I don't race often, but when I do, I drive pretty hard. After each race, I would feel guilty and sorry for the car. I just raced today for about 10 minutes in the S, with a lot of full throttle and redlines. My question is: does driving really hard hurt the car? Or its reliability? The S should be able to take a hard driving once in a while, right? Reassure me, please!

 

i don't think hurt is the right word. I trust that you and I drive the same, only giving the car a run for it's money every once in a while. Look at some of the other guy's on the board who tend to autocross. Imagine what they're doing with that engine. Working it to it's limits around every turn. we're not working it nearly that hard or that long. As long as you do your maitnence schedule correctly this honda should run as long as every other.

 

Yes, asking the engine to produce 9,000 rpms causes much more stress on the engine that 3,500 rpm. The owner's manual suggests all shifts be done at 3,500 to 4,000 rpm for maximum gasoline efficiency. However, if we wanted gasoline efficiency rather than 9,000 rpm performance, we could have bought an Insight. We even can get Monte Carlo Blue in a U.S.A. Insight!

Ask it to do what it is supposed to do from time to time. Enjoy it. Don't abuse it, but enjoy it.

 

Barry is right. The more you stick your foot in it, the more stress it suffers. Stress does affect the life of the engine and other components. However it should take a reasonable amount of this with no ill effects. I bet you bought the car to enjoy the spirit it has to offer. Bottomline, stick your foot in it and don't worry about it.

 

just make sure the car has been driven for atleast 10-15 minutes to ensure everything(not just the motor) is warmed up, like the trans and differential.

 

I think it "hurts" to never take the car out and realize it's potential. If you are a good driver, the only thing you will hurt is the normal wear items.

Change your lubricating fluids, that should eliminate all guilt.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Barry WY Silver/Black '01
[B]
Ask it to do what it is supposed to do from time to time.

 

My question is: does driving really hard hurt the car? Or its reliability? The S should be able to take a hard driving once in a while, right? Reassure me, please!

Sorry, I can't.

Have you ever heard of any performance car with 200,000 miles on the original engine?

 

No driving hard will not hurt the car. Remember that the S2000 was designed and built with performance strictly in mind. The car was made to rev high. In fact during design, they had the engine run up to 11k rpm with no problems. Enjoy the car, you are not hurting her, she is a different animal than your normal civic or accord.

 

I agree with most people here, it is designed and engineered to rev. You may notice stronger vibration at near red line RPM, some people are concerned they will loosen some bolts with that kind of harmonic vibration.... what do you think ?
I heard people had oil leak from the oil filter going loose due to high vibration... have you heard of that before ???