Im new to imports...

[amped4life33]

Hey, I have always been a hardcore domestic car kind of guy and have only made a couple exceptions like the skyline, the 350Z, and the NSX. I have always pretty much despised Hondas because typically they make a loud buzzing noise that sounds like a chain saw cutting through a tin roof. But I found a Honda that seems to be ok. An S2000. I like the way it looks a lot and i know that its rear wheel drive, which is another reason that I don't really like imports because most of them are front wheel drive. But anyway, seeing as how I have pretty much hated Hondas all my life I don't know anything about them. Could anyone tell me the pros and cons of an S2000. I'm thinking about buying one. Right now the car I have isn't a race car its a V6 mustang. Its not a race car, ive never claimed that it was, and i never will, so please don't tell me how slow they are, believe me i know first hand. Anyway, help me out here. Tell me about the handling, the top speeds, the good or bad about the transmission and shifting, let me know about the engine, and also what sorts of things can be done to make the car faster without sinking in a whole lot of money. And feel free to tell me anything else you think I should know.

[1SOL2NV]

s2000 = no cons and all pros anyway you look at it . its reliable , its very sleek , top goes down ( option) and has i think 270 hp ??????? .... the car is awesome ....

[.::UNKNOWN::.]

s2000 no cons other than it is little

[JDMirza]

Your gonna have to just stick around and soak information into your head. It kinda expands every year, people come up with new Sh!t.

[BlkCD5]

s2K cons- no torque, insurance rates(depending?), hp/dollar ratio, snappy suspension

pro's- sleek look, fun to drive, reliable, Hids

Just test drive one.

[khaxnguyen]

i've sat in one.. comffyyyy or maybe i'm a small guy?

[aaronfelipe]

I have read that tall people find the car confortable.

[amped4life33]

I'm only 5'6'' and ive sat in one and it was comfortable while i was sitting in it...and the fact that its low doesn't really make it hard to get in and out of...its just that i have the same problem i do with every other car...i have to back the seat up..get in...and then move the seat to where i can reach the pedals because you cant slide in between the seat and the wheel unless your at the right angle...anyway...the size and room isn't an issue what i really wanna know is how much its gonna cost me to make this car fast

[RandomGuy]

I have read that tall people find the car confortable.LOL

[.::UNKNOWN::.]

I have read that tall people find the car confortable. yeah if your goin for the motorcycle feel i am 6'2" 240 and it is kinda like a fat a$$ clown rolling out of a clown car when i got out kinda like this http://www.talkingtree.com/gallery/USA/Maryland/Dundalk/FourthOfJuly/2003/002.jpg

[.::UNKNOWN::.]

I'm only 5'6'' and ive sat in one and it was comfortable while i was sitting in it...and the fact that its low doesn't really make it hard to get in and out of...its just that i have the same problem i do with every other car...i have to back the seat up..get in...and then move the seat to where i can reach the pedals because you cant slide in between the seat and the wheel unless your at the right angle...anyway...the size and room isn't an issue what i really wanna know is how much its gonna cost me to make this car fast problem with s2000 is that it is a high end car parts are more expensive the best way to get into honda is to start off small once you gain a knowledge of one all of them are pretty much the same

[afwfjustin]

I have one and I wouldn't own any other car under 100K. I love it. There are a ton of pros and cons. Pros are that it's comfortable, nimble, quick, good looking, best shifting EVER, and has a drop top. Don't let the usual "it has no torque" comments get to you. It makes around 130 rwtrq out of a 2.0 (140-145 in the newer 2.2) and has 4.1 final drive. You will easily pull a 350Z off the line in a stock S2000.

Cons are the differential (weak), neutral handling on older models (can be tough for people not familiar with a neutral handling car), and yes, insurance is expensive. It's the 7th most expensive car to insure in America.

As for performance, bolts ons are near worthless. You can extract about 30-35 hp with full bolt ons and tuning if you get the best parts, but will cost around 3-4 grand. The best bang for the buck on the car are final drive gears which can be bought and installed for around 1300. Even suspension typically makes handling worse unless you get the expensive stuff.

The best bet is to drive the car for a year stock (I'm serious - it can take a year to learn the car before you're really confident) and then invest in some forced induction.

If you're really interested, check out www.s2katlanta.com (http://www.s2katlanta.com) and www.s2ki.com (http://www.s2ki.com)

If you want to see what a fully modded 400rwhp one can do, drop me a line :)

[matthewAPM]

i dont know very much but this is what I know from autocrossing one

over view...handling is awesome. very easy to know what will happen but can come around if not on top of it because of 50/50 weight destribution. (if driven at limit) gearing is good but a lot of shifting is required to keep in VTEC. the motors love to rev high (the 1st year models like it the most)

good...sounds good, runs strong, comfortable to drive, awesome gauge display, easy to find limit, fun little sports car

dislikes...gas pedel didnt have enough feel, to much shifting, carpet hard to get grass out of lol

the bad...diff is not the strongest thing in the world

i hope this helped a little bit. im not a honda guy at all but now that i own one (and yes fwd sucks) im starting to like it.

BTW, check out soloatlanta.com and talk to some of those guys, they can tell u everything about S2k performance

[afwfjustin]

^good call on the gas pedal. The steering is a bit numb too.

[amped4life33]

What im used to is a car that starts off at around 300 horses and for $7000 i can make it push around 500....apparently it doesn't work that way with these little vtechs..

if i have $8k-$9k to put into it...how many horses can i have?

[BlkCD5]

originally posted by amped4life33
if i have $8k-$9k to put into it...how many horses can i have?

It just depends on the combination of mods. A person can spend a load of money on mods, but make only x amount of power; while the other person who spends less makes more. You just have to research what flows well and works best for the car.

[amped4life33]

I know, and like i said im used to mustangs, so i know how to do that with a mustang. But what im asking is how to do it with an S2000

[afwfjustin]

I put 7K initially into my turbo setup and it's good for 500+ rwhp so yes, you're right on the money there. I'm now 10K into it, but that's due to unforeseen problems like my turbo bolts backed out and destroyed my first turbo, blown headgasket due to ARP headstuds, cracked my first oil pan because I was being a dumbass, amongst a few other tuning problems that I had.

BTW do NOT use ARP headstuds with the F20C motor - they are H series (accord) regrinds and a lot of people blow their headgasket with them. Stick with Honda headbolts.

You don't need to build the motor to get to 500-ish hp because the internals are already forged. You drop in a 3mm headgasket from InlinePRO and you can boost away. The bottom end is good for about 600 hp. I prefer the short tubular manifolds because they flow well and are less prone to cracking than the 'equal length' ones. The cast log manifolds are reliable but only make 14-15 hp per psi whereas the tubulars make 18-20 hp per psi. I'm running a Lovefab V1 topmount short tubular and 3" turbo back.

Again, I'd learn the car first, and then turbo it. The AEM EMS is the best ECU to use, but make sure you can register your car in some place like Athens-Clarke county so you don't have to worry about emissions.

If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a line at any time. My mechanic has turbo'd a few S2k's and I've been through all the hardaches and hassles and can give good advice any time you need it :goodjob:

[nofive-0]

Its been said a million times before.

If you've got to ask then your not ready.

Do a loooooot more homework before you buy anything







"These little v tech's"

[amped4life33]

well...thats what im doing right now...if you dont ask you cant learn