Holley Employee Builds a Wicked LS-Swapped S2000
After losing a race to a Neon SRT4, the owner of this S2000 began a quest to add some serious power to it.
Changing Your Mind
When Holley Performance employee Mason Whitlow originally bought this Honda S2000 back in 2014, he swore he would never LS swap it. But after spending a few years at the company as a tech support specialist, he began to realize the many virtues of the platform. What sealed the deal, apparently, was a loss in a drag race to a Dodge Neon SRT4. After that humbling experience, Whitlow began seeking ways to add some more power to his roadster.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
Considering Multiple Options
At first, Whitlow considered simply turbocharging the stock engine. But after doing some math, he decided that the easiest and most inexpensive way to get the kind of power he wanted out of the car was to just go the LS route. The project started out somewhat slowly, however, as Whitlow was gone for a while doing military training, and it was months after before he actually began turning some wrenches.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
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Build It
Whitlow eventually settled on a 6.2-liter L92 iron block for his V8 build. To that, he added a TSP turbo cam and valve-train kit, a 7875 Boostlab turbo with a Tial 50mm blow-off valve, and Tial V60 wastegate, Hooker turbo manifolds, and a Holley HiRam intake with a Holley 105mm throttle body.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
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Making It Work
The engine uses a driveshaft and motor mounts from Xperformance to fit in the engine bay and is backed up by a TH400 transmission and an 8.8-inch rear end with 3.73 gears. A Holley Dominator ECU and 7" digital dash help the setup function properly, and the fuel system consists of a 22-gallon JAZ fuel cell, Holley dual 450 fuel cell module, and 8an fuel lines feeding Holley 83LB/HR injectors.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
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Cheap Power
The relatively mild and inexpensive setup did rather well on the dyno, pumping out just under 600 horsepower on pump gas. Whitlow then switched to E85 and revised the tune, and the car responded incredibly well by returning 707 horsepower and 691 pound-feet of torque, which is more than enough to make this small and lightweight platform mighty quick.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
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Built to Drag
Even better, that power was made on just 10 pounds of boost, so there's undoubtedly more to be had. Regardless, Whitlow clearly built this car for the drag strip, and it's done quite well there so far. He's already run a 10-second quarter-mile in the car but believes that it'll easily do nines.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
>>Join the conversation on this LS swapped S2000 right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!
Cool Build
This sort of build might frustrate some who tout the undeniable virtues of Honda's magical four-cylinder, but Whitlow had some valid reasons for making the switch. And regardless of semantics, it's hard to deny that the finished product is pretty darn cool, no matter what lies under the hood.
Photos: Mason Whitlow
>>Join the conversation on this LS swapped S2000 right here in the Honda-Tech Forum!