My 1999 Honda s2000 - My Journey, Beware it's a Long Read.

[s2000_f20]

Jack-4izuu said:

An unbelievably good read. Amazing detail.

I don't know if you'd consider selling, but hit me if you do.

Thanks Jack, means alot.

Will keep you in ind if I do decide to sell.
May have too if things continue as they are. Uncertain times!

Stay healthy and safe.

[trancem]

Amazing read, well done mate. Some great work put into this

I am also currently looking for an s2k to add to the collection, so let me know too. Cash waiting !

[Augustus Windsock]

Wow!
This has got to be the TOTY (Thread Of The Year))
Brilliant detail with pointers for any other S2000 owners to go straight to and written in a manner that keeps your attention all the way through.
If I had a hat I would doff it to you know, you are a legend (ok not a Legend, an S2000!)
Well done sir, well done.

[d_a_n1979]

s2000_f20 said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Stunning car and stunning work/build...
Always wanted one of these; alas, they were one of the first cars on my 'can't fit in one' list
If you ever need someone else to work on your car and fancy the road trip; I couldn't recommend Stevie & Co at Grinspeed in Leyland, Preston highly enough

Thanks dan1979, that is a shame the car doesn't fit you. I think Honda missed the trick for not designing the car to accommodate more people.

I have heard of Grinspeed, indeed they are pretty far away but would be great road trip.
Will keep them in mind for the future.

Apologies, just catching up on this

Yeah, I’d outgrown the S2K mid 2000s really. At 6ft4 and c21 stone, being a competitive powerlifter/stone lifter and a fan of lifting stupidly heavy things, 2 seater cars in general are like a big rucksack for me haha However, I still fit fine in an original EF8 CRX which is a car I’m seriously thinking of importing, once this pandemic is all over, so get Stevie at Grinspeed to fettle/build for me so I can have a weekend toy etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Jap import E39 touring and love driving it, but it’s not quite a B road loonigan

Anyways, stunning S2K and a superb project

[Gee Whizz]

What a fantastic read, thanks to the OP for posting. These cars still look great today. I considered buying one 10+ years ago but went down the Alpina Roadster S route instead. I do feel that maybe I should have bought the S2000 instead...

[Black S2K]

Really nice job, there - great thread.

I keep neglecting mine. That's the dirty one in Hertford - with the dirty Mugen wheels.

You missed a cheeky shot outside Bespoke Performance in the Marsh Lane photos!

Still miss my old BB8 - I've still got the Supermarine Blues...

[keith2.2]

I had a silver \ red on a V plate (also in Hertford) for a few years. I adored it. I also ruined it - the coil overs too stiff! The geometry too aggressive, the single buddy club exhaust too shouty. I loved it all the more. I did loads with it, track days, Le Mans, eventually the engine let go without warning whilst cruising up the A1. Of course it happened right at the bottom of the market, when a ratty one could be had for 3.5k. I broke it (never again) and bought a Chimaera (never again).

One of the only cars I’ve had that I genuinely miss. That cockpit is tremendous and it was a driving experience like no other I’ve had. Would I have another? Nah, too many other cars out there to own, but boy am I glad I did it, and sorry it ended as it did.

[LetsTryAgain]

What a great thread.
Beautiful motor, it's a credit to you.

[k1ngsk1n]

What a lovely motor, makes me want one. Well done on a fantastic job!

[anonymous-user]

Super thread, very detailed report and work OP!!

However, I always thought (based on reviews and conversations) that these cars are super solid, but now it appears a lot can go wrong and some things (5 different water ingression issues??) seem troublesome. Would still love to own one of these one day although will need to try to sit in one first as I am 6'3 and a good bit too chunky :-)

Brilliant blog though about your car ownership, hat off

[keith2.2]

Aletsch said:

Super thread, very detailed report and work OP!!

However, I always thought (based on reviews and conversations) that these cars are super solid, but now it appears a lot can go wrong and some things (5 different water ingression issues??) seem troublesome. Would still love to own one of these one day although will need to try to sit in one first as I am 6'3 and a good bit too chunky :-)

Brilliant blog though about your car ownership, hat off

Most cars will start throwing up issues when they’re 10-20 years old, certainly ones that won’t be highlighted in road tests.

For the life of me I couldn’t stop mine from giving me a wet shoulder if it rained. Not uncommon. There are several other issues that are almost guaranteed to happen e.g. timing chain tensioner rattling - any time after 60k miles.

Mine was definitely better engineered than the Chimaera that replaced it

[LetsTryAgain]

Aletsch said:

Super thread, very detailed report and work OP!!

However, I always thought (based on reviews and conversations) that these cars are super solid, but now it appears a lot can go wrong and some things (5 different water ingression issues??) seem troublesome. Would still love to own one of these one day although will need to try to sit in one first as I am 6'3 and a good bit too chunky :-)

Brilliant blog though about your car ownership, hat off

20 year old car is a 20 year old car.

[akhindle]

What an awesome and painstaking account of fixes and upgrades!
Great work... This is what pistonheads is all about.
If in the current climate this car is needed to be moved on then I'm sure there will be lots of us on this forum looking for some cash behind the sofa for this model!

Andy

[nismo48]

akhindle said:

What an awesome and painstaking account of fixes and upgrades!
Great work... This is what pistonheads is all about.
If in the current climate this car is needed to be moved on then I'm sure there will be lots of us on this forum looking for some cash behind the sofa for this model!

Andy

I couldn't agree with you more.
Very interesting and informative.
A genuine car to cherish.

[frayz]

Loved reading this. Superb attention to detail.

[jonasaurus]

Honestly this is amazing, as an EG9 guy when I was younger I can appreciate much of what you have written about. Although I've had P-cars and M cars I still look at S2Ks because like you always wanted one back when they first came out. Will be book marking this! Thanks!

[s2000_f20]

trancem said:

Amazing read, well done mate. Some great work put into this
I am also currently looking for an s2k to add to the collection, so let me know too. Cash waiting !

Thanks trancem, really glad you enjoyed it.
I will keep you posted if I ever decide to sell up

Augustus Windsock said:

Wow!
This has got to be the TOTY (Thread Of The Year))
Brilliant detail with pointers for any other S2000 owners to go straight to and written in a manner that keeps your attention all the way through.
If I had a hat I would doff it to you know, you are a legend (ok not a Legend, an S2000!)
Well done sir, well done.

Cheers Augustus. That is a nice thought being thread of the year.
So happy you enjoyed the read.

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Wow, riverside. 7 years ownership. That is amazing. I heard of centre gravity, although they are quite far away and pretty pricey.
From what I hear though, it may be worth the trip.
Thanks for the comments Riverside

d_a_n1979 said:

Apologies, just catching up on this
Yeah, I’d outgrown the S2K mid 2000s really. At 6ft4 and c21 stone, being a competitive powerlifter/stone lifter and a fan of lifting stupidly heavy things, 2 seater cars in general are like a big rucksack for me haha However, I still fit fine in an original EF8 CRX which is a car I’m seriously thinking of importing, once this pandemic is all over, so get Stevie at Grinspeed to fettle/build for me so I can have a weekend toy etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Jap import E39 touring and love driving it, but it’s not quite a B road loonigan
Anyways, stunning S2K and a superb project

hehe, wow. I am amazed you fit in the s2000 being a weight lifter although its nice you got to own one. Ooooh EF8 crx are lovely, pretty rare now these days though. Best of luck finding a mint rust free one.

Gee Whizz said:

What a fantastic read, thanks to the OP for posting. These cars still look great today. I considered buying one 10+ years ago but went down the Alpina Roadster S route instead. I do feel that maybe I should have bought the S2000 instead...

Thanks Gee whizz. I am amazed myself how well these s2000's have aged too. Probably one of Honda's greatest looking car.
Nice, Alpina roadsters do look really good, I assume they give a totally different driving experience.

Black S2K said:

Really nice job, there - great thread.
I keep neglecting mine. That's the dirty one in Hertford - with the dirty Mugen wheels.
You missed a cheeky shot outside Bespoke Performance in the Marsh Lane photos!
Still miss my old BB8 - I've still got the Supermarine Blues...

Haha, maybe its time to clean it now amongst lockdown time. hehe.
I did see Bespoke Performance, but there were a couple vans parked outside it so we couldn't hang around that section.

Ahhh I had a 1999 Prelude 5th gen BB8 myself with the H22A8 engine. I had it with Miester R suspension, 4.62 final drive and LSD and JTC short shifter. I also had the h23 manual tension conversion.
It was an amazing car and really miss mine too before I sold it.
It offered such a difference experience when compared to the s2000.

I had a build thread for it too, I will post it up on here one day once I rebuild all the posts and re-host all the pics manually.

keith2.2 said:

I had a silver \ red on a V plate (also in Hertford) for a few years. I adored it. I also ruined it - the coil overs too stiff! The geometry too aggressive, the single buddy club exhaust too shouty. I loved it all the more. I did loads with it, track days, Le Mans, eventually the engine let go without warning whilst cruising up the A1. Of course it happened right at the bottom of the market, when a ratty one could be had for 3.5k. I broke it (never again) and bought a Chimaera (never again).

One of the only cars I’ve had that I genuinely miss. That cockpit is tremendous and it was a driving experience like no other I’ve had. Would I have another? Nah, too many other cars out there to own, but boy am I glad I did it, and sorry it ended as it did.

Wow, sounds like you really went all out on it and loved how you took on track so many times.
Wish I could buy a beater s2000 to just take on track and have some fun without too much care. Sorry to hear that the engine went on it, must have been gutted. Definitely agree with you on that. I have a list as long as my arm on cars I would love to own too, very unlikely I will get to own them though as I tend to get attached to my cars. haha.

LetsTryAgain said:

What a great thread.
Beautiful motor, it's a credit to you.

Thanks dude

k1ngsk1n said:

What a lovely motor, makes me want one. Well done on a fantastic job!

Thanks for the comments k1ngsk1n,
I definitely highly recommended ownership, but only as a 2nd car.
Not sure i could live with one as a daily.

Aletsch said:

Super thread, very detailed report and work OP!!
However, I always thought (based on reviews and conversations) that these cars are super solid, but now it appears a lot can go wrong and some things (5 different water ingression issues??) seem troublesome. Would still love to own one of these one day although will need to try to sit in one first as I am 6'3 and a good bit too chunky :-)
Brilliant blog though about your car ownership, hat off

Thanks for the comments Alestsch. Your comments means alot

I think I was quite unlucky on most of my issues, the previous owner didn't do much with it for the last 8 years hence why it was pretty cheap so it just stood around. Seals tend to perish over time which tend to point towards leaks. Especially on a convertible. They are very well built cars though and so modular and easy to take apart and work on.
Despite all the issues that I had experienced, I can safely say that the mechanical's and that f20 engine are bullet proof, and definitely lives up to Honda's reputation. Not a single issue with the engine despite its mileage and the car standing around not doing much for so many years.
You really can't beat the reliability of a Honda engine.

keith2.2 said:

Most cars will start throwing up issues when they’re 10-20 years old, certainly ones that won’t be highlighted in road tests.
For the life of me I couldn’t stop mine from giving me a wet shoulder if it rained. Not uncommon. There are several other issues that are almost guaranteed to happen e.g. timing chain tensioner rattling - any time after 60k miles.
Mine was definitely better engineered than the Chimaera that replaced it

I agree, especially with a car that sits outside. I am not fortunate enough to have a garage, driveway or a car port with a roof, so the s2000 has to sit outside in all weathers.

Haha - I do hear reports of the soft top leaking although most s2000 would be on their 2nd soft top by now unless the car has been garaged all its life.

Funny you say that, I do have a genuine Honda timing chain tensioner kept as a spare but I havent had any issues with my current one.
It was a design flaw from Honda and they didnt revise the design unfortunately. Third party companies did offer an upgraded one.
As far as i am ware, mine is still on the original one and still running well. It was the first thing I thought of buying as a spare when I drove to Germany.

akhindle said:

What an awesome and painstaking account of fixes and upgrades!
Great work... This is what pistonheads is all about.
If in the current climate this car is needed to be moved on then I'm sure there will be lots of us on this forum looking for some cash behind the sofa for this model!
Andy

Cheers Andy, glad you enjoyed it.
Hopefully it can go to a good home if I decide to sell.

nismo48 said:

couldn't agree with you more.
Very interesting and informative.
A genuine car to cherish.

Thanks nismo48, so glad you enjoyed reading it.

frayz said:

Loved reading this. Superb attention to detail.

Thanks frayz, I try to add as much detail as possible. so glad you enjoyed that side of it.

jonasaurus said:

Honestly this is amazing, as an EG9 guy when I was younger I can appreciate much of what you have written about. Although I've had P-cars and M cars I still look at S2Ks because like you always wanted one back when they first came out. Will be book marking this! Thanks!

Thanks jonasuarus, I used to love those EG civics too. My brother still has his EJ2 b16 powered coupe.
I think the EG civics are a proper classic now, you hardly see any these days.
Thats amazing how even an s2000 can be desirable against M and P cars. They definitely don't make them like they used to.

said:

Honda S2000 | Reader's Car of the Week
Want to know about S2000 ownership? Get comfy...

Just wanted to say alittle thanks to Matt Bird for posting up my project thread on "Readers Car of the Week"
Its nice to get alittle exposure for such an expensive hobby that interests me so much.

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-japanesecars/h...

A special thanks to the members of the "s2ki" forum, Richy Voaden/Simon Cribley at Performance Autoworks and my brother "Rods" for his support

I couldn't have done this project without you guys!

[Leftfootwonder]

Absolutely incredible read and your attention to detail is second to none! I have done a similar project to bring my once unloved Accord Type R back from the brink (always more to do though) but I certainly don't have the patience you do to write it all up! lol

After all this you can never sell her! What a wonderful car and a very deserving owner.

[Wardy5]

A great read, many thanks for documenting everything.

As already said, it's a design that's really stood the test of time and looks as good now as it did on the launch!

[Cover drive]

Great write up OP! I really appreciated the detail and the useful links to resources and parts, and I recognise how you’ve tackled things without ‘luxury facilities’ (i.e. a garage and a lift!). I’ve tried to follow a similar approach to OEM-ness with my Mk3 MR2 – but my word sometimes OEM nuts/bolts/clips/parts are expensive aren’t they!

I also enjoyed your account of your Nurburgring trip, and the tips. It's also on my to-do-list when time allows. I also fancy a trip to the Alps or Pyrenees, I think roadsters look at home pictured on hairpin bends.

I promised myself an S2000 after I graduated in 2004 – it was the car I really wanted since they first emerged in ’99, and when I saw one at the Motor Show. However, lack of funds at that point meant I could just about afford a tin of beans (which accurately sums up my car at the time!). Normal life has meant I’ve only been able to go down the two seater route in the last few years (with a very understanding wife!).

Your car looks great - I really like it in Silverstone - I think the colour perfectly suits the S2000’s lines. From your photo shoots, sometimes from the rear ¾ angle the car manages to look both dark and light grey, particularly from the door handle down. Obviously it depends on the way the light hits the surface! The other colour I really like on the S2000 is lime green. It looks so much better in the flesh. I had a look round Tom’s (PHer NorthernSky on here) at work once, and I was blown away by how well it worked on the car, together with graphite/gunmetal alloys. He said it was one of the rarest S2000 colours too (about seven or eight in the UK).

Keep up the good work – I guess in the current climate you may have some more time on your hands to keep tinkering!