to make a plan of sorts, regarding upgrades to the S2000 I am planning to purchase.... I am all about performance and could care less about styling(it has to look good, but I am a firm believer that form is produced by function). I am NOT going to do FI on this car so I need not plan for it. I am looking to get the most from basic bolt on's, which from what I know of the S is hard to do. Something that is important to me is to gain a little power and shed a lot of weight, while maintaining a driveable and reliable car. Lowering the car isn't a great idea where I live because the roads get destroyed from winter- but this car is to be my weekend/fun car so I want to make it as fun as possible.

In order of importance as I see things:
-light weight wheels(volk Le37 or Ce28 wheels) 17"
-header(probably Rick's)
-intake(aem V2, maybe Mugen or??)
-possibly an exhaust(mugen, something Ti or???)
-would a carbon fiber hood make sense, saving weight? is it enough to worry about at my level?
-??

I searched a basic list but can not find any thing that is really answering my question.

Of course if any one had other suggestions I would be interested in hearing them. I would plan on doing one item at a time, so I don't take a huge hit doing it all at once.

 

With all the money you spend on exhaust, header, and intake you might as well spend it on a final drive gear, to some its the best bang for the buck (which you can get at ricks2k.com).....light weight wheels is always a good thing to have......also our stock hood is just as light or maybe even lighter than a carbon fiber hood, reason I bought mine was for looks rather than function.....

 

First off I know you said that you don't want to go FI; I assume you know with the money you'll end up spending on all those mods you could easily buy a kit for 4k and still have money left over for other mods. Anyhow, since you don't want to go FI, you are on the right path. I'd try to keep all the mods from the same manufactors as much as possible; mixing them up wont net you as much gains (with N/A you'll want to squeeze every HP you can) I don't recommend the AEM V2, I've just heard too many horror stories of hydrolocking. If you are dead set on it; atleast look into the valve available for $15 that wont let any water into the intake track. Furthermore, you've got to remove the bumper to install the AEM; which is a pain in the ass (you'll want to buy some extra bumper clips from rick's, as you will probably break a few) I would suggest looking into the K&N FIPK Gen II. I've heard good things about it. It looks good, doesn't require removing the bumper and has proven dyno gains. As Rio2k pointed out, our stock hood is only like 12 lb's, so you wont save any weight by getting a carbon fiber hood. It's mostly just for looks

Oh yes, btw, you can pickup a final drive gear for much less than J's or ricks would charge too; somewhere around is a thread on this one. You can get the gears for no more than $340....where as some people have paid over 1k for them elsewhere....I'd search for that thread, as it'll save you some bucks....

Hope that helps...

 

Yeah, I don't think the CF hood is important, audiophilea. We have a couple of guys in the New England forum who working magic with NA engines -- you should post in our forum (attn: Twizted and gilbertg) if you're interested.

Serious HP gains with NA are very expensive, though. Have a full checkbook.

 

Have you driven the car yet? Given you're goals, the car is already has plenty of performance for fun. I'd spend the money on gas, tires, driving schools and track days. That being said here IMO is the mod list in order of importance for your criteria.

1) Remove the spare tire and tools for free weight reduction. Have to carry fix-a-flat and/or cell phone and AAA.

2) Lightweight wheels, 17" Volk CE28N. Virtually no cons other than expense. Lose about 4 pounds per corner and can put on wider rubber. Don't skimp on tires or any other mod will be for not. Around $2000.

3) Gears. Best seat of the pants bang for the buck. Cons, higher highway RPM's, not necessarily a performance gain if you do track stuff. Need a "yellow box" to correct speedometer. Around $800 installed.

4) Good header like J's or Toda. Good midrange gains (around 8-10 HP mid-RPM), minor weight reduction. Cons, a little more noise up front. Around $1200.

5) Lightweight exhaust. Titanium singles lose 40+lbs and gain 7-10 HP, but are typically really loud. A good stainless steel dual loses around 15-20 lbs and might net around 3-5 HP. Around $600-$2000.

6) Some sort of CAI to complete the I/H/E. Cool air always good for a few HP and prevents heat bog. Some people worry about hydrolock, some intakes also are louder. Around $300-$1500

7) VAFC for some lightweight air/fuel and VTEC tuning. Lower VTEC switchover to around 5500 RPM to maximize mid-range and remove the "VTEC surge" that can upset the car in mid-corner. Con, it is a piggyback "kludge" solution to real engine management. Around $400.

8) Just driving with the top down on a warm starry night .... priceless.

 

Hmmm, interesting.... I appreciate all of the advice. I have driven an 05 from a dealership- I am looking at getting a new one- and while I am impressed with the power now, I know I will want more. I have driven indy lights, GTP's and P-cars so I am not concerned with any more driving school. I just am looking for a some what light weight fun to drive car for the street(no intention of tracking the car at all). The Elise, which I have driven more then the S, is faster and handles better, but is less practical for street use..... My reason for not wanting FI is due to the inspection required in NYS, reliablity concerns long term and cost(for what it would cost to get a FI S I could have an Elise).

So if all the other bolt on performance parts won't yield much of an improvement(which I sort of expected) I may just do the Volk's and be happy- or at least try to be. And down the road if I really need more I have a few options. As for tires I happen to own a very large tire shop, so that's not an issue

 

1. Gears
2. CAI
3. Exhaust

JMO

 

Well the vortech kit is CARB legal, you could tune to pass emissions fairly easily. I know guys here in CA who have the kit and have passed smog with it no proiblem and we have some of the toughest smog regulations around. As for reliability, if you're only boosting 5-8psi I can't see any real problems even later down the road if you don't go crazy with it and maintain it. As for the price, you wont spend more then $4.5k on the kit new, maybe 3k used. That's a far cry from an elise....