2000 Honda S2000 - Tangerine Terror
Bolts & Washers
Ryan Kress' 2000 S2000
Propulsion
Kress' preferred engine stimulus is forced induction, and to that end, he pieced together a custom turbo system to satisfy his F20C mill. Bolted to a one-off manifold is a huge Turbonetics 60-1 snail, complete with wastegate and polished, spun-aluminum ASME compressor inlet. The pump sends charge to a Spearco heat exchanger via custom plumbing equipped with an HKS Super Sequential blow-off valve and ultimately to a head that's been mildly ported and polished. The hot side directs gases out a custom 3-inch exhaust rigged with a straight pipe and finished with an HKS carbon Ti muffler.
To match the increase in induction, Kress upgraded the fuel system with a Walbro 255lph inline pump and RC Engineering 440cc injectors. Denso Iridium IK24 plugs bring the spark, and tuning parameters are tweaked with a GReddy e-Manage Ultimate piggyback computer. To anticipate the added stress to engine oil, a B&M cooler was incorporated into the oiling system.
The F20's bottom end spins a lightweight steel Comptech flywheel. Power is then transferred to the gearbox by way of an Exedy Hyper Single clutch boasting a 6-puck disc with cera-metallic face.
Evidence: Kress' most recent dyno outing produced 320 ponies at the wheels.
Stance
Set up on Tein S.Tech springs, the AP1 seems crouched to kill. Spoon front and rear crossbeam bars keep the chassis plenty stiff.
Resistance
Stopping prowess is kicked up a notch with Hawk pads and braided lines.
Rims & Rubber
Tucked in each wheelwell are 17-inch Volk LE28N rims, 7.5-inches wide in front and 9-inches in back, shod in Falken FK451 stickiness, 225/45ZR17 fronts and 245/40ZR17 rears.
Fashion
Outside: Paint look familiar? It should-it's the Imola orange found on J-spec NSXs. The body has also been enhanced with JDM front fenders, headlights, side markers, and taillights. A Top Secret front bumper and Siebon carbon-fiber hood round out exterior mods.
Inside: In transit, Kress settles into Recaro Sport Topline seats flossing Takata harnesses, as a quartet of A'PEXi EL II gauges staring back from the dash keep him abreast of operating conditions. A Top Secret shift knob allows him to work through the gears, while a Personal steering wheel, secured with an FET quick-release hub, points the S2K's nose in the right direction.
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In 1969, Volkswagen began producing its Type 181 "Kurierwagen," more commonly known in U.S. markets as the Thing. At first developed as a military vehicle, and soon after adapted for civilian sales, the Thing was and continues to be something of an odd duck, as its name suggests, primarily because of its weird-looking combination of boxy utility in a convertible coupe platform. An elegant, refined driver's car it is not.
There would appear to be little in common between a Thing and Honda's premiere roadster, the S2000, outside of the fact that they both have soft-tops, but Ryan Kress owns both. The VW is actually a holdover from Kress' entrance into the brotherhood of automotive fanaticism. The Placentia, Calif., resident got his start messing with durable Euros like Baja Bugs and his Thing. You can imagine our surprise, then, when we heard the owner of the beautifully crafted AP1 splashed across these pages also counts a 181 among his stable of whips.
It wasn't the first thing we expected from someone who has clearly been doing his Japanese market homework, but then Kress himself seems something of a nonconformist. Like a lot of Southern Californians, he comes across as a sort of a relaxed, dippy hippy, certainly nothing like many of the minutiae-consumed JDM fanboys we've met so far. As you'll read, his approach to tuning is just as unconventional.
Recently, we caught up with Kress over the phone and had a moment to chat about his Imola orange S2000 and how it came to be.
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2000 Honda S2000 - Tangerine Terror
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