It's safe to say Jeff Carlton is an adrenaline junkie. To satisfy his need for speed, he joined the air force, where he soon became a pilot. When he was done breaking the sound barrier, he made the progression many ex-air force jockeys do, to airline pilot. While perhaps not as insane as pulling g-forces high enough to flatten quarters, flying an 850,000-pound tube of frozen aluminum through the sky at 35,000 feet isn't your average desk job either.
Feeling his busy life wasn't fast-paced enough, Carlton decided to start his own cryogenic tempering facility in Tampa, Florida. His facility has the ability to temper everything from circular saws to engine blocks-if it fits in the giant tempering machine, Carlton will treat it. Not coincidentally, the process is especially beneficial when applied to many working parts of a car. According to Carlton, the process of cycling through extreme temperatures (400 degrees F to minus 320 degrees F) realigns the metal's crystalline structure, adding dimensional stability to key engine parts, like the block and head.
It's also said to increase tensile strength in rods, pistons, and valve springs, and increase wear resistance by two to three times on block sleeves, rings, and pistons. Reduced friction on all moving parts increases heat dissipation. He's not the only car geek singing the benefits of cryo treatment, he's just the only one we know with his own facility.
When Carlton bought his S2000 sight unseen from eBay, he was already picturing what every moving part on the car would look like deep-frozen. And what better way to showcase the cryo shop than an unbreakable mega-horsepower street car? If he were one to settle for the conventional way of doing things, the S2000 would have been just fine as it was: making a healthy 310hp at the rear wheels with a bolt-on supercharger kit from Comptech. But the pilot wanted more power, and he wanted to do it his way.
In an attempt to eke out that smidgen of extra power, a tuner (that Carlton would like to remain unnamed) blew the engine, giving him the perfect excuse to be completely rebuild it. The services of Chris Barnes, of Fort Meyers, Florida, were enlisted. Barnes had already made his mark by creating a locally well-known 559 wheel-hp S2000. Ross 9.0:1 pistons slid in, while the head was ported, polished and fitted with 1mm oversized Ferrea valves and valve springs. After fully balancing the crank, the entire package was cryo-treated for 42 hours.
The Comptech supercharger was tossed in favor of a Speedcraft turbo kit, with a T3 60-1 ball bearing turbo. A TiAL wastegate and blow-off valve handle the expulsion of excess pressurized air, while a Spearco intercooler ensures its density. The four-gallon polished methanol tank at the front of the engine bay could easily be the most unique feature, in that it makes efficient use of the massive gap between the cam gears and bumper cover. Methanol is injected into the intake charge to make it denser (cooler), allowing slightly more boost pressure to be run. With a bevy of pumps and injectors constantly switching and firing as if they have minds of their own, the S2000 sounds more like a spaceship than a car. Carlton's S2000 lazily idles a baritone hum through a custom three-inch exhaust over the dual Flex electric fans.