I've got a wrx and am getting tired of spinning rod bearings and replacing engines. The s2k seems like the perfect option, simple na high revving power and Honda reliability. I wanted to hear from a few owners their thoughts on the strength and longevity of these cars and their engines. How does it do with lots of canyon runs, track days, and general every day abuse? With proper maintinence of course, will this car put up with regular hard driving? And are they anything like subaru's 2.0 ticking time bomb after 130k? Or will they regularly pass 200k with good numbers?

Going to try and test drive one Wednesday, but wanted to hear some of your thoughts on how well suited the car is to an aggressive driving style.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

A lot of the s2000's here are driven pretty hard and taken to a track often. I say they can take quite a bit of abuse if maintained and everything. They tend to burn oil (mostly ap1's) so that is a major thing to watch especially when driving it hard. If you find a 00-01 make sure you upgrade the oil banjo bolts, earlier model 02's also have the old style bolts that would be best to replace if you are going to be driving it like you plan. There are a ton of guys with over 100k and still drive their S like they stole it, and some of them are even turbo or supercharged and still running strong. Also most guys don't daily their S so have yet to reach the 200k mark, but there are a few guys here with over 200k and still run great. So if it's taken care of properly, you don't have anything to worry about.

 

Current s2k has... 72k miles, countless canyon miles, and plenty of track time.

I've had nary a problem beyond the usual wear and tear items. There are quite a few track s2ks that are also daily driven and have 100k+ miles on them. Some are closing in on the 200k mark now.

 

Speed, as far as durability, as long as it is maintained properly the differential is the only weak point. so either don't launch it (will be hard to do after coming from an AWD I'm sure) or upgrade the diff to take the power better.

 

with that too, the diff in the S is really weak and people break them all the time. You can get a built diff but will be farily expensive. There is a member here s2kpuddydad that does them for us. He will build them to your specs, put different ratio gears in if you want, cryo treat the gears, get a reinforced housing, ect.. Just search for puddy diff and you should come up with plenty.

 

High revving bike engines that a lot more beating. I bought the S2000 after my experience with a Honda 919.

I changed the oil every 4000 miles on that bike. Not a single drop lost between changes. And I could see how the oil color changed through a small window in the engine block. That engine started, sounded and worked like a brand new engine after 25,000 miles. The valve adjustment interval was 16,000 miles. Multiple people reported that no adjustment was needed on 16K, 32K and 48K intervals.

Buying the S was an easy decision after that...

 

I took the risk and bought my S2K after losing a rod bearing in my WRX. Subaru doesn't seem to compare to Honda in terms of reliability, but they are not immune to issues. The valve retainers and banjo bolts seem to be known problems. It is still a performance car and will need more maintenance than a civic or something similar. I think over-all it is more reliable. It is also a lot more fun to drive.

 

95k on my 01, pleanty of canyon runs, drive it hard all the time. never launch it tho. Been boosted for the past 50k miles (290rwhp) and not one problem(400rwhp goal by end of month). Still push it hard all the time. I abuse the hell out of mine, but I maintain it like we are supposed to.

 

buy an AP2 if you want full on reliability. AP1's are known for oil consumption, bad banjo bolts, and bad valve retainers. OR, you can buy an AP1, swap out the banjo bolts and the retainers to AP2 versions and check oil regularly. Either way, it'll give you miles and miles of good fun. Be nice to the diff, check the slave/master cylinder if shifts get notchy, change all your fluids religiously and it'll keep on ticking.

Like people said, watch out for the differential after too many bad wheel hop launches it WILL blow.

I bought mine at 50Kish, im at 80K with countless 9K shifts, ~100 launches, some small drifts, two spin outs, (sadly) one autoX, daily driven. Lots of people here with 100K+

I came from a camaro SS which is another car you can "beat up" on...the S is waaaay more reliable in terms of little things. in the SS, I was fixing something (minor) every other month. In the S, after I bought it and brought it back to life (lots of small thigns the guy before me f@#ked up), it hasnt hiccuped once!

 

Bought the car at 67k now has 107k in just over 2 years... its an 01... still has the 107k mile banjo bolts and retainers (cant upgrade in my autox class)... I have gone through a cat, a clutch, a motor mount and a diff while beating the living piss out of the car. I just do regular maintenance and the car runs perfect. When I did the valve adjustment the retainers were perfect and there was 0 sign of sludge or wear in the valve train. I also DD the car and am not easy on her.