I read an article about the best engines blah blah...
The S2000 was not featured, but it was shown in a little side note at the bottom of one of the pages. The chief designer of the engine was quoted to have said that the stresses of an engine at 9000 rpm are twice that of an engine at 8000 rpm.
Not much to do with vtec, but more like high rpm.

It was in Popular Science. The car from Minority Report was on the cover.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Incubus
[B]I read an article about the best engines blah blah...
The S2000 was not featured, but it was shown in a little side note at the bottom of one of the pages.

 

i think that the question should be:
"The consequences of not VTECing enough?"

 

Look at a sportbike as an example. My revs to almost 14,000 and I've put over 16,000 miles on it already in 2 years just weekend riding, I expect to see some serious miles on it before I need to rebuild it. When I'm out in the twisties, the revs rarely drop below 9000. I've done many long rides up into the mountains of over 150 miles long and the engine was revving away the whole time, so I just don't believe any argument from a Honda service manager that the engine was revved too much. Show me were in the owner's manual it says I have to limit how much I rev it.

 

If there aren't any S2000s out there with allot of mileage on them, how would anyone know if frequent trips into VTEC land will shorten its life. I wouldn't be surprised if I VTEC'ed mine over a dozen time a day, but it makes me feel guilty. I plan on keeping this car for at least 100K miles.

 

Well, regarding the lotso-vtec = unknown-durability formula, I disagree. Granted I only have about 25K miles on my 2001 (of course running perfectly), BUT I have had several high-revving hondas previously, with NO bad effect from VTECing very regularly.

My 1998 TypeR is driven hard, and I redline several times daily (8400RPM), and it is PERFECT at 55K miles. Previous to that my GSR had 150K miles, redlined again daily. Previous to that, older CRXs etc...

Honda knows how to design great engines. My rule of thumb with Honda engines has always been "JUST DO'NT BOG IT" - high RPMs is fine for an engine like this.

And remember that they've detuned this engine (and every engine they make, for that matter) for longevity (well, detuned in the sense of high-RPM).

 

Overall I'd agree that aggressive VTEC operation, such as that experienced in racing, is basically harmless.

However, there's one major exception that I'm surprised no one has mentioned: Long periods of sustained VTEC have been correlated with the catastrophic #4 cylinder failure. More specifically, the scenario typically involves ALL of the following circumstances:
1) >0.5 - 1 hrs continuous VTEC
2) relatively constant rpm
3) narrow to moderate throttle application

I'll leave it to you to figure out what sort of driving creates those three conditions.

John

 

I was told a while back by an old school racing mechanic that running an engine at or near redline frequently is a good way to spin a bearing. As far as I see it when I get my s2k I will be vtecing it often as that is one of the reasons I want this car. I don't think we will know the durability answer till more people start getting to 100k plus miles.

 

i am planing on getting my s2000 very soon, and all this talk scares me, im still getting the s2k but, is there really issues, i plan on vteching the car all the time as thats when the car becomes fun. I thought these motors were ment to be reved alot and fast. this is the reason im buying the car i want something that resembles a race car more than a street car. is the s2000 the car for me??

 

I'm in the VTEC range at least a dozen times a day. Keep it mellow (NO VTEC) up until 600 miles, or longer if you can hold out. The arduous break in will result in a less oil thirsty engine. The daily commute would be a killer shifting @ 5,800 RPM. Drive it like you want to. Don't VTEC at one or two heat bars and don't run 148 mph for too long. If you are a practicing VTEC addict, then check the oil at every fill up. Don't worry about it. IT IS A HONDA. Take care of her with the "severe" maintenance schedule and she'll last a long, long time...