Honda S2000 tuning.

"A roadster on steroids."

The S2000 was originally launched in April 1999. Honda engineers needed to come up with a special car to commemorate Honda's 50th anniversary. The two seater roadster features a powerful 2 litre engine with rear wheel drive layout hire a six speed gearbox. (Some countries had the choice of an additional 2.2  litre engine and there was also a hard top version available.) The Engine is carefully balanced and will freely rev to 9000 RPM producing 237 BHP. Since its launch, the S2000 has won a large number of awards for best car, best engine and most reliable sports coupe.

When you drive an S2000 you appreciate the thought and technology that has gone into producing one of the best driver's cars in recent years. The handling and balance second to none, and the engine makes a rewarding scream which just urges you to press a little harder. The interior of the car is sporty and modern, with a futuristic digital dashboard display.

Tuning the S2000, requires that the tuner improve on what is considered by many to be a perfect car. Many TorqueCars s2000 owners complain of the lack of low end power, and this will be the motivation for many to start tuning their engines. The obvious modifications will be a sports exhaust and induction kit followed by a remap to alter the VTEC kick in points, but you will still suffer from the lack of low end power.

It is worth noting that the head is optimised to perfection. I have yet to find anyone who has managed to work the head (polishing and porting) to produce a better flow rate. One weak spot in the head is the retainers and valve springs which can wear alarmingly. We would recommend that all S2000 tuning projects include some attention to the valvetrain, installing upgrade springs and retainers (TorqueCars rate Ferrea springs for the S2000). A compression test will help to determine the state of the engine and highlight the possiblitity of excessive wear. Any loss of over 20% should be investigated more fully.

A 3 angled valve head will improve flow, (4 or 5 angles) are better but there is insufficient room to perform this on the S2000 head.  Ignore cams as the standard cam does a very good job and you need to keep as much low down power as possible. For more substantial power gains you will need to look at forced induction.

It is possible to add a supercharger or turbo conversion to the S2000, but the 11:1 compression ratio will force you to run a pathetically low boost, unless you perform some extensive engine modifications to lower the compression ratio (aim for around 9.5:1), and you may see power figures approaching 350bhp. When making radical changes like this to any car you will need to provide alternative engine management and uprate the fuelling.

A lower ratio gearbox will improve your acceleration times, and weight reduction will also help to improve performance. If you may also want to increase the size of the 300 MM ventilated brake discs, and upgrade to an 18 inch wheel set.

Please feel free to join our Honda discussion forum to meet and chat with other S2000 owners. You will also want to read our in depth tuning articles and see which modifications yield the best power gains.