All very valid points, and I thank everyone for posting here. The more I think about it, again the ap2 sounds like the better decision.

The exact car that I test drove was an my04 ap2 that had about 17k on it so it should have been well broken in.

I think I'll have to go back and drive it again. I'm taking my sweet time to make this decision. I have my mom bugging me not to get it cause it's not as practical as other cars. It's practical enough as most of the time, all that is in the car is me and few personal belongings. The only thing that may be disruptive is my laundry basket, and maybe few larger items that I might get from costco, which I don't plan to get often.

I do like the looks of the AP2 more inside and out, and no you can't get to know a car on a little 2 mi test drive. I wish I had friends that had these cars for me to borrow for a few days.

Another thing is that I guess if I wanted to put more edge into the Ap2 it would be easier, however softening up an Ap1 would be more difficult. I did the math on some spring rates for the eibach prokit. While on an ap1, it gets about 20% stiffer all the way around, on an Ap2, the front increases in stiffness by 7% while the rear gets stiffened by about 67%.

 

You still havnt gone for a ride with me man

 

ap2 makes the ap1 look dated.

 

I drove an AP1 with an AP2 tranny. 4.77 gearing, 4.57 final drive, and 4.3 5th and 6th. I have to say..It was bueno, if stock S2k's felt like this..they would dominate in every class.

 

Couldn't have made that point any clearer. My old car was used, with 43k miles and the "Certified Warranty", and it couldn't have been a bigger piece of junk or waste of money. The warranty coverage quickly proved worthless; as all of the problems I had were never covered. I ended up with about 7 or 8 major breakdowns before the first year was out.
Even though the Carfax was pristine on that car, it had been severely wrecked. I found out right before I got rid of it that the engine wiring harness looked like the back of an aftermarket stereo; all crimped together. Carfax can never be 100% accurate, and I would prefer to get a car that I know I can trust. Also, the car was heavily modified before the dealership put it back to stock. About three months after I got it, the crappy aftermarket battery failed. And then two months later, the intake manifold gasked cracked. It turned out to be Hondata, and of course they missed that mod when they performed their "inpsections for certification".
The only warranty I trust is a new car warranty now.
If you are in the market for a new S2000, don't even consider getting a used one, unless it has fewer than 10k miles. If you are not going to get a new one, just shop slowly, carefully, and thoroughly. Buying a used sports car( and a car with such a strong aftermarket following) can be risky.

 

Well the truth is that we haven't had a lot of folks get on here and report that they bought a used lemon. I'm sure it happens, but the S2000 is a pretty solid car, and it seems to be doing pretty well in the used market.

The only recurring theme I see is that new owners of AP1s don't know about oil consumption and end up torching their cars. I try to warn them, but not everyone gets the word.

So, all I'm saying is don't be a new car bigot necessarily in this case. There are a few common ailments for every year, but few of them are abuse-related. The engine was built to be driven hard; keep that in mind.

 

Just so no one gets confused, this is entirely false. The F22C, the engine in the AP2, does not create any more horsepower. In fact, due to the lower redline, there is less "area under the curve" and only the AP2's gearing makes up for this, making the cars an even match in a straight line.

As for handling, it is different, but has not yet been proven to actually be any better on the track.

That said, handling seems to be more predictible (this is of course subjective) and the F22 does have more grunt below vtec, so if you are looking for an easy car to drive, then AP2 it is.

 

You can get a MY06 and do a Hondata reflash - RPM raised to 8500 and vtec lowered to 5600.

done deal

 

I have actually seen a video that compares AP1 w F20 and AP2 w F20 and a third car that was tuned to see if there is a difference. The video validated the point that the suspension is better on AP2s because the AP2 car was tracking consistently better times. They even switched the wheels and tires between the two because some speculate that this was the only difference. Even with the 16" AP1 wheels, the AP2 still clocked better times than the AP1 equipped with AP2 17 inchers. ( it was a Touge video from the Hot Version series. I know, not the highest regarded source, but a source nontheless.)
As for your "higher redline = more power" theory FormulaRedline; I guess the increased displacement and other developements mean nothing. I bet if Honda put the AP1 to the revised and more accurate SAE ratings, AP1's would not make 240 at the crank. EVERYTHING went down by about 10 horses after Honda adopted this change. Remember the new RL was first advertised for 300hp? Now it is at 290. Remember RSX-S at 210? Now it is at 200. So that would mean the F22c creates about 7 more horses than F20c, at least by that logic.
Like someone stated earlier, Honda would not make a regression w/ later model S2000s...
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the AP2 is superior or better than AP1, I am just saying it is different. No one can deny the frenetically raw and communicative nature of the AP1. No one can say the AP2 is not smoother and subtler. I just get tired of certain AP1 owners feeling like they have to talk trash about AP2's all of the time. It makes it seem like they are secretly upset about newer models coming out. I don't think I have ever read a post where an AP2 driver was acting uppity and better than any AP1 owners, so why the continued hostility? I think the resentment is probably more subconscious than anything, but it still seeps out. (Again, this is not the case with all AP1 drivers or AP2 drivers, but it seems that way with some.)
I am not saying new is the only way to go, just be extraordinarily cautious when getting a used sports car like the S2000. I wish someone had told me that.

 

I think he said it best...