Back To Basics | Norman's Driver-Oriented S2000

By instinct, everyone would know that cars are meant to be driven. It can also be considered as the extension to our body. For some, this would be the reason for some to do some crazy power mods to achieve high numbers until one forgets the purpose of their car. For Norman, a salaryman from Singapore feels otherwise. To him, his S2000 is only for the driving experience. Nothing fancy or impractical.

The interest in cars and driving sparked when he was dealing car parts at the time. Surrounded by friends who deal cars, he had a chance to try to drive different types of cars. As time pass by, curiosity became an obsession. After some time he finally got his first high performance car which was a Subaru Impreza GC8. That's when he wanted to learn more about driving. But unfortunately the car was very unreliable.

So came to the time he needed to get a replacement, at first he thought of getting an Evo but his friends suggested to him to get something more driver focused. Thus, he ended up getting an S2000. Unlike a AWD Turbo sedan, he found the S2K to be less powerful but the more he drove the car, the more he understands what the car is really about.

With that in mind, he started to enter track events as a weekend warrior. Usually he would find time to enter time attack style events up in Sepang International Circuit and open track days in Pasir Gudang. From the feedback he got, that's when he started to plan the mods. With reliability on mind, he left his F22C motor untouched. Nothing but an intake, J's Racing exhaust managed by a Hondata Flashpro.

Any weekend track car isn't a track car without a decent set of coils and rubber. For that, Norman got a set of Tien Super Racing Coilovers and a set of Achilles Radial 123S tires for grip and handling. With a personal best timing of 2:38.3 at Sepang on a stock motor, it's clear enough to see its  doing a decent job.

One might find it hard to miss Norman's S2K with all the stripes and stickers on the car but this is all from the help he has been getting from friends and partners for his to slowly upgrade the cars performance. It is all kept on record with a blog he runs called Racing S2000. That is where he will share his new project, review new products used on the S2K and talk about his experience with the car. But at the end, it's a joint effort. 

At the end of the day, the S2000 was built to be driven and Norman is gong to do just that. So it is an ongoing process to constantly improve the cars performance in a steady pace. All thanks to the people involved like Achilles Motorsport, Wasp Composites, YHI Singapore, Lye Design, Counterspace Garage, Ardeca Lubricants Singapore and S2KI.com. As a friend to him, I personally would love to see what's next for this car.

TUNING MENU

Owner: Norman Souza Tan

Model: 2004 Honda S2000 AP2

Location: Singapore

ENGINE:

2.2L F22C

Pasword JDM Carbon Intake, 

J's Racing Exhaust Manifold, J's Racing 70RS Duel Exhaust,

Koyo Radiator, GReddy Oil Cooler, 

HONDATA Flashpro ECU,

DRIVETRAIN:

6 speed manual

ACT Street clutch and flywheel

SUSPENSION, CHASSIS AND BRAKES:

Tien Super Racing Coilovers,

OEM rotors and calipers, 

Project Mu brake pads,

WHEELS AND TIRES:

Enkei GTC-01 17 inch

Achilles 123S

EXTERIOR:

Custom brake ducts and bodywork by Lye Design,

Mugen FRP Hardtop,

Wasp Composite carbon kevlar race splitter,

Voltex Type 2 GT Wing

INTERIOR:

Recaro SPG driver side seat,

Defi gauges, Personal Neo Eagle steering wheel, 

SPECIAL THANKS:

Achilles Motorsport

Bryan of Wasp Composite

Lye Design

YHI Singapore

Mike Kang of Counterspace Garage

Ardeca Lubricants Singapore

S2KI.com

Read more about the build on http://racings2000.blogspot.com/

BONUS IMAGES