i love my 01 now that i got a hardtop on it

 

Before I bought my '05 just less than months ago, I was giving serious consideration to an '03 that had less than 3K on it. I drove both, and I found the '05 (same as '04) to "feel" better and more powerful in the lower revs, which I assumed was due to the increase in torque. Frankly I did not think I (personally) would be able to tell any difference in the torque, and at that point since buying a 2 seater to be my third car was obviously an indulgence, I was really wanting to save the $ on the car and get a damn near close to new '03 for thousands less than a new '04 or '05. Basically, I drove the new model thinking it would convince me that the '03 was in fact the better deal.

In the higher revs, I (personally) felt no real difference (keep in mind that was ME, and I am not saying that others who have a more refined taste for these things would not be able to sense something that I did not -- perhaps I was too busy grinning and enjoying the ride of both to pay close attention -- and although I got up into v-tec range, I was not pushing either car to the redline -- in both cases I had a dealer salesperson on board the entire time, and neither was wanting me to redline the car, especially the new one). Because I have not owned an earlier S2000 and have never got "used" to the thrill of hitting 9000 rpm, it seemed to me that hitting the 8000 rpm redline in a newer car would be the same thrill as a 9000 rpm redline in the '03, so the extra revs to redline did not strike me as something I would "miss."

In the end, by driving both I found I liked the minor styling changes of the new car, and I really liked the new, larger stock wheels, and the better grunt in low revs for "city" traffic driving, so I changed my mind and decided that getting the new car was worth the extra cash, after all, indulgence or not, it is a car I plan on owning for quite a while.

I bought my new S2000 on a cold, rainy mid-November day when the dealer had 4 S's on the lot, and no one in the dealership buying a car, not even an accord or a civic, and I think as a result I got about as good a deal as I could have gotten price-wise on the new car.

I suggest you drive both, and see what YOU like the best for the money. My thought is that because of the '04 changes, you can probably get a very good deal on an '03 as it might be (unfairly) perceived by the market as being the "old" model, but I can't imagine you would be unhappy with either, and if in the end price is a big concern, I gotta think you will likely get more bang for your buck with an '03 (but that means when you sell it you'll feel the otherside of that deal). The two obviously have more in common than they have different, and I must admit both were a blast to drive. In fact, what I am most certain about is that either the '03 S2000 or the '04 S2000 were better cars and more fun to drive than the used slightly used Boxster and the new Z4 I had also considered in the months leading up to my S2000 purchase.

 

OK...
i never driven pre-04 so i can't make any comments on this part.

my complain about 04+ is the slave cylinder, if you are careless you'll burn that clutch. Personally, i already did it 3 times.
But problem gets solved when you change to pre-04 slave, it'a a $50 mod, worth every penny.

do you know that 03 RSR drifting s2000 has F22 in it?
they replaced F20 to F22, im pretty sure there are reasons behind this.

 

I tried to find the "how to" post you are referring to and can't. Do you have a link.

Thanks

 

Here you are.

Hope this help.