Dear fellow s2ki members,

First off let me thank you for letting me be a member of your forum for over a year without being an owner. You all have some of the best members and I often find myself reading off the off topic sections as well as you have some really intelligient members and it's refreshing to see a car enthusiast who doesn't think life is a huge game and your ownly responsibility is your car.

That being said, even though I have been debating it for the past year I am looking to bite the bullet and get into an s2000. I have been debating it for a while and I think my biggest concern has been reliability. I know you would think with a Honda that would not be an issue, but I'm a faithful Toyota/Lexus owner (okay so I bought one Mitsubishi once . . . I'm sure some of you bought parashuit pants or something, lol) so I'm used to the highest degree of reliability. I know the S2000 is going to be better than a 350z and the likes, but all the threads I have read over the past year or so from members who talk about being on their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th differential ( ) just make my draw drop and keep me from pulling the trigger. The constant Honda service and dealership horror stories make it seem pretty bad as well.


This brings me to my current questions.

1. How bad is the differential problem? Would YOU (an experianced owner) say it's exaggerated and not as common as it looks from tht outside, or is it just matter of time?

2. Is the ap2 (2004+) a stronger/more reliable car?

Besides the clutch delay mechanism they put in, I thought I remember reading ce that they made some changes to the differential as well (like I said I have been here and doing my searching for a long time). To be honest, I like the cosmetic changes a lot to the AP2 and the threads showing as high as 26 HP increase seem great too. The downside though is 8200 RPM' s doesn't seem that incredible given lots of cars go to 7000-8000 these days. The 9000 RPM car just seems more of rare thing. I totally understand though that the ap2 gets the job done without all the revs being neccesary, so I'm not bashing.

The reason I ask is because a 2003 seems to be a few grand cheaper most places I look, but if there is reason to believe the 2004+ ap2 is going to be more reliable and have stronger parts then it might be worth an extra few thousand now to keep from paying it later on a broken differential.

The money spent on my 2004 IS300 was a lot, but I could warrant that comfortably knowing I wouldn't really have to do much but change the oil and could depend on it for a long time (and Lexus/Toyota backing it up if there was a problem). I just want to make sure the S2000 experiance is going to be similiar, and not a constant wallet grabber. I had that with my Mitisubishi and I don't miss it.

I don't THINK driving this car daily is going to be to bad of an adjustment for me. I have owned manual cars before and driven them several times. In fact one of the things I despise about my current car is it's automatic. The IS300 (my current car) is RWD though and to be honest, unless I'm pushing it at the limit I don't have any problem at all driving it daily and it's not different than any other car to me. I have rarely gotten on it hard enough (or sloppy enough should I say) to warrant the traction control light kicking in so I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with the S, I could be wrong though.

My only other question from there is, with a 2004 Lexus IS300 with 18,777 miles, that is the best way to get into an S? I thought about selling it private and then buying the best deal, but I don't know if the tax savings I get by trading it in might make up for some of the money I lose by not selling it privately.

We shall see, either way I finally want to be able to be in an S2k soon!


Thanks in advance for any and all replies and God's blessings,

- J

 

I had a srt'd/prolex 2003 is300 5 speed. Test drove a buddy's ap1. Next day, sold the is300 and proceeded to buy a MY04 s2k.

I like both s2000's, and was always annoyed with that slave delay on my 04. After i ripped that crap out, it is soooooooooooooo much better.

The shifter on the is3 vs the s2k is no comparison. is300 shifter is like a limp dick compared to the s2k.

is3 also has limp acceleration vs s2k (stock for stock)

is3 can be more easily modded, but the tranny can hold only about 300 whp, but if you get the supra tremec 6 speed ($8k), supra bottem end, srt stage 2 turbo (450 whp)
you will be set in the is.

s2k, just get a comptech .

any other questions? feel free to ask..

 

oh and suspension wise, the is300 is also a limp noodle compared to any of the s2k years. the older models being more stiff

 

Thanks for the replies gQ penGuin, any comments to the reliability concerns?

I'm not sure how your IS300 experiance was, but I haven't paid for anything but tires and oil lol (Oh and a filter) and it's been flawless. I guess that is my biggest fear.

How bad of a hit did you take switching vechiles?

 

I test drove a few is300's before picking up my S. Like Penguin was saying, even though the is300 isn't bad in the handling dept, compared to the S, it's a Yugo. Shifter is THE best stock unit I've ever used. Of course the is300 has more cargo room, two extra seat, but all that goes out the window as soon as you hop in the S--it's just sooo much fun! (have your friends carry all the stuff! )

Reliability wise--it's a Honda. But, it's also a sports car. You're going to have to expect more upkeep compared to a sedan. Rear tires will wear out faster, pads will need changing more often, etc. But compared to other sports cars, it's one of the best in reliability. There have been several issues, but it's a car, i.e. wear item. Mine's a '00 with 40k, and it really hasn't had too many problems at all. Practice proper and preventative maintenance, then you just hope for the best.

Your ?'s:

1. My friends with S2k's(2) have not had problems with the diff.
2. Newer will warrant better reliability. Plus, I'd opt for the extended warranty.

Good luck with the hunt.

 

Hi there!

I'm a s2k newbie as well, since I only had the car(MY05) for 3 weeks. However, I can comment on the comparison with the IS300, since my mother has and IS and drove it quite alot.

Acceleration, handling.. overall feeling of crusing with the top down is priceless compared to any coupe/sedan. Also, it seems as though that you reside at Miami, so you probably don't have to worry about snow (maybe rain or even storm?).

Regarding reliability issues, Honda, for our whole family has never failed us. Even my previous Audi A4 gave me a crapload of problems. We have owned an accord and a civic, (now an s2000), and the Accord is still running at 140k miles, no problems at all.

I am guessing that the s2k will be a similar experience.

I am a daily driver of an s2k, and I have never thought of riding anything else.. Top down is THAT good...maybe somewhat addicting.

I have never driven a MY00-03, but as for the ap2's, I don't think the differential has any problems. Ever since I bought the car, I took almost every corners hard (almost up to limit), but the tail never went out of control.

As for the purchase plan, I traded my A4 and financed a brand new s2k from the dealer. I got the price down to 30k even for the s2k, and the A4 barely helped me cover the total interest fee.

I hope I cleared up some of your questions. Good luck in your purchase!

 

Can't go wrong either with AP1(02-03 for the glass rear) or AP2. AP2 more receptive to mods and dynoproven. Also can't complain about 9K redline on the AP1. No problems with my 02 and it has 72k miles. Use it as my daily driver and has gone through several track days. Maintenance done to the car was just oil, tranny, and diff fluid changes and that's it. Car still runs like new. BTW I'll be getting the new IS350 this fall for the wifey. Good luck on your decision.

 

if you know how to drive, the diff should not be a problem. the diff is a weak point, when the car is driven improperly, IMO. FWIW i've had 2 S2000's and drive/drove the crap out of both of them including over 1000 clutch dump launches. my differentials never had a single issue. (nor did the entire car for that matter)

while personal experience really doesn't give you an idea of a car's reliability, neither does a forum. of course what you read on the forum is this failed or that failed. no one ever makes a thread and says "drove my S2000 with no problems today".

 

1000 clutch dumps? If you have owned the car 3 years that is one every single day. Where do you drive where you can do that. How do you find the time?

 

My Ap2 can bench more than your Ap1.

Sorry, couldn't resist.