Honda S2000

I had an 02 for 4 years. If you live in an area where it snows then it's not the best DD to have. You can make it work with snow tires (I did in MI and MA) but there will be days (or weeks) when it will just sit. The boot is really small and is only good for grocery or overnight luggage. The car is great fun and very communicative but I got bored of it after a couple of years.

 

We have had our 2005 since 2006 and love it. Weather permitting I am hoping to get it out tomorrow since our office is closed for Good Friday. It has been a terrific fun car and I actually enjoy driving it on really twisty roads more thean my F355. Not much in the form of amenities, it is a very basic sports car which a big reason why I love it so much. The factory sound system is crap, but I rarely use the radio in the car when I drive it. Good clean ones are getting more difficult to find. They do lack torque, so you really need to wind the engine over 6,000 rpms to have fun. The handling feels like a gokart compared to most cars. I second the comment above about it not being a great snow car, but it is ear to ear grinning fun on nice days. Our S2000 is really my wife's car and I was getting nervouse when she was talking about trading it for a 911 Cabriolet, but thankfully I have been able to hold her at bay on this notion, the S2000 is just too much fun and too reliable to get rid of.

 

Great cars. Gun as hell. I drove one for a while and found it pretty addicting.


Mark

 

My son recently got one....a pretty good deal, but it has needed some things like engine and transmission mounts.

From the Dealer PPI we learned:

Look for leakage at the firewall of the clutch hydraulic system (sure enough there it was!!)

Obtain seat locks, as if anyone ever slashes the top, and steals the two bucket seats, your car will totaled out by the insurance, (both seat lock bolts, and a hard top are available as deterrents, or park it safely!).

Avoid ANY with aftermarket hot rodding, as they are fragile once you start thrashing them. (and LOTS of them on the market are modded, lowered, big wheels etc.)

The last thing I told him (as he had a beautiful Lexus sport sedan, that was totally destroyed after eight days of ownership, not his fault):

"If you crash THIS car, like that, you will be dead!"

I think it's interesting that among ALL the cars in AJ Foyt Enterprises lobby, Indy cars, Pace cars, stock cars.......a Honda S2000 from his Honda dealership sits in the corner.

AJ obviously says: "Thumbs up!"

 

One of my instructors at Mont Tremblant spun an S2000 several times at a Honda press launch. He advised a group of us the S2000 was not an NSX, the rear end needed work. I was never interested in the car after watching him drive the car at the limit.

 

I seriously considered the S2000 as a daily driver during the last year of their production. I spent the day on an extended test drive, and decided against buying.

The car is a go cart, with all that it implies. It will change direction on a dime, a lot of fun. The shift is also excellent, placed perfectly and fun to use. The pedals are generally OK for heal/toe driving, but may not work if you are a size 10 or larger foot. The amenities were sparse, but fine for a dedicated sports car. The maintenance schedule didn't seem too bad either. It's a fun ride, unique build, and a special car.

But the driving experience was the problem. On the road, especially sweeping turns, it was a great drive. Perfect for a weekend "toy". But the car has a very high redline and below about 6K RPMs there is little HP and almost no torque. If you are in stop and go traffic a lot this will get tiring very quickly. At least it did for me in less than a day of driving. It was also pretty noisy - as you would expect with a small convertible, no sound deadening and RPMs almost constantly over 6K.

If it had more torque, or more usable HP down lower in the rev range, it would have been my car. But lacking both I decided it was a great weekend car, but not compatible with the type of daily driving that I do.

I decided to buy a Miata instead, not as exotic perhaps, but for me a more balanced machine for everyday use. I never regretted the Miata, but I do sometimes wonder if I should have taken a chance on the S2000. If you think you'll wind up regretting not owning it, get one now. Low mileage unmolested examples are getting hard to find.

 

I have had a 2006 Laguna Blue Pearl S2000 for about 2.5 years. It is a great, fun little car. People rave about the shifter and the engine. I personally enjoyed the shifter in my Miata powered Ginetta more, but the s2k shifter is very nice. The s2k engine is sweet. Not much torque down low, but it sounds great near redline. Very durable cars, very we'll engineered. As noted the factory sound system sucks. I upgraded to an Alpine head unit with a small inline Alpine amp and a small Kenwood powered subwoofer in the passenger footwell and new speakers all around (6.5 components in the doors with dynamat, 4x6 for rear sound), and modifry harness adapters. Modifry makes lots of nice specialties for the s2k, like a good Cupholder, auxiliary elastic for the roof bars, etc...

The s2000 drives exceptionally well. No stress even when you are pushing the car near its limit. 2006 and up have improved rear suspension geometry to prevent the snap oversteer characteristics of the early cars. They also have traction control and stability control, both very useful in the mountains. Others will claim the car is better without, but crash statistics would disagree. I think the interior is pretty plush for a sports car, but the factory leather doesn't smell rich like a Ferrari. I had my seat covers and door panels changed out with super strong smelling leather for $750. I kept it simple going with all black leather with blue stitching. As far as seat security I just changed out the mounting bolts to use Allen wrenches and put a snug cap over the bolt heads, so the typical thief with a socket wrench would be out of luck. I don't really think it is an issue if you keep the car garaged.

I think you can find a 2006 or newer mid mileage (60-80k) basically stock for around $16-18k, which is a bargain for what you get. I tell people the s2k is second best at everything. Not the very best at anything, but it love it. With the improved sound system it is like a whole new car, and my setup cost a total of about $800. Rear tires don't last very long (15-20k).


BT

 

Had two, and loved both. Change oil when they tell you to, not a moment later. AP2 is a better drive (not as 'raw,' but nicer for a DD) and 06+ is easier to tune, also has traction control.

I recommend a K&N FIPK intake and HKS HiPower dual exhaust. Makes the sound perfect. As for the pedal box, my size 13 fit snugly but I could still heel/toe.

Ride gets to be a bit much after 4-5 hours of driving, but it's not impossible. I highly recommend owning one (or more)!

 

I was hoping someone would make this comparison. I'm currently considering both, but not as a daily driver.

 

I've daily driven an 06+ for close to 2 years, simply a fantastic car. Purchased at 74k for $18k, rolled over 113k on the way home from NY today. It's slightly impractical, but I've never not found a way around it..........getting new tires to the shop requires some ingenuity. If you take care of them they are absolutely bulletproof, the 06+ even more so. Some of the big ones are that the 2.2 doesn't burn oil anywhere close to the 2.0s, the valve retainer were upgraded so no more bent valves from a slight mech overrev and the DBW system in the 06+ is excellent.

 

I have bought two S2000s--- an AP1 new in late 99 and a new 08CR... Used as a DD a still drive the 08 every morning to work. Can't say enough... God knows I e had a few cool cars (list on request) but the Honda is the best I've had....I won't pontificate ... Try one , if you like it you'll love it....Go ahead and ask me to list the cars I've owned and driven...no ricer punk here....

 

The only one I ever drove had a few things done to it, and I would agree the shifter was nice but the Miata I enjoyed more. The only thing I did not like about the car was the fact that you had to keep it really high in the rev band to make it have any feeling of power. Perhaps it is just what I'm used to driving, but from an overall experience (my connection to the car) I like the Miata better. I cannot imagine that thing moving in the winter we just had here though.

 

OK, could you list the cars you've owned? Then, list the cars you've driven?

 

My car currently has about 83k I think, and it drives like new. I just changed the oil about a month ago, and by my calculations the car burned about .75 quarts over the previous oil cycle. I was surprised it was that much, because the car doesn't leak anything and makes no smoke from what the people following me have said. No big deal really, just something to keep an eye on.

I really bought this car specifically because of the color, and I did a 2 minute PPI at night in a gas station in Texas before driving it back to south Florida. I would not feel as comfortable doing that with a Ferrari, LOL...

They also make surprisingly good off road vehicles!



BT
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…the FChat server capacity will need to be upgraded….. ;-)

 

Recommend that you DO NOT DO THIS...

More air in means more dirt in... bad for a high revver.

 

Not true. If the filter has a larger surface area, the required pressure or drag to get the air to pass (assuming the same filtration particle rating) is lower. If the filter medium is appropriate a higher performance filter can be good. The engine displacement determines how much air is drawn per revolution, so you are not moving more air in any case.


BT

 

Correct... my statement is wrong. Yours is correct.

New Statement.

"K&N Filters allow more particulates into the engine." That is true.

 

If that be the case then I also vote against K&N filters, although they make nice intake sounds.


BT

 

Well maybe you shouldn't offroad it if you're worried about dirt in the engine!!

 

We've had a first year (2000) S2000 for many years now, and it's been a pure joy to drive and own.
The earlier cars are more raw for sure, and that's what I really like about them.
9000rpm redline, a very willing chassis.......and not even a clock ;^D
It's not a DD, and I think the 2004-up 2.2L models might not be wound so tight so better suited for daily use.
It's nearly bone stock, but we did add a lightweight Skunk2 cat-back exhaust because ALL Hondas are too quiet from the factory!

Brian

 

I have an 03 that I bought new and I still absolutely love it. Very solid tight car I never had any oversteer issues and I do drive it relatively aggressively. The gearbox is phenomenal, as far as the lack of torque its the type of thing you need to drive it before you decide to see if it is right for you I would suggest you try both ap1 and ap2 versions to see which is right for you. Mine is 100% stock which is becoming a rarity, I would recommend you try to find one that hasn't been heavily modified. I have 55k on mine and have had zero drivetrain issues just have done basic service and had an axle nut come a hair loose which is a common problem on these. I go through maybe a quart of oil every driving season which is roughly 5-6k miles. The 2 negatives I experienced is that it goes through rear tires at an alarming rate I'm talking every 8-9k miles and the stereo has no oomph at all but that's about the worst of it I never regretted buying it.

 

I bought a 2004 S2000 brand new. DDed it for a couple of years. It's also the car that I learned to drive on the track with. Phenomenal car for a track student; the car does not suffer fools, so you must be a good driver to drive it at its limits. It doesn't inherently understeer, nor does it inherently oversteer: it is almost perfectly balanced.

Reliability is second to none. Fit and finish is superb; it's embarrassing to compare the interior wear of a Ferrari with 1/10 the miles to a same-year S2000.

The only reason I sold mine was because after a few years, I had an E36 M3 track car and the S2K wouldn't do DD duties with a newborn, so I traded it on an Evo X.

I'm actually considering buying another S2000 now.