Hey guys, I'm most likely going to be picking up my first S in the next few months. I'm not here to ask if it's going to be reliable, I know that's been done in countless posts already. What I want to know is if there are any tips, namely mods, that are recommended to increase the reliability and longevity of the engine. I think I saw in some previous thread (maybe in the 200,000 miles club) about someone improving or adding some components to his engine that would make it last longer, but I can't remember that they were.

Assuming the car is driven reasonably and the maintenance is kept up with, what are the weak points of the car/engine that would be the first to fail or would decrease longevity? Thanks!

 

If you do regular maintenance and don't abuse it, this engine will last a long time. One of the biggest killers is a mechanical over rev due to a mis-shift at high RPM.

Highway miles are really easy on the engine. Lugging the engine (accelerating hard below around 3000 RPM) isn't.

I think you're referring to my Dual Remote Bypass Oil Filter and Prelube Pump setup. I do oil changes every 40,000 miles. This setup is a little complex and the benefits are controversial, but I'm certain it's not doing any harm. I currently have over 300,000 miles and my car starts and runs like new. Time will tell how beneficial it actually is. There are several others out there with more miles without any special setup.

 

It depends on which year you get. Ap1 engines could benefit from valve train modifications and both engine series apparently need an upgraded timing chain tensioner. Also exhaust valves on the ap2 might become overly tight at low miles. Change the oil regularly and it will last longer than the other components on the car. Every honda i've owned has fallen apart with the engine still running strong except for the very first one, a 1300 DX Civic. I blew the head gasket and cracked the head on that one.

 

Yep, that's the setup I was referring to. What exactly does that provide for the engine? I've never heard of the extended mileage oil changes before. And thanks for the tips.

Thanks for the advice. I have always heard that Honda is known for reliability, and the only reason I'm overly cautious on this purchase is the fact that the last and only other Honda I've owned was a 2001 Civic EX that warped and lost compression at 150,000 miles due to head gasket failure. I always kept up on maintenance and expected to get a whole lot more out of it than I did. I'd expect the build quality of the S2000 to be much higher than the red-headed step child of Civics, but they also might have seen more abuse given their nature. This is going to be my daily, so I guess I'm just being overly cautious.

 

head gaskets on this car have not been known to fail. just make sure the car has never over heated in the past. do a compression and leak down test before hand. the car will be good aslong as you do the maintenance to it. happy motoring.

 

Good to know. I do plan on having any prospective car inspected before hand. Thanks for the info!

 

Make sure you have the car inspected by someone who actually knows S2000's. A general PPI won't catch those issues that are specific to the S2000.

As far as longevity goes you should:

1. Check Oil level every fill up or so. My car will literally go forever not using a drop and then the very next week it will be low. Just something to keep an eye on.

2. Pull the valve cover off every 25k or so and inspect the valve retainers. This only takes about 30 minutes. If a car has an overrev history you will be able to catch it before something bad happens.

3. Listen for issues with the Timing Chain Tensioner.

4. Recognize that even though this is a Honda, it's still a 10+ year old car. Things happen to old cars. Gaskets wear out, clutch master cylinders leak, etc. You'll have some maintenance but these are really solid cars and cost of ownership should be dramatically lower than other comparable 10 year old cars (boxster, Z3/Z4, etc).

 

Thanks, some very good advice. Luckily there's a shop just up the road that has a specialty in S2Ks, so I'll be able to get a knowledgeable opinion.

 

Warm it up by driving < 3500rpm for a few miles each time.

 

Agreed ^ always allow the oil to reach operating temp (~190 degrees) before romping or using VTEC at all. This takes between 5-15 miles depending on outside temperature..