"Bigger, wider, longer." While these are all key buzzwords out of spam emails promising results in thirty days or less, to us, it means something altogether different. Life itself is a vicious cycle of never ending tasks that are geared towards helping you stockpile items that are bigger, wider, or longer than what you have already. Want a bigger place to live, a heftier paycheck, or a girlfriend with larger airbag restraint systems? Don't worry, you're normal.
The need to accumulate is woven into our brain patterns at birth. Bigger and better things send the signal to the opposite sex that we're not scrambling by, working ninety-hour weeks in exchange for pennies on the dollar. While I'm sure we're all winners on the inside, everybody strives to be a little bigger, and a little better.
Cars are no different. You may remember Pontiac's old campaign slogan, "Wider is Better." While it is up for debate whether a wider Pontiac is better than a narrow anything else, the general idea was right. Wider, stickier meats on a stretched track give greater grip and stability, while aerodynamics engineers will often use an elongated front end for better control of airflow. Just take a look at any JGTC, DTM, or ALMS GT1 car. To get that extra speed where it really counts, in racing, cars are chopped and formed to within an inch of their lives. Fenders, wheel arches, body panels, all are stretched out to accommodate bigger tires, larger wheels, and a wider track. Those bigger wheels are needed to frame massive brake systems, which haul cars down from top speeds reached only with their slippery smooth new bodywork. Remember, everything has a purpose.
And thank the racing gods for that. The mantra of "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" has shaped the automotive industry, OEM and aftermarket, ever since two guys lined up in Model T's. While OEM advancements in variable valve timing, direct injection, and engine bearings were developed using track data, the aftermarket has received newer turbochargers, braking upgrades, and aerodynamic packages forged right out of pit lane. Taking full advantage of his car's performance pedigree, Ernie Rico of Team High Intenzity made his 2001 Honda S2000 wider than J. Lo's ass, and that's a good thing.
Rico's story begins in the primordial soup from which all things good evolve, the pages of Import Tuner magazine. Having previously built a Gran Turismo emblazoned Honda Civic coupe that appeared in our May 2002 issue ("That GT Flava", page 24), Rico is no stranger to two things, Hondas and Gran Turismo. When he made the switch from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, Rico had only two choices in front of him, the Nissan 350Z and the Honda S2000. One test drive later in the Z and Rico had made his choice.
With his S2000 purchase secured, Rico soon became overwhelmed with the aftermarket options available to him. The very same day he picked up his Honda, Rico went out and a bought a set of new wheels. Within the next seven months, a complete build-up took place using Top Secret components as the theme. Then, one day, while lounging and watching a Best Motoring DVD, the world came crashing down. Spoon Sports' S2000 track car was featured and Rico was head over heels in love. Soon, every Spoon Sports part that could be purchased was on this very S2000. A virtual copy of the real Spoon Sports car, Rico had a mod list that ranged from the yellow and blue paint job down to the titanium shift knob.Unfortunately, family problems and sickness fell upon Rico, which meant he had to commit the deadliest of all sins, part out his car. With better days and brighter times coming a little while later, a two-month buildup commenced which entailed a full gold slathered INGS+1 bodykit, featured on the cover of our sister magazine, Honda Tuning in Dec. 2005. Six months into his INGS+1 setup, Rico decided on what would be his fourth, and hopefully last, transformation of the Honda S2000.