Our Honda issue wouldn't be complete without something for our S2000 homies. While the sexy drop-top hasn't been sold in years, it was one of those cars that got your attention, and you didn't even have to live and breathe Hondas to like it. The S2K was Honda's vision of a purist's sports car, offering drivers a sporty rear-wheel-drive package with a high-revving VTEC engine, six-speed manual, and limited-slip. It wasn't necessarily a quarter-mile winner, but a rewarding track car that begged for turns and twisties.
Over its ten-year life span in the States, there were two iterations of the convertible designated AP1 and AP2-you might have heard of 'em. The AP1 was, of course, the first generation of cars produced '99 until '04. It came with a 2.0-liter F20C motor packing 240 hp and 153 lb-ft. The AP2 was basically a facelift of the car that was sold until the car's demise in '09. The facelift included updated suspension, drivetrain, wheels, bumpers, lights and a larger version of the original motor designated F22C1 which bumped displacement to 2,157 cc. Horsepower remained the same but the torque was increased to 162 lb-ft.
| 01 Honda S2000 Parts Buyers GuideBoth are arguably great cars on the street and track. And with the price of S2Ks dropping significantly as well with earlier used models going in the low teens, they are becoming more popular project cars than ever.
1. Who: 5ZIGEN
What: ProRacer header
Price: $1,050
Source: 5zigen.co.jp
4-2-1 TIG-welded straight exhaust manifold was designed to improve throttle response, power and, of course, noise.
2. Who: ARE
What: Dry Sump kit
Price: inquire
Source: drysump.com
The ultimate oiling system for your S2000 especially if you're building a dedicated race car, this kit converts your wet sump F20C or F22C1 to a full race dry sump system.
3. Who: ASM
What: GT front tower bar
Price: $810
Source: gotuning.com
Might be the sickest strut bar for the S2000, this ASM brace is handmade in Japan and features a truss that connects the steering rack bolts on the subframe to the tower bar.
4. Who: Berk Technology
What: 3" exhaust
Price: $759.99 (AP1)/ $749.99 (AP2)
Source: berktechnology.com
Lightweight 3-inch header-back single-exit exhaust designed for guys running high-power NA or boosted setups.
5. Who: BLOX Racing
What: Bumpsteer kit
Price: $75
Source: bloxracing.com
Drive a lowered S2000? You'll need one of these to help correct your suspension geometry.
6. Who: BLOX Racing
What: Differential collar kit
Price: $125v
Source: bloxracing.com
They look small, but these sexy little billet collars reduce the flex associated with OE bushings to give ya better stability and power transfer through the drivetrain.
7. Who: BLOX Racing
What: Steering rack rigid bushing kit
Price: $100
Source: bloxracing.com
Turn faster! These bushings are an easy way to improve steering response and feedback.
8. Who: Buddy Club
What: Big brake kit
Price: inquire
Source: buddyclub.us
Need more stopping power? Buddy Club offers these front brakes with 330mm two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers in either orange or red.
9. Who: Clutch Masters
What: 850 Series clutch
Price: $2,350
Source: clutchmasters.com
This 8.5-inch twin-disc system is designed to maintain your original driving feel (less clutch chatter, smooth engagement) while able to handle heavy abuse from a high-powered F20C or F22C1.
10. Who: Cusco
What: radiator cooling plate
Price: $131
Source: cuscousainc.com
This aluminum piece mounts behind the front grille to help increase airflow to the radiator. It's also very shiny.
11. Who: DC Sports
What: cold-air intake
Price: $292.21 (AP1)/$290.24 (AP2)
Source: dcsports.com
The bolt-on kings from DC Sports have intakes designed for both the AP1 and AP2, and they're 50-state street legal.
12. Who: DC Sports
What: headers
Price: $506.38 (ceramic coated)/$664.18 (polished stainless steel)
Source: dcsports.com
Quick way to gain low- and mid-range power with this 4-2-1 one-piece header.
13. Who: DeatschWerks
What: fuel injectors
Price: $329-$839
Source: deatschwerks.com
Available in six different sizes ranging from 450cc all the way to 2200cc for your crazy power builds. All DW injectors work with ethanol and come with a three-year warranty.
14. Who: DeatschWerks
What: fuel pumps
Price: $99-$169
Source: deatschwerks.com
DW has you covered for larger fuel pumps with a few options from 255lph to 320lph, as well as a compact 65mm model that flows at 265lph for tighter fitments.
15. Who: H&R
What: coilovers
Price: $1,480
Source: hrsprings.com
Some of the best suspension parts from Europe come from H&R and their S2K coilovers are no exception using specially-tuned main and tender springs with its monotube coils.
16. Who: HKS
What: exhaust manifold
Price: $1,475
Source: motovicity.com
This HKS piece is 11 lb lighter than stock and features a twist in its mid-section to give you a healthy improvement in low- and mid-range power.
17. Who: HKS
What: GT supercharger system
Price: $4,725 (AP2 only)
Source: motovicity.com
What's nice about this supercharger is the power curve-it increases evenly across the rpm range feeling reminiscent of a NA motor. 310+hp is achievable but you can squeeze more power out if you do fueling upgrades.
18. Who: Hondata
What: FlashPro
Price: $695
Source: hondata.com
Available for the AP2, the FlashPro lets you tune your F22C whether NA or boosted. You can do virtually everything including live tuning, rev, speed and launch limits, ignition and fuel table editing and much more we don't have room to list.
19. Who: Hondata
What: heatshield gasket
Price: $50
Source: hondata.com
This inexpensive mod insulates the intake manifold from the cylinder head. The cool temps are claimed by Hondata to give 5% more power. Not bad!
20. Who: Hondata
What: traction control
Price: $795
Source: hondata.com
This system monitors wheel slip via the ABS wheel speed sensors. The adjustable traction control then pulls ignition timing and then drops the cylinders if necessary to maintain the perfect amount of slip. What's this mean? Don't lift!
21. Who: J's Racing
What: front tower bar
Price: $288.80
Source: gotuning.com
This sweet aluminum bar has a gold finish as well as a special bracket for an engine torque damper. And who doesn't love J's parts?
22. Who: Koyorad
What: radiator
Price: $432
Source: koyoradracing.com
With more power comes more responsibility and this beefy aluminum radiator features a 53mm core for increased cooling capacity.
23. Who: KW
What: Clubsport coilovers
Price: $3,095
Source: kwautomotive.com
Clubsports are the coils for a driver looking for a more aggressive setup on the track with the occasional street use. They feature racing top mounts, increased spring rates, tuned valving and large diameter piston rods.
24. Who: Spec
What: clutch
Price: inquire
Source: specclutch.com
Whatever you're looking for, Spec's got it covered. They offer a whole line of multi-disc clutches and flywheels for the S2000 including full carbon configurations for your 1000+hp builds.
25. Who: Spoon
What: Full Spec damper kit
Price: $3,095
Source: gotuning.com
Some of the sexiest coilovers money can buy featuring chromoly steel bodies with aluminum components and spring perches.
26. Who: Spoon
What: rear control arm kit
Price: $720
Source: gotuning.com
Master your handling more with this rear control arm kit. It allows you to adjust toe and also reduces bumpsteer.
27. Who: Nagisa Auto
What: upper control arms
Price: $1,640
Source: more-japan.com
Doesn't get any better than these control arms. They're super strong and feature spherical pillowball joints, ideal for tuning your alignment settings especially for aggressive race setups.
28. Who: ST Suspensions
What: sway bars
Price: $218.28 (front)/$206.40 (rear)/$401.52 (set)
Source: kwautomotive.com
Replace your stock bars with these hollow ones from ST Suspensions for 23% more stiffness up front and up to 50% more stiff in the rear.
29. Who: Tanabe
What: Medalion Touring exhaust
Price: $1,050
Source: tanabe-usa.com
Don't mess around with cheap, low quality exhausts. This Tanabe system provides a powerful yet subtle tone and also gives you high ground clearance in case you're slammed.
30. Who: Tanabe
What: Sustec stabilizer bar
Price: $245
Source: tanabe-usa.com
Eliminate body roll with these chromoly steel alloy bars.
31. Who: TODA
What: front pulley kit
Price: $891
Source: todaracingusa.com
These lightweight pulleys help reduce overall weight and inertia, which in turn will boost your acceleration performance.
32. Who: TODA
What: Sports injection kit
Price: $4,800
Source: todaracingusa.com
Individual throttle per cylinder gives you super quick response and improvements in both power and torque. And those dry-carbon air trumpets? Drool...
33. Who: Whiteline
What: lower control arm brace
Price: $279.90
Source: whitelineus.com
This shiny gold anodized four-point brace is just another tool to help reduce body and chassis flex.
Top Ten
You could easily throw racks on racks of money at your S2000, but if you're trying to get across the finish line faster, it's not always about having the most powerful engine or most expensive suspension setup. Overall balance is more important than anything and no one knows this better than Evasive Motorsports. Well-known in the biz for building some of the fastest track cars in North America, they helped us select the top ten essential bolt-on parts if you're looking to turn your S2000 into a competitive track weapon.
Who: Berk
What: 70mm test pipe
Price: $109.99
Who: Buddy Club
What: P1 Racing front camber joints and roll center adjusters
Price: $359
Who: Eibach
What: Evasive SPEC Multi-Pro-R2 coilovers (900 lb/in front and rear)
Price: $3,195
Who: EVS Tuning
What: 70-SSP exhaust
Price: $1,095
Who: EVS Tuning
What: Rear driveshaft spacer
Price: $180
Who: Project Mu
What: Club Racer brake pads
Price: $220 (front)/ $194 (rear)
Who: EVS Tuning
What: Rear bumpsteer kit
Price: $185
Who: Project Mu
What: Brake fluid
Price: $65
Who: Volk racing
What: 17x9/10" one-piece forged wheels (non- staggered CE28, RE30 or TE37) with 255/40R17 Yokohama AD08 tires
Price: Inquire
Who: Voltex
What: Type 2 1600mm GT wing
Price: $1627.45