RE: Happy 18th birthday Honda S2000: PH Blog

RE: Happy 18th birthday Honda S2000: PH Blog

Author
Discussion

havoc

30,090 posts

236 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Mothersruin said:
Probably the same as some have sat in a garage trying to get the fuel flap open...
whistlegetmecoat

Ikobo

511 posts

150 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Wish I'd never sold the last of the three I owned. Would quite happily buy another tomorrow if a minter appeared.

jwwbowe

577 posts

173 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Best car I've owned. Gearbox is nothing short of perfect. The engine is special those last few revs coupled with the noise roof down, wow. Not the fastest car but it doesn't matter one bit, it is so enjoyable and more than fast enough for UK roads. However I am sure the PH forum will produce someone who has never driven one with a negative lawnmower/rice based joke though! Just go out and drive one of you get a chance.

rtz62

3,371 posts

156 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Bizarrely I was perusing S2000's on PH Classified just this very morning, and also the TTS Perormanc supercharger kits to suit.
Which took me back to Wembley, 2-3 years ago, when I had travelled down from the frozen Norf to drop my daughter, step-daughter and brother-in-law there fro a Wrong Direction concert.
Not being of that persuasion, I decided to walk to The Ace Cafe to see who, and what was about.
Turns out it was a Honda evening, with a predominance ofhe S2000; bodykitted, slammed, supercharged, you name it and it was there. Along with a strong smell of dried vegetable matter being smoked by the youfs crowding the grassbanking opposite (there to watch their idiot mates performing wheelie on motorbikes with no helmets or no. plates in full view of 5-0.
Got talking to on one of the S2000 owners and he waxed lyrical about his steed, saying how much he enjoyed BEFORE she supercharged it, but since that happened he had fallen in love with it and had no intention to ever sell it.
Which says a lot really.
I've been thinking of a suitable ride for me and SWMBO to drive down towards the south of France in regularly, and had initially thought of a Mercedes AMG, either in SL55 Kompressor form, or an older SL60.
Which again, says a lot...l

gmyorks

13 posts

133 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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ive an 05 model, used in the summer months only, wont be selling any time soon!
ive had loads of cars and this S2000 has remaind with me for 4 yrs... ive changed some cars after 6 months!
The car is 100% reliable just the iffy calipers with standing over winter.. working on this tho.
ive had the steering wheel recoverd, new gaiter and arm rest recoverd. Had a new soft top fitted this summer...trip down to south wales for a couple of days to have the work done.

Im sure by todays standards it would have more safety protection, heated seats would be nice, same for the steering wheel.

The car has a fantastic engine that leaves most other cars behind as you wizz throught the excellent gearchange.

My car has also gone up in value over the 4 yrs another reason im holding onto it... not like most modern tin boxes.

ChickenvanGuy

323 posts

172 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Fabulous things. I love them.

Just over two weeks ago I travelled to Southampton to buy my 4th S2000. This one's a keeper.

I thought I had scratched the itch with my last one (bought in 2009 with 1000 miles on the clock, sold in 2012). But I was wrong!

After an S3 then a lease 435D I bought a new Audi TTS. Fast, competent, a lovely thing but I never clicked with it. Because of a change in circumstances I needed a larger car. so bought a shed of a Mondeo and only used the TT on Fridays and at the weekend. So it sat in the garage most of the week, losing money in depreciation.

I realised I could have an S2000 that could sit in the garage and (for once) maybe earn money!

Pistonheads classifieds had a 2009 car, 49k miles, in the right colour (llack with red seats) sold by a real enthusiast (cheers, Lewys),

I paid the full asking price without hesitation. It's had everything done you'd want done. Suspension bushes and alignment at TGM. A new roof this year. Valve clearances and spark plugs. Full Honda history. And... a transferable Honda Approved used warranty until Dec 2019!!

It has aftermarket black wheels that have to go and I've swapped the stereo for an Alpine headunit. Paint is swirled but I have begun machine polishing. I'll fit heated seat elements and get them wired up, replacing some seat foam while I'm at it. A retrimmed steering wheel is on its way to replace the non-standard alcantara one and a Spooner refurbished red rocker cover will arrive shortly afterwards. (So much for it earning money - I've even bought a trolley jack and axle stands so I can rub down and paint the rusty wheels hubs)

I'm going to take my time, fettle and tweak it until it's just the way I want. I'm going to really enjoy doing it. Then we're going to Scotland in it - Glencoe, Spean Bridge and Glen Shiel, roof down, all the way to Skye...


These are special cars. They are raw, noisy, mechanical, analogue. They are the last of their breed, the polar opposite of my TTS. Love 'em!




51mes

1,500 posts

201 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Nearly 4 years in with mine,

Had a full suspension rebuild done this year, new brakes/disks and recon'd the alloys. fitted heated seats and a new stereo, and a new spooner red engine cover. Had the underside resealed before my first winter & Honda fitted a new roof before I bought it. A few stone chips are being touched up - but that's it at 13 years old and 75K miles. Have some money put aside - clutch must be due soon, but she's running as sweet as a nut ....

It's a perfect car especially up here in the lakes - where lack of size counts.

Love it so much I bought it a house - well bought the house next door for the garage, now renting the house out sans garage.

It's going nowhere.. well apart from sunny days out with me and Mrs 51mes.


LOve it, Happy Birthday S2000, may you have many more.

Mushroom12

161 posts

92 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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All these nice posts about the S2000 are making me feel bad about considering to sell mine to 'upgrade' to something else. The problem is, I don't see much to 'upgrade' to...
I want more power, but still want the small, light, convertible feel. After trying a cockster and a F-Type, while good cars in themselves, they just don't have the same appeal. An Evora roadster would be perfect maybe, but that doesn't exist...

NorthernSky

985 posts

118 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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Mushroom12 said:
All these nice posts about the S2000 are making me feel bad about considering to sell mine to 'upgrade' to something else. The problem is, I don't see much to 'upgrade' to...
I want more power, but still want the small, light, convertible feel. After trying a cockster and a F-Type, while good cars in themselves, they just don't have the same appeal. An Evora roadster would be perfect maybe, but that doesn't exist...
Z4M of either kind. Another engine howler!

motor mad

473 posts

190 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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I had a mildly modified EP3 and wanted to move on to an AP2 S2000. I drove a couple at my local Honda dealers and whilst I love the styling, I came away a little disappointed. The engine never felt 240bhp to me and the cam change wasn't very pronounced.

I've owned a standard DC2 for 5 years and I was hooked from the first drive. I'd like to drive another S2000 to see if my views of the car have changed.

edc

9,237 posts

252 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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NorthernSky said:
Mushroom12 said:
All these nice posts about the S2000 are making me feel bad about considering to sell mine to 'upgrade' to something else. The problem is, I don't see much to 'upgrade' to...
I want more power, but still want the small, light, convertible feel. After trying a cockster and a F-Type, while good cars in themselves, they just don't have the same appeal. An Evora roadster would be perfect maybe, but that doesn't exist...
Z4M of either kind. Another engine howler!
There is an Exige Roadster though.

havoc

30,090 posts

236 months

Wednesday 11th October 2017
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motor mad - probably not. The DC2 puts the S2000 in the shade for all except looks and wind-in-the-hair...but IMHO the DC2 is exceptional (shocking mid-range torque aside). I lust after another DC2 / I wouldn't mind another S2000 if circumstances permitted but I'd probably try a 987S or...

...an Exige convertible - which is exactly what I was going to post...either that or a Tamora/T350C, if you're a gambling man...

Mushroom12

161 posts

92 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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edc said:
There is an Exige Roadster though.
For daily use? Too hardcore and in one hell of a price bracket... frown

Sensei Rob

312 posts

80 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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Brilliant car - still looks great and still has one of the best specific outputs of any NA engine.

dinkel

26,959 posts

259 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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Amirhussain said:
Still a fresh looking design/ car
Agreed. I always hoped for an S3500...

C7 JFW

1,205 posts

220 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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Still loving mine and still much more car than an awful lot of the more expensive vehicles I've had the privilege of driving.

Suspension was an excellent upgrade along with chassis strengthening. Such an awesome car that punches well-beyond its league.


Riknos

4,700 posts

205 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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gmyorks said:
heated seats would be nice
Dead easy to fit, the kits are cheap too.

S2000 seats are held on with (hog?)rings you just need to cut off and slide the seat covers off, fit heated elements, slide covers back on. I ziptied them back on rather than used hog rings. Job done.

anonymous-user

55 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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I chopped in a Boxster S for one of these on a whim in 2007. The Boxster S never did it for me, felt too heavy and underpowered, sure it was a great car, but not exciting. Added to that mine rattled and was fairly unreliable costing me £4K in extra maintenance over the 2 years I owned it. Driving through Yorkshire one afternoon I spotted a black S2000 on the forecourt of a local dealer and spun the Porsche around.... 1 hour later the deal was done.

Black 2005 car with red leather interior and 19K on the clock - 2 years old.

Fast forward 6 years and the car had 140K on the clock - never once in that time did I have to spend anything on it other than routine maintenance. It was so well screwed together too.... very few rattles and a beautifully operating soft top (unlike the Boxster S where I had to get out half way through the roof lowering procedure to be sure the rear window seated correctly). To me it looked and still looks epic even with the roof up (a rarity with convertibles).

It was a perfect mixture of excitement when you wanted it and tootling around drivability when you didn't.

I reluctantly chopped it in for a Jaguar XJ8 as with 140K on it, I was worried how much longer it would go for and knew that if I was going to get it out of my system it would need to be with something completely different hence the Jag.

I have owned a lot of cars and when people ask me what was the best of them the S2000 is always my first and last thought!

Mushroom12

161 posts

92 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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cb1965 said:
I chopped in a Boxster S for one of these on a whim in 2007. The Boxster S never did it for me, felt too heavy and underpowered, sure it was a great car, but not exciting. Added to that mine rattled and was fairly unreliable costing me £4K in extra maintenance over the 2 years I owned it. Driving through Yorkshire one afternoon I spotted a black S2000 on the forecourt of a local dealer and spun the Porsche around.... 1 hour later the deal was done.

Black 2005 car with red leather interior and 19K on the clock - 2 years old.

Fast forward 6 years and the car had 140K on the clock - never once in that time did I have to spend anything on it other than routine maintenance. It was so well screwed together too.... very few rattles and a beautifully operating soft top (unlike the Boxster S where I had to get out half way through the roof lowering procedure to be sure the rear window seated correctly). To me it looked and still looks epic even with the roof up (a rarity with convertibles).

It was a perfect mixture of excitement when you wanted it and tootling around drivability when you didn't.

I reluctantly chopped it in for a Jaguar XJ8 as with 140K on it, I was worried how much longer it would go for and knew that if I was going to get it out of my system it would need to be with something completely different hence the Jag.

I have owned a lot of cars and when people ask me what was the best of them the S2000 is always my first and last thought!
The only rattle I have is the cig-lighter came unscrewed and is loose, and some of the bolts on the side for hard tops need a good screw. Fixed a roof rattle by using hardtop strikers.
Still wondering what the velcro strips on the back window are for; they don't connect to anything and one fell off frown

s2racer

122 posts

214 months

Thursday 12th October 2017
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Great cars, i have two so maybe biased. One is a 99 and supercharged. Fun with 380bhp smile

Also cheap to run for what they are