I'm a prospective S2k owner. I've had a test drive But it was short... The problem I've got is that I've got a damaged left knee So on some days it's great and I can change gears without any problems... but on others the knee's bad and I want to change gear as little as possible. On the test drive the gear change and controls were great - but I can't tell how good the car would be to live with. Honda couldn't help with a longer test, and I haven't found anywhere that will hire a S2k. So I though I'd ask you guys - the people who live with and love their S2k's rather than the road testers who only drive an handful of miles...

Some here's a couple of questions.

What do you find your S2k like day to day when you're not on a charge, but just cruising? I have a 9 mile compute along a twisty A-road so at least I'm not in town, but sometimes I just want to cruise along.

Has anyone had any modifications to improve the torque on a UK car? The dyno sheet on the Mugen header/exhaust looks promising. I'm not interested in outright gains but chagnes to the feel of the car - the graph suggests that the VTEC switch get smoothed and an overall improvment in torque - but that's on a US car. Since the best we're getting is 97 octane fuel I'm guessing things will be a little different here...

There is a guy at work here (Na$ty) who has a S2k. I was going to chat to him more now that he's had his car a couple of months... but he's broken his arm snowboarding

I'd appreciate any thoughs you guys have.

Thanks!

-Brian.

 

The clutch is pretty light and there is a foot rest for your left foot.
The car runs fine in traffic. The first thousand miles were not that impressive - I could crawl along in my civic at about 800 revs but my 2000 wanted more revs 1500+. But now the engine has run in (4k) I find it is much more flexible so I can creep along keeping a reasonable gap in front and not having to keep dipping the clutch.

 

Thanks Paul!
With my current car it's fine creeping in traffic provied you've been driving for half an hour or so first so it's warm. So jams on the motorway aren't too bad, but in town gets very painful.

Sounds like I should think about a second hand car - so that it's already run in.

Hmmm. A quick search on Honda's web site shows a S2k 25 miles away with 7,250 on the clock...

-Brian.

 

You need to accept the fact that this is a car that demands a lot shifting, in fact it's a major part of it's make-up. If that's a problem, look elsewhere - otherwise, you'll wish you had (IMO).

 

As someone who wears a knee brace and has had two left knee surgeries; I do not have a problem with the car. It may help to hear more of what knee problems that you have. I have had my knee cap polished, and and additional LCL added. Which still did not correct the lateral movement so a fifth knee brace was needed which is what I currently wear now. The clutch is light and put the car in neutral at long lights. The first few gears are short but after that, you can use the revs to compensate.

The fuel here compared to there is the same. The US uses RON=MON/2 to determine the octane rating at the pump. You just use RON which is the higher of the two numbers. Our 93/94 is equal to you 97/98. So the dyno graphs will be very similar.

Lance

 

Thanks Guys.

I don't wear a knee brace, but I've had something like 15 or so operations. (Sad I know - I've stopped keeping count.) Mostly minor, but I've had the knee opened up 3 times. The knee cap is artifical, I've some titanium with covering on the joint surface on the bottom leg bone. Some artifical ligament on the right side. I've had a failed cartilage transplant as well. Day to day I generally run with synthetic sinovial fluid which gets flushed every month or so.

I've been driving a little over a year - generally it isn't too bad. The worst time is when having to slip the clutch in traffic - but I can generally avoid getting in that situation in the first place. Just shifting normally isn't often a problem - there are good days and bad days. I got in the habit of matching revs and shifting fast when I rode bikes - and I do that now.

Thanks for the fuel info. Looking over the board it seems there are a few things that might sweeten up low rev running. Denso plugs, exhaust/manifold or at the extreme Comptech Supercharger... but I don't think I'd want to go that far!

-Brian.

 

Brian,

A couple of quick points on how we have found the clutch on our S2K, which had 9K on the clock when we bought it:

- My wife hates heavy clutches, particularly in heavy/stop-go traffic. So far, she hasn't made any mention of finding the clutch hard work (I must admit she doesn't get to drive it that often )
- I have had problems with my left knee (skiing accident) which I got over a few years ago. However, this March I stuffed my right knee (skiing again!!) - this meant my left knee has had to do more work to compensate and started to act up a little. However, this hasn't cause me any problem when driving.

Hope this helps

 

Yes.. its true.. my elbow is fractured
Ah, I hope my elbow heels soooon so I can drive again!! Doctors think it'll be a 3/4 weeks. Next time I go snowboarding im going to wear pads

Anyway, hopefully Brian, I can take you out for a drive soon in my s2k, so you can see how easy the clutch is.

BTW, is it possible to get paddles/tiptronic shifters or hand controls for clutch and gear changes ?? You know, like the F355 F1paddles or the Alfa Romeos tiptronics?
I know its not ideal, but it could ease the pressure on the knee by moving the gear changes to a switch or lever ?

 

The F1 system is designed from the ground up to be like that. You have a computer the is controlling the clutch as well as the shifts. It's not an accessory.

Lance

 

Perhaps you want this:

Twin Mode Clutch System