When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
UK & Ireland S2000 CommunityDiscussions related to the S2000, its ownership and enthusiasm for it in the UK and Ireland. Including FAQs, and technical questions.
Oops! my reply took a while to be approved, i thought it hadn't gone through! I've double posted! seems like it takes a while for them to be approved on here.
Lovegroova I might go down the route of local garage instead for regular maintenance then if it's not going to affect resale value.
Thanks s2k4tony, do you do your own valve adjustment too? Going to a meet would be cool. I don't have the car yet, it's at the body shop but from what I can see, it's been very well maintained. Even the side seat bolster is in good nick. No signs of rust under the bonnet either. I'm hoping it'll cost me no more than £8.5k all in after the repair. It's nearing a 105k miles.
The first thing i wanna do is a uk exhaust mod. Would any of you happen to know anyone close to me who has experience? Still not sure what size to go for. Youtube videos don't give me a good enough idea of the sound.
Don't mess with the exhaust until -- and unless -- you can hear any intended modifications (e.g. -- "UK Mod") or after market exhaust on another car. 10 minute drive won't do it. In fact I recommend a year with the car to see if you really want it louder. There's over 20 years of exhaust system modification regret here. And that doesn't count those too embarrass to admit it.
I've not done my valve adjustments, as they were already done just before I bought my 06 reg. The engine is super quiet, quietest one I've ever heard to be honest. With the right feeler gauges and tools, it's an easy enough job. Just finicky, as suggested.
I'm not in the crowd of blaring, droney exhausts, they are a required taste, however you definitely should look at an induction kit. K & N make a superb air charger kit, and the VTEC noise is something else. The 9 horsepower claim by K&N does make me chuckle, ... But...definitely louder than AEM long ram, and the like. And very quiet when not in VTEC, unlike a boomy toned exhaust.
There's a good exhaust outlet in Stockport called Top gear, they made an exhaust for me a few years ago on my 530d. From the centre section back. No doubt, they can make to order and fully stainless, choose your tone / loudness etc...although their site might not state they'll do an S2000, I'm sure they could. Otherwise there is a group buy on exhausts on here, but it's expensive.
Would love a K&N but i've seen quite a few tests and videos which show they let far more dust particles through than a standard filter even when they're well oiled and maintained. I don't really wanna take the risk. Planning on keep the car for the long run.
Don't mess with the exhaust until -- and unless -- you can hear any intended modifications (e.g. -- "UK Mod") or after market exhaust on another car. 10 minute drive won't do it. In fact I recommend a year with the car to see if you really want it louder. There's over 20 years of exhaust system modification regret here. And that doesn't count those too embarrass to admit it.
-- Chuck
seeing an s2000 on the road is extremely rare so getting to hear different exhausts would be next to impossible!
Seeing an s2000 on the road is extremely rare for sure. Part of my "don't rush into this" recommendation.
Aftermarket exhaust can be installed in 30 minutes once the car is on a lift with the back wheels off at least based on my experience removing an ear-bleed loud aftermarket exhaust some folks here said was "not too loud" or "barely louder than stock." The guys at the local high school loved it. Yep, with the shortage of S2000s where I lived I was unable to hear it on the road before buying it. Lasted less than a month and that long only because the replacement took that long to ship. Got lucky with the second replacement -- I'd not heard it either but was impatient in both cases.
So called UK Mod requires cutting and welding making it difficult to second guess once it's done. If you have the skills start small as you can easily make it louder. May take a while to find someone who has done it where you can learn by their experience -- or, more likely their mistakes.
Sound files are useless since even if the audio recording device could capture the sound the speakers in your computer (and certainly not your phone) can't reproduce it. dBA readings are helpful.
I think the K & N filters are totally fine, poorly installed may indeed cause particle matter on some cars, but not likely on our car, due to the short pipe design and not in front of an open bumper grill. I recently oiled mine, I've had it installed over 2 years with no problems. And it's a daily, including through the winter. Despite the minor power increase, it's really all about the noise on full acceleration.
A friend of mine whizzed on a big bore cat back system on his gt86. It sounds bloody awful, he's ruined it. At low revs it's very loud. It's sounding like a 90s max power Corsa now...hideous! Neighbours must think he's a twit.
Induction will always win the prize for best sound, and add to the split personality of the car even more. Unfortunately a skunk and the like sort of drown out the 4 banger scream with whiny drone. If that's what you're after, go for it. As Nottm says, it may be regretful - there's no OEM exhausts about brand new so many of us will be looking for an exhaust in the future, including me.
As the others have said: the best exhaust system on this car is the one that it rolls out of the factory with. You can add a decat to reduce that final amount of cabin resonance around 3-4k but that's as good as it gets. Any other exhaust is, quite frankly, ****ing awful. I had a Skunk2 on my 04 when I first had it. It was ear bleeding loud, even with baffles. The drone at cruising speeds was headache inducing. I wore earplugs until I had it changed for a stock exhaust! Buy a decat, or just leave the exhaust as-is. Otherwise you will be making a large deposit at the bank of regret.
If you want more induction noise, you can remove the lid from the airbox but note that this will cause a perceivable loss in power due to heatsoak/increased intake temps.
Around the tail light; you can separate the rear case and lens to get in there and clean it up. Heat up the edges with a heat gun then prize it apart. Do the same to reseal it once you've cleaned it up. Let the bodyshop repair the crack to prevent further unwanted ingress. I've actually bought a few things from Jordan Foster in the past (he's only 30 mins from where I live). PM me and I can ping you his number; he could send you some better pictures. He's a good guy, albeit a little slow with replies sometimes.
Originally Posted by mat-i-
Regarding the undersealing - make sure you spend the majority of time and money on the rust removal / converter stage rather than just covering the rust in waxoyl / Dinitrol. I had mine undersprayed last year and although they did a good job, I am now spending some time tackling the deeper rust areas which the Dinitrol just covers up. Here’s my rear arches after taking off the top layer of rust (2008 55k on Scottish roads):
This is why I recommended Rustbuster. They clean everything down thoroughly and go back to bare metal where possible if you cough up for the full rustproofing service. They also did some welding for me too. It's very much a drop and forget kind of service which is why I travelled the distance.
I believe Ray at Daytona usually has a few S2000s with different exhausts at his garage, so might be worth getting in touch with him, and I'm pretty sure he can do the exhaust mod as well.
Thre are plenty of meets here in the UK, and nowhere is that far to drive. The nexyt Megameet is o n the Isle of Man in April, so get yourself to the ferry at Liverpool and you can hear all sorts (or book onto the whole thing).
02-22-2023, 08:57 AM
