I don't need to go very far into this thread to make it understood that I am very disheartened about the fact that my recent install of some parts (Plural) only made a TOTAL of 3 horsepower gain and 3 Ft/lbs of trq. Before I get more furious let me lay down the conditions.

I had already installed an injen intake that gained me 9+ horsepower to the wheels. I soon added a Spoon throttle body, and Spoon N1 exhaust without the straight pipe to x out the cat. From what I have been reading from many many other people that have already installed these same parts in their s2k, I was especting the gains to be at about 10-12 hp to the wheels total for both parts. I decided to bring my car in to get it dynoed today. Just for reference later on, it was raining outside while I was driving over there, and it was about 54 degrees outside. The guys mounted the car on the dyno and did two runs both netting out only about 3 hp, and torque. Ofcourse I was very disappointed to say the least. Even the techs there were guessing about a 10-15 hp gain. I started asking questions immediately. What was wrong?!?!? Possible problems were a wet air filter from the rain, fuel/air mixture, and even the possibility of having an uncalibrated Spoon throttle body. I called on the throttle body so I know that is not it, I don't think that there was enough rain to make that big a difference on the intake, so the only other question now is is it the fuel/air mixture? When I was researching these parts through the forums I didn't remember any mentioning anything about having to make any fuel adjustments, and so now I am calling out to you, all my felly Hondaniers to PLEASE help me. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

Imo, the greatest gain from the Spoon exhaust is weight saving; that you had an increase in hp should be considered 'gravy'. I have the Spoon exhaust. The throttle body helps that part to be 'all it could be', but the stock is not that much different; my tb has been bored as well.

Different dyno days also make it difficult to compare same engine.

The worth of cost compared to benefit may be different upon the individual. Sorry you are bummed.

 

Super Charger seems to be the only way to go to see a difference. If cost was not a factor.

Tan

 

Thanks for your info. I knew The Spoon setup would deffinetally be lighter, but I was expecting mroe hp gain than that. Maybe I just set my hopes up to high. I am willing to hear other suggestions though. Anyone else?!?

 

I didn't read this but I assume you are basing this on a previous dyno run correct?
Did you dyno at the same place?
If you did dyno at the same place maybe they need to recalibrate the dyno?
I've also heard that different dyno operators sometimes yield different results.
How much difference in air temps?
I don't believe the Spoon exhaust gives that much improvement. I believe it is a combination of the TB, header and exhaust that will yield the higher gain.
Some folks believe you need to reset the ECU, maybe you should try that.

Just throwing stuff out, some might not even make any sense.

 

your observation is not uncommon. when you combined parts from diffrent manufacturers, the combined effects of those parts is unpredictable. some of them could be additive while others cancel each other out. it's better to buy all the parts from one manufacturer unless you have good evidence to support your custom configuration. as far as i know, only forced induction and nitrous consistently yield good results. just my 2 cents.

 

Sorry that you are disappointed in your dynos. However, did you consider the "area under the curve" in your comparison of the before and after dynos. Many consider this a more telling representation of your cars actual power, not just simple peak numbers. How is the driveablity (this may not be a word, but it gets my point accross)? Are you happy, can you feel, any difference with weight reduction of the new exhaust? Any significant throttle response differences with your new tb? As you have probably read many times on this forum, we are all dealing with a very "high-strung" engine from the factory. Not many gains are to be found without extensive modifications and money. I hope that you are at least happy with the new sound of you exhaust.

Good luck,
James

 

always look at the entire power curve, like james said

 

Yes, peak HP is misleading. Also, as I've said before and some people might start to get tired of reading...did you let the car cool down before dyno'ing?? I've seen this cause the dyno on my car to differ in 6HP. Not a lot, but enough of a "gain" or "loss" for people on here to feel it in their butt dyno. Make sure you get at least one cool dyno.

 

With regards to the place I got my duno done at. It was the same guy who did the dyno all five times. The dyno was calibrated a week ago, and air temps were not too different.

Resetting the Comuter was something that I considered aswell, and something that I will do next week during my Vafc install and tunning.

I have taken serious consideration into Going FI on the engine, but because of overall cost of parts and install, I'll have to wait for some time.

After more research I have found that my gains on paper are not unusual just a little disappointing when comparing it to previous cars with the same type of mods, but like you guys said, we are starting off with a very high strung engine from the factory, and realizing gains is a very difficult task.

I am very happy with the sound of the new exhaust, and throttle response is deffinetaly more noticeable. Torque increases have made the car alot more driveable in normal everyday conditions, and it is a setup that I would recommend.

Bottom line is I have to stop comparing gains of similar mods on other cars with mods on this car. There isn't another car like this on earth as far as HP/liter and so the gains that I would experience should be somewhat expected. Mugen had an S2000 in I believe it was carnDriver with every part that they make for the car and only had a total of 15 hp gain. I might have half of those mods so far and I am already enjoying an overall gain of 13 hp from stock, so I would say that I am fairing pretty well afterall, but like alot of us on here, I am still learning alot about this car, and every little bit of info helps. Thanks guys