Honda S2000--anyone own one?
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skalomax
Flashlight Enthusiast
My Friend owns one, I drove It a couple of times.
Its drives nice and smooth.
Oh, but when the Vtec Kicks In @ 6000RPM You better hold on!
He has a Stage III Clutch which feels a bit harsh at first.
I drove It with the factory clutch and It felt very good.
Steering Is nice and precise. From What I drove gas mileage Is not as Good as I expected.
Overall Its a nice Car with lots of speed, The 4 Cylinder screams with a very nice pitch.
Its drives nice and smooth.
Oh, but when the Vtec Kicks In @ 6000RPM You better hold on!
He has a Stage III Clutch which feels a bit harsh at first.
I drove It with the factory clutch and It felt very good.
Steering Is nice and precise. From What I drove gas mileage Is not as Good as I expected.
Overall Its a nice Car with lots of speed, The 4 Cylinder screams with a very nice pitch.
Alin10123
Flashlight Enthusiast
If you're looking for a two seater roadster and nothing else. It's not a bad car. There are pretty much 0 luxury features in that thing. No power seats, heated seats... etc... nothing fancy. Just roadster only. Oh... also... pretty much little to no low end torque. Other than that... they are really fun to drive though. But me personally, i wouldn't buy it as a daily driver. Nor would i want to drive it in traffic.
Minjin
Flashlight Enthusiast
EngrPaul, where in PA are you anyways? (if I asked before, I don't recall the answer)
V8TOYTRUCK
Flashlight Enthusiast
I have one 
2002 White with all red interior
I love that freakin car...just put some BBS LMs on it
Im also on s2ki.com
I get around 22-25 mpg on it. Its noisy, the ride is stiff, and you have to rev it pretty high to make power. Gearbox is absolutely fantastic. Gear shifts with the flick of the wrist.
It is so unpractical yet I can't bring myself to sell it. Every time I take it out for a drive the engine and exhaust sounds so good. Take it into a canyon and I can't stop smiling.
I drive it in Los Angeles traffic 3-4 days a week!
2002 White with all red interior
I love that freakin car...just put some BBS LMs on it
Im also on s2ki.com
I get around 22-25 mpg on it. Its noisy, the ride is stiff, and you have to rev it pretty high to make power. Gearbox is absolutely fantastic. Gear shifts with the flick of the wrist.
It is so unpractical yet I can't bring myself to sell it. Every time I take it out for a drive the engine and exhaust sounds so good. Take it into a canyon and I can't stop smiling.
I drive it in Los Angeles traffic 3-4 days a week!
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FWIW, this will serve as secondary wheels for when I don't want to drive a boring "family" type vehicle. Feedback about "Fun factor" and reliability is what I'm looking for. I have the itch to buy a toy and this is on my radar sights.
DaFABRICATA
Flashlight Enthusiast
Closest I came to owning one is when I bought a dealer warrenty engine for $20.00 and sold it for $360.00. I wish I coulda bought the car to go with the engine. Heard good things.....don't get tickets!
Luminocity
Newly Enlightened
I own a 2003 S2K. The car is an absolute blast to drive and own.
Has the typical Honda reliability. Mileage is 23 to 24 all around. You can easily get 30 mpg at highway speeds if you keep the top up. Of course that is not much fun, so I always drive with the top down and get a bit less economy.
If this will not be your primary ride, then you have an even better argument for getting one of these great cars. A 97 Honda Prelude is my every day ride (a great car in itself too) and the S2000 sits in the garage ready to go when I get the urge for some extreme driving excitement.
Don't let the lack of low end torque bother you. The S2000 provides a different experience than a muscle car whose high torque rumbly V-8 puts out gobs of power at low RPM's and starts to level off at around 5500 RPM's. If you are used to that, it will take some time to appreciate having the power at the higher end of the RPM scale. This baby redlines at 9300 RPM (2003 and older models, 2004 and above redline at 8000 RPM with power kicking in a little lower in the RPM band) and is amazing when reved up to that level.
For 2003's and older, power kicks in/enters VTEC at aproximately 5500 RPM's (when most engines are starting to level off) and does not really drop off as you approach readline. On 2004's and newer, the power kicks in at a lower RPM level. The incredible 6 speed manual gearbox makes it very easy to manage all this high end power and keep the engine running in the sweet spot. While I love the low end torque and rumble of a small block high performance V-8, I much prefer the screaming sound these VTEC engines make at high RPM's. I would best describe it as exotic. It takes more skills (easily learned) to get the most out of these cars, but well worth it in my opinion.
The handling of this car is precise/razor sharp. The front to rear weight ratio is very balanced. It almost feels like you are driving a go-cart.
Now for the flashaholic aspect of driving an S2000. Another great feature of this car is the HID headlights. There are many that believe these are some of the best HID headlights you will find on a production car. The lighting is perfectly focused, projects a rounded pattern and covers a wide width going considerably out beyond the sides of the road. When on night drives down twisty back roads, I often spot deer that I know I would never have seen without the benefits of well implemented HID lighting. The best way to describe the experience of driving with these lights is that it feels like you are "pushing a disc" of light in front of you.
For more info than you could ever want on this car check out the great S2K International forums:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=idx
The temp is in the low 80's and absolutely gorgeous, so in a couple of hours when it cools down a bit, I will going out for a quick spin with the top town to carve up a winding road or two!
Let us know what you decide to do!
Has the typical Honda reliability. Mileage is 23 to 24 all around. You can easily get 30 mpg at highway speeds if you keep the top up. Of course that is not much fun, so I always drive with the top down and get a bit less economy.
If this will not be your primary ride, then you have an even better argument for getting one of these great cars. A 97 Honda Prelude is my every day ride (a great car in itself too) and the S2000 sits in the garage ready to go when I get the urge for some extreme driving excitement.
Don't let the lack of low end torque bother you. The S2000 provides a different experience than a muscle car whose high torque rumbly V-8 puts out gobs of power at low RPM's and starts to level off at around 5500 RPM's. If you are used to that, it will take some time to appreciate having the power at the higher end of the RPM scale. This baby redlines at 9300 RPM (2003 and older models, 2004 and above redline at 8000 RPM with power kicking in a little lower in the RPM band) and is amazing when reved up to that level.
For 2003's and older, power kicks in/enters VTEC at aproximately 5500 RPM's (when most engines are starting to level off) and does not really drop off as you approach readline. On 2004's and newer, the power kicks in at a lower RPM level. The incredible 6 speed manual gearbox makes it very easy to manage all this high end power and keep the engine running in the sweet spot. While I love the low end torque and rumble of a small block high performance V-8, I much prefer the screaming sound these VTEC engines make at high RPM's. I would best describe it as exotic. It takes more skills (easily learned) to get the most out of these cars, but well worth it in my opinion.
The handling of this car is precise/razor sharp. The front to rear weight ratio is very balanced. It almost feels like you are driving a go-cart.
Now for the flashaholic aspect of driving an S2000. Another great feature of this car is the HID headlights. There are many that believe these are some of the best HID headlights you will find on a production car. The lighting is perfectly focused, projects a rounded pattern and covers a wide width going considerably out beyond the sides of the road. When on night drives down twisty back roads, I often spot deer that I know I would never have seen without the benefits of well implemented HID lighting. The best way to describe the experience of driving with these lights is that it feels like you are "pushing a disc" of light in front of you.
For more info than you could ever want on this car check out the great S2K International forums:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=idx
The temp is in the low 80's and absolutely gorgeous, so in a couple of hours when it cools down a bit, I will going out for a quick spin with the top town to carve up a winding road or two!
Let us know what you decide to do!
IsaacHayes
Flashlight Enthusiast
Like everyone says, you gotta drive it like you stole it for it to be fast. I'm not a fan of having to rev the **** out of something before it starts moving good. I like low end grunt and instant throttle response. I raced one in a "slow" vehicle 3 times in a row from 0-45 and it couldn't keep up, but I'm sure once it got in the higher RPM's it would of took off. The guy did spin the tires a bit, but not sure if he was dumping the clutch at crazy high RPM's or not...
It'll handle good though since it's a small little car. But the powerband may not be for everyone.
It'll handle good though since it's a small little car. But the powerband may not be for everyone.
You don't have to drive it like you stole it to enjoy it, unless you are trying to be a bully on the road and race people. Which will cost you your license if caught in many locations.
I enjoy the car for the driving experience it gives me, not the experience it gives somebody else, often a stranger.
The S2000 give you a connection with the road that few cars offer, and by keeping the revs up you get a very racy yet fluid experience at legal speeds. And still get gas mileage in the high 20's.
I enjoy the car for the driving experience it gives me, not the experience it gives somebody else, often a stranger.
The S2000 give you a connection with the road that few cars offer, and by keeping the revs up you get a very racy yet fluid experience at legal speeds. And still get gas mileage in the high 20's.
My brother owns one. Nice car. I've been on 2 track days in the s2000 (as a passenger). I think it's an excellent compromise between a track car and a road car. US version has a 2.2l engine but the rest of the world gets a higher revving 2.0l with the same power output. I would say the car has the performance of the porsche boxster but is cheaper and far more reliable.
Nothing has ever gone wrong with my brother's s2000 (except for the car alarm which was fitted by honda UK) yet I've heard so many horror stories about the Boxster.
People say that on long journeys the engine noise can become tiring and the ride is quite hard. I guess this is true but I reckon the s2000's sports seats are extremely comfortable for long journeys.
Nothing has ever gone wrong with my brother's s2000 (except for the car alarm which was fitted by honda UK) yet I've heard so many horror stories about the Boxster.
People say that on long journeys the engine noise can become tiring and the ride is quite hard. I guess this is true but I reckon the s2000's sports seats are extremely comfortable for long journeys.
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