Honda S2000 Transforms into Time Attack Monster

Visions of Grandeur

Perhaps more so than most cars throughout the history of cars, the Honda S2000 is a rabidly popular target for weekend warriors, those who wish to ring their rides out in a manner consistent with what the manufacturer intended in the first place. But as grand as our plans can be, we wonder if S2KI member thechase136 realized at the beginning of his AP1 time attack build just how awesome it would turn out.

Man with the Plan

While many start out with a street car and slowly transition to the ranks of amateur racer, the OP had a plan from the start. "I picked up this gray 2000 AP1 in March of 2015 in near-stock form, and I'll be slowly turning it into a street limited class time attack car for my rookie season in 2016."

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Getting a Feel

Make no mistake, however. He also took the time to get a feel for the car first. "The only modifications it came with were an Injen CAI, Skunk2 springs, and dipped wheels. I loved pretty much everything about the car, so I decided to run it in (mostly) stock form for a while to get used to it."

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No Clapper out Racer

Naturally, the itch to mod eventually got the best of our OP. Next thing you know, he was tinkering with the exhaust and ordering up a fresh set of Advan wheels. He had those finished in triple bronze, which gave us a good hint that this wasn't going to be some clapped out racer when he was finished.

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Paying Off

Next on the list were some KW coilovers, which made a huge difference in grip and feel. A CF hardtop helped cut back on wind noise. And the mods were beginning to pay off, as our OP posted the second fastest lap time at his very first autocross event.

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Inevitable Changes

At this point, things were looking pretty good. But like most of us, the OP couldn't rest on his laurels. The changes began with a switch to the excellent T1R 70R-EM Dual Sparrow exhaust. And once the brakes were toast, he replaced them with some AP Racing bits fitted with Project Mu pads.

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Start of Something

Unsurprisingly, the stock clutch gave out soon after that. Thus, he replaced it with a rather nice Exedy Hyper Single piece. New parts continued to roll in after that, including a Koyo 36mm Hypercore radiator, and Forbidden J's Rep diffuser, which was just the start of what would be some serious aero work.

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Drastic Improvement

In rolled a Voltex 1600mm Type 2 GT wing, FRP/Carbon Voltex Street front bumper, and Voltex Canards, which looked fantastic once mated with an Avery Dark Grey Gloss vinyl wrap job, and it all helped drastically improve things on track, too. 

"I was astonished at how differently the car drives now," the OP said. "Over 90mph you can really feel the rear end squat down and plant itself firmly in the pavement. The difference in grip at high speeds was ridiculous, and it no longer feels floaty and light."

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Looks and Speed

At this point, the OP's AP1 had gone from daily to a mere track toy. But despite that, he did a fantastic job making it look as good as it goes, which is something that many tracked S2000s don't bother doing.

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Final Form?

Since this build's completion, the OP has been simply enjoying it and making adjustments along the way. We're sure that this isn't the car's final form, of course. But if it were us, we'd leave it just the way it is!

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