Hello Alberta owners, I just want to introduce myself as a new owner of a '00 Berlina Black in Calgary. It's great to be in touch with other fellow owners of the "S" here in this province, and I'm looking forward to hearing some wisdom from everybody on this awesome car.

My story on how I came to own an S can be summed up as a surprise. Being somewhat an enthusiast for Z cars, having owned a 300zx twin turbo for just over a year, I was originally looking for a 350z as a replacement because it's more "grown-up" and less of a pain in the ass to maintain. I also had the S in mind, but I treated it as an alternative.
But then I spoke to car nut at work, who's collected hundreds of cars with years of experience (I shit you not, he's owned two NSXs in the past, and a dizzying number of European classics. His family is involved with the Okotoks classic car auction). Despite having driven some of the rarest cars in the world, he raved about the S as something special, something unique. He told me how you don't sit inside the car as much as you wear it like a glove. It's handling is superb and its engine, once you rev high, is "shocking."
Intrigued, I test drove both cars; an '03 350z with an intake and lowered suspension, and a bone-stock AP1.
Sure, the Z sounded mean at WOT, but I knew it would bore me in a few months. But the S was something completely different.
In short, everything my colleague had told me about the S was spot on. The Z32 I owned was my benchmark up to this point in terms of handling, but the S just made things much more interesting. It's more demanding in a lot of ways, but I know I'm going to be a much better driver because of this car. The tight steering, how quickly the car shifts its weight, the levels of grip available on the long sweeping curves, the tricky powerband; they will all be so rewarding to learn and explore. I can't wait to take it to a track one day and really play at the limit, and hopefully by then, I would have resolved the valve retainer issue. Does the job require a Honda-savvy shop or could it be any competent garage?

- Ben

 

You will love the S2k, I've had my 01 since late 06 and love every drive.

You can sort out the retainers on your own garage if you want. I've done the AP2 retainer swap with regular hand tools and a Princess Auto valve spring compressor. Very nervous firing it up the first time after the job was done though!!

 

Congrats and welcome

 

Enjoy your ride -- it is a lot of fun. Look me up if you come to an autocross event this summer -- I'll give you a ride to show you how much fun you can really have in these cars.

 

you sound creppy mr. free candy

 

LOL! Didn't mean it that way

 

Welcome and enjoy the car!

 

Welcome Ben! (although I'm new to the S2000 club too) I'm going to be upgrading my retainers this spring as well. I picked mine up off ebay for about 70 bucks and I'm either going to tackle it myself over a weekend, or after calling around I think I've settled on taking it to GarageBox as my alternative. Sounds like you picked up the right kind of car for yourself

 

How much did they quote you for the job?