RE: PH Heroes: Honda S2000
Discussion
Robmarriott said:
How are they for tall people? I'm 6'2 and driving my mx5 used to bother me , even with a roll bar.
We're now looking for a track car which is similar to drive so this is on the list but I don't know if its 'tall' enough
Mate had one, I got a lift in his once. In the passenger seat my knees were hard against the dash and we had to lower the roof for me to be able to get in. I'm 6'5" so not expecting miracles from a small sports car, but any MX-5's I've been in have been more spacious to me.We're now looking for a track car which is similar to drive so this is on the list but I don't know if its 'tall' enough
rtz62 said:
Surprised nobody has yet mentioned the turbo or supercharged examples that loiter darkly around, owned by masters of the dark arts; I'm sure they have found the alchemy to fill the big hole in the torque curve....
One lurking here. Supercharged with 410 bhp and climbing still at 9k rpm with 250 ft lbs has delivered what I was after 
Mines a keeper!
ghibbett said:
ALways liked the idea of one of these. I think they still look good today.
However I remember a fair few years back, whilst darting around in the Fabia vRS I had at the time, one of these latching onto my rear bumper as we entered a known slippery left-hander with mid corner bump. Looking back in my rear view, I was shocked at how quickly the back end came round and it lodged itself in a hedge.
TADTS However I remember a fair few years back, whilst darting around in the Fabia vRS I had at the time, one of these latching onto my rear bumper as we entered a known slippery left-hander with mid corner bump. Looking back in my rear view, I was shocked at how quickly the back end came round and it lodged itself in a hedge.
I've had four of various ages including a 420BHP one that did 12k miles a year
No hedge finding issues for me
They are VERY sensitive geo & tyres
Get that right and they are fine even in the snow!
The hedge finder are often FWD owners how haven't sussed out RWD
The sweet spot IMO is the pre drive by wire face lift (04/05 cars)
09's have had some engine failures
Watch out for seized suspension bushes as they are a PITA to do and expensive
Edited by mikey k on Friday 22 February 14:09
rtz62 said:
Surprised nobody has yet mentioned the turbo or supercharged examples that loiter darkly around, owned by masters of the dark arts; I'm sure they have found the alchemy to fill the big hole in the torque curve....
220 BHP before VTEC
At the top of an empty Stelvio
I miss that car 
DSCN4406 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr
petrolhead888 said:
Hmmmm...
Never have I ever been so disappointed with a car that I really wanted to love as when I bought one of these.
I had 2 Lotus Elises previously and sold the last one as wanted to get into green laning and couldn`t justify the expense of the Elise sitting in the garage when the weather was poor and had a company car so it hardly got used....
Idea... Buy a Discovery TD5 and an S2000 as a plaything..
Bought a MK1 2000 S2000 in black, nice car and on the way home in it was really pleased with it as I sat in the red leather seats and looking at the stunning digital dashboard.
Now all my cars are always rear drive as I like to play, so at the first sign of rain I like to find a couple of deserted roundabouts and find out the handling balance so that i know what i`m dealing with.
On every car previous including a MK2 MR2 Turbo with 350 bhp I could slide the back end under complete control and learn the characteristics of the car.....
Nope not this... The S2000 snapped straight into an uncontrollable low speed spin no matter how quick I was with the steering (which gave no feel whatsoever)
oooh dear I wasnt expecting it to be as bad as this.
Tyres were all good and the correct factory bridgestones, Alignment had been recently done, hmm not good
Ok maybe its me, I shouldnt expect to be able to slide a car as its not really what I should be doing ( I just like to now and then!)
So drove it on my day off on a dry country road,
no no no.....
No feedback, no steering feel, Hard work, Stuttering in traffic (some common fault they all do that sir) what a massive disappointment.
Put a different exhaust on it to try and liven up proceedings but all that did was create an ear splitting drone in the cabin that really was not nice at all so ended back with standard exhaust.
Overall the car on paper had all the recipe I was looking for in a car and on face value seemed the perfect choice for me.
Never has a car promised so much and delivered so little so needless to say I will NEVER have another.
To people who just want to cruise around the countryside putting there foot down now and then on a straight road its a great car....
To the driving enthusiasts of this site........
Look elsewhere for your thrills
(Sorry for the negativity but I really had to pipe up about it after reading this article!)
I had a similar experience. Lusted over these for years but could never afford the insurance as they were so expensive. When I turned 25 I had just sold my MR2 Turbo and took an S2000 for a test drive. Never have I ever been so disappointed with a car that I really wanted to love as when I bought one of these.
I had 2 Lotus Elises previously and sold the last one as wanted to get into green laning and couldn`t justify the expense of the Elise sitting in the garage when the weather was poor and had a company car so it hardly got used....
Idea... Buy a Discovery TD5 and an S2000 as a plaything..
Bought a MK1 2000 S2000 in black, nice car and on the way home in it was really pleased with it as I sat in the red leather seats and looking at the stunning digital dashboard.
Now all my cars are always rear drive as I like to play, so at the first sign of rain I like to find a couple of deserted roundabouts and find out the handling balance so that i know what i`m dealing with.
On every car previous including a MK2 MR2 Turbo with 350 bhp I could slide the back end under complete control and learn the characteristics of the car.....
Nope not this... The S2000 snapped straight into an uncontrollable low speed spin no matter how quick I was with the steering (which gave no feel whatsoever)
oooh dear I wasnt expecting it to be as bad as this.
Tyres were all good and the correct factory bridgestones, Alignment had been recently done, hmm not good
Ok maybe its me, I shouldnt expect to be able to slide a car as its not really what I should be doing ( I just like to now and then!)
So drove it on my day off on a dry country road,
no no no.....
No feedback, no steering feel, Hard work, Stuttering in traffic (some common fault they all do that sir) what a massive disappointment.
Put a different exhaust on it to try and liven up proceedings but all that did was create an ear splitting drone in the cabin that really was not nice at all so ended back with standard exhaust.
Overall the car on paper had all the recipe I was looking for in a car and on face value seemed the perfect choice for me.
Never has a car promised so much and delivered so little so needless to say I will NEVER have another.
To people who just want to cruise around the countryside putting there foot down now and then on a straight road its a great car....
To the driving enthusiasts of this site........
Look elsewhere for your thrills
(Sorry for the negativity but I really had to pipe up about it after reading this article!)
I was also totaly underwhelmed. The engine sounded crap and buzzy. When the Vtec 'kicked in' my immediate thought was 'is that it?!'. The car just felt slow and not exciting to drive.
Walked away feeling very disillusioned and taught me a lesson in realities. Whilst on paper I have massive respect for the Honda's pursuit of revvy NA engines, in practice they are actually pretty impractical in terms of how they deploy their power.
Was really disappointed as I so wanted to love the car. Not for me.
omgus said:
StottyZr said:
I would love to own an S2000, the only issue being the insurance premiums rival that of a Ferrari 360.
If the opportunity for a company insurance policy arose I would add one of these to it in a heartbeat.
If the opportunity for a company insurance policy arose I would add one of these to it in a heartbeat.
I found it to be very cheap on insurance quotes over the last few days, less than a 3.0 Z4 and 2/3s that of a boxster.
A badly set up S2000 is terrible.
A well set up one is excellent.
An old one that's been thrashed and not maintained will sound and handle poorly.
An old one that's been looked after (or restored) is great fun to drive.
They really need a full 4 wheel alignment by a specialist - and it needs doing every year or two depending on drivibg style.
And, more than any other car, you need to check the tyre pressures.
But it's worth it.
A well set up one is excellent.
An old one that's been thrashed and not maintained will sound and handle poorly.
An old one that's been looked after (or restored) is great fun to drive.
They really need a full 4 wheel alignment by a specialist - and it needs doing every year or two depending on drivibg style.
And, more than any other car, you need to check the tyre pressures.
But it's worth it.
Spent some time in a Phase 1 and, for the most part, loved it.
Wonderful engine and gearbox are a given, also liked the way the steering/chassis/handling 'hooked up' when pressing-on. Never understood criticism that it's tail-happy or prone to snap-oversteer - nice 'n' pointy, yes, a ditch-finder, no.
However, perhaps the S2000's chassis balance is sensitive to the driver's placement/weight distribution? I always had the seat pushed back to max, and found there was plenty of feed-back through my butt. Yet, a mate also had an S2000 and he found it prone to snap-oversteer, but he's c. 5' 9", so his seat was further forward. Significant?
Only downside was the tedium of long motorway journeys - as others have mentioned, at 80-90 the cacophony from engine and road noise renders the stereo 'mute'
Wonderful engine and gearbox are a given, also liked the way the steering/chassis/handling 'hooked up' when pressing-on. Never understood criticism that it's tail-happy or prone to snap-oversteer - nice 'n' pointy, yes, a ditch-finder, no.
However, perhaps the S2000's chassis balance is sensitive to the driver's placement/weight distribution? I always had the seat pushed back to max, and found there was plenty of feed-back through my butt. Yet, a mate also had an S2000 and he found it prone to snap-oversteer, but he's c. 5' 9", so his seat was further forward. Significant?
Only downside was the tedium of long motorway journeys - as others have mentioned, at 80-90 the cacophony from engine and road noise renders the stereo 'mute'
Robmarriott said:
How are they for tall people? I'm 6'2 ...
Same height as you. Yes, the cabin is snug but I had no problems doing a regular 5-hour trip from London to Wales. IMHO, the S2000 has more legroom and is more comfortable overall compared to, for example, a 1st-gen Boxster. Edited by NGK210 on Friday 22 February 15:19
NGK210 said:
Snowboy said:
... And, more than any other car, you need to check the tyre pressures...
Very true. IME, they need to be checked weekly, at least. Also found that upping pressures from 32psi to 36 all-round improved chassis/steering feel. (YMMV.) 
Having owned a couple of S2000's over a 6 year period (2001 and a 2007 car), i think I'm qualified in saying the following:-
If your rotating your s2000 on a regular basis you are either a complete tool or the car isn't setup correctly, or both.
As others have said the car is VERY sensitive to geometry, tyres and tyre pressures, camber, caster and toe are all adjustable, front and rear, if its fitted with ditch finders at 20psi, your going to have a bad time.
It can get tiresome on a daily commute if your in stop start traffic, but on a twisty road (of which there are many) and your in the mood to ring the b
ds neck, it was exhilarating.
Obligatory pic
If your rotating your s2000 on a regular basis you are either a complete tool or the car isn't setup correctly, or both.
As others have said the car is VERY sensitive to geometry, tyres and tyre pressures, camber, caster and toe are all adjustable, front and rear, if its fitted with ditch finders at 20psi, your going to have a bad time.
It can get tiresome on a daily commute if your in stop start traffic, but on a twisty road (of which there are many) and your in the mood to ring the b
ds neck, it was exhilarating. Obligatory pic
Edited by Pie n Chips on Friday 22 February 15:31
Gaz. said:
No matter how much we write that we hate understeer and cars that are dumbed down and safe, when agressive cars with no understeer traits are available they get heavily criticised. I'm surprised Honda made the S2k as focused as they did when Toyota were put through the grinder with the mk2 MR2 for the exact same reasons a decade previously.
I don't have the talent or balls to really throw my S2000 around (being 22 at the time I thought I was invincible when I owned my MR2T) nor do I completely trust it, but I love it to pieces.
I'd say Toyota was put through the grinder because the Mk2 MR2 was a lardy old bus (relative to the Mk1) with a massive dollop of torque to catch out people half way round a corner (mmmm turbo). I don't have the talent or balls to really throw my S2000 around (being 22 at the time I thought I was invincible when I owned my MR2T) nor do I completely trust it, but I love it to pieces.
So a long way from the fondly remembered AW11, and a long way from the later, lighter and NA MR2s.
With torque and the MR2's turbo in mind, it's also quite a bit different from the S2000 - it's certainly not the engine and power delivery that catches people out mid corner in the latter.
Doesn't the final drive ratio plus the car's weight have to be factored in alongside the torque figure in order to assess whether a car feels 'low' on torque? Years ago my old Fiat Strada Abarth had 130 BHP at 5900 RPM allied to 130 ft.lbs. torque at 3600 RPM., figures that seem a bit pathetic today, but the car was light with a low final drive ratio and thus felt superbly torquey at all times. Trouble was it was SO low-geared that it could only pull 70 MPH at 3500 RPM in fifth gear so was hardly relaxing on a motorway cruise! A buzz-box on long journeys in fact.
bicycleshorts said:
I've wondered this as well, my current mx5 only makes 100 lb ft and I've never felt a "lack of torque".
Jimmy No Hands said:
I'm planning on one of these this year or next. Ill be only spending about £4k so probably an early one. Has anyone bought one of the 'lower end' cars?
I picked one up last year - £4k, 1999 model, in red - A GT with Hardtop, black leather and 56k, previous owner for last 10 years. It need a clutch so that was factored in to sale. It was a good find with low miles but they can do high miles and still feel tight. Aside from that its had a full service - and 2 front tyres. It uses a bit of oil (they all do) but is super reliable and lots of fun. It can snap quite quickly on roundabouts but you just have to be alert and not go crazy on cold greasy roads or change gear in Vtec zone mid corner! pthelazyjourno said:
I'd say Toyota was put through the grinder because the Mk2 MR2 was a lardy old bus (relative to the Mk1) with a massive dollop of torque to catch out people half way round a corner (mmmm turbo).
So a long way from the fondly remembered AW11, and a long way from the later, lighter and NA MR2s.
With torque and the MR2's turbo in mind, it's also quite a bit different from the S2000 - it's certainly not the engine and power delivery that catches people out mid corner in the latter.
No, it wasn't the turbo that the caused the criticism, it was the early ('rev 1?') MR2s' handling balance that was criticised. Reports at the time were that the handling was much improved in later revisions of the Mk2 MR2.So a long way from the fondly remembered AW11, and a long way from the later, lighter and NA MR2s.
With torque and the MR2's turbo in mind, it's also quite a bit different from the S2000 - it's certainly not the engine and power delivery that catches people out mid corner in the latter.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff