Hi, this is my first post on this forum. I picked up my AP2 honda S2000 yesterday and so far so good. I was wondering if some of you could help with some questions I have -

• When you are stationary and put the car in first gear, is it normal to hear a sound that is similar to what I can only describe as the sound that a subwoofer makes when it turns on like a thump but not that aggressive or loud coming from the rear of the car?
• My rear exhausts aren't perfectly aligned in their cut outs and this bugs me a bit, is it a common problem and what can be done to correct it?
• The gearbox feels a bit stiff when going into first when pulling away, not a major problem just wondered if it was normal.
• I read before I bought the car that you have to rev it hard to get the best from it, what sort of rpms can you safely downshift into without stressing the engine/gearbox too much?

Would appreciate your replies, thanks.

 

1. Normal. When in neutral, the countershaft of the transmission is spinning with the engine (but not connected to the drive wheels). When you clutch in, the tranny is disconnected from the engine but the gear is still spinning freely on momentum. The clunk you hear is the gear being stopped abruptly by the first gear engaging. If you clutch in and pause briefly before going into gear there won't be any clunk.

2. Check the exhaust hangers. Not uncommon, sometimes the exhaust can scrape on a steep incline damaging the hangers.

3. This transmission always feels best when warmed up thoroughly.

4. You can downshift to any gear as long as you don't exceed the speed for that gear (called a money shift - because you will destroy your engine) and you should always revmatch when downshifting. Speeds per gear for AP2 (MPH):

1st - 37
2nd - 58
3rd - 80
4th - 102
5th - 126
6th - 155

 

Re grease your shifter. It should take away some if not all the stiffness. Is the exhaust OEM? As long as you don't accidentally downshift from 5th to 2nd at a high speed you should be fine.

 

Thanks for the reply cheese, some good info in there. I did see some numbers similar to those in the instruction manual I read last night. I've found that even when the car is warmed up that it doesn't exactly glide into first gear, maybe it's just where I'm used to driving a car with a much smoother gearbox.

I'll take a look at the exhaust hangers at the weekend when I get a chance.

When you say regrease the shifter, is this something that can be done quite easily by removing the gear gaiter? Or should I take it to a mechanic for that?

 

I know what you about the very slight but noticeable 'clunk' when engaging 1st gear at the lights.

 

I don't know of a car with a smoother gearbox... Maybe you mean more vague? Have you changed out the transmission oil?

 

After a couple of weeks with my new-to-me '06 S2000 last summer I asked "how to shift" the car and was advised 4300 rpm is a good shift point -- and it is. Much below and the lack of engine flywheel makes shifts feel bad as engine rpm drops fast. The car likes the range above 3000 rpm. Shifting at the redline in my AP2 keeps the VTEC running.

Max shift rpm was previously posted. These are the Honda recommended shift points but they seem like minimum shift points to me! Posts by knowledgeable users caution to not "skip" gears if you want to keep the synchros happy.

1st to 2d - 15
2d to 3d - 25
3d to 4th - 40
4th to 5th - 47
5th to 6th - 52

Transmission oil change is a 15K event. Same with the differential. Lots of data including endless oil recommendations. Even I can do the changes once I get under the car.

-- Chuck

 

There is a thread on stuff for new owners. Lots of good info there. Look for it.

There is a thread on regrease shifter. Its not difficult. But you need to get the correct grease first, and you might as well replace the plastic 'bearing' pieces while you are in there. Not too expensive from Honda (there are online Honda dealers that sell parts cheaper. I use Majestic Honda).

You also should change your clutch fluid and adjust the freeplay in the clutch linkage at the pedal. There arw DIY's on here for those. Very easy. The clutch prpcedure gravity bleeds the system at the same time. I think these 2 are going to help your issue much more than the shifter regrease. So I'd do these first.

For the exhaust, first check that all the rubber hangers are actually attached properly. There is one on each muffler, and one in front of the diff. The muffler ones are this wierd triangle thing, and maybe one or both are not properly mounted on all 3 pins.

 

My 2007 VW golf has a much smoother gearbox i.e it requires much less effort to get it into gear. I checked the history and the trans oil was last changed 3 years ago approx 10000 miles ago.

 

Also, when I get a new (to me) car I like to get it serviced shortly after I've bought it unless it was done very recently. I sent my local Honda main dealership an email getting some prices and this is what they came back with. I also asked them about greasing the shifter mechanism -

Engine oil and filter change - £90.00
Gearbox oil chane - £75.00
Rear differential oil change - £75.00

"The gearbox lever on an S2000 goes directly into the gearbox, we would therefore need more information into the fault you are experiencing to make a quote, we will be happy to carry out a complimentary roadtest to indentify any potential gearchange issues."

To me those prices seem rather steep? It also appears they are not familiar with greasing the shifter...