Poobahs New Project - VTEC Yo Content

[poobah]

In true CS style, following my "what car should I buy" thread I totally ignored all the advise given and I've bought an S2000.

In honesty I viewed and test drove 20+ cars, VX220's, Elises, M3's, an Impreza, a Clio V6. To be honest though the only two out of the bunch that hit the spot in terms of build, reliability, performance and interest value were the S2000 and the M3. As much as I wantd a weekend toy, it also had to be reliable, start on the button after extended periods left in the garage and also have some ability to do long trips on weekends with the other half.

If I'm being brutally honest, between the M3 and the S2000, it really came down to which one I found a decent example of first. Sadly (and maybe I was being too picky) I just couldn't find the right M3 for me with the correct mix of history, mileage, spec and preventative maintenance carried out; certainly not in my budget anyway!

Then this little beauty turned up. Full Honda history, one owner, registered a month on the right side of the tax bracket change, low miles and as mint as they come. OEM hardtop, black and red leather and Moonrock Grey, RE050's all round.

Picked it up yesterday and it's a massively amusing car to drive. The engine really is just bonkers. The pull and noise between 7.5k and 9k rpm is just something else and it certainly feels swift when up above 6k rpm even in comparison to my R26. Chassis wise it's fantastic; I drove a few pre-facelift version before which were a bit nervous and didn't give you confidence to push on but this facelift model really feels planted and precise.

Chuffed.

IMG_20130124_140041 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20130124_140050 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20130124_140154 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20130124_140133 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

IMG_20130124_140220 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

 

[Philip.]

VERY nice mate. Just a bit jealous!

Plans?

 

[Starlet_gt]

I love that, so jealous!

 

[Sir_Dave]

Lovely, perfect spec in fact!! Well maybe not the red leather

Will be following this with great interest ...

 

[Gaz85]

Looks great, I would love to have a drive in one never experienced them.

 

[JD]

The exact spec and colour I want, both interior and exterior. Once the house move/mortgage ladder has started first of next month, the savings will be going towards looking for one. Might have to PM you a few things lad

One thing, your old R26 is kicking out the same horsies as mine (granted mine is a ton heavier ) - how does the power feel? And delivery from forced to NA?

 

[poobah]

VERY nice mate. Just a bit jealous!

Plans?

Plans are to tidy up a few litte bits like calipers and engine bay fittings then see where we go. I always say i'm not going to modify every car I buy so this time I'm not promisng a thing!

 

[poobah]

Lovely, perfect spec in fact!! Well maybe not the red leather

Will be following this with great interest ...

Red leather isn;t as bad as it sounds. Honda do some horrific interiors in these including the full red dashboard but I just wanted enough for it to be interesting. The plain black interiors on these are massively dull so I reckon it needs some colour somewhere.

IMG_20130124_142615 by PoobahUK, on Flickr

 

[poobah]

The exact spec and colour I want, both interior and exterior. Once the house move/mortgage ladder has started first of next month, the savings will be going towards looking for one. Might have to PM you a few things lad

One thing, your old R26 is kicking out the same horsies as mine (granted mine is a ton heavier ) - how does the power feel? And delivery from forced to NA?

Clearly the delivery is completely different. It's all over in the R26 by 5.5k but in this it's only just pulling its socks up at 6k and goes all the way round to 9k. I reckon there's not much in it though in terms of overall straight line performance despite the way they go about it being completely different. The torque in the R26 always made it 'feel' faster than it actually was imo.

 

[JD]

And how about coming out of corners? I know these can be slightly more tail happy than a FWD Meg (did you have an LSD?)...

 

[poobah]

And how about coming out of corners? I know these can be slightly more tail happy than a FWD Meg (did you have an LSD?)...

Well yeah it's a RWD car so it's ability to oversteer is much greater. That's just a given with RWD really. R26 had an LSD, as does this.

The early S2000's (certainly the ones I test drove) fealt very nervous and not particularly planted but the facelift versions are 100% better imo.

 

[Riad]

Very nice mate!

 

[Philip.]

I nearly had an s2k in a field on a test drive!

Plans sound good for now, the modding bug will come though, it always does.

 

[JD]

Cheers buddy. Sure I'll have more questions nearer the time and there will be updates in this thread

 

[Rob]

Bloody love that, from what I remember these are quite pricey though?

Interior is... bold? I actually quite like it though!

 

[JoedotwasT5phy]

That is SOSOOOSOSOOSOO sexy. WelJel

 

[Gray]

That looks properly nice, Chris!

Oh and the not modding comment.... yeah right I'll give it 4 weeks until your tinkering!

 

[Hixle]

Very, very jealous. That looks fantastic mate.

 

[poobah]

Cheers gents. As ever, the red interior looks brighter in the pics than it really is. I'm a fan, obviously!

Gray - 4 weeks? that long!?

 

[philmots]

Love it.. Facelift cars are such an improvement. One of the best colours, the other being black imo. Love the interior. I'd have one as a second car, sadly they're not practical enough.

 

[Russ_16v]

Looks lovely mate!

Power delivery is addictive isn't it

I find power below Vtec is plenty for normal driving too.

Has yours had it's geo done? The wishbone bolts can sieze in (not greased from the factory) meaning new wishbones so check this on yours - if you can take the bolts out, get them greased and have the geo re-done - it will save a possible 4 figure sum in the future.

On that note, the later ones are a bit more friendly handling wise, mine is an 03 so is in the middle, though geo makes a massive difference on these, so you can make them handle pretty much how you wish.

I really want your wheels, the 16's on mine look tiny plus they handle better on 17's

 

[poobah]

Yeah it was a condition of sale that they checked the bolts, greased them and did the geo. Fingers crossed that I've avoided that particular pitfall.

Power delivery is epic to say the least. The gearbox is also lovely.

 

[Russ_16v]

A weighted gearknob improves it even more! I'm selling my weighted Ricks knob and getting a Scunk2 one - prefere the looks.

Any plans for it mate? Airbox lid off for great noise and a few bhp loss

 

[Toby]

I need a moment.

 

[poobah]

A weighted gearknob improves it even more! I'm selling my weighted Ricks knob and getting a Scunk2 one - prefere the looks.

Any plans for it mate? Airbox lid off for great noise and a few bhp loss

That's the only thing that lets the car down as the previous owner obviously wore a ring and the top of the gear knob is a bit tarnished. It'll be getting a fresh one but open to options of something that looks vaguely OEM.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Definatley s2000 weather!

 

[JackD]

I can't help but look at these on autotrader/ph every other week! Look so much nicer with the hardtop IMO.

Does anyone know how much these are to ITB? 9k limit, rwd and ITB's.....what more could you ask for!

 

[poobah]

I can't help but look at these on autotrader/ph every other week! Look so much nicer with the hardtop IMO.

Does anyone know how much these are to ITB? 9k limit, rwd and ITB's.....what more could you ask for!

About £3k. £4k will get you a supercharger or turbo kit to 400bhp................ALERT!

 

[JackD]

Tempting. Oh so tempting. Your car looks amazing btw, literally can't fault it! think I'm going to test drive one and see how we get on! Looking forward to see how ownership of these can turn out.

 

[poobah]

Tempting. Oh so tempting. Your car looks amazing btw, literally can't fault it! think I'm going to test drive one and see how we get on! Looking forward to see how ownership of these can turn out.

Better getting yourself on S2Ki and getting a passenger ride with a forum owner i your area. The only problem with test drives is you might not get chance to fully experience that engine properly wrung out.

 

[not normal dan]

Lovely car mate, I love s2000's! A good friend of mine had a slightly modified pre facelift an what an awesome car! It sounded great on vtec, really screamed an with the exhaust on it it sounded more like a japanese bike!

Heres a quick pic of me mates old 1

 

[hilldawg172]

Good call on the ap2 mate the ap1s are flat as a fart off vtec I swear its like been in a 1 litre plus 9k rpm is pointless you find yourself off the tec to often coming out of bends/roundabouts unless you are forever dropping a cog which can get very old when you just wanna get home after work/long drive etc.

Ap2 ftw. The 2.2 and 8k limit transform the car.

Anyone told you about the secret compartment yet?

 

[dmallett]

I love these! and yours looks very smart, i wish when i got my 350z i had of test drove one of these.

 

[Heez]

Love this, perfect spec even with the red interior. Looking forward to see what you do....









Turbo.

 

[Daz.]

A chap I know had his supercharged. Not spoke to him recently but I was told it's rather rapid!

Yours looks properly immaculate!

 

[poobah]

Good call on the ap2 mate the ap1s are flat as a fart off vtec I swear its like been in a 1 litre plus 9k rpm is pointless you find yourself off the tec to often coming out of bends/roundabouts unless you are forever dropping a cog which can get very old when you just wanna get home after work/long drive etc.

Ap2 ftw. The 2.2 and 8k limit transform the car.

Anyone told you about the secret compartment yet?

All the UK cars are AP1s dude.

The confusion of AP2s seems to anger a lot of people on S2Ki!

We just have pre and post facelift with relative chassis and visual tweaks that brings.

AP2 2.2 was only for North America. Mines all 9000rpm worth of goodness.

Secret compartment? Do tell.....

 

[jongsr4]

Fantastic cars - really enjoyed mine

AP2 was indeed North America only, All of the UK models were 2.0 right throughout its life

the secret compartment is nothing to get excited about by the way lol

I really enjoyed mine, the way the engine really kicked in after 6k was just amazing and very addictive

Watch out for the famous S2000 "Clutch Buzz" too, mine had this (although I think was fixed by the time yours was made) Its a very annoying and very loud rattle that appears if you are going down the gears and letting the car slow down naturally

 

[Whirly172]

Very nice looking s2k there mate love the colour and interior

 

[hilldawg172]

All the UK cars are AP1s dude.

The confusion of AP2s seems to anger a lot of people on S2Ki!

We just have pre and post facelift with relative chassis and visual tweaks that brings.

AP2 2.2 was only for North America. Mines all 9000rpm worth of goodness.

Secret compartment? Do tell.....

Ha fair enough man I thought you could get the 2.2 in UK, my bad lol. I did enjoy the times I borrowed my mates on and off for 6 months while he was abroad but I owned a pulsar at the time so the bottom end just felt incredibly flat compared to boost lol.

as for the secret compartment you may or may not if found it, my mate had his for over a year before he found it lmao. If you open the pathetic little centre console bit(with the lock) and reach under the top for the release lever thing the whole compartment lifts up giving you about 10 times more space to store things.

 

[Lawro]

That's lovely, the interior is beautiful too!