New Owner 2002 S2000 Tips/Maintenance
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New Owner 2002 S2000 Tips/Maintenance
Just wanted to show off my new to me 2002 S2K. Catback exhaust, cold air intake, wheels, carbon hardtop and coilovers. Any general maintenance items or preventative items to look out for? Best places to shop for parts, etc… 118k miles
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Congrats! The car looks great!! Mine's a 2002 with 106k miles. I replaced all fluids when I bought it, third owner, and haven't had any issues since. For aftermarket parts, recently I've been buying from Blackhawk Japan. Quality parts, great prices and relatively quick shipping (usually 2 weeks).
Joined: Jul 2014
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From: Chesterfield VA
Good looking car (but ain't they all?!). Got a soft top under there? Top down is the best way to enjoy these cars as far as I'm concerned. Gonna be a great summer -- enjoy it in fresh air! 
Download a copy of the Service Manual and go thru the Maintenance section for your year car. There's little variance between year demands though. There's a zillion threads here on how to service a new-to-you car. If in doubt a complete change of fluids will establish a maintenance zero point. Fluid specs are also in your Owner's Manual (also downloadable). There's 25 years of experience with this car here. A bit of research will go a long way.
These are not maintenance intensive cars, they're Hondas after all. Keep an eye on the engine oil level. As long as it's between the marks it's OK. Some cars "burn" oil down to a certain level and stop so constant topping up with oil just resets that. Every fuel stop until you determine how she's doing.
Rear wheel drive cars handle differently from your typical FWD (Civic) so take some time getting used to it and avoid spinning out into the cattails on the side of the road. They're also tire sensitive so set the tire pressures the same on all four corners.
-- Chuck
Download a copy of the Service Manual and go thru the Maintenance section for your year car. There's little variance between year demands though. There's a zillion threads here on how to service a new-to-you car. If in doubt a complete change of fluids will establish a maintenance zero point. Fluid specs are also in your Owner's Manual (also downloadable). There's 25 years of experience with this car here. A bit of research will go a long way.
These are not maintenance intensive cars, they're Hondas after all. Keep an eye on the engine oil level. As long as it's between the marks it's OK. Some cars "burn" oil down to a certain level and stop so constant topping up with oil just resets that. Every fuel stop until you determine how she's doing.
Rear wheel drive cars handle differently from your typical FWD (Civic) so take some time getting used to it and avoid spinning out into the cattails on the side of the road. They're also tire sensitive so set the tire pressures the same on all four corners.
-- Chuck
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Registered User
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 7
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Congrats! The car looks great!! Mine's a 2002 with 106k miles. I replaced all fluids when I bought it, third owner, and haven't had any issues since. For aftermarket parts, recently I've been buying from Blackhawk Japan. Quality parts, great prices and relatively quick shipping (usually 2 weeks).
thank you for the tips! It is certainly on my list!
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 7
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Good looking car (but ain't they all?!). Got a soft top under there? Top down is the best way to enjoy these cars as far as I'm concerned. Gonna be a great summer -- enjoy it in fresh air!
Download a copy of the Service Manual and go thru the Maintenance section for your year car. There's little variance between year demands though. There's a zillion threads here on how to service a new-to-you car. If in doubt a complete change of fluids will establish a maintenance zero point. Fluid specs are also in your Owner's Manual (also downloadable). There's 25 years of experience with this car here. A bit of research will go a long way.
These are not maintenance intensive cars, they're Hondas after all. Keep an eye on the engine oil level. As long as it's between the marks it's OK. Some cars "burn" oil down to a certain level and stop so constant topping up with oil just resets that. Every fuel stop until you determine how she's doing.
Rear wheel drive cars handle differently from your typical FWD (Civic) so take some time getting used to it and avoid spinning out into the cattails on the side of the road. They're also tire sensitive so set the tire pressures the same on all four corners.
-- Chuck
Download a copy of the Service Manual and go thru the Maintenance section for your year car. There's little variance between year demands though. There's a zillion threads here on how to service a new-to-you car. If in doubt a complete change of fluids will establish a maintenance zero point. Fluid specs are also in your Owner's Manual (also downloadable). There's 25 years of experience with this car here. A bit of research will go a long way.
These are not maintenance intensive cars, they're Hondas after all. Keep an eye on the engine oil level. As long as it's between the marks it's OK. Some cars "burn" oil down to a certain level and stop so constant topping up with oil just resets that. Every fuel stop until you determine how she's doing.
Rear wheel drive cars handle differently from your typical FWD (Civic) so take some time getting used to it and avoid spinning out into the cattails on the side of the road. They're also tire sensitive so set the tire pressures the same on all four corners.
-- Chuck
thank you for the wisdom chuck! I am going to be picking up the oem wheels and soft top from the seller here soon. Thank you for linking the service manual, this is my first forum so I haven’t quite figured out how to navigate it yet. Thank you for all the advice! I certainly need to give the car a once over and swap fluids and filters for ease of mind. I’ve seen comments on upgrading the timing chain tensioner, valve retainers to AP2, checking oil level, etc…
sounds like I’ll most likely be replacing fluids, filters, spark plugs and upgrading billman timing chain tensioner to ensure no issues
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Joined: Jul 2014
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From: Chesterfield VA
BillmanTCT is highly recommended. Preventive maintenance if nothing else. Simple to swap out yet provides a sense of satisfaction. Valve adjustment is simple albeit tedious. Changing valve retainers is fairly complex and you can observe their condition during the valve adjustment.
The OEM wheels were 16" on the 2002 cars and the 17" on the later cars offer many more tire choices.
-- Chuck
The OEM wheels were 16" on the 2002 cars and the 17" on the later cars offer many more tire choices.
-- Chuck
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 860
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From: Palm Bay, FL
Welcome!
There were 2 especially useful threads I found before I actually went and looked for a car:
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/775...#entry18385384
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/102...replace-first/
They should have most of the info and additional links you will ever need.
There were 2 especially useful threads I found before I actually went and looked for a car:
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/775...#entry18385384
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/102...replace-first/
They should have most of the info and additional links you will ever need.
Joined: Aug 2012
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Be sure to get the oem oil filter specific for S2000, not the generic one for all other Hondas.
The one for our cars has specific torquing specs written on it. With numbers 1 - 8 at the base (used to gauge how far its been tightened).
This filter cannot be properly tightened by hand. Filter socket required.
Failure to tighten can result in filter spinning loose, engine fire. Destroys entire car. More than a few cars have suffered this preventable fate.
If nit using oem filter, get a filter safety wire kit to keep it from coming loose.
VTEC requires a lot of oil flow. As does 9k rpm. So we have a very high volume, high pressure pump. That combined w vibes from high redline make this engine especially probe to filter coming loose vs other engines.
A ticking time bomb that might go off any moment, or never. But super easy to mitigate.
The one for our cars has specific torquing specs written on it. With numbers 1 - 8 at the base (used to gauge how far its been tightened).
This filter cannot be properly tightened by hand. Filter socket required.
Failure to tighten can result in filter spinning loose, engine fire. Destroys entire car. More than a few cars have suffered this preventable fate.
If nit using oem filter, get a filter safety wire kit to keep it from coming loose.
VTEC requires a lot of oil flow. As does 9k rpm. So we have a very high volume, high pressure pump. That combined w vibes from high redline make this engine especially probe to filter coming loose vs other engines.
A ticking time bomb that might go off any moment, or never. But super easy to mitigate.
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