Daily Slideshow: The 440HP AP1 is a Monster

You gotta start somewhere

For Dennis Delcid, owning and building a performance car has been a dream of his ever since he played with Hot Wheels as a child. What further entrenched his love for autos was the time he spent in his father's body shop where he learned to work on cars. So as soon as he was old enough to drive he took the $500 he had saved up and bought his very first car: a 1993 Civic Hatch... with no motor or interior. 

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Love at first sight

However, after owning three modified Hondas over the course of time he made the jump to the S2000. Coming to the decision of buying an S2000 had been one that was planned for years ever since he first saw one and fell in love with the sleek lines of the roadster. Adding a cherry to the top of things was the 9,000 RPM limit and the unique interior that played the role of an empty canvas for personalization. 

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Bring your dream girl home

After some begging to this mother to help him out by cosigning to the car, he bought a 2003 Silver AP1 way back in 2005. Dennis mated a CT turbocharger to the stock F20C engine and installed an All In Fabrication intercooler to keep things running right. To go along with the added boost there is a Walbro 220 fuel pump and Dynamic Injectors for an increase in fuel delivery. An AEM Series 2 engine management system and an AEM boost controller were then added to the engine bay by Dennis so that psi could be dialed to a livable yet still fun amount. A custom exhaust manifold was fabricated along with an exhaust system by Enticed Motorsports. The exhaust manifold was made to bend upwards and stick out from the hood in order to really make the car stand out from others on the road. Lastly, a TiaL Sport wastegate and blow-off valve were installed to finish things off. 

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Is there ever enough power?

All of those mods under the hood pushed the lithe drop top to 440 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque while running at 15 psi of boost. This amount of horsepower would be good enough for some folks who just want more than enough potent juice on tap but Dennis says that the desired level he's looking for is still off. 

The transmission in the AP1 is still stock but Dennis did replace the clutch and flywheel with upgraded parts from ACT. To keep things within Honda's side of the street, the differential has been swapped out for the one that came in the AP2 model years. 

>>Join the conversation about Dennis's AP1 right here in the S2ki Forum!

Proven performance

For the exterior of the car, Dennis went with an AP2 front bumper with a Spoon VIS carbon front lip attached. The side skirts come courtesy of Charge Speed and are painted over carbon fiber. Out in the rear is a diffuser, fenders, and spoiler all coming from J's racing and contrasting nicely against the pearl white paint. To cap the outside off there is a Mugen hardtop and a J's Racing emblem that lights up in blue. 

After going through trial and error with what wheels would match his vision for his S2000 Dennis settled on staggered Volk Mark IIs measuring in 18”x9.5” +15 in the front and 18”x10.5” +15 in the rear. Making contact with the road is a set of R888 Toyos measuring 23/40/18 in the front and 265/35/18 in the back. Right behind those wheels are a set of Spoon monoblock brake calipers with 88Rotors and Hawk HPS pads to bring things down to legal speeds. 

>>Join the conversation about Dennis's AP1 right here in the S2ki Forum!

Lifting life over problems

Once inside the car you'll notice that the stock seats have been replaced by Bride Low Max Vios seats with Takata 4-point harnesses to prevent any sliding about. The steering wheel is from J's racing with Work bell hub and quick release for some added security after parking. Lastly, he added an AEM digital wideband guage and an AEM boost guage to the A-pillar in order to keep an eye on how the plumbing is running.  

To avoid any scraping while still providing great handling on the track Dennis went with Air Lift's airbag system.  “No more scraping. Amazing that I can just adjust the height with a simple press of a button,” Dennis remarked.

>>Join the conversation about Dennis's AP1 right here in the S2ki Forum!

Everything in the car

>>Join the conversation about Dennis's AP1 right here in the S2ki Forum!