Honda S2000: One Man’s Junk Is Another Man’s Awesome S2000 – Autoweek

It isn’t until you see this 2000 Honda S2000 that you understand the full dimension of Chen’s statement. The car is unique and beautiful. Body panels have been replaced with a Mugen carbon fiber hardtop and hood. It has carbon fiber front fenders and trunk. In the back is a Top Secret carbon fiber diffuser and vortex generator. All black, with sections of carbon fiber weave, the car looks like it’s been touched by the gloved hand of Darth Vader.

“I bought the front bumper new,” Chen explained, “and the seats and the roll bar. Pretty much everything else—they’re all used parts.”

The For Sale forum of S2K International ( ) is a hotbed of activity. You can find everything from spare parts to rare parts. One recent day there were 65 posts of S2000 products for sale. This included a Spa yellow hardtop, Mugen seats and a Vortech supercharger. Want wheels? You could have had your choice of BBS, Volk Racing, Spoon Sports and OEM Honda. Chen now has four different sets of wheels. He has gone through two different hoods.

“I find myself constantly scouring the message boards looking to see if something piques my interest,” he wrote in an e-mail. “The day before you came out, I installed a J’s Racing engine torque damper, which I had just purchased from a guy in Florida.”

The rest of the parts are equally well-traveled. The Amuse R1 titanium exhaust is from Virginia. The Hayward Performance 48-mm individual throttle bodies setup is from California. The carbon fiber heat shield is from Florida. The Toda race head (with Toda Spec A cams and Toda valve springs) is from Japan, via a seller in England. To guard against lemon deals, the forum has a Bad Guys thread that lists nefarious sellers. For the most part, Chen has been happy with his dealings, but admitted, “It’s a lot of trust.”

One thing Chen, a project manager for IBM in New York City, did not take a chance on was tuning. Through S2K International, he found Shawn Church, renowned Honda stud and owner of Church Automotive in Torrance, California. Chen and two other forum members chipped in to pay for Church to fly east for a weekend of intense tuning sessions. Church tweaked the S2000’s AEM engine management system until he was able to push peak power up 30 hp, to 222 hp at the wheels.

“It’s got nice pull in the mid-range, and we’re keeping with the concept of the car,” Chen said. The engine also has a Mugen header and carbon fiber intake. “I wanted to stay naturally aspirated to keep with what Honda wanted to do with the car.”

At first, it’s a bit of a trick to drive an S2000 with individual throttle bodies. It’s an exercise in finesse with the right foot, especially under ignition and while in reverse. Forget the gas, and the car suffocates, shivers and dies. “It’s more tuned for the summer,” Chen said as we accelerated down a series of roads on Long Island. For the record, the engine didn’t sound untuned. It belted out a loud healthy crack with every sprint—more rough than stock, like it’s on the edge. Mechanical ’roid rage.

Even with added weight from the carbon fiber hardtop, Chen’s car felt light, both off the line and in turns. On the cold pavement this S2000 is very S2000ish—flitty and fun to drive. The suspension is stiffened with Mugen N-Zero coilovers, Mugen front sway bar, Spoon X-brace, and Cusco strut bar. Turn left, slide the back, correct, and back to the power. Very cool and very loud.

Thirty minutes in the deep end and we were back at Chen’s house, where he showed off a four-door ’86 Corolla GT-S, yet another recent used purchase. It is flat-black and has “drift” written all over it.

“Now,” he said, “I go on the Club 4AG boards to look for parts.” But that’s another story for another time.