I've had a semi poor experience with my S2000 transmission since buying the car last February. I thought it was just me getting used to the car since I had never owned one or driven one long enough to know better. Well, needless to say, it's been one of my main goals to improve upon.

It all started with a slight "buzz" noise, which I figured was clutch buzz, so I got used to it. This still being strange still due to the fact that I own a AP2, the improved model that supposedly eliminated the buzz. Yet, I passed it as normal. I also had a very inconsistent clutch, slippage on fast shifts, and shift feel wasn't smooth like I felt it should have been, so I changed on the AP2 slave with an AP1 slave. My clutch engagement improved, shifts got slightly better, but the slippage didn't disappear completely. Figured the clutch had took some abuse.

About 3 months ago is when it started getting interesting. I started noticing that my shifts were getting worse. 2nd gear loves to notch and grind a bit, no matter how much attention I pay to shifting, even after warm up. And I started feeling a slight vibration upon releasing the clutch pedal after shifting gears. I thought something in the clutch was finally giving in.

In the last few weeks, the noise became audible at all times, except when the clutch pedal was in. The tranny shifted poorly to 2nd and overall the tranny felt worse. I assumed the clutch was the cause and took it to Billman250 to have replaced and upgraded last week.

While I was with Billman250 working on the car, I talked to him about my issues. We both figured a clutch was in need, but he checked my engine crankshaft thrust bearing to be sure that wasn't a problem(this can cause noticeable vibration in the clutch pedal). So he installed the clutch and the car didn't seem to have any immediate issues right after. The new clutch feels great, no slippage and good engagement.

I noticed the noise after getting the car out on the open road after the install. It was back, but slightly different in sound. The chatter on clutch engagement is back too(clutch disc vibrating due to trans shaft?). The noise sounds more like metal to metal now and my shifts just the same... crappy. 2nd gear is almost impossible to shift smoothly and the tranny has a high pitched whine in higher gears, especially when cold. I am now assuming my tranny is the issue and has been all along. Billman is too far away to have him diagnose but he is leaning towards it too, as he is almost positive the clutch isn't the problem now that it's been replaced. So I am looking for a transmission.

I just wanted to post up my experience and see if anyone can relate. It seems to be a rare thing to have a major transmission issue, so I'm still in disbelief that I may be replacing mine.