I've heard so many stories about the RS2 now that are always either "it sounds awesome and pulls well" or "I sold it because I lost power"
I think they're designed very well - but what I can't get my head around is that you're still using the stock throttle body - that's always going to be the bottle neck - it certainly doesn't flow as much air as 4 independent throttle bodies - and that's why I never got one
The stock throttle body will easily flow WELL over 200bhp worth of air.
The disadvantages the RS2 has versus a set of bodies are that the runners are restricted in length by the need for clearance between the trumpet and the plenum, and the plenum volume is restricted in volume by needing to avoid contact on the slam panel.
4 throttles or 1 makes no difference performance wise if the inlet is designed correctly, havent you seen touring car engines making massive numbers on single throttle inlets?
And have you stopped to think about the fact that the engine is basically only ever breathing on ONE small throttle at a time on a 4 stroke 4 cylinder engine, it doesnt breathe in on all 4 cylinders at once as when one is breathing in one is compressing the fuel air mix with the inlet valve closed, and one is on the power stroke with the intake valve close and one is on the exhaust stroke with the inlet valve closed.
S2000 honda engine makes 240bhp on a single throtlte inlet with a throttle body roughly the same size as a clio one (only about 2mm different IIRC)
The cost for the RS2 kit is the exact same that I paid for a 2nd hand Omex 600, Jenvey ITBs, cable throttle pedal and everything I needed to plug and play. My car pulls like a steam train, sounds amazing and it took a whole 3 hours to fit the kit.
Secondhand parts are always going to be better value, I can buy a secondhand evo for less than a new clio for example.
You also are of course then going to need mapping unless you get lucky and it arrives with a decent map.
But ultimately for performance I agree that throttle bodies are marginally better than an RS2 is.
I just can't see how the RS2 is worth it considering all the mediocre reviews and the high cost!
To find out how good the product itself is, you only really need to look at the best results it can achieve IMHO, the people who fail to get the right results have a problem with their engine or their mapping or the instalation that is stopping them from achieving the same results themselves.