S2000 F20c Toda Dry Sump Kit!

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

The post has been a long time coming. I’ve been super busy with work and life…. not much has changed with the s2k besides bolting on the rear and front subframe with knuckles. Pretty much making it a real roller once I get some wheels. I did some small things along the way, such as installing power flex bushings. I got a whole bunch of goodies I’ve been hoarding over the years to install eventually…

The F20c Toda Dry Sump Kit is something I’ve been eying for years. Literally years… if you look back to posts like this from 2011, I’ve always looked at these parts in envy. A year or so back, someone posted this one for sale, after I found out it is DISCONTINUED, it was a done deal, the hoarder in me couldn’t resist.

The thing about these parts is that there is not much information out there besides the stock photos and description on Toda Racing’s site. I emailed Toda Racing USA and Japan for more information regarding the product, they replied to me saying that they have ZERO documentation. Even the person I bought this from, who bought this brand new told me this did not come with documentation. Kinda crazy when someone spends over $10,000 USD on this brand new and they receive no instructions. No worries, I’m crazy enough to think about installing this on a street car. Think is the keyword, but in reality, all I want to do is document this for the other S2k Otaku out there. This is some true nerd S2k nerd shit going on, hang on….

I’ve told you guys I’m a hoarder right? I was able to mock this setup on a spare blown engine I’ve had sitting around that someone gave me. The previous owner of the engine dropped a valve so, the engine needs a ton of love if I want to resurrect it, F24 stroker engine anyone? I also threw on my Toda ITBs for shits and giggles because it reminded of the Toda Racing stock photo I’ve been drooling over for years….

Same same but different.

Let’s start with the crank pulley. The Toda Racing F20c dry sump kit uses an OEM stock S2000 crank pulley. The pulley is machined out to fit the gear that goes to the dry sump pump.

Here is the Crank pulley exploded. You can see how the OEM crank pulley has been machined for dry sump gear.

There are bolts that mount from behind the crank pulley to mount the inner piece. Don’t forget to put your crank pulley bolt in before you bolt the piece in!

The rear, you can see all the holes where it bolts into the crank pulley

The front where the dry sump gear is mounted.

Dry sump pump gear on the crank pulley….
So the order of operation is…. Put crank pulley bolt in crank pulley, bolt in metal gear holder, (no idea what to call that thing), screw in and torque down crank pulley bolt to engine, there is a hole in it to access the crank pulley bolt. Lastly bolt in dry sump pulley and install belt at the same time to the pump.

Mounted with the belt on….

You can see how the belt runs the pump here. From what I can tell, most of the other dry sump units that toda racing produces also runs this very pump. If you were to look at their bespoke K20 Formula 4 engines or Super GT engines they all use this type of pump…. I don’t know what hole is oil-in and what hole is oil-out yet. These are things I need to figure out.

All the bolt holes underneath the pump I have no idea what they do.

From the pictures of the few cars that run this online, those holes below are unused.

If we turn our attention to the oil drain bolt towards the rear of the pain, it is the same bolt used in the OEM oil pan. I love how they retained this and did not change the bolt to a different size or pitch. They are two oil drain bolts to drain oil from the “pan.”

What’s these 3 holes here? This is why I think this is great for a street car. No other Dry Sump Kit manufacture for the F20c has these bolt holes. This is where the bracket for the OEM AC Compressor goes. So in Theory you can run AC with this! I’m not gonna play race car driver, I love having AC in my S2k as it gets very hot in the summer, and I’m all about the hardtop 24/7 life.

If we look at the bottom of the Dry Sump pan you can see the separate sections this pan has. Another cool things to note, This Toda Racing Dry Sump Unit is casted from magnesium. Yes, this might weigh more than other kits out in the market but I feel like this is the most thoroughly thought out kit out there, shy of like IF HPD make a dry sump kit for this like how they do for the K series, where the dry sump pump is ran off of the internal oil pump chain…… Maybe AT power would make something like that if there is enough demand?

Turning out attention to inside the engine. This plate is mounted to the block to divert the oil to the new sump.

So what’s that hole right there. That hole is where the OEM Oil pump would pump oil to, if you were to follow that hole up the engine, you would end up at the oil filter….So that is another super super cool thing about this kit. YOU CAN RETAIN YOUR OIL FILTER LOCATION! Yep, no need to remote mount your oil filter to run it inline like the other kits on the market. See I told you this was extremely thought out.

O-ring on the dry sump I should replace….

This is why I can use the OEM Oil filter location, how cool is that!

I needed some washers to mount the engine, so I found these cam trigger gears…. apparently they are discontinued and I shouldn’t be using it like this…

Toda ITBS looking pretty. I made a post why these are rad… Here

Favorite part of the Toda Racing ITBs, the coolant breather to make burping your coolant system easier.

That’s it guys, hopefully you enjoyed the in depth look of the Toda Racing Dry Sump kit for the F20C / S2000. I really wish there was something like this when I was searching. There is seriously nothing out there. Now my new issue, how the hell do I mount a dry sump tank in my car, I don’t want to put it in the trunk nor do I want to put it at the passenger footwell. I don’t even know what size tank to buy…. that’s for me to find out.. Hopefully running by 2030 haha.

Life: Import Showoff Little Tokyo 2019

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

Sorry for the long pauses between blog posts, I’m crazy busy as life goes on. A few months ago I checked out Import Showoff Little Tokyo…. Import Showoff used to be the premiere car show/meet in SoCal…. but man has times changed, and have changed for the worst! People used to mark this event down on their calendar as THE show to go to, but now it’s only a shadow of its former self. The lot was small, the attendance was low, the car variety was…. minuscule, and the quality of cars itself was to be desired.

Just because you have a car and access to a vinyl machine, putting anime stickers on your car doesn’t make it awesome. Something about the Itasha execution in Japan is vastly different than what people in the USA are doing, maybe something lost in the interpretation? maybe it’s the USDM style of Itasha? I don’t know. Kind of like how some people interpret VIP cars here in the states is so far removed from the Japanese style, VIP-ing a Lexus IS, Honda Civics, and other small cars….. IT NEEDS TO BE A FULL SIZE SEDAN PEOPLE….. went off topic, /end rant.

Probably won’t come back next year, not much to see, would rather eat at Marugame Udon down the street.

This Mercedes caught my eye. I’m a big fan of the burple color of the car, it really pops in the SoCal sun. Stance is great, wheels look rad, I’m definitely feeling the late 80s-90s vibe coming off of this car.

I’m not too knowledgable with Mercedes cars if you can forgive me, so I don’t know exactly what model this is, but man this oozes style. I can totally see Don Johnson with an all white blazer exiting this car after doing lines of coke….

Not everyday you see one modded with a sport “tuner” steering wheel. Gives the interior a different vibe. These cars always had a fat steering wheel making you feeling like you’re driving a cruiser.

pretty much half of the show in this picture
Sick 240z, great cruiser look.

A car I know much about, since I own one. Same gen too, a UCF30 Zenki model….Although this is done up, the UCF31 Kouki models look soooo much better.

The normally matte black engine covers were painted gloss white.

Along with the window visors…. Some typical VIP goodies, junction produce curtains, and maybe trays?

The rear looks great, probably my favorite part on this build. Upgraded LED tail lights and burnt exhaust tips look so good. I love how this bumper really squares out the rear of the car.

This RWB car was present. Pretty cool color theme, the sakura leaves + the more earth tone gundam motif on a white car goes well. Makes the car seem a bit elegant in my eyes….

The Other half of the show… Yep that’s it.

But forreal I’m an S2k guy and what does an S2k guy wanna see…. They wanna see this beauty.

Moses’s NFR Ap2. Side note, I legit thought his name was Nalgas, and when I went to search for nalgas on google, I just saw a bunch of pictures of butts….. Real reason I wanted to check out this car was to check out the ASM BBS clear ways wheels on this car. I think the only set in the USA?

Probably the reason why these might be the only set in the USA is because they’re like ￥120,000- a pop. Yes, per wheel, so 480,000yen total or like $4528 with current exchange rate for the whole set, and of course you have to get it shipped here from Japan…. I mean it’s not terrible if you’re used to German car E88 BBS wheel prices, but a few more grand more expensive than some Volk wheels or even when they re-released, the Mugen MF10s…..

I love how OEM the wheel looks. Especially with the NSX S-Zero center caps.

Engine bay is standard ASM x Mugen stuff. Mugen Intake, Origin arm, ASM CF cooling plate….

He also has the ASM Wing/Trunk Combo…. The GT-09 trunk + wing. It’s a trunk with the bottom of the wing stands molded into the dry carbon trunk… pretty neat. I remember looking this up on the ASM website awhile back something like 910,000 yen or $8,394.84 with nowadays terrible exchange rate. Of course you have to find a way to bring it back from Japan. Pretty cool seeing it in person! I can’t imagine ASM having that many units left for sale….

A closeup on that WEAVE yo. The ASM race car has a setup similar to this.

One step closer.

He’s also rocking the ASM dry CF bonnet. The dry carbon version of the hood I used to have. Side note, this hood is made by the same people that make the Mugen hood in Saitama, a company called CHALLENGE. That’s why the rain duct setup is similar to the Mugen hood.

A bit closer

Gabe was there too and won best sports car

At this point I was chasing my daughter around.

Chickenjoy anyone?

Oh yeah, next to the s2k was this 4th gen prelude with a bunch of ARC parts on it. In a past life I was a 5th gen owner, the 4th gen is definitely unique.

This one was hopped up with a Jackson Racing Supercharger, bunch of shiny ARC bits, including the famous ARC hot air intake.

Somehow back to Moses’s ASM themed S2k. BBS clearways in full effect. In my opinion, #1 in show, for execution, quality, whatever. I’m biased.

Life: Chronicles Year 10

March 10, 2019March 10, 2019 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

Hey all,

I am still alive…. Life has been busy, my daughter, new job in a new field, house stuff, etc…. adulting really takes a toll on you. It’s funny when I tell my friends from highschool/college and mention I still have my s2k(partially) and I’m still into it, going to meets, writing blog posts, etc, they look at me like I’m a 30 year old going on 18.

I can’t shake this car thing, especially Honda S2000s, even though the scene is drastically different than when I first started. Before I couldn’t fathom why the OG S2ks guys sold their cars and went on to different things, I would think why would you leave the greatest car god has ever created (JK not JK), but now as a fully grown man guy (I think), I finally understand, life changes and sometimes you don’t got time to drink boba and smoke cigarettes till 2am in the morning. This younger crowd does make me think about the s2k as a platform….but I am in this for the long run…. we’ll see if this turns into 911 and the Ant.

Sorry for the long tangent…. I finally had time and approval from my boss, aka wife, to make it down to the Chronicles year 10 meet. In fact we just got off a cruise from Mexico that morning, I even made my wife, daughter, mother-in-law rush off the boat at 7am with all our luggage instead of having it delivered to the dock for us so I could make this meet. Which means our continuously screaming child was under her care for the day, while I bare the heat of beautiful Corona California….. It was a hot one for sure, in fact every year is hot as fuck, so this year was no different.

Excuse the sensor dust… I tried my best to remove it.

Upon entering the meet, I had to say what’s up to Joe, lowkey one of the best builds out there. He’s a super humble guy that doesn’t live for the gram like 75% of these owners nowadays. His Mugen S2k CR is a thing of beauty and has been featured before. I definitely look up to him, since he’s a great father and has this sick S2k, #lifegoals.

Next to Joe’s Mugen CR is Carlos’s ASM bumper S2000 CR, another S2k CR that has been “ruined” with Voltex rear over fenders and Mugen rims.

Sara Choi’s Voltex’ed S2000 CR.

EK with J’s Fenders

EG Civic with a rad Pocari Sweat livery, Osaka JDM wing, J’s racing fenders, and super jdm mismatching rims.

Jackie made it all the way from Vancouver Canada to make the meet. I’ve been following this build for years, before instagram when he just had a build thread on S2ki. In fact I remember his car in this video back in the day. He had an 04 ASM bumper before. Now he’s rocking a Voltex race front bumper, Voltex rear diffuser, spoon hood, craftsquare mirrors, and Voltex wing…. When he was rocking the ASM front bumper, the Voltex kit wasn’t even out yet, that’s how OG this guy is!

I love the Te37 wheels in this color.

Interior shot that shows the stack cluster. I love the stack cluster, I actually prefer it over the S2k speedo. Iconic Cusco blue rollcage and momo wheel with NSX-R horn button.

Another guy from Canada came down in this super clean styled Toyota Century.

I don’t even want to say VIP style, because this is the VIP. When I think of VIP style, I think VIP cars are trying to make their car look and feel like this.

ITRs were plenty.

Sang ‘s J’s Racing widebody turbo s2k looking good…. car for is for sale btw!

Gotuning tommy, representing Gotuning with his crazy ASM S2000 CR…. the 4th “ruined” S2000 CR at the meet.

For this event, Spoon USA brought out their Super Taikyu S2000 all the way from Japan.

Yep looks race car.

The Spoon Super Taikyu car rocking some Titan7 wheels with some 6 pot Spoon calipers.

Of course this isn’t s2kandtheant without talking about Areen’s S2k….. This is for sale too… My S2k friends’ s2ks are slowly disappearing.

Great deal if you buy it!

Since I am currently working on an EG civic, I was taking notes of all the EG civics there.

EG civic with Mugen lip, Mugen strut bar, and some green TE37.

What amazes me are these small details, like how clean this hood support is!

It is amazing how some of these cars were at wekfest in the bay area a bit prior to this event, and they all made it down to this meet.

Another shot of Jackie’s S2k.

This del sol was exceptionally done. Mugen front bumper, Te37, K swap with Kinsler ITBs, and S2000 Spoon mirrors.

What impressed me the most are these recently discontinued crazy $$$ Mugen x Recaro MS-R seats. You could buy many del sols for these price of these two seats.

Simple Amuse R1 front bumper S2000 with CE28n

Modest AP racing big brake kit on the s2k.

This Spoon civic that pops up at every big meet. Pretty much everything from the Spoon catalogue except the mishimoto radiator. I think I last saw it at Eibach in 2018.

My buddy Gabe with his Ap2 with an Ap1 front bumper.

Mugen MF10s up front and TE37 in the rear.

Joe popped his hood revealing the Mugen intake, super rare mugen spark plug cover, and ASM strut bar.

ITR with Mugen kit on some TE37.

This is by far my favorite EG Civic at the meet. Super super clean JDM EG6 SIR. Here you can see the super clean and rare EG6 Mugen exhaust.

This civic is perfect sitting on white Mugen MF8.

I love how pristine and stock the engine bay is. I love the OEM resonator and OEM airbox. I find it funny how I’m coming full circle nowadays, where before I would want the most modded car, but now I want the most original car as these cars age.

Everything about this civic is perfect, sunroof visor, window visors, and yellow interior.

TSX wagon on Mugen MF10s with some more Mugen goodies.

Clean Ap1 rocking the Ap2 Mugen kit sitting on Mugen MF10.

Mugen kit goodness.

Clean r32 skyline in an interesting green color.

Pretty good turnout.

Lotus Elise on an APR kit

Front shot of the Super Taikyu Spoon S2000.

Another shot of Gotuning Tommy’s ASM s2k on Titan 7 wheels.

The Evasive booth had this Ap2 with the new Greddy Gen 2 turbo kit

Love the ASM tow hook peeking out of the Amuse R1 bumper.

shot of the Mugen ITR from earlier, The open hood reveals a K swap.

EG Tank Mike was present

Clean NA1 NSX with TE37.

Quad tipped Spoon exhaust.

Spoon prototype hardtop. It’s amazing looking at the hardtop in detail, it is CNC’ed out of one piece of metal.

Super clean EF, I’ve been really interested in EFs lately… something about those boxy looks.

Under the hood of the Spoon Super Taikyu S2000….

Sang’s S2k again.

S2000 with wings out in full force.

Super clean ARC theme BB4 prelude.

Engine shot of the ARC theme’ed prelude.

Youtube famous LATOMMYLA TWM ITB EK civic.

shot of the TWM ITBs.

EK is on green TE37.

At the point I changed lenses that had a super scratched polarizer on it….. I didn’t realize this till later. That’s why all the picture from here on out seem a bit hazy.

Jackie’s S2000 again showing his AP Racing pro 5000 calipers in detail.

Notched authentic Spoon hood for the turbo.

under the hood of Tommy’s car, showing off the ASM intake and Mugen Spark plug cover, and ASM dry CF hood.

Areen’s ASM hood…. looks familiar :p

Closing out this post with Phil Robles crazy Eg civic. 2019 just started, hopefully we’ll see my S2k get one step closer to a car again!

Life: Petersen Museum Japanese Cruise-In & Super Street Meet 2018 Part 2

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

We’re back with part II of of my Petersen Museum X Super Street Meet coverage! Please see here for my prior coverage.

DA Integra with Speed Star Racing by SSR EX-C aero covers…. try finding these nowadays. I would hate to lose a center cap.

Dat JDM parking sensor.

A GTR with a bunch of overtake parts on it. For those who don’t know Overtake is an in house brand by bulletproof automotive, some of their parts are made by companies such as Power House Amuse, makes sense since they are the official US Powerhouse Amuse distributor.

R33 GTR owned by Kinganytime of Hoonigan fame? Not sure if he’s a part of them anymore.

Red Cressida also featured on Hoonigan

Evo IX from DTM autobody rocking the full Voltex kit.

Love when other makes rock ASM parts. This is very common in Japan since ASM is the Recaro dealer and outfits many of their seats into cars, i.e Porsche 911.

DanOften’s Ap1 with voltex bumper, spoon hood, and craftsquare mirrors.

Pretty serious seat setup. Hopefully this car actually sees track time.

First gen civic with a Honda motorcycle engine.

Not sure what motorcycle this is from, I’m sure I would of found out if I read the paper above…

The wheels look like Watanabes, could be wrong…..

CHP rollin by making sure everyone is staying CARB legal.

Super Clean Civic VTi. The EG Civic VTi is kinda of like the SIR model but for the UK market, it comes with a B16a. It doesn’t have the white SIR cluster, but does have red gauge needles, and a tach that goes to 8k and reads in miles. No idea why I didn’t take more pictures but I thought it was pretty cool… Makes sense to import cars from the UK since cars are being exported from Japan at an alarming rate.

My friend Alvin was drooling over this AW11 MR2.

We decided to go downstairs into the Petersen museum since the meet was pretty small…. Out in the parking area they had this E30 M3 on display.

Inside the Petsersen Museum, out front and center, they had this Porsche 911 993 GT1 Race car on display.

Forshadowing the Porsche exhibit in the museum.

Amazing rear end, the exhaust setup looks insane.

I really like the overall shape of this car, it is very elegant.

They also had Iconic vintage Japanese sports cars out front as part of their Japanese car exhibit. Super Rad Honda S800, grandfather to the almighty S2000.

A Subaru 360… kinda like a jdm volkswagen beetle knock off. To the left of the Subaru is a Toyota Sports 800, which also rocks a boxer engine. You could say this is the grandfather to the current GT86.

Finally some more S2k content, and a very historic one in fact. Most people remember Suki’s VeilSide S2000 from 2 Fast 2 Furious…. Did you know she is Steve Aoki’s sister? And their father is the founder of benihana….. now you knowwwwww. I can’t remember the last time anyone mentioned ROJA wheels… throwback.

Interior is pretty standard, mostly reupholstered and the addition of gauges in the center.

The Time Machine Delorean from Back to The Future.

One of a kind Toyota 2000GT Convertible custom made for Sean Connery in the film You Only Live Twice because he was too tall….

I saw a few of these at the old Toyota Museum, which is long gone now.

Mazda FD RX7 prototype.

Mclaren 720S entirely made out of Legos.

Jaguar XJ220

Kenmeri Skyline

Famous Super Street ex-editor JDMWong’s EF Civic painted Suzuka Blue with a Rocket Bunny Kit…. funny how those two are not things I like in my book, but work soooo good here.

SSR SuperFins.

Close up shot of the superfins.

Incredibly rare Mugen Exhaust for the EF.

Dragcartel K series engine up on display.

With a mean looking header.

A Titan Motorsports Supra. Titan motorsports is a shop famously known for tuning Supras.

Classic and new Ford GT.

Period looking Nissan Race car. Reminds me of speed racer.

Amazing how minimalistic this car is.

Period correct zip ties holding everything together.

Mazda Cosmos.

Another Toyota 2000gt, this one more original.

Afterwards we went downstairs to check out the Porsche exhibit…. I don’t know my Porsches too well, so excuse my lack of knowledge. This looks like a Porsche 911 930.

Yep, the 930 is a turbo…

I haven’t seen too many of these Porsche Carrera GTs in person up close. This front bumper is where ASM found the inspiration for their bumper design. You can see it right?

ASM may of found inspiration from the fenders too.

To my surprise, the interior looks very dated for a car of this prestige, typical early 2000s look…. You can’t see it, but something on the door card was coming apart on the passenger side.

Never a fan of tan interiors…

Porsche 911 Targa.

Porsche 356 speedster.

A more modern Porsche….

This car is the famous Rothmans Paris – Dakar Porsche 959. I believe the dirt is original too… This must be worth a cool million dollars+.

Slantnose 911.

This car was double roped off, if that means anything.

I am going to end off this post with this Zenki 240sx on CP Hart-R wheels, I walked back into the show and took one shot and left….

Life: Petersen Museum Japanese Cruise-In & Super Street Meet 2018 Part 1

August 20, 2018August 23, 2018 / WhoisAnts / 1 Comment

A month ago I went with some friends to check out the Petersen Japanese Cruise in / Super Street Meet in west LA. The last time I went was 2 years ago and the complex was packed with crazy cars, check my previous post here. This time unfortunately, there was a noticeable decline in attendance compared to 2 years ago, along with the quality of cars. My theory is that the first 2 years they did not charge a fee for showing a car, while this year they did, in addition when I went the first year, they provided free validation of parking, while this year I paid the full price of parking, I think this deterred a lot of people from coming.

I am still trying to figure out if I will go next year, I am currently more inclined not to go, due to what I saw this year.

The day started cool, but man it was getting hot and one hour in I was sweating hard.

Top Rank Importers had a strong showing, there was a large representation of RHD JDM vehicles showcasing what they have to offer. With the 25+ year rule and all sorts of vehicles are now eligible to be imported to the USA, fly by night importing companies have popped up everywhere. I’ve heard stories of people essentially exporting a crushed up JDM salvaged title car, only to be repainted and resold in the USA….. make sure you do your research…. tangent over.

Not many S2ks in attendance at this meet. For whatever reason, I find myself attracted to these oddball cars. For example, this mid 90s Toyota Camera on Volk Te37 SL.

I’m not a huge wheel guy, but I hope these are authentic. If they are authentic, then this guy gets points for buying wheels that cost five times the price of the car. Seriously, you can buy four 1995 Toyota Camrys for the price of one set of Volk Te37 SL.

Panda Toyota Supra on Volk TE37.

Rad to see a time attack Supra, I’m just going off of the banner though.

Another interesting car that caught my eye. This late 90s early 2000s Toyota Corolla. If you’re like me and grew up Asian in the 90s/early 2000s, EVERYONE had this car. Your uncle, your friend, your teacher…. you had to have known someone that drove this car. The Volk TE37 SL wheels caught my eye with this Corolla.

Inviting me to take a look closer to the engine bay. I believe this is the XRS version, which offered the 2ZZ engine, the same engine that came in the Celica GTS of the same era. Pretty cool, because you don’t see many of these around. Toyota was doing really crazy shit during this period, I remember the first Scion TC had a supercharger option you could of got from the factory. Nuts right?

I do like that TRD strut bar, something about TRD strut bars always look so beefy and functional, I dream of getting TRD chassis bars for my Lexus LS430 and IS300. Man Toyota was really doing something during this time period, even my personal cars are Toyotas from this era.

The interior had these TRD Sport seats that I am sure are incredibly rare. TRD generally have a very limited run when they release parts. It’s not like Mugen that in comparison have a much longer window, for example the Mugen intake for the S2k is still available brand new and the S2k was discontinued almost 10 years ago!

This Nissan Skyline R32 GTR had it’s hood opened and something immediately caught my attention.

This Nismo RB26DETT NISMO FINE SPEC FINAL EDITION badge certifies this RB26Dett is a Nismo crate engine assembled at their fabled Omori Factory. A quick google search shows this Long block is over $13k USD for the long block itself and limited to only 200 units. As a Honda guy, I am jealous of the in house factory support Nismo gives their cars. I mean how rad would it be to see a Final Spec Mugen F20/f22c…. one can only dream.

The special Nismo engine is paired with a Nismo Intake manifold and typical jdm goodies, a la HKS and Cusco.

For the wheels, this R32 GTR Skyline had huge Endless calipers and Volk ZE40 in bronze.

The Nissan Skyline showing was strong this day. It was the most common car out there.

Hakosuka GTX. Another car on my dream car list.

Period car next to some period correct old men.

Once again another Nissan R32 Skyline GTR. I love the Castrol livery on this car, a throwback to the Group A days.

Frontal of the Castrol livery R32 Skyline.

NSX on Volk TE37

With Recaro SR3 seats.

Of course this is S2kandTheAnt, you need some S2k coverage! This is the Super Street project Ap1 S2000 they built within a week. It features the prototype of the new Greddy Turbo Kit Gen 2 with a more modern Garrett GTX turbo, improved exhaust manifold, more power, and still smog legal! I never really understood the plight of California residents until I became one, having a smog legal upgrade really saves you some headaches.

I previously shot some photos of this kit at Eibach this year.

This project features the new Seibon dry carbon trunk…… which is typically seibon quality. I mean look at that gap between the tail light and the trunk! This most definitely is not ASM quality.

The Super Street project ap1 setting on Konig wheels.

Levin with some carbs.

Ending off the post with this DA Integra with Speed Star Racing by SSR EX-C aero covers in super mint condition. This is a great period correct build! See you guys later for part II.

Life: Eibach 2018 at AutoClub Speedway Part 3

May 22, 2018May 22, 2018 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

Final post of Eibach 2018 at autoclub speedway! I’ve noticed something with my pictures I need to take more into account when I’m going over them…. My pictures look drastically different my iPhones (yes mine and my wife) compared to what I see on both my Mac Pro Desktop and Macbook even though I thought I calibrated them….

Check out my previous post here if you pissed it.

On to the pictures! At this point I was done checking out the cars in S2k row and started to venture out to the vendor area. An overcast arrived that was greatly welcomed, so being not so hot AF I really took my time…

Always a classic S2k look for me, Powerhouse Amuse R1 bumper and bronze wheels, in this case Mugen MF10 (I do wish they were CE28N) and a black OEM hardtop. This white car was also rocking spoon aero mirrors…. I still don’t know how I feel about the aero mirrors since I’ve re-fell in love with stock mirrors recently haha. I’ll probably change my mind about that in a few weeks, as I always do.

I do miss my Amue R1 bumper…..

This new gen NSX came fresh off the drag strip. It ran a stupid fast time….I just can’t remember what it was…. thrilling I know. I believe it only has exhaust modifications done to the car.

Not really a looker this one…. It would be a half decent build if it wasn’t for those awful headlights. Some mods really detract from the car, for example, for me at least, anytime people add these headlights or tail lights I really lose my S2000 boner. OEM is perfection.

This AP1 is packing an HKS super charger. Probably spent all of his money on the HKS Super charger so he had to go for the eBay headlights……

It was the first time seeing the Rywire Sema S2000 in person and it is glorious. It’s amazing how much nicer it is in person compared to in pictures. I spent a good amount of time looking over the fine details of this build since I’ve worked on a number of stock S2ks over the years and know when I see something not OEM under the hood…..

In pictures it does look strange with the really wide hips…..But in person it doesn’t look too drastic. Who can say no to the Mugen SS Bumper… especially one that has been widened for extra smileys.

I’ve had numerous ITBs on my personal S2k, so this Kinsler unit with the top feed injectors definitely peaked my interest. It’s interesting how Ryan integrated the DBW module and basically machined a shaft to match up with the Kinsler linkage. I’m pretty sure he’s using a Subaru Drive by Wire throttle unit. The way this was done, it could only be done with the Kinsler ITBs because the linkage is sideways compared to other itb setups….. Not the best explanation I know.

I love how extra plates with gussets were welded to the body to look super OEM. The bung coming out of the brake master cylinder was interesting. I really like this brake line look…. super tempted to do an ABS tuck….

really clean and tidy setup.

interior was very simple with a Mugen Gen III Steering wheel and JDM Recaro RSG. Looks like a pretty beefy rollcage, but lets be honest, this car will never see a race track….

Interesting blend of the Mugen SS rear bumper and Mugen Ap1 rear trunk lip. For me the side skirts make the car look really boxy and loses one of my favorite S2k lines.

Another SEMA heavy hitter, the Mode Parfume Ap1. Mode Parfume is mainly known in the VIP crowd. Mode Parfume brings an interesting look to the S2k, really rounds out the lines of the car. Besides the kit this car is rocking a J’s Racing hood and Volk TE37.

The blue this car is painted is excellent.

Next to the mode parfum car was this J’s Racing Widebody Turbo’ed S2000, I follow the owner on instragram. This looks like a very well executed build, with the power to match. Love those Project Mu calipers and craftsquare mirrors. Sometimes it drives me insane when there is a crazy widebody S2k, but is running a stock engine….. Wide body needs the power to match the looks!

nice and tidy turbo setup…. big ass turbo at that.

I saw this car for sale recently and it listed Tein Flex suspension on the car, details like this make me cringe, like seriously, you’re gonna spend 30k+ on body work alone and then you’re gonna get the cheapest jdm suspension you can buy….. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw motons on the car.

Greddy showing off their Gen 2 Turbo Kit. The only smog legal turbo kit for the s2000. For the Gen 2 turbo kit, Greddy redesigned the exhaust manifold to make it much stronger, the older generation manifold was known to crack, in addition to the redesigned manifold, Greddy upgraded the turbo to a more modern Garret GTX2867R, oh yeah, Greddy ditched the super outdated eManage and now run Hondata flashpro.

I believe this car is actually owned by one of the owners of Evasive Motorsports. Super clean build with voltex front end, volk te37, and project mu BBK.

I would love a 2nd s2k and boost the hell out of it.

Another shot of Gotuning tommy’s ASM’ed S2k running Titan7 wheels.

This booth stopped me in my tracks. Nisin, in addition to making cup noodles (JK), they also make the OEM brake calipers and Spoon calipers!

Nisin had this on display. It’s a 6 pot caliper they are planning to release soon. They revealed to me that the new Spoon BBK is going to be based off of this caliper. I can’t wait.

In addition to the BBK they are planning to release, they have performance brake pads available now!

All types of S2ks were present, including ones like this…..

I saw some random Japanese people at the Pit Garage booth…. later I found out it was the J’s Racing president…. oops, should of got him to sign something.

ICB selling high quality JDM goods in addition to the new Regamasters. On the table we have a beautiful saclam exhaust. For people that don’t know, the guy that runs Saclam is an ex-Mugen Engineer. That’s why if you look at older mugen exhausts for 90’s Hondas, you can see the influence he had on the exhaust tips.

Interesting wrap color on this Type-R.

Pricing for the Regamaster Evos

I walked back to say goodbye to some S2k people. I couldn’t help to notice Moses’s Amuse Euro 70mm exhaust with some gold bling bling….

People were leaving, love all around….. refreshing from all the internal hate of car things in my heart (kidding not kidding)

Russan Hammer snapping a few shots for the gram.

Another shot of dimsum Jon’s car.

JDM umbrellas were out in full swing.

Moar of this. I wish I framed this better.

stopped by to look at the finer details of this new Greddy kit!

Sara Choi’s S2000 CR I used to see rolling around in Monterey Park…. I like the Volk Te37 on this, really flows will the rest of the build’s dark accents.

Life: Eibach 2018 at AutoClub Speedway Part 2

May 13, 2018May 16, 2018 / WhoisAnts / 1 Comment

Welcome to part 2 of my Eibach coverage. I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response I received in the past few days, you guys are the reason that I keep taking photos, as crappy as they are, and continue to keep writing as horrible as my grammar is…..

I was blown away at the line up of S2ks. It was like seeing an Instagram feed of S2ks in person.

Let’s start where we left off last post in Part 1

I wasn’t aware who this was in part 1, but my buddy let me know this is JDReyes

Voltex kit with ASM fenders, Spoon Hood, and White Volk CE28N…… all in Cocaine white.

Russian Hammer’s White ASM Ap2 with newly bronzed Volk CE28n again……

If there is one kit I’ve seen take over the S2k scene in the past few years, it’s the Voltex body kit. It has really taken over in the past few years since Evasive first dropped the sketches to the public on FB years ago…. It’s a great looking kit, but to me it was destroyed by how many rep kits they are nowadays. I do agree it is probably one of the most functional body kits since voltex did test it all in a wind tunnel.

Another voltex kitted S2k running Volk TE37SL with EVS fenders and an ASM hood with EVS hood vents. Something about the vents on the fender reminds me of when Z3 fenders were super popular on imports, hell even my Honda Accord with a purple body kit had them back in the day.

Another angle.

Yep, Voltex is very popular. Note the J’s Kitted S2k by S2Boost parting the sea of voltex

EVS fenders on this white Ap1 with a spoon hood and voltex front bumper by kaotik

side shot showing the red ce28n, voltex front flares, voltex sideskirts, circuit garage rear over fender, and craftsquare mirrors.

Silverstone Ap1 with voltex front bumper, spoon fenders, spoon hood, and craftsquare mirrors.

Hector Lavario’s Voltex kitted Ap2…..

All these S2ks looking super clean….. I’m not sure if it’s because i’m ADHD or jaded, but I miss seeing the variety of tuning styles in S2ks. There are so many different manufactures of body parts for the S2k, maybe it is the effect of social media, but s2ks now are looking pretty similar following the same cookie cutter mentality, most S2ks run the same type of body kits or parts, like a voltex body kit, voltex wing, Amuse R1 Bumper (I’m guilty of this), CE28 or TE37…. Only 12+ years ago, I remember there was a variety of styles people were trying out, such as Tracy Sports, Amuse Wide body, INGS+1, Cwest, Car Garage Amis, Sorcery…… I can’t remember the last time someone actually brought up INGS+1 in a conversation, I think it’s a great looking front bumper.

Voltex wings all around.

S2k row.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen car shop glow tail lights in person……. Digging the rear end of the Silverstone Ap1. Voltex Swan Neck wing + CSG tail lights, K1 Laboratory Duck Tail, and what looks to be a J’s Racing Exahust.

Another shot showing the Volk ZE40.

I just realized that the sebring silver car to the left is rocking Euro headlight washers…. It’s funny how europeans can’t get rid of these fast enough, but on the other side of the ocean people are adding them to their cars. The Volk TE37 fitment looks so period correct on this Ap1.

Next to the row of S2ks, they were a row of DC2, most of them being type-r…. Phoenix yellow is so good.

And Championship white.

relatively modest ap1….

I wonder if this spoon sticker is the reproduction or an original? He’s also rocking a Spoon snorkle and J’s Racing cooling plate….

Another shot of Joe’s S2000 CR

I think Kaotik was explaining why he gold wrapped his Mugen intake something something…..

One of the few Turbo’ed S2ks in attendance S2boost. It must be a SMOG thing, but they don’t have as many Forced Induction (FI) S2ks on the west coast compared to the east coast. I remember a bunch of guys out east turboing their S2k when I lived there.

Joe’s S2k CR never ceases to amaze me…..

I’ll cut if off here. I’ll post up part 3 soon which will complete my coverage of Eibach. Once again, I must iterate that Eibach 2018 was a HUGEEEEE event. I didn’t even get to see half of the event because of the utterly large amount of cars and decided to focus primarily on what I know, S2000s. Although I did own an EG civic at one point in my life and did preform a B16a swap on my friend’s EG, I will admit my knowledge in other Honda chassis is lacking.

Life: Eibach 2018 at AutoClub Speedway Part 1

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018 / WhoisAnts / 2 Comments

Hey all,

Been a long time since I did a real post. I’m still slowlyyyy working on my youtube channel. This was my first real S2k event in a year or 2 since I quit my job. It was great seeing friends I haven’t seen in awhile and putting faces to the Instagram screen names of people I’ve never met before. On this particular day it was scorching hot, like really hot as hell. I had to come out, my buddy Gabe, told me that they’re gonna be a very strong S2k showing and since this is S2kandtheAnt, I know I had to come.

If you guys aren’t from SoCal, this event took place in Fontana, Fontana is a good hour + east of Los Angeles. The thing about LA, the more east you go, the more desert it gets. I swore it was good 90+ degrees out there. I rolled with my buddy Peter, who has a pretty sick S2k of his own. I’ll post up pictures of his car some day, he has a pretty nice build in the works.

After arriving at Autoclub speedway around 10:20, 20 minutes after the event officially opens to the public, we sat in line to get in for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Yeah, you heard that right, almost a hour and half we spent waiting in line looking at the best civics the Inland Empire had to offer (take that anyway you wanna look at it). While waiting in Peter’s S2k, I came to the realization that my S2k will definitely retain it’s AC…. No way in hell I’m deleting that shit, it’s not worth it for scene points. On the bright side, the Eibach organizers did allow us to get in free of charge, probably because they were trying to move the line as fast as possible, I like how they took accountability! Big ups to Eibach Organizers.

Another thing I wanna add, for some reason this day, I was wearing shorts that had the the crotch blown out, like it was coming apart at the seams…..shorts that are over 14 years old will do that. So I didn’t want to expose myself by crouching for pictures…. So you’ll notice some of the angles I shot aren’t the best…. and also did I mention it was hot as hell…. I was rocking a spoon umbrella in one hand, my camera in the other hand, and hoping that my nuts down get exposed….. tough life.

After we finally parked. The first thing I saw was this clean PY ITR. I’m sure the parking lot had a ton of goodies, but I didn’t want to chill in one place after sitting in line for over a hour, I wanted to get to the actual meet!

Familiar faces all around. My buddy Chris Lum with his super mint Mugen Ap2 with JDM ap1 clear headlights and Mugen MF10. I don’t think I’ve actually seen his car with MF10s on it in person before this. I love how King Motorsports is re-releasing mugen goodies for non-rape prices now, like the Mugen B2 Radiator caps. Small things like this help people like Chris and I really complete our builds without buying outrageously overpriced 2nd hand parts, seriously people were trying to sell those things for $200 a pop. Now where is the Mugen Spark Plug cover re-release!!!!!

Chris was posted in front of the ICB Motorsports tent and so was this Civic Type R FK8 with Regamasters. ICBMotorsports dropped their new re-release of the Desmond Regamasters! I love how people are putting in an effort to release these wheels again, I don’t care if the market becomes “saturated.” It’s helping enthusiasts get their hands on these wheels without trying to find crappy 2nd hand stuff. Sorry for the pole haha.

ICB selling legit Desmond stickers. Perfect for your Rotas!

Clean Silverstone Ap2 behind the ICB booth. Rocking a Back Yard Special (BYS) wing and Spoon SW388 rims!

Better shot of the Spoon SW388 rims!

Simultaneously with the meet, there was also drag races live on the track to give this meet a great atmosphere. Sportcar motion brought out some badass drag S2ks. I believe that black one was on hoonigan awhile back.

These Regas are a perfect reproduction. Spoon is also bringing back the SW388, but are slightly curved outwards for better Big Brake Kit (BBK) compatibility.

Love the Color on this EG civic in front of the ICB booth.

Great front shot of Chris’s Mugen Ap2, stunning people as they walk by.

This M&M Honda widebody DC5 caught my eye. I don’t see too many of these kits in the USA and with the color it looks absolutely true to the JDM demo car.

Another great EG civic. I love the Olive Color and blue TE37 contrast.

Gotuning Tommy’s immaculate ASM’ed S2000 CR.

swung by the GoTuning X Spoon USA booth to say hi to Areen

All sorts of Spoon goodies for sale. Of course due to the intense sun, they sold out of Spoon Umbrellas this day.

Brand new Spoon support brace for the Civic Type-r FK8. My favorite thing about Spoon is the whole OEM + feeling you get from their parts. For example, the Spoon S2000 Upper Control arm reinforcement gusset was a piece that was actually created by Honda, or how the B16A Spoon cams feel just like the OEM B16A Cams in material texture. With that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if this Spoon brace for the FK8 is actually made by Honda, just look at it, if you work on enough Hondas this screams OEM.

I picked up the Kanpanchi Auto Salon T-shirt for my wife and I. It came in a sweet Type One bag. Hopefully I can go some day.

So much want

This is what I came here for, the row of S2ks…… Most are Instagram famous, up front is Hector Lavario’s Ap2

My buddy Rival Gabe sick Ap2-1 sitting nice on TE37. I like this look way better than the Mugen MF10s he had before. This reminds me of that super expensive Pizza in New York City that has like Caviar, Truffles, goldflakes, Fois Gras, and doesn’t really taste all that great. Each ingredient is a standout by itself, but for some reason together it doesn’t work…… Basically saying MF10s don’t work on every car, it’s about execution and TE37s work much better with the overall execution even though the Mugen MF10 is a more “rare” wheel.

And next to him was Naglas De Fierro’s S2k. We’ve actually seen his car before here. His car has definitely come a long way! His car is rocking an ASM IS Design front bumper, Mugen intake, Car Garage Amis hood cover, Mugen MF10s, and Mugen MS-Z seats (not pictured, I didn’t want to sweat all over his interior). Personally it was my first time meeting him in person, and he’s definitely pretty rad! Of course, I love how all the parts are authentic, that’s how I roll.

Closer look at the engine bay. He’s rocking an Origin Fab intake arm, science of speed hood dampers, ASM Oil Catch can, Amuse Header, and ASM Tower bar! lots of ASM goodies here.

Finishing off the rear, he has a Mugen SS Rear wing, ASM duckbill, painted of course!, ASM tow hook, with an ASM 04 rear bumper, and Amuse Euro S Exhaust!

This grey Ap2 next to him was pretty cool. According to the license plate it’s a S2000 CR?! Like Naglas, he’s also rocking an ASM IS design front end, but with voltex flares. In the world of crazy flared fenders and such, voltex flares seem almost conservative.

Out back some remnants of the CR remains, like the rear wing. I just noticed his burnt Ti finished antenna, interesting…. I wish my ASM antenna never got stolen. More noticeable un CR like qualities, besides the color, are the M Racing mirrors, and Mugen Hardtop.

Front ASM goodness.

My buddy Joe, aka John JingleHeimer We’ve seen his car a few times. Like the Grey car next to him, his car is also an Honda S2000 Club Racer except done Mugen. The Mugen Dry CF hood is looking nice here.

The Apex blue really shines in the sun. He’s rocking some rare White MF10s, since most people that copped the re-release MF10 have Bronze wheels, so you know he’s really OG since with this white set and blue caps. More Mugen notables like the Mugen Wing, Hardtop, and Mirrors. Not pictured is his endless calipers!

Dry carbon glistening in the sun.

Some Instagram people I met in real life….. like DimSum John. He bought his leather Pole positions from my friend Alvin which used to be owned by a friend of Joe, the guy who he is parked next to. Throw back to when we installed these pole positions in Alvin’s car….

Car kind reminds me of my old build a bit probably because it’s Silverstone + Amuse R1 bumper, I believe this is his first authentic Amuse R1 bumper after owning many reps of it. Hopefully once you go authentic you don’t go back! Besides the bumper he’s rocking M racing mirrors on custom mounts that some guy on S2ki made awhile back and Volk RE30 wheels. Don’t see too many RE30s these days on S2000s.

Saw my friend Russian Hammer! He actually bought my Mugen passenger side rail awhile back and I chatted with him during the ill-fated top down meet 2 years ago. He’s rocking an Authentic ASM front end with the ASM IS Design front bumper + ASM fenders and ASM rear fender flares. Mugen top and voltex wing are so necessary. He recently changed his wheels from Red to Bronze…… I know you can’t see it that well haha.

The voltex front bumper was out in full force! I think it was the most common front bumper on the S2000s there! This white car was parked along with the other white s2000s. I like the look, voltex front bumper + spoon hood and ASM fenders. Loving the white CE28 and voltex wing. Great execution with a variety of different companies. I dig how he’s repping 7apple, great body shop, my buddy is getting some parts painted there as I write this. I’m not sure who this car belongs too. Man Eibach 2018 was huge, I didn’t even get to walk the entire show because it was so large. I mainly hung out around the S2ks….

I’ll continue this post in Part II…..

Youtube | Spoon Sports Engine and Transmission Mount install

April 27, 2018April 28, 2018 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

Hi All,

Made a video of the Spoon Sports engine and transmission mount install to compliment the write up I made awhile back.

Still working on my video skills. Would love feedback!

Parts Review/ DIY: Spoon Sports Hydro-Blue Wide Mirror Glass Set install

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 / WhoisAnts / Leave a comment

Hey guys,

I recently installed some Spoon mirrors for my friend’s S2000. Instead of following the instructions it came with and installing the mirrors over the mirror glass, I installed the mirrors onto the OEM plastic mirror housings. This created a very secure mount, and the mirrors do not wiggle at all. I created a youtube video on how to do it. I didn’t take too many still pictures, so you gotta watch the youtube video to follow along!

I’m still learning about the video making process.

The S2k and the Ant

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