[QUOTE=trinis2001,Sep 9 2007, 08:02 PM]I agree with you RMX5. The high output and 9k is what made this car for me. Besides the fact that it looks so good and handles. If Honda brought out an 8K 237, 2.2L car in 00, no one would have noticed because it would not have really stood out, even against its own brothers such as the B16A/B and B18C. Things like Evos and STis already existed then (even if not available in the US at the time - could be wrong), but the S would not have stood out then with the AP2 specs IMO. It would have been note worthy against the then Boxster S, Z3/4 etc., but not AMAZING like the AP1's were/are.

The 9ki, 120hp/L is what earned it its recognition, best engine design for a few years running etc. So what if the 2.2L has more power (and it does - Honda is understating the power - for what, who knows). It just is not the cult car that the AP1's are imo. They may be better (depending on your point of view), but they are now also rans in my book. I don't consider the AP2s better, because I believe the improved AP1 is called the Lotus Elise - more purity added to the equation. But for those who prefer better manners,

 

I love the comments from the AP1ers to the effect of "the RPM's between 8300 and 9000 is what made this car legendary"

so you think folks like me bought new cars and made them track cars for odd reasons that have nothing to do with that 1/2 second of time you are referring to?

good handling, light, well balanced, affordable, unique, a driver's car - these are more likely the reasons why AP1 and AP2 owners bought into the same car.

 

Not so much as a speeding ticket on my record.

(I'm still probably a nuisance, if not a menace when driving the S2000)

You should have heard me tease my wife when she got a speeding ticket last year.

I accelerate hard, brake hard, and corner hard... but I don't drive at prolonged high speeds. Usually average 5-9mph over the limit. I have been known to "pass" soccer-moms-on-cellphones-in-SUVs-driving 55mph-in-the-fast-lane at a high rate of speed, though.

 

Just curious: Alejo, would you consider the "drive-by-wire" S2000s an "improvement?" If someone offered you a stripped AP2.5 with DBW, would you take that over the cable-throttled version? It probably wouldn't matter, since the CR is DBW... but I don't like the "translation" of throttle in a DBW. I can still feel it in the Audi and it's a little bit annoying.

 

Not all DBW systems are the same.

 

So after reading all 7 pages, are some of you actually pleased that there have been no major performance improvements made to the car over the past 8 years?!

I can see 5, maybe even 6 years without a considerable change from Honda as being acceptable, but seriously - where is the incentive for me to upgrade to a newer model year? That's easy: there is none. I'll either keep mine and throw more mods at it, or I'll move on to a different brand. Neither option puts any more of my money into Honda's pocket.

 

[QUOTE=CKit,Sep 9 2007, 11:59 PM]Not so much as a speeding ticket on my record.

 

Well implimented DBW has no downsides I'm aware of.

 

[QUOTE=replica,Sep 10 2007, 01:33 AM]So after reading all 7 pages, are some of you actually pleased that there have been no major performance improvements made to the car over the past 8 years?!

 

Ckit, I really wasn't trying to attack your driving habits, just taking a little jibe at you. Yes I ma really in Trinidad, and you are SO correct - the roads down here don't lend to aggressive driving. There is ALWAYS traffic, a lot of truly crazy drivers (tail gaters, driving on the shoulders, braking red lights etc. etc. etc). Our people are totally indisciplined on the roads, so joining them in aggressive driving is not a goo idea. To enjoy this car (and my buddies in their Evo's, STis etc) we usually have to arrange meets that start around 5am to find clear and safe roads for a little fun.

RMX5, The sum of the original S2000 is what did it for me, including the bhp/l and 9k. This does not mean I believe these two facts made the car, but they certainly are the facts that made the NEWS. The handling is something owners know only from driving. The handling numbers for the S are not that impressive, but they certainly feel impressive. In real world driving on curvy roads, I do actually hang with my buddies' heavily modded Evos. so I am quite please. Straight line is a different story, a story that does not matter at all to me. My standard battle cry to someone who want to race me on the roads is "Meet me at Maracas beach" (The way is fraught with very tight twists and curves between a mountain and 500ft drop).

As you guys like to mod the car to your personal tastes, I find the original exactly to my liking. I don't want a load muffler, an SC (yet!) lowered an inch to hit even more stuff etc. If I did more racing I would convert it to a CR class car, but I don't so the rest is just fine to me. This car is so rare in this country that ownership alone is a reward.

BillyB