944 S2 v's S2000
Discussion
chrisr29 said:
Handling wise, I prefer the Honda. Feels sharper and more agile....all this talk of the s2k being twitchy is just rubbish!
Don't speak too soon my friend, the S doesn't suffer fools or is it forgiving like a 968/944 would be. Yes, it is a fantastic handling car but make sure you get the alignment sorted, decent tread on the rear tyres and invest in bracing.The engine is the real star
havoc said:
I'd definitely stretch to an '02+ if you can (£8k should be enough) as the plastic rear screens on the early ones may need replacing (which is IIRC a whole-hood job)...which will eat-up a large chunk of the difference between an '00 car and an '02 car!
Under £8k there's an '02 MCB at S2000-4-U at the moment (they have a mixed reputation on s2ki, and not without reason - treat with caution but you CAN get some decent stuff there), and there's a black '02 GT in Merseyside which reads well but only has two awful pictures advertising it...
I've decided that I want a post 'revisions' car so am now going to budget accordingly (selling the MX-5 'project' that is sitting in the garage as well). Looking for a post '94 S2000 with less than 50K on the clock and around £10K.Under £8k there's an '02 MCB at S2000-4-U at the moment (they have a mixed reputation on s2ki, and not without reason - treat with caution but you CAN get some decent stuff there), and there's a black '02 GT in Merseyside which reads well but only has two awful pictures advertising it...
Having said that their is a VERY tidy looking '02 plate car on here at the moment for about £8.5k that looks good value . . .
OnePaintedMan said:
I've decided that I want a post 'revisions' car so am now going to budget accordingly (selling the MX-5 'project' that is sitting in the garage as well). Looking for a post '94 S2000 with less than 50K on the clock and around £10K.
Shouldn't be too difficult, they're all post '94 
havoc said:
N'ring blue ones are for hairdressers, Monte-Carlo blue ones are the quickest! 
I wasn't sure about N'ring blue at first, however I have now decided it is by far the best colour and without a shadow of a doubt the fastest by along way.I came to the conclusion just as I handed over a deposit for a N'ring blue on Saturday!
OnePaintedMan said:
havoc said:
I'd definitely stretch to an '02+ if you can (£8k should be enough) as the plastic rear screens on the early ones may need replacing (which is IIRC a whole-hood job)...which will eat-up a large chunk of the difference between an '00 car and an '02 car!
Under £8k there's an '02 MCB at S2000-4-U at the moment (they have a mixed reputation on s2ki, and not without reason - treat with caution but you CAN get some decent stuff there), and there's a black '02 GT in Merseyside which reads well but only has two awful pictures advertising it...
I've decided that I want a post 'revisions' car so am now going to budget accordingly (selling the MX-5 'project' that is sitting in the garage as well). Looking for a post '94 S2000 with less than 50K on the clock and around £10K.Under £8k there's an '02 MCB at S2000-4-U at the moment (they have a mixed reputation on s2ki, and not without reason - treat with caution but you CAN get some decent stuff there), and there's a black '02 GT in Merseyside which reads well but only has two awful pictures advertising it...
Having said that their is a VERY tidy looking '02 plate car on here at the moment for about £8.5k that looks good value . . .
andye30m3 said:
havoc said:
N'ring blue ones are for hairdressers, Monte-Carlo blue ones are the quickest!
I wasn't sure about N'ring blue at first, however I have now decided it is by far the best colour and without a shadow of a doubt the fastest by along way.I came to the conclusion just as I handed over a deposit for a N'ring blue on Saturday!
Hi there.
S2000 is a good choice. I bought an 04 plate one with just 29000 miles on it before Christmas. I have previously owned two 944's but they were both turbos.
I spent quite a bit of money on the 944s. After all they are getting on a bit now and things can go wrong, particularly engine oil seals and brake calipers. I am hoping and expecting this won't be the case with the Honda!
Comparisons... Both look great. Not driven an S2 but the power delivery on the turbo isn't that different albeit much lower down the rev range.
I could go on about handling etc (both are good!) but I think the S2000 is definitely the better bet and has the added benefit of being a drop top. Good idea to for an 04+ car. Also if you can stretch to a GT with the hardtop - great for the winter if a daily driver and difficult/expensive to source afterwards. Best of luck!
S2000 is a good choice. I bought an 04 plate one with just 29000 miles on it before Christmas. I have previously owned two 944's but they were both turbos.
I spent quite a bit of money on the 944s. After all they are getting on a bit now and things can go wrong, particularly engine oil seals and brake calipers. I am hoping and expecting this won't be the case with the Honda!
Comparisons... Both look great. Not driven an S2 but the power delivery on the turbo isn't that different albeit much lower down the rev range.
I could go on about handling etc (both are good!) but I think the S2000 is definitely the better bet and has the added benefit of being a drop top. Good idea to for an 04+ car. Also if you can stretch to a GT with the hardtop - great for the winter if a daily driver and difficult/expensive to source afterwards. Best of luck!
OnePaintedMan said:
I've added the GT pack to my wish list. . . can definitely see the benefit of the hardtop having tried to source one for my Eunos Roadster/MX5.
Budget is around £10k for a private sale and up around £12k (with a part ex.) for a dealer supplied car. . .
The hunt is on . . .
GT pack is a good idea. The issue with the S is more to do with the fitting kit than the actual hardtop itself. Fitting kits, which are effectively 2 brackets that are attached to the bodywork, cost circa £500 on ebay, £1k from Honda. The hardtops can be picked up for much less than £500 but are obviously useless without the fitting kit. The hardtop is awesome mind and really does suit the car.Budget is around £10k for a private sale and up around £12k (with a part ex.) for a dealer supplied car. . .
The hunt is on . . .
Right guys (and girls) - I've found a car I'm interested in at an independant dealer (It was a harder search than I'd anticipated).
Quick question though. I understand that the most common fault on these cars to look for is seized adjustment bolts on the suspension. Can anybody tell me what the damage is if this needs to be rectified so that I have a figure in mind for negotiation purposes (if required).
I'm hoping the car doesn't sell before next weekend as I only clocked it last night and now have to fly off to Germany for 3 days with work. *Gnashes teeth*
Quick question though. I understand that the most common fault on these cars to look for is seized adjustment bolts on the suspension. Can anybody tell me what the damage is if this needs to be rectified so that I have a figure in mind for negotiation purposes (if required).
I'm hoping the car doesn't sell before next weekend as I only clocked it last night and now have to fly off to Germany for 3 days with work. *Gnashes teeth*
Suspension adjustment bolts?
Official Honda UK: £400 per affected wishbone plus fitting!
US import: ~£200 per affected wishbone (may have changed...can't remember what exch. rate that was at) plus fitting. Not sure if the hardness/shore (sp?) of the bushes is the same...expect it would be.
Polybushes: Replace just the bush not the wishbone. Peanuts for parts, lots of labour. But Honda use differential-hardness on the bushes around the car to 'tune' the handling, whereas polybushes will be one constant rating. Doubt it'll make a huge difference, but could be noticeable.
Mugen? I know they do replacement (more hardcore) bushes for the Type-R's, worth looking into. They're not cheap but they are good...
There's a long thread on s2ki.co.uk about all of this...worth a read if you've spare time while in Germany.
Official Honda UK: £400 per affected wishbone plus fitting!
US import: ~£200 per affected wishbone (may have changed...can't remember what exch. rate that was at) plus fitting. Not sure if the hardness/shore (sp?) of the bushes is the same...expect it would be.
Polybushes: Replace just the bush not the wishbone. Peanuts for parts, lots of labour. But Honda use differential-hardness on the bushes around the car to 'tune' the handling, whereas polybushes will be one constant rating. Doubt it'll make a huge difference, but could be noticeable.
Mugen? I know they do replacement (more hardcore) bushes for the Type-R's, worth looking into. They're not cheap but they are good...
There's a long thread on s2ki.co.uk about all of this...worth a read if you've spare time while in Germany.
Cheers Havoc - very informative reply as always. Many thanks. I am going to need all advice I can get!
Missed the car unfortunately. . . .only spotted it last night. '04 GT model in Moonrock with the full red interior. 36K on the clock for £11.5K.
Phoned first thing, ready to place a holding deposit over the phone and it had gone. AAAaaaragh.
Oh well, back to the hunt
If you are the lucky new owner and you are reading his . . . WHY? You should be out driving
Missed the car unfortunately. . . .only spotted it last night. '04 GT model in Moonrock with the full red interior. 36K on the clock for £11.5K.
Phoned first thing, ready to place a holding deposit over the phone and it had gone. AAAaaaragh.
Oh well, back to the hunt
If you are the lucky new owner and you are reading his . . . WHY? You should be out driving
OnePaintedMan said:
andye30m3 said:
havoc said:
N'ring blue ones are for hairdressers, Monte-Carlo blue ones are the quickest!
I wasn't sure about N'ring blue at first, however I have now decided it is by far the best colour and without a shadow of a doubt the fastest by along way.I came to the conclusion just as I handed over a deposit for a N'ring blue on Saturday!
First impressions are good, with the hardtop it's just like any other fixed head car and even with the soft top you don't get a great deal wind noise although slightly noisy when it's raining.
Seams to go well, better in a straight line than the old integra although the switch to V-tec isn't so obvious, in some ways with rwd I'm glade it has a smoother transition to the v-tec.
Handling wise it doesn't seam too bad, good grip, it will go sideways in the wet but is quite gradual. I've had a E36 M3 evo in the past and that was far easier to provoke into oversteer in the wet. I don't drive in such a way that I'm on the limits of the car other than the occasional play out of the odd junction or quiet roundabout to try and work out what the car will do so it's not caught me out as I was lead to believe they can if driven hard.
Only slightly disappointing thing is the fuel consumption seams noticeably worse that the integra, I'm not sure what I'm getting but would guess around 25mpg compared to 30ish in the integra, but thats not the end of the world.
I'm looking at doing some sprints this year so it will be interesting to see how the times compare to the integra and clio 172 I sprinted last year.
andye30m3 said:
OnePaintedMan said:
andye30m3 said:
havoc said:
N'ring blue ones are for hairdressers, Monte-Carlo blue ones are the quickest!
I wasn't sure about N'ring blue at first, however I have now decided it is by far the best colour and without a shadow of a doubt the fastest by along way.I came to the conclusion just as I handed over a deposit for a N'ring blue on Saturday!
First impressions are good, with the hardtop it's just like any other fixed head car and even with the soft top you don't get a great deal wind noise although slightly noisy when it's raining.
Seams to go well, better in a straight line than the old integra although the switch to V-tec isn't so obvious, in some ways with rwd I'm glade it has a smoother transition to the v-tec.
Handling wise it doesn't seam too bad, good grip, it will go sideways in the wet but is quite gradual. I've had a E36 M3 evo in the past and that was far easier to provoke into oversteer in the wet. I don't drive in such a way that I'm on the limits of the car other than the occasional play out of the odd junction or quiet roundabout to try and work out what the car will do so it's not caught me out as I was lead to believe they can if driven hard.
Only slightly disappointing thing is the fuel consumption seams noticeably worse that the integra, I'm not sure what I'm getting but would guess around 25mpg compared to 30ish in the integra, but thats not the end of the world.
I'm looking at doing some sprints this year so it will be interesting to see how the times compare to the integra and clio 172 I sprinted last year.
Inability to deactivate the passenger side airbag to use a child seat (rare occasions) meant that I had to discount the S2000 for the time being, much to my disappointement. Not all bad though. Picked up a mint 1 owner, full main dealer history, 2001 Porsche 2.7 ltr Boxster today with only 43K on the clock.
Not bad for a stop gap!
Not bad for a stop gap!
Edited by OnePaintedMan on Sunday 7th March 21:49
Thread resurrection! Just found this old thread as I was doing some Christmas googling of car topics in front of the fire.
I'd completely forgotten I'd ever posted this.
To complete the story - after much searching, a lack of decent S2000s on the market and an urgent need for a new car, I ended up getting a 986 2.7 Porsche Boxster in Rainforest Green with full tan leather interior .
I kept the Boxster for two years and loved the way it looked but never really gelled with it as a driving experience (too dull) so sold it at a loss. I then bought a Range Rover Vogue L322, which I still have and last year added an Alfa Romeo GTV Cup (V6). Number 60 of a limited run of 155.
This year the Alfa has been joined by a Porsche 968 Sport! I'm over the moon with that.
Still love the S2000, but I'm happy with my stable as is now 😊
I'd completely forgotten I'd ever posted this.
To complete the story - after much searching, a lack of decent S2000s on the market and an urgent need for a new car, I ended up getting a 986 2.7 Porsche Boxster in Rainforest Green with full tan leather interior .
I kept the Boxster for two years and loved the way it looked but never really gelled with it as a driving experience (too dull) so sold it at a loss. I then bought a Range Rover Vogue L322, which I still have and last year added an Alfa Romeo GTV Cup (V6). Number 60 of a limited run of 155.
This year the Alfa has been joined by a Porsche 968 Sport! I'm over the moon with that.
Still love the S2000, but I'm happy with my stable as is now 😊
Consider also the image, dare I say stigma, of owning a Porsche. It used to be an aspirational brand & priced out of the reach of the great unwashed. Now every lowly clerk, pimply teen & blonde bimbo can be seen in one. Buy a Porsche & you risk being labelled a p...k.
The Honda S2000 is the intelligent left-field class-less choice based on engineering excellence reliability, sensible running costs & scarcity.
I speak from experience because with an unlimited budget I chose a new Honda S2000 in 2006 over any Porsche be it Boxster or 911.
The Honda S2000 is the intelligent left-field class-less choice based on engineering excellence reliability, sensible running costs & scarcity.
I speak from experience because with an unlimited budget I chose a new Honda S2000 in 2006 over any Porsche be it Boxster or 911.
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