2001 Honda S2000 - Straightup

Performance mods beneath the J's Racing hood include a Mugen cold-air intake and Goto Garage adaptor pipe (between the intake tract and throttle body), Spoon header and testpipe, and an HKS exhaust. There are J's adjustable cam gears and an array of J's accessories including the valve cover (with Spoon Sports plug cover), J's engine torque damper, J's oil catchcan, J's heat shield for the exhaust manifold, J's adjustable cam gears and a J's strut tower brace. The electrical system has been improved with a gel-cell battery and Sun Auto Hyperground wires. Boetker also has a reflashed Amuse ECU, but it hasn't been plugged in yet-the car's computer still gets kicks from the cockpit-mounted A'PEXi V-AFC. Various lines, like those feeding the oil catch can, have been improved with Earl's stainless lines and fittings, and the radiator and oil filler caps were replaced with high-performance pieces made by Mugen. Last, there's a Garage Defend radiator panel-basically a carbon-fiber shield that blocks debris from entering the engine bay-and a carbon-fiber shroud for the intake.

The suspension has been improved with Comptech adjustable coilovers-Boetker is the first to point out the assemblies are the only non-JDM aftermarket pieces on the car, but really, who's going to know? While the car's sitting on the ground they might as well be Buddy Club or Tein. A Mugen lower front suspension brace and Cusco tie bar in back collaborate to solidify the convertible chassis. The front brake assemblies were upgraded with Endless assemblies, which include: forged six-pot race calipers, two-piece, 13-inch slotted rotors, lines, pads and fluid. The rear assemblies are currently still stock, but Boetker has plans to upgrade those too once he can get his hands on the Endless rear kit, which incorporates four-piston calipers and will require him to upgrade his master cylinder. The wheels are Black Racing 17-inch alloys wrapped in Falken Azenis rubber. The wheels are bolted to the hubs with stylish blue-anodized Spoon racing lugs.

Beneath the hardtop, Boetker has installed a few more JDM accessories. First on the list is the six-point Cusco rollcage, most impressive because it's designed for a right-hand drive car but has been adapted to the left-hand drive USDM interior. Boetker confides that getting it in required a little bit of cutting. In the end, everything turned out all right.

"It works fine, but it blocks off the storage compartment behind the seats," Boetker says, pointing out that he didn't trust anyone but himself to put a knife into his car's sheet metal. You take some you lose some, we say. The steering wheel was replaced with a Spoon Sports tiller, adapted to the steering column with a Spoon hub, and the shifter arm has been altered with an ARC knob. Mugen S1 competition buckets have replaced the factory seats, and Takata harnesses keep the seat occupants firmly strapped in place. While there is no custom ICE system, Boetker has improved the stereo with a top-of-the-line Alpine in-dash head unit.

Chris Boetker has no immediate plans to upgrade the car any further. There are a couple other things he might like to do (adding the rear brakes, the Amuse ECU, maybe new coilovers, perhaps a new set of wheels), but nothing is definite at this point. For the moment, however, the project has been put on hold as Boetker starts a family (he was two months newly married at the time of our conversation). If you're lucky enough to attend the SEMA convention in Las Vegas, Nev. this year-the daddy of all car shows-you may just see this car there as a booth vehicle for one of Boetker's sponsors. It should be testament to the car's undeniable quality and proof that sometimes impatience really can be a virtue.