Feature: Horsepower For Dummies

“I purchased my 03' Honda S2000 (nickname, Rolanex S2K) in October 2008 because it was exactly what I wanted ever since they came out in 1999,” says Gabe Ellingsen. “I kept it like that for four months, then I decided to do an all out fully built motor and custom turbo setup, keeping the car street legal.” That was around two years, $25,000 (modifications only), and 430 horsepower ago.

“When I dropped the car off at Humble Performance it had 49,000 miles on it,” says Gabe. “My friend, Alex Pagan of Humble Performance, said it was the cleanest motor he'd ever torn apart just to rebuild.” On Jan 29, 2010, the motor was pulled apart and the project began. The mission was to build a humble, street legal, import drag car, but the bar kept getting raised as the parts went in.

“Every time I thought I was where I wanted to be, somebody would call and say, Hey, why don't we do this, and I'd say, Okay!” Gabe laughs. “I just keep upgrading—Right now we are at 640 wheel horsepower at 27 pounds of boost, and hoping for 800-plus horsepower by 40 to 43 pounds.” The last time numbers like that came out of a S2000 was from the Red Star Motoring S2K, which is currently the fastest in the world, holding a personal best in the low sevens during the quarter mile.

Gabe, along with the help of Humble Performance, Kings Performance, and Red Star Motoring, is working to mimic the Red Star S2000, but in street legal form. “The car still has AC, heater, power windows, power locks, and a full interior,” says Gabe. The car has come a long way since its initial 212 horsepower, but triumph is never without its degree of disappointment.

“It has been an interesting season,” says Gabe disappointingly. “I was hoping to get it out and get noticed, but every time we'd get somewhere, something else would hold me back.”

“The very first event I went to, I shot the differential out of the ass-end of the car in the qualifying rounds,” says Gabe. “My second run at the track, I was lined up against a brand new Corvette Z06—We both got off the line at the same time, I completely stripped out second gear, and the Corvette got in front of me—I got into third and still managed to outrun him with a 13.91 (corvette ran 13.96).”

That was then, and this is now. Gabe is currently in the process of a few projects over the winter months, which should allow the Honda to break the 800 horsepower barrier without the contents of its bottom end being blown apart in the process. To do this, he plans on bolstering the stock rear end with an assortment of torque proven replacement parts. The only question left, is how in the hell can you can get 800-plus street legal ponies out of an S2000 for only a quarter of a Woodrow Wilson ($25,000)?

We asked Gabe.

Openclutch: Why the S2000?
Gabe Ellingsen: It was just an amazing car. Its body lines, the way it drives, and its horsepower for a little four cylinder.

OC: Where did you find the car?
GE: This car was from a one time owner out of Texas. He was asking $17,000. It had 42,000 miles when I bought it. He kept it garaged, the interior was immaculate, the paint was immaculate, there was no flaws at all. I couldn't pass it up. The only thing I did to it, first off, was a cold air intake, exhaust, wheels, and Humble performance tuned it for me from a piggyback ECU.

OC: What makes this particular engine setup special?
GE: The internals are custom made by CP pistons. My Car, the Red Star Motoring, and Kings Performance S2000 are the only three to receive this setup. Now you can get them from Kings Performance, Red Star Motoring, and Humble Performance with a 10:1 compression. It has a 76 mm throttle body. I had the OEM intake manifold port and polished to match the throttle body. It looks stock, but it's not.

The fuel lines have all been upgraded and we have a Full Blown Motorsports dual fuel pump 255 Walbro. We are running 1200cc injectors, which we are going to upgrade to the ID 2000's this winter so we can turn the boost up to 40 to 43 pounds. I also have Brian Crower rods which are good for 1000 horsepower, three-inch intercooler piping, and Kings Performance Version 1 front mount turbo manifold.

My turbo was custom built by Rolando “Rolo” Lopez from Central Florida Turbo. He custom built it from the specs of the owner of Red Star Motoring, Jose "P-PO" Besosa. We did a lot of the same specs as the Red Star Motoring S2000, which is the fastest S2000 in the world. Red Star has helped to mimic their car, but remain street legal.

OC: That turbo must be huge?
GE: It is comparable to the 67 mm Precision turbo. Rolo (Central Florida Turbo) is trying to get his own line of turbos out, so he is custom building them as he goes. He built this one for me and it has worked really well so far.

OC: Are you going to need to rebuild the engine every season at this performance level?
GE: No, unless something happens, the motor is going to be able to withstand anything I can throw at it. The crank has been micropolished, balanced, the block has been sleeved by Golden Eagle. We have everything set up to where the motor should be able to withstand around 1000 horsepower.

OC: What would you need to upgrade to get to the 1000 horsepower level?
GE: A bigger turbo and intercooler piping. The intercooler I have now is rated up to 1000 horsepower, but I would have to go a little bigger on the piping and injectors. Red Star Motoring helped to recommend several options to reach the horsepower I want. We are currently running 27 psi, which is very low boost on my setup. My minimum is 21 lbs and I plan to be at 40 to 43 psi after I complete the upgrades this winter.

OC: What's the biggest hurdle you've had to overcome with the car?
GE: It has been a challenging project overall. I started in January of 09' and we got it out of the shop in July of 2010. We went through five different turbos before we got the one I wanted. Forced Performance was going to be my first sponsor, but the turbos they had given us were not putting out enough power. We changed to the one from Rolo, and it has helped a lot with the horsepower.

OC: What are your plans for the winter?
GE: This winter we're planning to put in a 10 point roll cage, tranny, and rear end. That way we can get into the high nines at minimum. If needed, we will upgrade the injectors. We might have to edge up the fuel pump depending on whether it can handle it or not. Most of the time Full Blown can handle up to 750 horsepower, but we are going to test it and see if it can handle the 800 horsepower. Next year I am hoping to attend the NSCRA in March (Florida) with the new upgrades.

Good luck Gabe... giv'em hell out there!