Every S2000 Owner Must Pay Respect! Explaining the “3 Great Sanctuaries” of Tuning Makers.

2026年4月5日

Listen up. The Honda S2000 is “perfect as it is.” Originally, there might be no need to go out of your way to tinker with that ultimate handling machine that Honda released to commemorate its 50th anniversary.

But the moment you taste the ecstasy of VTEC and wish to peek “beyond” its limits, you’re destined to get lost in a labyrinth. Yes, it’s the never-ending tuning swamp of “where to buy and what to get.”

There are countless shops in the world. Some sell based on low prices, while others compete with flashy looks. But if you ask me, someone who has tasted both the sweet and the bitter, the places you should entrust your S2000 to are limited to just a few “Holy Sites.”

Today, I’m going to talk about the three major players that I can assert are “the real deal”—SPOON, ASM, and MUGEN.

I’ll reveal everything without hiding a thing: their tremendous obsession, the history that inherits Soichiro Honda’s DNA, and… my own miserable experience of seeing hell through a “Second-Chance Auction Scam” when I was blinded by a cheap price.

This is the bible for you, the reader, to reach the “genuine S2000” via the shortest route without repeating my mistakes. That is this article.

Are you ready? Check your bank balance before reading any further.

1. SPOON: Elevating Production Cars to “Racing Car” Heights

First up is SPOON. If you drive a Honda sports type, you’ve definitely seen the blue SPOON logo. They are still active in the Super Taikyu (S-Tai) endurance race series, making them very familiar to me.

SPOON’s philosophy isn’t just about boosting power through tuning. It’s about “embodying the ideal form Honda aimed for, without any compromise.”

Precision Engine Balancing: SPOON’s complete engines push beyond factory tolerances, matching the weight of pistons and connecting rods down to the gram. As a result, the rev-up the moment VTEC kicks in is on another level. You get a silk-smooth yet violent acceleration.
Reliability of “Blue and Yellow”: They forge their parts in brutal races like S-Tai. Because they offer “ultimate durability” based on the premise that they won’t break, I have seven of their parts on my own car.
TYPE ONE: Their direct shop in Ogikubo, Tokyo, allows you to see all the work being done. Once you see that level of cleanliness and professionalism, you have to conclude, “I can trust them with anything.”

2. ASM: Crafting the World’s Most Beautiful “Mature S2000”

ASM in Yokohama is like a “boutique” that overturns the conventional concept of a tuning shop. But inside, it’s a gathering of weirdos (I mean that as a compliment) who love the S2000 more than anyone in the world. They shot to fame with their time attacks at Tsukuba Circuit. When they hit the 57-second mark with a naturally aspirated S2000, it sent shockwaves through Japan.

Ultimate Body Rigidity: ASM’s obsession with even a single tower bar is abnormal. Instead of just stiffening it, their “I.S. Design” parts, which calculate the car’s “compliance,” transform the ride quality into something premium the moment they are installed.
The “Sound” and “Beauty” of Saclam: The Saclam exhausts produced by ASM are practically musical instruments. The sensual howl at high RPMs makes my ego explode with the thought, “I’m so glad I drive an S2000,” every time I hear it. They aren’t cheap, but if you aren’t strictly for circuit use, this is a must-have item.
Lifelong RECAROs: Having the world’s highest sales record for RECARO seats, their know-how is a savior for S2000 owners with back pain. Instead of running to auctions to “save a little” and getting scammed like I did, going to them for a consultation is the right move.

The parts they sell aren’t just expensive. ASM has a living textbook: “Car No. 101,” which clocked 57 seconds at Tsukuba. The data carved out in 1/1000ths of a second resides even in the parts we use for street driving. Especially the Saclam exhaust—it’s a product of pure obsession. Their attitude of refining the structure just for the “tone” makes them more like a group of artisans than a shop. My weakness in trying to get that “artisan’s soul” for cheap led to me being scammed on an auction site…

3. MUGEN: The “Majesty” and “Precision” of HRC Lineage

MUGEN once competed in F1, the world’s pinnacle of racing, as an engine supplier and achieved four victories. The F20C engine, the heart of the S2000, is a masterpiece condensed with Honda’s racing tech of that time, but MUGEN develops parts with an even deeper understanding of that “in-house” engine. For us to install MUGEN engine parts (like the carbon air cleaner box or manifold) is synonymous with “giving our car a blood transfusion of F1 DNA.”

To talk about MUGEN, you must know its origins. MUGEN was founded in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the eldest son of Soichiro Honda.

Anyone who thinks, “It’s just a company made by a rich kid riding on his father’s coattails,” knows nothing. The truth is the exact opposite. Soichiro Honda publicly stated he would not make his family his successors at Honda. That’s why Hirotoshi-san cut off his own escape route and established MUGEN to create “Honda cars that didn’t fit into the Honda mold—sharper and faster.”

“Honda, yet not Honda”: MUGEN is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda. It is an independent “constructor” (a builder of racing vehicles). This exquisite distance allows them to release “crazy parts that ignore costs,” which is impossible for the factory.
The sentiment in the name “MUGEN”: It literally means “Infinite possibilities” and free thinking unconstrained by anything. While Honda, as a mass manufacturer, builds “cars for everyone,” MUGEN has sharpened “weapons for a single enthusiastic driver.”
Engine MUGEN: They supplied engines to Benetton and Jordan in F1 and stood at the top of the podium. The men who built the legendary “MF301H” engine are the ones designing our S2000 parts. Is there any more romance in this world than that?

…I’ve talked grandly about each company’s philosophy, but now, listen to my “honest confession.”

Actually, in the past, I wanted an ASM exhaust so badly. But a new one is so expensive it makes your eyes pop out. So, thinking I was clever, I peeked at an auction and tried a petty trick to “save a little money.” As a result… I fell perfectly for a “Second-Chance Auction Scam.“

Let me explain to you lucky people who don’t know what a “Second-Chance Scam” is. It’s a classic and despicable tactic where someone impersonates the seller and sends a sweet email to the person who didn’t win the auction (like me), saying, “The winner canceled, so you won by default! Let’s deal directly!” They make you wire the money and then vanish.

Instead of saving money, I threw it into the gutter and didn’t get a single millimeter of the “genuine part.” I will never forget the night I sat alone in the cockpit of my S2000, trembling with void. “There are no shortcuts to the real thing.” I learned this lesson by shedding blood (and money).

And then there’s SPOON. Every time I go to S-Tai, I stop by their booth and they kindly give me a catalog, but that’s not just a booklet. It’s a “magical order form” that burns out your reason the moment you open it. While telling myself “Just looking, just looking…” every time I flip a page, for some reason, SPOON parts increase on my car. Now I have seven of them.

Fortunately, thanks to their “super-transcendental reliability” that produces zero defects, I’m enjoying VTEC today, but my bank account is currently “overheating.”

Listen up, good kids. Buy your parts through official routes and with a plan. If you want to step into a crazy world where you become a “slave to the catalog,” donate to scammers, and yet still grin while wondering “Where should I tinker next?”… I’ll always welcome you.

Author of this article

Buri-shabu

Mid-life salaryman by day, surviving the pharmaceutical trenches with logic. But the moment I step out, I’m a "fanatic" devoted to my S2000. 20 years together—VTEC kick is pure ecstasy.