Daily Slideshow: This Race-Ready S2K is Anything But Subtle
In a world that is shifting to forced-induction for utmost performance, Japan's J's Racing is still flying the flag high for naturally-aspirated Honda horsepower.
The S2K Test Bed
Located in Osaka, Japan, J's Racing is a well known Honda tuning specialist that has been churning out performance parts for nearly 30 years. The company has been rooted in improving naturally-aspirated Honda engines for decades but is also well-versed in chassis, body, brake, steering, suspension, and ECU modifications all in the name of speed. For development purposes, J's Racing often tests various components on their company project cars. The trick S2000 before you is one of those project cars and it has been fitted with all the fixin's.
Pumping-Out Power
This S2K started life as 2001 AP1 model, but as can be seen in the photos, is far from its original form. J's jumped right into engine modifications by increasing the cylinder bore to 90.7mm to match that of the later F22C1 engine. A set of their forged 12.8:1 high-compression pistons were swapped in and the complete rotating assembly was then balanced and blueprinted. To take advantage of the new pistons and larger displacement, a set of radical camshafts from TODA racing were chosen and stiffer J's Racing valve springs were installed on the head to cope with the increased valve lift.
Let it Breathe
Getting air into and out of the engine more efficiently is always a recipe for an increase in horsepower. J's Racing initially tested out their 65mm throttle body on the car for development purposes but eventually switched the entire intake system over to a TODA Racing sport injection setup that uses individual throttle bodies for each cylinder to greatly improve engine response. Fresh air is inhaled through J's own carbon fiber cold air intake that definitely looks the business and cleans up the engine bay. To extract the hot exhaust gases from the cylinders, J's developed an equal length 4-2-1 stainless exhaust header that pairs to their FX Titanium exhaust mufflers. After tuning the ECU with their proprietary software, the engine made a healthy 320 horsepower/207 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Not bad for a 2,157cc 4-banger.
Drivetrain Dynamics
In order to harness the healthy increase in horsepower, J's reinforced the drivetrain to put the power to the road. Power is sent through the factory transmission via an Exedy Hyper Single Series sport clutch with a lower inertia than that of the stock clutch. J's would substitute their own 4.7:1 final drive into the rear end along with their 1.5-way limited-slip differential to improve acceleration by dividing the power to both driving wheels, but still being able to unlock when turning for better maneuverability.
Sharpening The Suspension
Many companies can provide the components to lower a car, but they often sacrifice handling and ride quality for the improved looks. J's Racing set out to develop an S2K suspension setup that would keep the chassis planted and provide a superior ride by tackling common issues with bump steer, chassis roll, and wheel travel. They first installed a set of their CRUX 2-way adjustable coilovers fitted with Swift 16 kgf/mm springs then threw in the works with their in-house control arms, pillowball tie rods & toe links, roll center adjusters, and their Level 2 camber joints with up to 6 degrees of adjustment.
Wide Is Where Its At
The exterior of J's Racing's S2K is incredibly loud. If the striking graphics don't seem to catch your attention, the stunning widebody kit should do the trick. To complement the suspension in the handling department, J's fitted their aggressive total GT aero system to the car. The front end includes a splitter and dive planes to provide pressure over the front axle while their 3D carbon fiber GT wing and rear diffuser move air to keep the rear planted. A necessary mod to any track car is fitting the widest set of wheels and tires that the car can accommodate to maximize grip. The widebody fenders allow for a set of Volk Racing RE30 (18×10-inch F, 18×10.5-inch R) wheels with sticky Bridgestone Potenza RE11 (255/35R18 F, 265/35R18 R) to fully fill up the wells. Just behind the wheels sit a set of J's 6-piston brake calipers with oversized two-piece rotors.
The Ever-Evolving Honda
Safety was in mind when setting up the cockpit for track duty as a J's Racing 4-point roll cage with halo bar was fitted to protect the driver if an unfortunate crash were ever to occur. A pair of Recaro Profi fixed bucket seats hug the occupants while the Takata 4-point harnesses act as functional raceware. This car has made numerous appearances at car shows around Japan for the better part of the last decade in order to showcase the quality products J's Racing has to offer. Each time the car is featured somewhere, it seems as if newly developed components are fitted to it. With J's Racing's dedication to their S2000 project car, it is clear that the aftermarket is still strong for the little 2-seat speedster. As for J's S2K, it is a sight to be seen and seemingly a riot to drive!