i'm looking to upgrade to the newest, lowest mileage S i could find once i'm more stable with a garage. i'm seriously considering a CR but the lack of a soft top might keep me away. love the looks and the uniqueness of the CR though..even the wing is growing on me and i think it'll look weird without one.

 

For every poster that complains about the nuances of the CR, there is a person that likes the CR for those very reasons.

Playing on track with an S is great, but when I get back into an S2000, it'll be CR or bust. Honda did a wonderful thing after watering down the S2000 over it's production run. The laundry list of small refinements made a faster sports car from the same powerplant, and kept the price right.

Now if only they would've passed on DBW with the CR..

 

I agree, I love the effective aero and stiffer chassis/coilovers. Just wish it didn't have DBW. Hope to get a mint CR one day.

 

DBW means you can flash it. I think resale will be good compared to non-CR 08s.

 

I know originally the CR package was available for only $2,000 more than the base model. If you purchased it w/o A/C and Audio you saved an additional $1,000.

For me it was a no-brainer...pay an extra $1,000 for a car that has ~$10,000 put into it over the base model. Hell i feel they even did me the favour of removing the A/C and gave me money back!

I think its foolish to say they are not reasonably priced and find it nearly impossible that they could have made money on it for that price. Think about it...cosmetics alone how much does an OEM Hardop cost? Rear Functional wing? Front functional lip? Tonneu cover?

I love the fact that the front lip and rear wing are functionally designed, and personally think Honda had great taste with both their designs. I have removed the wing and Everyone who saw it w/o said it looked better with it back on. I dont know about you but i certainly dont mind that fact that my CR doesnt look like as much of a chick car as a result of these two pieces

I think the hardtop was a great addition for the CR and it really isnt that hard to remove if you are a die-hard convertible individual.

The S2000 will always be my dream car and i feel privelaged to own one at its optimum level from the factory. I bought it for the track/street and feeled honoured to have 1 of 10 BB no A/C no Audio models.

 

Everyone seems to mostly be thinking about cosmetic/aerodynamic changes such has spoilers and the interior, but lets not forget it does have significant performance modifications of the chassis/suspension/etc

This car does have a very nice set of upgraded coilovers, stickier tires, reinforced steering box, additional bracing, quicker steering ratio, the list goes on and on. I even seem to hear of a different ECU map from the factory

The point I am getting to is I bought this car because I am a performance enthusiast and this car was built by performance enthusiasts, for performance enthusiasts. From the first time I test drove one I realized this was everything I always wanted my stock s2000 to become. It has many modifications that I had done to previous s2000s and many more that worked in perfect harmony together, all well being factory OEM. Good show Honda!

 

Side by side the CR is absolutely faster. A very, very fast S2000 autocross driver drove all 3 on the same day on the same course (fully prepped AP1 (stock class, shocks, front bar, and R comps), fully prepped AP2 (STR Class, Moton shocks, Comptech front bar, wider wheels and wider tires, etc.) and a bone stock CR). He was .8 seconds faster in the CR on the stock tires and it was the first car he drove.

Other than that, I actually prefer the way it looks after having had it for awhile. I would have put a hard top on any S2000 I bought anyways, and it has A/C and radio (both of which can be removed legally for SCCA competition) at any point, other S2000's cannot do so. It is for me a very very competitive autocross car, and just a plain fun car, a great looker, and it is rare.

 

Were the other two S2000s running on three cylinders?

 

yes the CR was the big deal for me

after went through 2 AP1s and 1 AP2... i needed to complete my ownership with something "better" than those three i owned..

 

Nope,
Both are nationally competitive S2000's. The driver has driven the AP1's extensively as well.

The CR's improvements just made that much of a difference, even on the R comps (something I would have completely bet against) but the gearing and torque in the AP1 are very difficult to get perfect on an autocross course. The AP2 has a $$$$ Moton suspension and is completely built to the extent of the rules (hondata, etc.).

That is why you are seeing the CR win all of the B stock events as they are superior on an autocross course. I haven't seen anyone field a built CR for STR yet, well at a national level at least. The last event I went to I was faster in my ST Civic but I don't know if the STR CR was completely built or what, he had wider wheels and tires and a single exhaust but thats all I could tell from looking at it, he ran opposite my group so I was working when he was running and vice versa.