I drove my first S2000 the other day and loved it! The owner would not let me drive it until it completely warmed up. Is this the practice you all use? He also said the rev limiter would not allow it over a certain RPM until the car was fully warmed up. Is this true, or was there another reason he wanted to warm it up so long?

 

Letting the engine warm up gently is good practice for *any* car, including the S2000.

 

you should always warm up any car before getting on it; this is esp true with the S and its 9k redline. you create undue stress on the engine when the operating temperatures aren't what they should.

i drive mine under 3 or 4k until 3 bars are reached and then under 6k (usually much less) for at least 10 mins, if not 15. the rev limited does kick it at 6k if the car is under 3 bars, but this does not mean when you hit 3 bars that it's ready to play. it's not.

the owner of the car is a smart guy; it sounds like he took good care of his baby.

 

well, if you are going to buy it, he should let you drive w/ the car warmed up.

 

although it's a good idea to warm up the engine before driving off, excessive idling can also be detrimental to the engine. when the car is at idle, carbon and moisture can build up. anyways its best to wait for 2 bars on the temp gauge(applies to 00-03 with older gauges) and drive moderately until the car is fully warmed up, which could another 10 minutes after you see 3 bars on the temp gauge. remember engine oil takes longer to warm up than coolant.