Honda S2000 rear shocks
Discussion
The Konis will fit all years. Don’t get hung up on spring/damping rates etc too much unless you’re rebuilding everything and going on track days. Subtle changes to suspension over the years including the ARB stiffness to soften the handling but it’ll all go together and work fine. I’ve got some well used ones off a 90k mile ‘99 for cheap if you want.
F20CN16 said:
Good to know. I did wonder why autodoc said they didn’t fit on earlier cars. That didn’t seem right to me.
They did change the suspension over the years, particularly in the early 2000s, so Autodoc are probably reflecting that. ARBs changed diameter and so might not be a straight swap between years without also changing the bushes. There was also a change to (I think) the rear upper wishbone which may mean there are two types and not strictly interchangeable. But beyond that it’s spring and damper rates and different years’ components will physically fit. I wouldn’t normally advocate mixing springs and dampers from different years but in the case of the S2000 Honda changed them to try to meet market expectations rather than because of, for example, significant changes to vehicles weight or construction. Particularly given in this case the fronts are being left alone and will probably be well out of spec after nearly 20 years and 100k miles, to keep the car on the road it think if it fits it’ll be fine. I built up a set of Konis to put on my car and it was a right faff. You have to reuse the spring plates from the old shocks, for example. It’s not just a case of swapping the springs over!
In the end I didn’t use them however as I picked up a very cheap set of used original shocks, but I sold the Konis and they went on a different car no problems.
I'd ask the question over in the UK forum on s2ki - those guys are a font of useful knowledge, and you'll get a proper reply*.
What I will say (used to own a 2003 MY) is that the rear suspension of the car is (a) pretty critical with regard to simple things like traction and handling, and (b) CAN definitely be improved upon - way-back, Nitrons were seen as the go-to damper to improve the handling and make the rear of the car more predictable / stable, but there may well have been new stuff on the market since then.
* For the record, "fit Konis, it doesn't matter" may be accurate, but as a sentence it doesn't fill me with confidence.
What I will say (used to own a 2003 MY) is that the rear suspension of the car is (a) pretty critical with regard to simple things like traction and handling, and (b) CAN definitely be improved upon - way-back, Nitrons were seen as the go-to damper to improve the handling and make the rear of the car more predictable / stable, but there may well have been new stuff on the market since then.
* For the record, "fit Konis, it doesn't matter" may be accurate, but as a sentence it doesn't fill me with confidence.
The only aftermarket options are Konis and coil overs. Both are only available for “S2000” - they don’t vary by year, unlike oe shocks and springs (which often also vary by market, again to cater for local expectations).
There are many variables that will affect how the rear behaves: tyre type, tyre pressure and geometry for example. You’ll need to get a geo after replacing even with oe.
What I would say is that you’re likely to be far better off fitting four new of anything than mixing old and new.
However if the OP is the guy who asked a similar question on the FB group I believe he’s now sorted.
There are many variables that will affect how the rear behaves: tyre type, tyre pressure and geometry for example. You’ll need to get a geo after replacing even with oe.
What I would say is that you’re likely to be far better off fitting four new of anything than mixing old and new.
However if the OP is the guy who asked a similar question on the FB group I believe he’s now sorted.
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