I'm confused on this business of different engines depending on your zipcode.

This is how I understand things.

North America get all the new changes including the 2200 motor, new gears, tires rims yada, yada.


The Eurpoeans get what?

* All the 2004 changes except the 2200 engine.
* The older 2000 engine and SOME of the changes.
* Basically the American 2003 version with no 2004 changes.
*_____________ Fill in the blanks.

 

The Europeans get everything the US gets but the engine. They will get the 02-03 engine.

 

I'm hoping we get everything but the engine but I'm not sure what it will be yet. I have yet to see any official info from Honda.

 

I heard that the new engine is an improvement over the old. Every review so far admits this. And you must realize that the people who are writing the reviews are not biased owers who have dished out $30k for the old model. They are just giving their gut opinion about the new engine. So I don't understand why I hear the comments about people not wanting an improved engine that gives you optimal hp and torque at a lower RPM.

Aren't 95% of the mods I read about on this forum directed toward this exact problem?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nastinupe1
So I don't understand why I hear the comments about people not wanting an improved engine that gives you optimal hp and torque at a lower RPM.

 

The new engine might or might not be an improvement. I believe the two versions are so alike that it is a matter of taste.
As for now, I happen to prefer the concept of the old engine but I am aware that if I would get the opportunity to drive the new one I might change my mind, I just find that change of mind to be unlikely, that's all.

 

The jury is still out for me on the new engine. The torque and HP charts in the "2004 - Training material & Pictures" thread imply that the new engine is just like the old engine, except "compressed" into 8000rpm. The torque change can be completely accounted for by the higher HP per rpm. But if you "adjusted" the gear ratios of the new S2k so that both the old and new redlined at the same speeds, I think they'd feel practically identical.

The HP chart is most telling, it's as if someone shrunk the 9k hp curve along the rpm axis and made it fit the 8k curve. Would someone who knows some Photoshop be willing to actually do that and compare hp curves?

However, the new S2k has tighter gearing for the lower gears, which makes the butt-meter say there's more pull. Plus, the higher torque number and more displacement gives the impression of more "torque" to people who don't look closer, even if the math works out the same. Reviewers love that sort of stuff and often aren't willing to do the research to find out if it's really different. (It's easy to see the higher engine torque number, feel the stronger pull of the gearing, and put two and two together in a review)

Someone should consider a kit to retrofit the '04 gearbox and transmission onto earlier models (with an adjusted final gear ratio to account for the 8000/9000rpm change). The gearing changes alone should be enough to make a 2.0l S2k feel just like a '04 S2k, IMO.

 

Hi there,
want to give you some info too.

Some day

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hoof
the new engine is just like the old engine, except "compressed" into 8000rpm.

 

Yeah, now that I look at it, it does seem more like a left shift by some RPM.

I wonder if the new engine could be "upgraded" to 9000rpm and keep the hp rising to the same rpm as the 2.0l engine (rather than falling off). That could add a nice amount of horsepower to the engine. Just holding a ruler up to the screen, it looks like the new engine, with hp line extended to the old engine's peak hp rpm, could be a 280hp engine ...