Impressed by Robert Thorne’s “Massive Dangerous Wolf,” the self-professed “quickest Honda S2000,” Alexander Moss and Andy Smedegard needed to construct a fair sooner S2000. They now have one which rivals that well-known car. Meet SuperK, a Okay-swapped, DCT 2006 Honda S2000.
SuperK gained the 2020 King of the Mountains autocross occasion at UMI Motorsports Park. It took the 2020 Gridlife championship within the Avenue Mod class. And, it accomplished One Lap of America 3 times, with a fifth and two seconds.
The success got here as the results of their very own innovation and them looking out worldwide for corporations that might construct merchandise for his or her extremely personalized, and distinctive, S2000.
“Loads of these corporations are studying how to do that, too,” Smedegard says of producers serving to construct components for the challenge. “It’s a collective group of all these individuals making an attempt to determine this out.”
Regardless of the dearth of a longtime path to make SuperK sooner, Moss and Smedegard have methodically crafted their very own street to search out velocity.
“When it comes time to switch one thing, it’s at all times been, ‘Let’s not be reactionary and purchase what all people buys to repair this drawback,’” says Smedegard. “Let’s put some thought into it. If we’re changing the engine, let’s work out what’s one of the best engine to place in it.”
At Highway America, they ran a 2:22.5. At Barber Motorsports Park, a 1:31. At GingerMan Raceway, a 1:31.7. The automotive turns heads as quick as its lap occasions.
“When it really works, it’s superior,” Moss says. “It’s such a rush.”
First Step, Re-Engine
Worldwide, Honda offered 110,673 items of the Honda S2000, from 1999 to 2009. It used an engine particular solely to that mannequin. The inventory F20C put out a hefty 237 horsepower at 8300 rpm, contemplating the engine displaces lower than two liters. The marginally bigger, 2.2-liter F22C1, the model that SuperK got here with, delivered 240 horsepower at 7800 rpm. Nonetheless, with comparatively few engines accessible in the marketplace, Smedegard urged putting in a extra prevalent, better-supported Honda engine — the K24.
“It was a extra economical resolution to switch the motor within the S2000,” Smedegard says. “You should purchase a Okay sequence engine for about $1000. The Okay sequence additionally makes a bit extra usable energy, they make a bit extra midrange.”
At present, Smedegard operates a thriving race automotive preparation enterprise, ASMotorsports. However again in 2017, he wasn’t as skilled.
“The engine was the primary main modification we did to the automotive,” says Smedegard. “On the time we didn’t suppose it was quite simple. It was a studying expertise for me. Loads of occasions we discovered the exhausting method–I needed to redo many issues. I credit score the automotive to a whole lot of what I do know as we speak.”
Getting Issues to Talk–Half I
Each engines–the unique F22C1 and the brand new K24–got here from Honda, however that didn’t make the swap straightforward.
“We obtained the engine within the automotive and spent per week or so making an attempt to defeat the immobilizer points,” Moss says.
Newer Honda S2000s have extra immobilizing options that forestall modifications past the OEM parameters. The problem revolved round them utilizing an ECU out of an Acura TSX and their Honda S2000 ignition key.
“The immobilizer is constructed into the important thing, which communicates to the engine ECU,” says Smedegard. “They should match. In any other case, you flip the important thing, the engine will crank, but it surely gained’t fireplace because it gained’t activate the ignition coils.”
To treatment this, they used an ECU reflashed by KTuner, which disabled the immobilizer.
“That ECU wound up being a bust,” Smedegard says. “We had so many points with it. It might typically freeze up once we have been making an attempt to tune it. You even have a whole lot of limitations–typically emissions, typically safeties put into place, the place there’s no workaround. We ended up going with a full, standalone AEM Infinity ECU, the place you’ve got full management.”
The Mechanics of a Okay Swap
The subsequent subject they encountered was with the Clutch Masters aluminum flywheel adapter for the Okay sequence.
“We had flywheels backing out and typically coming off,” Smedegard says. “The answer we’ve now took a while. We needed to work with them to provide a greater half. I pushed exhausting to get a chromoly flywheel made. Ever since we went with this new flywheel from Clutch Masters, we hadn’t had any points.”
Then, they encountered one other drawback.
“We had points with throttle our bodies falling aside, sensors failing and consumption manifolds cracking,” says Smedegard. “With the K24 having an extended stroke, it made a whole lot of harmonics, particularly the upper you rev it. Most locations that make consumption manifolds don’t set their manifolds to be braced again to the engine–you simply mount it to the mounting flange, and that’s it. We braced the consumption manifold, which tremendously diminished a whole lot of the harmonics that the throttle physique sees and the sensors mounted on the consumption manifold.”
The Quest for Energy
With the inspiration in place, the duo now needed to push the bounds on the ability band. This concerned some trial and error.
“We purchased a used, high-compression engine constructed by 4 Piston Racing, but it surely solely was 250 to 260 horsepower,” Smedegard says. “It was nonetheless quick, however not quick sufficient for our final purpose of constructing this the quickest S2000.”
They then returned the inventory K24 again into the engine bay, with the addition of a Kraftwerks Rotrex supercharger.
“We needed to make our personal mount equipment, to mount the supercharger onto a Okay sequence in a rear-wheel-drive automotive, which nobody had on the time,” Smedegard says. “The supercharger made good energy–like 400 horsepower–but it surely nonetheless wasn’t quick sufficient.”
Exit supercharger, enter the Garrett G25-660 turbo.
“The turbo made much more energy; much more usable energy, too,” Smedegard says. “We nonetheless haven’t pushed it to its true potential, with an even bigger turbo and extra enhance. We ran a complete season round 500 horsepower. Then, we began breaking transmissions and differentials. That’s when the DCT got here into play.”
Methods to Ship the Horses
“We have been on the lookout for a greater transmission, however we weren’t a DCT particularly,” says Smedegard. “We simply needed a transmission that was dependable, may take the ability, and there weren’t actually many choices.”
Throughout the confines of the foundations, Moss discovered the DCT (dual-clutch transmission) match their wants.
“We couldn’t go together with a race sequential or canine field transmission,” Moss says. “That is the place we egged one another on. I messaged Andy and mentioned, ‘Hey, do you need to do this DCT? This is likely to be cool.’ He most likely blew me off, saying ‘Yeah, positive.’ So, I ordered it and it confirmed up at his store.”
Along with guidelines, they have been additionally restricted by the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive format of their automotive. That led them to the BMW M-DCT.
“There are 4 totally different variations of the transmission,” says Moss. “You may get a short-ratio or long-ratio transmission. The brief ratios have been within the 135, 335, E90, and M3. The lengthy ratios have been within the F80 M4,and F10 M5. You may get both of these transmissions with a BMW inline-6 or the V8 bellhousing. We are able to solely get the inline-6 housing to slot in the automotive. We’ve the lengthy ratio within the automotive now. It offers us unfold of ratios on the monitor and cruising rpm on the road for One Lap of America.”
Happily, it made for a comparatively reasonably priced alternative.
“The BMW M-DCT transmissions was pretty available and low cost, however now there’s an enormous craze in regards to the DCT-swap stuff,” Smedegard says. “What was a $1000 transmission is now $2500. That’s nonetheless comparatively low cost within the grand scheme of all of it.”
Getting Issues to Talk–Half II
Putting in the transmission went comparatively easily.
“We needed to make a number of the adapter items,” says Smedegard. “We’ve to make use of a dual-mass flywheel. We would have liked an adapter to go from this flywheel to enter the transmission on the enter shaft. We labored with an organization DomiWorks in Sweden.”
As with the engine, the DCT has its personal laptop, a TCU (transmission management unit).
“The most important impediment has been the transmission controller,” Smedegard says. “We’re working a standalone TCU from HTG Tuning in Poland. We needed to take out the inner TCU and wire an exterior TCU. That is all nonetheless pretty new. It’s not one thing you should purchase off the shelf, throw on the automotive and drive. It’s very a lot a science challenge, even for the corporate making the controller. Our wrestle is studying methods to tune a dual-clutch transmission.”
Then, the TCU wants to speak with the ECU.
“The transmission bases many issues off the engine,” says Smedegard. “Like on a downshift, it’s worthwhile to convey the revs up. It has to ship a sign to the engine ECU: ‘Hey, rev up so I can downshift and we will make this occur easily collectively.’ Getting all this to work collectively has been difficult.”
The Massive Benefit to a DCT
Moreover sturdiness, the DCT affords different advantages.
“You might have so much higher gearing,” Smedegard says. “There are extra gears within the transmission, so you haven’t any drawback discovering the proper gear.
“As a driver, you don’t have to fret about making an attempt to shift. You may go away your arms on the wheel and also you solely have two pedals on your ft.”
Nonetheless, the chief benefit is the way it takes day without work the stopwatch.
“On an upshift, you haven’t any loss in shift time, particularly with a turbo automotive,” says Smedegard. “With a standard transmission, while you let off the throttle, you let all of the enhance out, you get the shift completed and also you get again on it, it has to go enhance up once more. With the DCT, there’s no enhance drop in any respect. Most tracks you’re shifting 15-or-so occasions a lap, and also you’re dropping a tenth, possibly two tenths, each shift. Add that up. That’s a second to 2 seconds each lap in shift time.”
As they labored with growing the DCT, they ran with the least quantity of enhance, bringing the horsepower nearer to 400, the place it stands at the moment.
“As we have been working via the DCT points and getting that to be dependable, we needed to run the automotive in a much less aggressive state,” Moss says. “It allowed us to not fear about working the engine on the ragged edge and give attention to the driveline modifications. FWIW information at GingerMan Raceway reveals a really related acceleration plot with the DCT at 400 horsepower in comparison with the H-pattern transmission at 500 horsepower.”
Different Mods
With far more energy than inventory to the wheels, and a transmission that delivers it extra effectively, Moss and Smedegard upgraded different parts to assist with dealing with. First step, the brakes. They went with a StopTech bundle, which has 355mm rotors and four-piston calipers within the entrance, and 335mm rotors and two-piston calipers within the rear.
“As soon as we had the supercharger on it, we discovered the restrictions of the inventory brakes,” Moss says. “We obtained a braking system again then that was way over we would have liked on the time. It’s applicable for what we’ve now.”
Aero-wise, they labored with Zebulon Motorsport Consulting.
“It’s an aero equipment designed for our automotive and our guidelines,” says Smedegard. “Our bodywork has to remain inside 5 inches of the automotive’s inventory bodylines, and we maximized that space. It’s a full, 3D splitter, with built-in diffusers, and all manufactured from carbon, so it’s tremendous gentle and tremendous stiff. It makes a ton of downforce on the entrance, to the purpose that once we put it on, it was loopy how significantly better braking we had.
“We obtained an enormous, single-element rear wing, as a result of that’s all we’re allowed. We obtained aspect skirts. We tried to scrub up what’s underneath the automotive, however we’re not allowed flat flooring. We added vents to attempt to enhance the automotive’s aero total.”
A J’s Racing S2000 large physique equipment permits them to suit the foundations and match the 265-width, 200tw Yokohama A052 tires.
The suspension consists of two-way adjustable coil-overs from Reinharte Racing Suspension. It has an enormous entrance sway bar (aka Gendron bar) from Small Fortune Racing and a rear sway bar out of a Miata.
“It’s a inventory entrance sway bar off a NC Miata for the rear sway bar,” Smedegard says. “It’s mainly half the spring fee of a inventory S2000 rear sway bar.”
The duo went to nice measures to cut back weight, too, chopping roughly 250 to 300 kilos off the inventory curb weight. They stripped down the automotive and eliminated each bracket that was now not wanted. Moss and Smedegard took out the motor for the convertible high and changed the highest with a reasonable, fiberglass hardtop model. Then, they ripped out the wiring and put in a PDM from Hardwire Electronics within the U.Okay.
Getting Issues to Talk–Half III
With the PDM (energy distribution module), they primarily added one other laptop to the automotive.
“It’s like a standalone ECU for all of your energy,” says Moss. “As an alternative of utilizing relays and working wires in all places, we’ve one laptop that sits behind the passenger seat that every little thing will get wired into. We’ve keypads and switches within the automotive that activate and off {the electrical} methods within the automotive. We are able to additionally program the PDM primarily based on engine parameters–when followers come on, water sprayers, lights.”
The PDM supplies a couple of advantages.
“Let’s say you journey a fuse, and it’s your gas pump,” Smedegard says. “As an alternative of being lifeless within the water till you bodily substitute that fuse, the PDM can mechanically reset that fuse and switch that gas pump on, and it could possibly hold making an attempt. The PDM could make issues extra dependable, but it surely’s solely nearly as good as the one that units it up.”
Happily, Moss enjoys programming the PDM.
“The PDM we’ve on this automotive requires understanding of how CAN bus protocol works,” says Smedegard. “Alex already knew a few of that stuff. I perceive the ability aspect of it, however methods to program CAN bus messages and stuff is a bit difficult.”
Nonetheless, the chief benefit the PDM supplies is that it shaves weight. A number of it.
“A few of these automobiles have a number of fuse containers, relays, and a ton of wiring,” Smedegard says. “Loads of it we didn’t put again into this automotive. It doesn’t have a radio or audio system now. We saved near 70 kilos.”
Not Your Sunday Cruiser
Each Moss and Smedegard agree that SuperK is a blast to drive on the monitor. Whereas authorized for the road, it doesn’t supply most of the creature comforts one may like whereas cruising–and that’s not together with the dearth of a working radio.
“You may’t simply bounce in it and drive it–you want a coaching session,” Moss says. “You want an proprietor’s handbook with the automotive.”
Smedegard supplies an instance of that.
“Generally it’s a must to reboot the ECU, as a result of the throttle physique goes into limp mode,” Smedegard says. “It’s a course of to restart with this automotive. It’s not merely flip a key to show it on and off. You must come to a cease, shut every little thing off, energy every little thing again on, flip the ignition on, and fireplace it again up, and hopefully the TCU places it within the applicable gear.”
Beginning, on the whole, supplies a problem.
“It’s on E85 and has a full standalone ECU–beginning generally is a little finicky,” says Smedegard. “Generally, it doesn’t need to idle the best. The TCU isn’t at all times the smoothest–it’s clunky throughout shifts.”
On second thought, don’t fear about lack of a radio. You won’t hear it.
“It’s obtained a side-exit exhaust–it’s actually proper off the engine, into the turbo and two ft proper out the aspect fender,” Smedegard says. “That’s all of the exhaust you get. It’s fairly loud.”
Maintain your drink, too.
“There’s no rubber within the suspension workings,” says Moss, “so it’s harsh, clunky, and noisy.”
Lastly, the attainable dealbreaker for SuperK as a Sunday cruiser.
“There’s nonstop warmth coming from the engine bay and thru the firewall,” Smedegard says.
“It’s so sizzling in that automotive,” says Moss. “Every little thing else, you could possibly be taught to dwell with. It’s a automotive you could possibly drive on the road, however you’ll by no means need to.”
Nonetheless, On the Observe…
So, it will not be a terrific grocery-getter. However on the monitor, SuperK rises to the event.
“It’s an absolute rush,” Moss says. “It appears like there’s no time to consider something–it’s all occurring so quick. You simply obtained to drive, react and take care of issues as they occur.”
Quick. That was their purpose. They appeared to have achieved that.
“This feels such as you’re autocrossing a street course,” says Smedegard. “It’s not such as you plan out your corners–it’s reactionary. That’s the way it’s like driving the automotive on a street course in comparison with one thing slower.”
Moss, who has raced a lot slower automobiles previous to SuperK, now has a brand new appreciation for greater street programs.
“I by no means loved Highway America till I took that automotive there,” Moss says. “It’s a ton of enjoyable, since you’re not ready for the subsequent nook to come back up, for what appears like an eternity.”
Moss and Smedegard say they nonetheless have much more to do with SuperK of their quest to make it the quickest S2000. Keep tuned. It feels like Highway America could get far more enjoyable, though the street to Highway America could get a tad extra uncomfortable.
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