Kevin- I've been pounding around Watkins Glen with a CRX-Si for a long time and I will never forget the things that little hatchback has eaten alive. There is so much more to a car than just the engine!

So I see this beautiful red badge on the white S2000 in your signature - where did you get it? I need a red one like that for my Spa coming in April.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Triple-H
[B]

So I see this beautiful red badge on the white S2000 in your signature - where did you get it? I need a red one like that for my Spa

 

Radster - I want a red emblem for the Yellow Spa for the same reason red Ferraris have a yellow emblem on the front nose. The S2000 is going to be my Ferrari!
I'm not a big fan of Rick's emblems.
I'm working on a deal to get the European Honda emblem in red for my car, and you are 100% correct, that are not cheap!!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Triple-H
[B]Radster -

 

To jump in on the orrigional question...yes, I for one think Honda will keep up with Nissan, Mazda, Toyota and even the Jones'.

I think Honda will upgrade the engine with iVTEC and give us a few more horses and ft/lbs of torque. But if you want to talk hp/weight, some of things Honda would have to do would probably make the car cost as much as it's pricey competition. How about more aluminum body panels and suspension pieces, carbon fiber airbox, lighter exaust, and many more. Shave 300 lbs off of the car and it wieghs what a Miata does...add a few more horses and you get around 10lbs/hp... Nice...but expensive.

Lastly, Honda has never been about brute force. They seem to the best at squeezing performance out of less hardware. For example: the 2000 model year familly sedans...Accord, Camry, Maxima, etc. The Accord V6 had the lowest HP numbers but had some of the best 0-60 times (Maxima auto by the way). So the 240 hp in a Honda S2000 becomes equal to...what 300+ in a Porsche Boxster S? Not bad in my book.

 

Just for the record, only the engine and hood is aluminum on the S2000.

 

Wrong!
Go back to the car with a magnet, magnets don't cling to aluminum. You will find all sorts of things the magnet does not stick to, frame members, body panels, suspension components and ...

 

Well according to the S2000 book by Carney the suspension pieces aren't aluminum. He mentions they're made of cast iron. Unless you're referring to things like shocks.

The unibody is steel and the panels are steel as well. Only the NSX's body is entirely aluminum.

Anyone care to shed some light on the subject?

 

While in Japan, I asked one of the S2000 engineers why they didn't make the car out of aluminum. They cited cost and the fact that to get the open top rigidity that they were shooting for, they'd have to use so much aluminum that it wouldn't be appreciably lighter than steel. The frame is entirely steel. The Tochigi factory has special welding units that produce temperatures appropriate for both steel and aluminum.

I have no knowledge of suspension arm components.

As far as body panels - the front and read bumper are plastic. I know racing numbers stick to the doors and trunk lid. The hood is aluminum, as mentioned before. Haven't personally tested the front fenders.

 

Just for the record, I didn't say what is or is not made from aluminum. I said, as did elistan, that if you tried to make the entire car out of aluminum (or other light materials) it would be VERY expensive.