S2000 Talk Discussions related to the S2000, its ownership and enthusiasm for it.

why is a import header so much $$$$$

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Old Dec 14, 2004 | 05:04 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by AusS2000,Dec 14 2004, 05:05 PM

I don't know how to say this without appearing rude so apologies in advance, but anyone can hold any opinion they want to if they are selective or ignorant of the truth.

The fact is, the second someone says 'JDM' I smell fashion victim. My personal tuning philosophy is "Buy the most performance I can afford". I don't give a rats where it came from. If it's good and I can afford it I'll buy it.
I belive that's in line with my sports tuning philosophy. So, no apologies needed. I don't believe I am ignorant or selective of the truth when I state JDM headers such as Amuse, Toda, J's Racing are the only headers to make significant power on the S 2000. As I stated before, if I am wrong, please show me some plots of non-JDM headers that make ANY power at all and are cheaper than their JDM counterparts.

For me its not about fashion, its about results. My sports tuning philosophy relies on replacing only the parts that can be improved upon with more reliable pieces, and/or lighter pieces, and/or pieces that make more power, and/or pieces that makes sports driving more enjoyable. aMy car is to be a daily driven, reliable, everyday car. Tangible, provable results are what matter to me, not what country a part comes from. It just so happens that the best engine parts come from Japan (Keep in mind my NA sports tuning philosophy). This can also be applied to body/aero tuning. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but no aero parts maker in the US is wind tunnel testing it's kits. J's and Mugen does, as does C West. With most interior pieces, its a toss up. Quality is about the same,price however is not. JDM is much more expensive in most cases. So its a matter of personal taste.
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Old Dec 15, 2004 | 12:28 PM
  #42  
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The header thing just got me. I will not go for the DC sports, I do not want to peddle backwards. I really want to go for the J's header but my head is still not getting the price....DC sports is way over priced for no gain/quality. For the same $300/400 bucks you can buy pretty much top of the line Hooker or Jegs,Summit headers (2) for a Chevy or some other imports . So the $1000 plus for the J's is hard to swallow. I guess I will have to get over it if I want to play in this park (The semi exotic park)
I love the car but hate the price of build

The thing is I did not care about were it came from....JDM/USDM...ECT. it's justifying the price of some SS-pipe and a few well placed bends and welds. When the same product for other cars is much less for a similar quality pice.
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Old Dec 15, 2004 | 12:40 PM
  #43  
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Titanium is NOT hard to weld. The only thing about titanium is that it requires a oxygen free atmosphere. The weld pool is just like stainless steel. I've inquired this from a bunch of professional welders all with the same response.
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Old Dec 15, 2004 | 03:48 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by terd ferguson,Dec 14 2004, 06:58 PM
This is why you should not buy grey market products. If you purchase from authorized distributors/retailers, you get better warranty support (instead of none). I learned this lesson the hard way with a non-authorized distributor purchase of the Spoon Sports titanium shift knob in which the welds broke (like most others who had the first run with weak welds). Now I can't return it and its a $120 paper weight. And its not even good for that because it only weighs a couple of ounces.
I bought My Toda from a licensed retailer, that was direct shipped to me by AKH trading. Toda's US importer. That had no bearing on Toda denying it's replacement. Toda did blame my SC for causing the sh*tty little braket to break, even though at least 4 more Toda's on NA cars have broken in the same place.

You can read all about it here:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...hl=Cracked+TODA
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Old Dec 15, 2004 | 07:21 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Slows2k,Dec 15 2004, 04:48 PM
I bought My Toda from a licensed retailer, that was direct shipped to me by AKH trading. Toda's US importer. That had no bearing on Toda denying it's replacement. Toda did blame my SC for causing the sh*tty little braket to break, even though at least 4 more Toda's on NA cars have broken in the same place.

You can read all about it here:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...hl=Cracked+TODA
Sorry about your situation. It seems sometimes as if warranty issues are just arbitrarily denied. Its not exactly fair after you've spent $1000 plus of your hard earned money on a part.

Having said that, Toda was still the best thing going as far as an NA header for the S 2000.
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Old May 17, 2009 | 10:59 AM
  #46  
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i can pick up a used j's header for 850 with only 3000 miles on it, would u do it?
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Old May 17, 2009 | 06:05 PM
  #47  
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Definitely a decent price.
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Old May 17, 2009 | 09:47 PM
  #48  
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Old May 18, 2009 | 07:54 AM
  #49  
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There is a certain bling function that is important to a lot of owners.

The reason many componants for the S cost more than they do for a Prelude or Integra is partly related to volume. But there is probably a bit of snob factor involved as well, plus it takes more engineering and testing to get an improvement over OEM on a more expensive, better performing vehicle...Look at the price of good performance parts for BMWs, Porsches, etc. The 'vette may well be a great performer but it shares parts with some very high volume cars and some of those parts are not exactly optomized.

The reason most headers make very little difference in the S2000's performance is because the factory header is so good. So don't look for the kind of gains you get by replacing the manifolds on a small-block with good quality headers.

Frankly I think there are two ways to approach straight-line performance in an S2000...enjoy the performance of the stock setup or go forced induction. Now handling is another matter. There are lots of ways to improve both the ride and the handling of an S.
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Old May 18, 2009 | 07:57 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by S2KPUDDYDAD,Dec 11 2004, 09:23 AM
Also why I am on my soapbox why do most import owners say headers for a 4cyl. when it's just a header? Theres only one bank of exhaust ports on a 4 cyl. engine.
I frequently ask this question...and the simple answer is that kids (or uneducated adults) decide on a list of mods and hear the word "headers" and assume it's the same for their car as an 8-cyl. I catch people saying this all the time and it goes right through me.
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