Hi, I have just purchased my first S2000. I love it to bits. But could anyone tell me if their engine makes a clicky/rattle noise. I have read that they are all like this? I would like to hear if this is true. (It isn't really that bad, i'm just a little concerned that's all!)

 

mine does it during startup.

minor detail

 

Trimmy,

When does the noise occur? My '02 makes a few interesting sounds when I first start it up, and gets sort of raspy as it approaches VTEC.

 

Mine is rather noisy at idle, in terms of valvetrain noise. Unfortunately, I don't have another one to compare it against.

How many miles on your car?

 

It doesn't get quieter or louder when at different revs. (The speed of the ticking gets quicker obviously.) Maybe it's just me!

 

Only 29,000 miles.

 

There is some noise from the cams at idle if thats what youre talkin about, almost sounds like valve noise but its not.

 

maybe this is too obvious... did you check the engine oil level?

 

The engine will be quieter with valves adjusted to the tighter end of the spec, but there will always be some noise present.

We recently held a tech day for valve adjustments for the south florida group. We found that all of the valves were set by Honda to the high side of the spec range, and many were one or two thousandths out of range on the high side. We suppose this is what allows honda to specifiy a 100k mile maintenace interval. Over time, the valve seats wear down and the gap closes. Presumably, 100k miles would 'wear' down to the lower end of the spec range.

So, if you're willing to stay on top of it, set your valves to the low end of the spec range (.008" intake, .010" exhaust). You get a quieter valvetrain and a smoother running engine, but you will have to check the clearances more often.

 

How about this, I've noticed that when letting the clutch pedal up after shifting, that the last inch or two at the top has a bit of "crunchy" feel or extra pedal travel. Is that normal? Or does it just need an adjustment?

I've heard of clutch problems with the S2K, so I'm not sure what is normal/abnormal for this car since I'm a new owner. I've driven stick all my life, but I'm just not sure what to look for in the S2K.

Also, I've noticed that the shifter is "knotchy, noisy and clunky" at slow speeds and low RPM shifts, but is smooth like butter when shifting at higher RPM's and faster speeds. Is that fairly normal?

Thanks!