Actually the 2.0L comes from a prior car I've owned with was a 2.0L B series turbo. It was a lot of fun...but had no traction and spent more time on jack stands than it did on the road.

As I mentioned I have spent some time behind the wheel of an AP1 and found it to be flawless (my opinion) if the ap2 is even better then I will sing my praises of mother honda even further.

About the redline i remember there being a Best motoring interview with the director of spoon who made a stroker kit for the f20c and he went into some detail about what honda changed to produce the f22 and how his f20 stroker kit was basically the same but maintained the redline. Can't find it though...

Personally, I love the ap2 wheels and headlights...not so much the tails. I cannot comment on the driving characteristics but as soon as the weather clears up my dealer has an '03 and an '05 on the lot which I plan on taking out for a nice run. They are so desperate to sell I might be able to get the '05 for the price of the '03! I'd be happy with either I think as they are both amazing examples of engineering.

 

Some of us have owned/driven both and have the ability to own either flavor. For me the AP2's that I've driven feel nice, but a bit on the numb side compared to my modded AP1. That, of course, can be changed with mods.

But in the end there aren't many compelling reasons for me to sell my AP1 and get an AP2. If I were buying for the first time today I would get a 2008 just because it's new, has warranty, and there are no unknowns on the history of the car. Ultimately though I would pick and choose from both to get my Ultimate S2000.

Things I like from the AP2:

1. Stability control. Great feature that can save your a$$ if you run across unexpected gravel/oil/water on a sharp mountain road etc.

2. Bumpers and lights. To me the AP2 looks better, so I upgraded to AP2 bumpers and tail lights.

Things I like from AP1:

1. Tach. The long sweeping tach from edge to edge on the instrument cluster looks way better to me than the shortened AP2 clusters. After all, the S2000 tach was inspired by the full sweeping MP4/6 F1 cars that Senna drove, I think Honda blew it by making the tach smaller.

2. 9,000 rpm redline. It's more fun and dramatic for me, it's a big part of the character of the car. Add an exhaust and 4.44 gears and it gets even better. AP2 is OK and probably has a litle more power, but the *experience* of driving the car isn't as much fun.

 

Here is my real question. AP1s are consider more "raw". Putting the higher redline aside, the only thing left is the suspension geometry right? Then, can't an AP2 be tuned to have the same oversteer bias as an AP1 with coilovers?

If so, then everything else ... the AP2 is nicer ...

 

Couldn't you also perform an alignment on the Ap1 to make it less "raw?"

The Ap2 also weights slightly more (40lbs?) so that could negate whatever power you're gaining with the 2.2L. At this point it just comes down to trim differences...and who buys an s2000 for the trim anyhow?

But...the ap2 revised tach might be more useful since the redline is right above the speedo. Helpful if you have lots of fuzz in your area I would think.

I think it comes down to getting an s2000 you can afford that makes you feel comfortable.

For me an older car is less on insurance...and that means more money for tires and track days...so why pay more for a car that is 95% similar and just as much fun and probably has just as much mileage?

 

[QUOTE=Ks320,Mar 8 2008, 04:15 PM] Here is my real question.

 

lmfao!! awesome!

 

Get an ap1 and buy an ap2 center console. Thats about it.

 

Just go and buy an ap2 . Its the best thing to do if you want to please some of this boards ap2 huggers . These debates are becoming quite tiresome !!!! HAIL AP2 !!!!!

 

but then that misses out the stronger subframe and synchros, and all the cosmetic changes

with that said, AP1.5 is the best!!!!! hehe

 

It's not really a stronger subframe, all they added were two more tabs on the upper rear brace and some extra reinforcement to the front suspension arm mounts. Minor changes based on some track cars that had put extra stress on the mounts.

The diff is stronger on an AP2, that's probably a bigger factor than the chassis braces. But unless you go forced induction it probably won't make a difference. And if you go forced induction you should do more than the AP2 diff anyway.

The synchros aren't much different either, my 03 shifts as good as any of the AP2's I've driven.

So it's a bunch of small changes that add up to a slightly more durable product that helps with the marketing materials. I'm glad Honda was pro-active, but it's not a night and day improvement.