Thread: Calling AP1 S2000 owners

Hi,

If there are any AP1 S2k owners out there, could you share your experience with the maintenance of your S2k?

What are costs like?
Service intervals?
Replacement parts?
How quickly do they age? Are higher km's an issue?
Any particular issues to look out for?
Who is recommended for a pre-purchase inspection?

Cheers in advance.

yeah id be interested to see how many S2000 owners there are on here

Maintenance wise, i think the S2000 is a bit more expensive than a civic/integra due to parts costing more. but then how much to maintain a a civic/integra? not that much. so its ok.

service intervals are the same as any other honda.

replacement parts often cost more than the civic/integra,
the more expensive the car was when new, usually means more expensive parts.
things like sparkplugs, airfilters, oils, brake pads will be similar price to civic/integra.
other things like brake rotors, clutch etc are a fair bit more expensive. (like $200 vs $300)

at the end of the day, its just a honda. it will age the same as any other honda.
i dont think kms are an issue, as long as it has been maintained.
a few things to look out for are soft top rips, plastic rear window creasing and discoloring, gearbox problems like hard to engage and grinding 2nd, 3rd, 5th, reverse, poping out of gear, noisey gearbox. vibrations from rear diff, noisey soft top at speed, the correct wheel stagger and tyre sizes.

and like phil said, if you buy one. be careful when you drive it cos it is not very forgivable if you drive it carelessly.
i would say practice and learn how it handles in a safe enviroment like a private trackday
because the rear can step out when you least expect it.

Agreeing with what all the others have said if you unluckly crash the car or have issues with engine/tranny it will cost you alot more then a civic or a integra to get it fixed good idea mechanically is to buy a good condition car with fairly med to low km and get mechanical insurance even with high excess it seems like a safer/economical option if something goes bad
but then again this is for any car! which you wish to keep

just to add i think parts for for the s2k is still expensive an engine mount for example $150 integra $350 s2k
genuine honda clutch kit
b18c-less then $700? from memory
F-20c-$1300
so its not cheap to fix it u see
but if your willing to pay then im sure your s2k will appreciate you

i was wondering too how many s2k owners are on nzhondas...should meet up and have a chat! or even good to make our little group thing going on lol

yeah a S2000 meet would be awesome, its not everyday you chat with a fellow s2k owner face to face

FLYRYD: Yeah we should keep this thread going to see any others are keen too then organise one i know like 3?owners except u and hare atm

Sol: what you need? i have a friend who is selling his s2k (crashed) to strong on thursday let me know might be able to help out!

yeah frontal... the car is on car for sale section here i think

i was trying to get a few s2000's to come and meet at the Jtune trackday in taupo.
(Saturday 15th august)

that way we can talk crap about our cars, practice and learn to drive our cars at the same time. also take some pics in a cool environment.
I've PMed some of the NZ guys from s2ki.com about it too.

i'll ask Alfred(hare) to take his S2k instead of this vitz


is there any aftermarket parts on that red s2k? strongs probably buying it really cheap right? damn

cool yeah im 99% sure that im going as long as nothing happens this weekend at taupo playday hope to see u at jtune soon kk
the car had f/r j's racing strut braces but i believe both are bent will need to bend it back into fitting shape...(already try test fitted)
the owner has both braces for sale i think will ask if your keen on them send me a pm with ur contact and ill send you a txt

Allan:thanks for invite!!!!!but I really really want to drive the little car this time,suppose to drive last time but the sensor problem...sigh...I go way quicker on that thing,trust me.hehe

how about a meeting in auckland?I know few S2K owner,some customer as well,the problem is if the meeting in taupo not much ppl want to drive that far,how about one in puke???on the next Henry trackday???we can have a meeting there and take photo after the track finish???

Originally Posted by FLYRYD

i was trying to get a few s2000's to come and meet at the Jtune trackday in taupo.
(Saturday 15th august)

that way we can talk crap about our cars, practice and learn to drive our cars at the same time. also take some pics in a cool environment.
I've PMed some of the NZ guys from s2ki.com about it too.

i'll ask Alfred(hare) to take his S2k instead of this vitz


is there any aftermarket parts on that red s2k? strongs probably buying it really cheap right? damn

magazine feature lol

better wait for that "SPECIAL" one be done then.hehehe

Originally Posted by Genkei

magazine feature lol

could be keen for an s2k owners meet

Originally Posted by AL-

could be keen for an s2k owners meet

yeah, i still havent seen your one yet!!!

Are there any drivetrain issues to look out for? Any perculiar to AP1s?

Also, I can't seem to find much information on hardtops? I'm guessing they're rarer than rare :/

Originally Posted by Tec' Wingz

The rear diff is known to be the weak point of the AP1.

Is it just the differential? Or is the gearbox prone to failure as well?

Just asking this because alot of the 6 speeds you see nowadays are pretty weak (S15 Etc..)

Good to see that there is a growing S2000 community within NZ.

Hardtop is in my list for next shipment,just sorting out all the fiting hardware at this stage.beside M style,SP style two piece hard top is also available,speedfactory carbon fibre product no worrys at all!!Will update with photo once it arrived.

Originally Posted by Tec' Wingz

The rear diff is known to be the weak point of the AP1. But as long as the car has been regularly serviced and the previous owners haven't had 9000 rpm clutch drop launches at every set of lights then there shouldn't be too many problems. And as flyryd mentioned somewhere above, there tends to be a little problem with the earlier generation gearboxes i.e. crunching and noise.

But with that said, I don't think it's any worse than any other 10 year+ sports car. Care for it properly and it can take a fair amount of punishment.

Hardtops are quite rare simply because they are VERY EXPENSIVE. Honda NZ quoted me around $NZ6k and a 6-9 months wait time for an OEM hardtop. And this was when the NZ $ was strong! I shudder to think the cost of one now. And then you would also be required to change the strikers to hardtop strikers and rear window defroster controls etc which I would guess would cost a couple of hundred on top. Last I heard, Hare was considering bringing in some cf aftermarket hardtops but again they're not cheap as you would imagine.

If you find one for sale with a hardtop included then that's definitely a plus for the car.

its just mainly the rear diff that is weak, its just not a very beefy diff and with abuse like dropping the clutch at high rpm (with wide 245/255 tyres), it is likely to break before anything else in the drivetrain.

the gearbox is pretty strong, the only thing is with the early ones. some are very hard to get into gear, grinds when going to gear, popping out of gear...etc
the reason is not wear and tear either. there are technical updates to fix it. usually you must replace the gear set or counter shaft, stuff like that. it does get expensive.

Ive met a person with a very low km, early s2000. he must have only had 15,000km on it. the gearbox grinded like mad in 2nd and 3rd. his attitude was "its just wearing in, it'll get smoother with age".... sorta implies that its always been like that from the start.

normally with the grinding gearboxes, its very bad when cold. but when the trans warms up, there is less or no grind.

last time i priced up a OEM complete hard top kit (hardtop painted to color and everything needed to fit it to the car) was $12,000 retail. and was discontinued. the strikers, side catchers, latches etc cost a lot more than a couple of hundred

mind sharing all your s2k pics?? hehheheeee

yeah the gearbox is alittle clunky? i found that there is like a sweet rpm that allows the shifts to be nice something like 3200~3600rpm for my car or i just use the old single/double clutching going up in order for it to go in nicely when it feels "clunkY" or cold operating temps rather then ramming it in there

hard tops sound nice....! but expensive~
pics sound nice~!
here is mine