That is such a beautiful car!Search for my threads, should have done a build thread really but I did a lot of work on mine ensuring it was in tip top condition:
Make sure it has been recently fully serviced, ensure there is no rust anywhere and then maybe treat the car to keep it good.
Alignment is important and hope nothing in seized they are also sensitive to tyres, I found mine was superb Goodyear Eagle F1AS5 tyres.
S2000 owners thread. 9,000rpm of goodness in here.
- Thread starter hurfdurf
- Start date
Soldato
Careful where you park it, thieves want the catalytic converter from them as they fetch good money and they're so easy to access. I'd start with rust prevention/treatment, engine oil & filter, air filter, gearbox oil, diff oil, plugs, coolant, brake fluid and getting the calipers looked at for peace of mind. Geo and tyres obviously also. Valve adjustment is another common one to look at. Battery is probably well past it's best, very easy to change. It's well worth treating the hood to a deep clean with a colour and then sealer afterwards - renovo etc. Check boot area for damp/water. You can also easily clean out the water drain holes as they often clog up slightly. I'd also replace the pulley bearings as they're often noisy. You can buy the whole pulley wheels or just the bearings themselves for far less money. Be careful if you take it on yourself as the tension idler one is reverse threaded. Replace pulley belt at same time - they're often knackered. You can reset ecu and fuel idle trim after service just by pulling a 7.5a backup fuse under the dash - no need for codes for radio etc. Chain tensioner is a weak point as well as mentioned no doubt although not had mine done.
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Soldato
Rear suspension bushes are a big deal on these.
All of them really. The front castor bush is the big one
Thread brings back good memories.
Had an old AP1. (x reg)
Got it at 40k miles and out 70 k miles on it in 7 years. (i think I had it 7 years). Most successful relationship! (unfortunately not joking!
)
Boy, what a car. Raw, over steer, built like a tank. Not one mechanical issue. Not a single one. Only brakes, tyres, more tyres and more tyres.
I used to thrash it about too. 9k revs fairly frequently
Got written off when I almost died when someone on an empty motorway rear ended and fish tailed me. Went under the central reservation!
Think paid about 6k-7k and got 8-9k in insurance.
It was getting tatty though and was a daily driver.
Gear box was a treat. It's an amazing car. But I'd definitely be wary of corrosion etc. I think I got more in compensation than I could have got selling it (due to condition). Sills in particular were heavily corroded
By a country mile the best, most fun, and reliable car I've ever owned. Now in a Peugeot 207 automatic!
Had an old AP1. (x reg)
Got it at 40k miles and out 70 k miles on it in 7 years. (i think I had it 7 years). Most successful relationship! (unfortunately not joking!
)Boy, what a car. Raw, over steer, built like a tank. Not one mechanical issue. Not a single one. Only brakes, tyres, more tyres and more tyres.
I used to thrash it about too. 9k revs fairly frequently
Got written off when I almost died when someone on an empty motorway rear ended and fish tailed me. Went under the central reservation!
Think paid about 6k-7k and got 8-9k in insurance.
It was getting tatty though and was a daily driver.
Gear box was a treat. It's an amazing car. But I'd definitely be wary of corrosion etc. I think I got more in compensation than I could have got selling it (due to condition). Sills in particular were heavily corroded
By a country mile the best, most fun, and reliable car I've ever owned. Now in a Peugeot 207 automatic!
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Associate
Blimey - I've got some work to do!!
Soldato
@hurfdurf I would be interested to hear how this compares with your Z4M.
Suspension - OEM replacement or KW/Ohlins. All other Coilovers are pap.
If your geo bolts are rusty then lube up your wallet and replace them. I went for mugen and hardrace bushes all round. Compliant and transformed the car (I changed to KW V1 as my stock suspension died)
Consider also a toe arm set. Will probably be needed for a full setup if you go down the suspension refresh route.
If it doesn't have PS4 tyres then throw them on if your car has the 17" wheels. Everything else that fits isn't great.
Check for rust. The key areas are the H beam below.the stock air box. Water gathers here and doesn't escape. In addition check the trailing end of the front arches for stone chips if you are running any remotely grippy tyres. Rust there will escalate quickly.
Last piece of advice is boot floor damp and ingress. Check this regularly. Remove the jack stand foam and feel the carpet liner. If the car exists on this planet then it will be taking water in at some point. Just remove the liner.and dry it out. Plenty of info on how to prevent it long term.
Other than that, if you have a GT then keep the hardtop on for a bit but make sure you regularly remove it and.move the roof a few times to keep it free. Buy a tube of shin etsu grease for your rubber seals and use it often.
If you don't know.when.the TCT was done then look at just replacing.it. buy the honda part from Japan. Use ling's honda to find part codes then find your parts cheaper elsewhere or import as it's usually cheaper.
Don't do the UK exhaust mod because it sounds absolutely craaaap.
Set a reminder on your phone to check your oil every week.
Enjoy S2000 ownership because I spend the day being sad every time I see one and remind myself that mine was amazing and it doesn't belong to me anymore.
If your geo bolts are rusty then lube up your wallet and replace them. I went for mugen and hardrace bushes all round. Compliant and transformed the car (I changed to KW V1 as my stock suspension died)
Consider also a toe arm set. Will probably be needed for a full setup if you go down the suspension refresh route.
If it doesn't have PS4 tyres then throw them on if your car has the 17" wheels. Everything else that fits isn't great.
Check for rust. The key areas are the H beam below.the stock air box. Water gathers here and doesn't escape. In addition check the trailing end of the front arches for stone chips if you are running any remotely grippy tyres. Rust there will escalate quickly.
Last piece of advice is boot floor damp and ingress. Check this regularly. Remove the jack stand foam and feel the carpet liner. If the car exists on this planet then it will be taking water in at some point. Just remove the liner.and dry it out. Plenty of info on how to prevent it long term.
Other than that, if you have a GT then keep the hardtop on for a bit but make sure you regularly remove it and.move the roof a few times to keep it free. Buy a tube of shin etsu grease for your rubber seals and use it often.
If you don't know.when.the TCT was done then look at just replacing.it. buy the honda part from Japan. Use ling's honda to find part codes then find your parts cheaper elsewhere or import as it's usually cheaper.
Don't do the UK exhaust mod because it sounds absolutely craaaap.
Set a reminder on your phone to check your oil every week.
Enjoy S2000 ownership because I spend the day being sad every time I see one and remind myself that mine was amazing and it doesn't belong to me anymore.
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Associate
Wow, I've got a lot to learn about mine - roll on spring time!
Same.
All the waves you get from fellow s2000 drivers. Doubt I'll ever have a day like it. I mean it even had mechanical steering. Felt everything through it
So little tech in there. I loved it. Put the power down at wrong time? Dead!
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Soldato
Same.
All the waves you get from fellow s2000 drivers. Doubt I'll ever have a day like it. I mean it even had mechanical steering. Felt everything through it
So little tech in there. I loved it. Put the power down at wrong time? Dead!
s2ks have electric rack and I'd say out of everything in the car steering feel is probably the worst thing. It's not bad by any means it's just.. not as good as say a hydraulic rack on an mx5 for e.g.
The downsides of the S2000 are the steering and the brakes, more the latter not for lack of how good they are but how often the callipers seize up, so something else to keep on top off. An S2000 with hydraulic steering and slightly better brakes I feel would put it up their with the 987 Cayman/Boxster, having owned both my 987 Spyder resulted in the S2000 getting sold, Porsche absolutely nailed the 987.2 generation cars, went a bit downhill with the 981 generation though in many regards.
Soldato
I bought my s2k with apracings in the front so no clue what stock brakes were like, rears do seize up and mine have seized again! got two new calipers from honda but if you're doing track days I'd say an upgrade on the rear is the way to go, think rx8 convesion is a thing to allow you to run cooled rotors and avoid the overheating in the rear. Rear brakes in general run very very hot on the s2k and hondas in general, it's a thing with jazz, civics etc. My steering has improved massively since putting 245/40 semi slick on the front, feels very hardcore and communicates a bit more for sure. Con is that it tramlines a bit more with that much meat on the front, but it's a toy so I'm not too bothered.
You tend to get more feel with a narrower front tyre, what your feeling is the compound difference giving improved feel. Tyre compound plays a major role in NVH in a car, so using a semi slick tyre throws NVH out the window and thus the better steering feel, downside is on cold wet days semi slicks can be borderline dangerous as they simply do not grip until up to temperature, now if you drive slow and potter around you will be fine, but I'd never advise a semi slick for all year round use to a general road user as such tyres command huge respect.
Soldato
Yeah, it's a weekend toy and rarely goes out in rain/cold etc. Did do a 100 mile drive back on them in thunderstorm and it was surprisingly okay! even handles the standing water well. But as you say, you need to respect it, it's good fun if you know the limit of the tyre which I found out very quickly on a wet day. I plan to do more track days in mine this year so these semi slicks will be a welcome addition. I still have my old work wheels with michelin ps4 if the car ever becomes a daily driver again.
Good excuse for some F20C noises. Toda racing manifold and a decat. Wheels in motion setup on poly bushes and konis. Very balanced after all that
Just tried the WIM website, it seems they're no longer in business!Good excuse for some F20C noises. Toda racing manifold and a decat. Wheels in motion setup on poly bushes and konis. Very balanced after all that