Hello, I'm going to buy a used 2001 S2000 this afternoon in nothern CA for my daily 50 mile commute on hwy 101. I test drove it yesterday and Loved it but I had three questions which you can hopefully help me out with.

1. When I test drove it and dropped it to 3rd gear I noticed the engine rumbled alot more than any other gear when I took my foot off the gas.... is this normal in stock S2000s? The dealer told me it was the "VTEC kicking in because 3rd gear is the power gear" but I know VTEC doesn't kick in untill 6500 about and I was only at 4000 rpm at the time. Every other gear was fine but that 3rd gear concerned me a little bit.

2. I want to put a cold air intake on it.... what do you reccomend I get?

3. I'll also be buying new wheels and rims for it... whats a good place to find some good deals on wheels and tires?.

 

1. Do you have a personal mechanic? If you do, then you might want him to look into that before your purchase it. Does the S have an exhaust on it? If it does then the area of RPMS you are talking about is just the drone from the exhaust...

2. I have an AEM V2 and love it. There are many many many intakes for the S2000 besides AEM. It just really depends on what you want to spend... The V2 would only cost about $250, but then again the J's racing intake and mugen intakes are well over $700 !!!

3. look for some group buys for wheels on here. the group buys for volks and work wheels are gonna be the best deals you can find.

 

The answer to question #1 is: The rumble you heard upon decceleration is probably the clutch buzz issue which Honda issued a TSB. VTEC doesn't happen untill 6000 rpms. 3rd is not the "power gear". The salesguy was full of shite. Get them to agree to fix the clutch under the TSB before you buy it. Or get an 02 or newer, as they do not have this problem.
#2. I also have the V2, and am quite happy with it.
#3. Try any of the site sponsors and they should give you as good a deal as anyone else, probably better. I prefer to patronize the site sponsors. Dance with the one who brung ya is what they say in the south.

 

#1.)Can't help you with your first questions besides telling you to take it to a
mechanic and have it checked out.
#2.)I have the AEM CAI V1 with the by pass valve but I highly recommend the V2.
The only reason I got the V1 was because at that time there wasn't a V2
available for the S2000.
#3.)Go to discount tire website and do a search on their search engine for rims for
your S2000. They have the best pricing there.......I got my Konig tantrums
19 by 8 with nitto 555 extreme 235/35/19 for $1600 USD. The cheapest
price I could get in Canada was $2600 USD. Look at the savings!!!

 

Thanks for your responses. I bought the car yesterday and I'm loving it. Before I bought it i brought it to a clutch and transmission shop to get it checked out and they told me everything was in really good shape. I also got the dealer to change his mind on his no warranty policy and got a 3 month drive train warranty at no extra charge. Thanks for the input on the AEM V2 intake, I did some research after your responses and found it's the best bang for my buck intake I'll find anywhere, I ordered it this morning, it'll be my weekend project to install it. I know everyone sez it's easy but I'm not an engine person by any means but I'm learning. This weekend I'm also installing a new sound system because the stock is crap. Thanks everyone!