S2000 - Help Needed

[Cub911]

Guys and gals,

I'm considering an earlier s2000 for circa £8.5k - £9k. Now I know that reliability wise they have performed well, but anything to look out for that if not done yet will prove costly?

Also, any advice on how much standard servicing costs are from a Honda Dealer, and i'd be grateful. Ideally around 48 - 60k miles would be in my price bracket.

Finally.... if anyone has experience of or knows how easy is it to source an OEM front lip and a set of correct fitment 18" BBS LMs i'd appreciate any guidance. Other than that, it would be staying standard for me!

Cheers in advance.

[Jezz172]

Your best bet is to look on http://www.s2ki.com.

That's where I went when I was buying mine - My only advice is not to worry too much about miles, they seem to eat them up quite happily as long as they've been serviced.

[Cub911]

Cheers...i will be on that shortly.

[PJ S]

As above, only to add Honda has the Honda Happiness set-price servicing costs, and all are pretty reasonable for a main dealer service rate.
As for the BBS's, yes they are available, you only need look for 114.3x5 for the bolt pattern, with a 6.5" and 7.5" width (x16), F&R respectively.
Offset is +55 and +65.

With the revised S2000 (200-2002 - not sure when exactly) the wheels went to 17's, with 7.5" and 8.5", and +48 and +50 offsets, respectively.

[havoc]

PJ S said:

As above, only to add Honda has the Honda Happiness set-price servicing costs, and all are pretty reasonable for a main dealer service rate.
As for the BBS's, yes they are available, you only need look for 114.3x5 for the bolt pattern, with a 6.5" and 7.5" width (x16), F&R respectively.
Offset is +55 and +65.

With the revised S2000 (200-2002 - not sure when exactly) the wheels went to 17's, with 7.5" and 8.5", and +48 and +50 offsets, respectively.

UKDM OE wheels '99-03 were 16" diamond-cut 5-spokes in 7" or 7.5" fronts and 8.5" (I think) rears. '04-07 saw two different designs of 10-spoke 17" rims in the same widths, and '08 saw a more classic 5-spoke 17" design, again same widths. (Optimum tyre width is 205 front, 245 rear)

Re: 18"s - personally I wouldn't...conclusion from owners is 18"s for show, 17"s for go, i.e. you'll damage the ride quality and compliance, and consequently make the car a little more snappy.


Honda Happiness, last I saw, didn't apply to S2000's, but might now they're older...worth checking. Standard service costs are £150-300 depending on whether level 1, 2 or 3, and budget for 'plugs every 5-6 years. Pads, disks, tyres etc. all pretty reasonable. Clutch is the only really expensive service item - expect £800+ at a main dealer.


Expensive stuff?
- Clutch as above;
- Synchro tends to be a known weak-point with Hondas - 2nd-to-3rd, usually.
- Check for a completely smooth idle...roughness CAN (uncommon but possible as the engine does drink a bit of oil) indicate it's overheated in the past...problem more common with the CTR but they share block and some ancillaries.
- Suspension adjustment bolts seizing...not universal, but common if they've not been greased at least once since new. If they've seized the options are either a whole new wishbone (£400 each UK, <US$400 imported) or polybushes. x2 wishbones x4 corners, worst-case, although I've not heard of a car needing more than 3 wishbones. Basically this is the one gamble on the S2000 (and don't think a Boxster or Z4 would be any safer a bet...both have issues the owners clubs don't like to talk about)...and it's only a real issue if the bolt has seized out-of-alignment (or away from where you want it, anyway).

[mattcov]

Check brakes are OK too - calipers are known to stick, and whilst a relatively easy job, they're not that cheap. Also at the mileage you're looking at the largest service is 54k (circa £350-£400).

[Dracoro]

havoc said:

- Suspension adjustment bolts seizing...not universal, but common if they've not been greased at least once since new. If they've seized the options are either a whole new wishbone (£400 each UK, <US$400 imported) or polybushes. x2 wishbones x4 corners, worst-case, although I've not heard of a car needing more than 3 wishbones. Basically this is the one gamble on the S2000 (and don't think a Boxster or Z4 would be any safer a bet...both have issues the owners clubs don't like to talk about)...and it's only a real issue if the bolt has seized out-of-alignment (or away from where you want it, anyway).

OR if it's a compliance bush that has split, that's an MOT failure. Rare maybe though but last time I checked you could not get the bushes separately like all the other bushes. i.e. the polybush "set" does NOT include the compliance bush. You can get them elsewhere though, about £100 or so imported (Mugen or Spoon, I can't remember now). Plus fitting etc. Simple if bolt not seized, a bit of a pig if it has. a competent mechanic with access to a 20/50 tonne press shouldn't have too much trouble though. If you can't get the bushes imported and no 3rd party UK companies are making them (they weren't the last time I checked) then you'll need the whole wishbones (£325 each + labour last time I checked a year ago).

Overall though, as Havoc says, other cars have their own issues. For me, the current S2000 I have has been the cheapest car I've owned (out of ALL of my cars, not just the sporty cars, cheap to service, never goes wrong, not bad on petrol etc. insurance isn't cheap, esp for youngsters but I'm mid 30s so not much of an issue for me) but then again I've not had issues (yet) with the bushes.

Anyway, as with any car you buy, have a contingency fund (or earn enough to budget extra maintenance in) for "fixing" things. If you can't afford the contingency then I'd argue you can't really afford the car. If nothing goes wrong then great, quids in

Keep eye on oil, hope for no bush problems and you've probably got the most reliable sports car going. I've had 2, 1st one had some issues all covered under warranty but that was one of the early models (MY00) and this goes for most cars, it's the early models where they discover the little issues etc. and then sort after 2/3 years for the rest of the model run.

[maz8062]

Your budget will get a MY02 - MY03 car and may, if you're lucky, stretch to a facelift MY04. The MY04 had 2000+ changes over the earlier model and has 17" rims with wider tyres.

I'm in the minority when I say that the only issue you will have driving the car will be due to ignorance of the workings of the Torsen differential. Figure that out and drive accordingly, especially with regards to throttle and brake application.

S2ki.com is your best bet for information. There are a couple of recent threads where prospective buyers have asked very similar questions to this.

I've had mine for a couple of months now and find it more cosseting and comfortable than my previous mk1 mx5. The noise of the engine in vtec and the 9k redline is a real hoot. My first mod will be to fit a 4.77 ratio final drive as I find the power band largely inaccessible on our busy and cluttered roads.

Good luck

Edited by maz8062 on Wednesday 23 December 12:22

[mikey k]

I manage the UK FS list on s2ki.com

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=249...

At this time of year I think you would get a +04 car (which I would recommend having had foru different versions )
Nurby Blues do seem to go cheaper as well.

[m1bjr]

Wherever you go, someone wants to bang on about tricky diffs.

[Mayboy]

maz8062 said:

I'm in the minority when I say that the only issue you will have driving the car will be due to ignorance of the workings of the Torsen differential. Figure that out and drive accordingly, especially with regards to throttle and brake application.

Just out of interest, what makes the S2000 diff different? Do they have any limited slip or will the inside rear wheel spin when cornering under power?

[havoc]

Mayboy said:

maz8062 said:

I'm in the minority when I say that the only issue you will have driving the car will be due to ignorance of the workings of the Torsen differential. Figure that out and drive accordingly, especially with regards to throttle and brake application.

Just out of interest, what makes the S2000 diff different? Do they have any limited slip or will the inside rear wheel spin when cornering under power?

Not a lot. It's a fairly typical torsen-style diff, not something exotic. Maz is sadly misinformed...

[maz8062]

Mayboy said:

maz8062 said:

I'm in the minority when I say that the only issue you will have driving the car will be due to ignorance of the workings of the Torsen differential. Figure that out and drive accordingly, especially with regards to throttle and brake application.

Just out of interest, what makes the S2000 diff different? Do they have any limited slip or will the inside rear wheel spin when cornering under power?

Here is an excellent thread that describes the peculiarity of the S2000 handling especially at or near the limit.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=758...

[nipperS2K]

I bought mine last year, 02 plate with 94k on the clock. Runs like a dream (bit sideways in snow though). My last major service cost £125 at the Honda dealer. It is a fantastic car, all I had to have done was the geo because it was half a degree out and affected the handling really badly, that and the correct tyre pressures made all the difference.

[rsmithinfo]

No one seems to have said it above and it is your choice but from what everyone has said on any forums I've been on fitting 18"s to an S2000 ruins that handling as they are too big for a car it's size. A good set of 17"s is a much better way to go.