This summer I inherited a 2003 Honda S2000 from my brother. Both he and I liked the car and I have always been a Honda fan, mostly motorcycles.

I admire this type of car because is consumes a reasonable amount of resources for its capabilities and is the closest thing to a motorcycle I can now manage at the age of 80 years. There is one thing that my previous ownership of Honda motorcycles has taught me: there is no reason for the inline-four cylinder buzz the S2000 exhibits. My 1996 (I think) CBR1000F had one balance shaft and was quite smooth. My 2001 (I think) CBR1100XX had two balance shafts and was extremely smooth. I presume Honda produced the S2000 with the buzz so "mature" customers would associate that feeling with the British sport cars of their youth.

Otherwise, great car.

 

First time I've heard the term inline-four cylinder buzz in any context.

-- Chuck

 

While I do not understand engine balance enough to provide details, it is well known that certain engine configurations provide "perfect" primary balance. Among those types are inline fours, inline sixes, inline eights, V-4s, V-8s, V12s, etc. From a smoothness standpoint, some with perfect primary balance have other characteristics that impede smoothness, such as the uneven firing order of four-stroke V-4s.

Some engines with perfect primary balance are afflicted with poor secondary balance. An example of this is the buzz that emanates from inline-fours not equipped with balance shaft(s). Apparently, because a 90° turn of the crankshaft results in either more or less than half the travel of a piston stroke, a secondary imbalance is created. A straight six engine is remarkably free of such imbalances and has always had a reputation as an especially smooth engine type.

Modern materials in engine mounts undoubtedly contributes to the effective suppression of engine vibration in modern sedans and SUVs. However, an uncorrected four-cylinder buzz is strongly felt in motorcycles and, unfortunately, in the S2000.

 

Welcome to the site, I hope you enjoy your 03! What color?
Levi

 

The color is silver. Currently a the body shop repairing damage that occurred in the summer in Arizona.

 

Levi

 

Balance shafts sap power and add complexity and weight.

An ACTUALLY balanced engine doesn't need balance shafts. Most high performance automotive 4cyls don't use them.

Look at the S2000 as a whole. The entire car is about spartan, simple efficiency. Why would they add complexity and weight to the engine when they could engineer it to be low friction and manufacture everything to a high spec?

It has nothing to do with keeping old people awake by creating buzzing.

It's supposed to mimic the way a race engine would be built. That's what the red valve cover means.

The engine revs to 9K and does so very smoothly in comparison to other high performance engines.

The engines in which you felt no "buzzing" probably had engine mounts made from jello (jello pairs well with balance shafts).

The motorcycle engines you experienced were also a fraction of the size of the S2000 engine.

If they wanted to give people the nostalgic British roadster experience, why doesn't it leak oil? And why does it start every time you want to drive it?

 

If you're feeling an excessive buzzing....something may be wrong.

00-03 models had "clutch buzz" as an issue with the original clutches. The springs would come loose and there would be a massive buzzing on decel.

Aftermarket clutches also largely display this issue. Because they're junk.

Is the buzz you're getting an audible and tangible harsh buzz during decel?

 

The S2000 is a very popular car, and at this stage of its life might be considered a cult car. I like the car but I am not enough of a fanboy not to notice the obvious, like the four cylinder buzz I am experiencing. In my particular car there could, I suppose, be a malfunction (motor mounts?) that makes my car buzz more than others. But I do not think so, because it feels just like the buzz a person feels on a KZ1000 Kawasaki motorcycle, for example. There is very little about engine balance or motor mounts that Honda doesn't know, so a malfunction is possible.

Still, Honda decided to equip some of their larger four cylinder m/c engines with balance shafts, but not the S2000, where they would make even more sense. Any motorcycle or car can be raced, regardless of the color of the camshaft covers. The CBR1100XX motorcycle was sold as a street bike and the S2000 was sold as a street car. Otherwise, why the folding top, air conditioner, spare tire, and non-bucket seats?

I will try to compare my S2000 with another to check the buzz level.