Best bang for the buck

[slardibardfast]

Dear XViper....

Okay. Pretend we're starting with a stock S2K. For argument's sake, assume it is an AP2 since they're still coming out stock.....

We're starting out on a budget, so we can't throw everything we want in the car right away. After all, we're not all doctors you know. (No offense Dr. M, M.D.)

So we scrape some cash together and work our way up the food chain of enhancements. The trick is to get the most bang for the buck. Then later when we'll lose all sense and sensibility and just drop anything in. Kind of like X-box's "Pro-Street" when you have to earn upgrades, but they cost increasingly more....

Three categories - some overlap which can't be helped. Horsepower/torque, Handling, Top Speed.
Hp/torque should be assessed on Hp/torque gain per $. Top speed can be mph per $. Not sure how you want to definitely measure and compare handling.
Being the sage consumer I try to be, I'll be looking at your guidance for it to say (e.g.) that installing "x" gives me the most Hp for the dollar, or that "y" will give me the greatest gain in top speed for the dollar. Are you up for the challenge???

Some examples of items I would like considered (which cross a number of areas, so this could be tricky): free flowing exhaust; free flowing intake; headers; turbo; Nox; remapping the computer; differential gearing; body kits/add-ons; hard-top; choice of tires; suspension components; brakes; rims; rear lip vs. rear wing....and probably many others I can't even think of like diff. fluid, choice of oil, etc. I've tried to restrict the options to those of an investment, and not a driving choice like A/C on/off, tire pressure; not carrying the spare, and top up/down.

See...I'm a cheap ba$tard. If I get 5 Hp on a $400 exhaust, and 3 Hp on a $400 intake, my first step will be the exhaust.

Ready...set....go...:shifter:

[Chris S]

How often do you hit top speed and find yourself wanting more? :rolleyes:

IMO, your best mod is to improve your driving skills via track time. You'll gain much more speed (and safety) via this route than mods. Additionally, the improvement is transferable to other cars.

Once you've gotten a good feel for how your car performs around a track, opportunities for improvement should become clear.

You def. won't get much bang for the buck in power unless you go FI.

[gomarlins3]

My personal opinion is that gears are the best bang for the buck.

[repiv]

Horsepower/torque, Handling, Top Speed.

Let's talk "top speed". Remember that the AP2 is geared to go about 150 mph (give or take a few mph). It so happens that it also has just enough power to actually go as fast as it's geared. Therefore, if you were to do power mods, you would not go any "faster", however, you would be able to get there "quicker". Whether you go with stock power or go all out and add 100 hp or more, you will still only be able to hit redline in 6th and no more. That is what determines your top speed. You will not go any faster unless you change your gearing.
With the above in mind, you might do mods to go "quicker". If you change your gearing to go "quicker", the consequences of this would be that you will no longer be able to go as "fast". IE, your top speed will decrease.
Now, I know you want to start off small and not too expensive, so you might want to begin with a cold air intake. This won't necessarily gain you any power, but it will prevent the engine from losing power due to ingesting hot air. They say that every 3 degrees increase in intake air temp will lose you 1 hp. I've measured the temp of the air in the air cleaner box at nearly 60 degrees C. A CAI intake will reduce this loss greatly and will also improve throttle response to some degree. That will set you back a couple hundred bucks.
To actually gain some hp, you might want to consider tuning it with something like a VAFC. These cars are tuned quite rich from the factory and a few hp can be had by leaning it out in the right spots on the rpm range. That will set you back another several hundred.
A header won't do much as the stock header is already quite good. You will lose a bit of weight and perhaps find some increases under the curve in certain places but overall, the gains are unremarkable. Same goes for cat back exhausts. You are merely tuning the sound to your liking and losing some weight.
Lastly, weight reduction can take many forms. Some being very cheap while others being very expensive like in lighter rims or lighter body panels. Weight reduction is just like power gain.
Lastly, what was said about improving your personal skills is quite true. I've seen a lot of people try to drive this car to extract its best performance and many, if not most, do not understand the concept of what you must do to make this car perform. There are many exampes but I will cite you one. Many people say this car has no low end torque. They go out and try their hand at a little street racing and then come back having been beaten badly by cars that really shouldn't be beating them. Everyone now runs screaming through town about how the S2000 is a torqueless wonder. If the car has no torque down low, why in the world would you start to race someone by just mashing the gas in a part of the rev band that has no torque? The uneducated and the uninformed and the unskilled don't know any better. Those with a clue and who have acquired some skill, would do a rolling clutch dump, bring the revs up to a spot where the torque IS, then start the race. I use this as but one example and I do not condone street racing. Other examples would be to hone your skills in track driving where techniques can be learned to make the car work for you, not to have the car embarass you.

[rioyellows2k]

I've learned from my overly modded civic that i dumped thousands upon thousands into.

If you're going full tilt right away, then this doesn't matter:

But if you're progressively doing it (one mod at a time) you should buy the items that don't ned to be replaced if you go another direction. Meaning - don't buy headers if you plan on a turbo later.

But for 06+AP2's I've heard the Hondata Tuning is the biggest "Bang for the buck" when combined with I/H/E

[thsaunders]

Even though this topic comes up frequently, I always find myself reading the threads.

Thanks Repiv for the concise summation.

[billy bob]

HP is overrated. After having a "uberfast" Corvette for a year I would rather drive my bone stock much slower AP2. It wasn't fast, but damn, it was fun to drive.....