I am a prospective buyer of a 2004-2005 Honda S2000. I have been trolling on this site at work for a while and have decided these years make sense for me because of a few reasons.

A)Reinforced chassis and "fix" of upper A-Arm issue
B) Fixed Retainer problem along with lower redline
C)Longer last gear
D)Glass Rear Window

The first two are a huge issue for me although they are obviously easy fixes on an ap1, I like the fact that the ap2 will have a bit more torque midrange and the ability to run lower rpms. I am a huge autocrosser and road racer and have spent the last 5 years doing it on a 1998 Eclipse GSX. This platform despite its reputation is very good but is turning into a project like it would with any turbo awd platform. I wanted to go to something that was simple, a "predictable" powerband, cheaper rotors/pads, reliable and a convertible. So far the s2000 has fit my bill, a miata was very close and I love them to death, but coming from a car that could walk c5 z06s to something that couldnt pull a on a se-r would be frustrating and I just simply wouldnt enjoy it as much.

I have come down to I think the white, red, or yellow s2000 with simple mods (Keep it Simple Stupid is my intent). Baffled Oil pan, catch cans, a hard dog bar, and if I feel it needs it some KW V3s and some wider rims/tires. Any other suggestions for a new s2000 owner? The GSX is getting parted out right now so im now seriously looking for one and I would love all your opinions. Personally, im not a honda fan so this is...an interesting experience. Aside from not being able to run wider rims/tires and the KWs, what mods could I do to make an s2000 competitive in AS? And then how do I make this thing reliable road racing?

Here are pictures of the gsx.

 

sweet ride. =). I suppose the only mods that I'm aware of that would make it more competitive is perhaps a 4.57? final gear swap.

Aside from that, I've read that our differential is relatively weak, so you may look into getting that reinforced.

Best of luck with your search.

 

Well you'll probably go into F/I, because the S2000 is not a drag car, it'll barely pull on the new Civic SIs, and will get pulled on by new accords, maximas, 350z, g35s. Then you'll need to reinforce the diff as zeroxg35 has said. As fire tires/rims. The s2000 stock has relatively high offsets. So wheel choice is fairly limited.

 

As I said, the main reason im ditching the gsx is to get something slower and simpler. Forced Induction is not an option, too time-consuming on a track car to keep up with maintenance, tuning and watching.

The stock diff, is it legal to switch to a quaife or something in AS, what diff would remain relatively quiet but improve on the strength compared to a stock diff?

 

No, it wouldn't be legal in AS. Check out the Racing and Competetion Forum, there is a sticky at the top that outlines all the things you can (need to) do to be competetive in AS.

The S2000 is a great handling car, you will enjoy it very much