Lately I've been thinking about the S2k alot and I was wondering what former s2k owners on the board can say about this car compared to the evo. I'm not out for total HP, but rather, a total balance car (handling, styling, hp, speed, low maintenance cost etc.) and I like the appeal of the high-rev low displacement NA motor (I drive a miata for trackdays). In my POV, the S2k is a surgical knife while the Evo is a surgical knife with a 2 foot machete on the other end. My only beef with the S2k is that it's a 2 seater but it does seem to have a more driver centric cockpit. Well anyways, just like some input on this. Biased evo newbies need not apply.

 

I've never had an s2000 but I've tried to talk myself into one many times. They're brilliant cars and fun to drive but have limited practicality. If you can get by with a two seater with a shoebox for storage go for it BTW - you can get a new '05 for 28.5k. The certified Hondas come with 100,000 miles warranty so that's a sweet option as well. Try to score one with a hardtop if you can...

 

Ibtl.

 

I love S2K's aswell, and have tried to talk myself into getting one several times. I would love to own an S2K, but the overall practicality of a tiny two seater is what has kept me in the EVO camp (not to mention I think the EVO is overall more well rounded).

If you dont need the space and just want a super peppy little car you can throw everywhere, get the S2K. I think they will be going out of production soon too.

 

No torque

 

Hated having to drive mine in traffic everyday, that being said it is a horrible commuter car. I would have loved to have kept it though as a dedicated track car or just for the occasional mountain run. I think it was definately more fun to drive than the Evo, just didn't have any nuts. It's hard to drive a 500hp+ awd car and then the Honda just felt even slower. Really fun to turn though, gotta love that snap oversteer.

 

i have two friends with the first run of s2000 (more performance friendly). if your going for more fun and price, buy the USED s2000 if you are going for performance and practicallity go for the evo. IMHO a new s2000 would be a waiste. good luck
P.S. the evo is not exactally what i would call practical. but for the balance of perforamance and practicallity its worth it.

 

They are very fun cars. I had a blast autox'ing mine. Very small, not great for a DD but you can beat the **** out of them and they just keep begging for more. Good looks, good styling, very fun, high reving, and honda reliability. Hard package to beat if you can put up w/ the lack of room.

 

i have both cars right now.

get the AP1 for the 9k redline and the more "challenging" suspension set up

it is more fun to drive than the Evo for sure. the rigidity of the body is awesome. the gearbox is the best i've ever experienced. if u like revving n/a motors high to get power, the f20c is for u. above 6000 rpm in the vtec range it just screams.

the turn-in on the s2k is amazing. on the track u can basically brake later than most other cars. 50/50 weights distribution as well as light weight is a big plus. u will have nothing but a smile on ur face driving the s2k in the twisties with the top down. nothing comes close to that experience.

for me the s2k is more graceful, whereas the Evo just accomplishes the same task at equal or better level with brute force. the s2k is very comfortable for a DD, except on the highway there will be excessive wind noise at 75mph+ due to soft top. the cockpit is driver centered and it makes u feel like u're one with the car.

keep in mind that the s2k does not respond to n/a bolt-on's. if u want more power u have to go FI. a comptech SC will run u about 5k if u do the install urself (very easy), and u will have about 340bhp with that set up. add a few bolt-on's and u will have a pretty fast roadster. the SC has been very reliable on the s2k.

are u tryin to replace ur Evo with it? or just gettin an s2k while keepin ur Evo? having both car is one of the best combo of cars out there IMO.

good luck

ps. u can pm me if u have more questions. i have a feeling this thread will be clogged up with anti-s2kers soon

 

I drive my old man's 2000 s2k every so often when he's out of town (5 months out of the year). It's a fun little car. I say little, because that's what hits me the most when I drive it, I'm 5'8", and the car feels little to me....I couldn't see myself driving this car every day because of the lack of room.

Besides the lack of size though, the car is an absolute blast to drive. It doesn't have the in-your-face power that the Evo did, but it's still a really fun car. Where the s2k really shines is going through a set of twisties. It's a very nimble car with enough RWD power to not make you feel like you're driving a 100% female car.

If you plan on tracking this car, then I'd say go for it. I know you will love revving that thing up towards 9000 (if you get one of the older models), I sure do.

 

So far I've read alot of S2k owners (and former ones) complaining about it being a DD. Is it more because of lack of torque? is the ride too harsh? harsher than an evo? I'm basically looking at, probably replacing my 03 with an S2k. My car's fully paid so I can get into another car with no or a very small payment. I have three choices, keep the 03, sell/trade-in the 03 for another evo (IX or X), sell/trade-in the 03 for another car. I'm looking at the s2k because I'll probably get a truck (for towing and race kart transport) or suv in the near future so the issue of practicallity is nullified. I'm planning on test driving one just to see what the differences are but my choices in line with option three is either the S2k or the STI.

 

I've never had a problem with mine as a DD, but I live in a relatively mild climate, rarely use the A/C, and don't have to deal with really bad traffic more than 2 or 3 times a year. I think it really comes down to your recent DD experience - my alternate car has 100 HP on a good day, so the S2000 never feels sluggish, though the motor does bog from time to time (heat soak). If you're coming from a big engine (large V6/V8) with an auto, then yes the S2000 will feel sluggish.

Personally, I would take an Evo over the S2000 if I could not have two cars. Unless you drive up and down I15 or the strip on a routine basis, I don't see you having issues with an S2000.

 

You know, Dream Car rentals has an S2000 you can rent for like $150/day. Might be worth a few hundred bucks to rent it for a few days and see if you like it as a primary vehicle.

 

Well i just recently parted with my 03 s2000 and I absolutley loved every minute of owning it, it was pretty modified with a comptech aftercooled supercharger kit, 7psi pulley (up from comptech's 6psi) act clutch, magnaflow exhaust,toda header and dyno'd 315 rwhp. that car was amazing handler even on just tein drop springs, the ap1's do have a nasty oversteer at the limit, but the ap2's feel numb and a little less responsive. but parts for this car get really expensive. and on the maintenance view of it, when i just had a cold air intake i could remove the oil filter from the engine bay. oil changes were a snap, best shifting transmission i have ever felt. but i am going to buy an evo 9, just because im a drag racing kinda guy, only because there arent any tracks around besides drag strips

 

I meant ask, afa the notorious AP1 oversteer, can it be fixed/lessened with an alignment and/or with a different shock and spring?