If you're looking to add some serious punch to your F20C or F22C, installing a comptech supercharger s2000 setup is probably the most reliable way to do it without losing that high-revving Honda soul. Let's be honest, the S2000 is a masterpiece of engineering from the factory, but even the most die-hard fans will admit that the "lack of torque" meme hits a little too close to home sometimes. You're screaming along at 8,000 RPM, feeling like a hero, and then a modern family SUV pulls away from you at a stoplight because you weren't in the right gear.
That's where the Comptech kit—now often referred to under the CT Engineering brand—comes into play. It doesn't fundamentally change the character of the car like a big turbocharger might. Instead, it feels like the engineers at Honda just decided to give the car a much bigger, more muscular heart. It's the "S3000" that we never got from the factory.
Why Everyone Still Craves the Comptech Setup
There are a few different ways to boost an S2000, but the comptech supercharger s2000 kit has always occupied a special place in the community. Back in the day, some Honda dealerships would actually install these kits and maintain the factory warranty. That tells you everything you need to know about the build quality and the philosophy behind the design. It wasn't built to be a peak-power monster that breaks axles every weekend; it was built to be a seamless extension of the original car.
The kit uses a centrifugal supercharger, typically a Paxton Novi unit. Unlike a roots-style blower that gives you instant torque at 2,000 RPM, a centrifugal charger builds boost linearly as the RPMs climb. This is a match made in heaven for the S2000's high-redline nature. You still get that legendary VTEC crossover, but now, instead of just a change in engine note, you get a massive surge of acceleration that keeps pulling all the way to 9,000 RPM.
The Driving Experience and Power Delivery
Driving a comptech supercharger s2000 is an exercise in "more of a good thing." Around town, if you're shifting at 3,000 or 4,000 RPM, the car feels almost stock. It's docile, easy to modulate, and doesn't have the finicky throttle response you sometimes get with turbocharged setups. But when you find an open stretch of road and drop it down a gear, things get spicy very quickly.
The power delivery is incredibly predictable. Because the boost is tied directly to engine speed, you always know exactly how much "go" you're going to get when you squeeze the throttle mid-corner. For track day enthusiasts or people who love carving mountain roads, this is a huge advantage. You don't have to worry about a turbo suddenly spooling up and upsetting the chassis while you're at the limit of grip. It's just smooth, relentless power.
Most people running the standard "out of the box" kit on a stock pulley are seeing around 300 to 320 wheel horsepower. While that might not sound like much in a world of 700-hp Hellcats, in a car that weighs less than 2,800 pounds, it's plenty to make things interesting. It transforms the car from "quick" to "genuinely fast."
The All-Important Aftercooler
If you're looking at a comptech supercharger s2000 kit, you'll notice there are two main versions: the standard kit and the aftercooled version. If you live anywhere that gets warmer than a refrigerator, you want the aftercooler.
The aftercooler is a small air-to-water heat exchanger that sits right before the throttle body. It's essential for keeping intake temperatures down. Without it, the air gets hot as it's compressed, which can lead to heat soak and, more importantly, engine knock. The aftercooled kits are much more consistent. You can do back-to-back pulls or several laps on a track without the ECU pulling timing and killing your power because the air is too hot. Plus, the little radiator tucked behind the front bumper looks pretty cool if you know what you're looking for.
Installation and Doing it Yourself
One of the best things about the Comptech kit is that it's relatively "bolt-on." You don't have to pull the engine, and you don't have to do any crazy fabrication. Most guys with a decent set of tools and a free weekend can get the hardware installed in their garage.
The kit is designed to work around the existing components. You aren't hacking up the wire harness or rerouting the entire cooling system. However, there are a few "while you're in there" jobs you should definitely consider. For instance, the stock S2000 clutch is great for stock power, but it will start to slip pretty quickly once you add another 100 horsepower. Most owners swap in an ACT pressure plate with an OEM friction disk—a combo that's famous in the S2K world for holding boost while still feeling like a stock pedal.
Tuning and Management
This is where things have changed a lot since the early 2000s. The original comptech supercharger s2000 kits used to come with a "rising rate" fuel pressure regulator and an ESM to hide boost from the stock MAP sensor. It was a clever way to do things back then, but it's pretty primitive by today's standards.
Nowadays, almost everyone ditches the old-school piggyback hardware and goes for a standalone ECU like an AEM Infinity or a Hondata K-Pro (if you have an early car) or FlashPro (for 2006+ models). Getting a proper tune with larger injectors—usually something in the 750cc to 1000cc range—makes the car run better than it did from the factory. It also allows you to run a smaller pulley if you want to bump the boost up from the standard 5-6 psi to 8 or 10 psi.
Is it Reliable for Daily Use?
The short answer is yes. The F-series engine is incredibly overbuilt. It has forged internals and cylinder walls that can take a beating. As long as the tune is solid and you aren't getting greedy with the boost levels on pump gas, a comptech supercharger s2000 can easily go for 100,000 miles without an issue.
The main thing to watch out for is the belt. Since the supercharger is belt-driven, you need to make sure the tension is just right. Too loose and it slips; too tight and you're putting extra wear on the blower bearings and the crank pulley. But once you set it, you usually don't have to mess with it again for a long time. It's a very "set it and forget it" kind of modification, which is rare in the world of aftermarket forced induction.
The Sound of Success
We can't talk about a supercharged S2000 without talking about the noise. When you start the car, there's a distinct mechanical whine from the straight-cut gears in the blower. It sounds purposeful. Then, when you're driving and you let off the throttle, you get that classic "whoosh" from the bypass valve.
It's not obnoxious, but it definitely lets people know that this isn't just another stock Honda. When you're at wide-open throttle, the sound of the VTEC crossover mixing with the whistle of the supercharger is pure mechanical music. It's addictive, honestly. You'll find yourself taking the long way home just to hear it one more time.
Final Thoughts
Finding a comptech supercharger s2000 kit these days can be a bit of a hunt since they aren't as common as they used to be, but they are absolutely worth the effort. Whether you find a used "OG" Comptech kit or a newer CT Engineering version, you're getting one of the best-engineered power upgrades ever made for this chassis.
It keeps the car's balance, respects the engine's high-revving nature, and gives you the passing power that the car should have had from day one. If you want a car that can hold its own against modern sports cars while still being a reliable, drivable Honda, this is the path to take. Just be prepared—once you feel that boost, you'll never want to go back to naturally aspirated again.