9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

The Honda S2000 is one of those cars that so much is written about online - and a lot of it is rubbish. Here's a run-down of some of the finer points of S2000 ownership
9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

I loved my S2000. I’d wanted one for years and when I finally got it, it was every bit the flawed messiah I’d been hoping for. It was the car I wanted to keep and keep, but fate intervened, I lost my job, I changed career paths and it had to go to pay for something more practical. It’s a good job I’m writing this, not broadcasting it, because you can’t see the Niagara Falls thundering from my eyes to the keyboard.

But during the nine months that I had it, the S2000 presented me with a whole list of quirks that I hadn’t been expecting. From the tyres to the roof, it was a car that you didn’t just own: you lived it.

It runs better on super-unleaded

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

Most of the time, with most cars, the benefits of super-unleaded are confined to lab results, where science can tell you that yes, high-octane stuff with extra additives does help clean your engine and does burn better.

With the S2000, though, there’s a clear, noticeable difference in how it actually feels. After living on cheap fuel with the previous owner, three tanks of super progressively improved the throttle response, made that glorious VTEC step more pronounced and made it outright smoother as well. All the better to chase 9000rpm with.

It’s more comfortable than you’d think

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

I’d read plenty of “I sold my S2000 for something more comfortable” stories, so I was expecting that first motorway slog home after buying the car to be a thoroughly horrible experience. So I was pretty damn relieved to find that, actually, the high-revving Honda was totally civilised.

Sure, it was no Lexus LS, but the short-travel double-wishbone suspension is really well damped, giving a consistency and predictability to the shock absorption that’s easy to adapt to and, frankly, much easier to live with than some of the wimps on the Internet had made me expect.

The gearbox is meant to sound like that

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

The first time I lifted off and left the engine braking to do its thing, I immediately thought I had a problem. Coming from a background of testing modern cars in all their relative civility and refinement, the S2000 was so… noisy. Chief among those unexpected sounds was the gearbox whine.

Honestly, I thought it was broken. Third, in particular, sounded like it had had enough of life and was about to jettison itself out of the gearbox altogether – at least it did compared to the silence of a modern gearbox. I had it inspected and there was nothing wrong with it; it’s just meant to sound so mechanical.

The brakes are not good… at all

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

You don’t realise how strong modern brakes are until you drive an older car. Until I was fully used to it, whenever I had to stop from higher speeds it was a case of pressing the pedal gently, realising my error, pressing harder, then pressing even harder, then starting to sweat, then really pressing.

Mine also used to fade quite badly on a fast drive. Only a handful of hard stops would start to alter the pedal feel for the worse and introduce a frustrating amount of fade. Although, admittedly, that was still better than the time, a few months into ownership, that I hammered the middle pedal and a corroded brake line burst, leaving me with fluid pouring out and almost no brake pressure…

Impressive boot capacity - sort of

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

Let’s be clear: the S2000 is not what you’d call practical. The boot lid flips up to reveal a space that you ask yourself what the hell you’re supposed to do with, but actually, with soft baggage and the time-tested skills you learned from a misspent youth in the company of Tetris, you can get more than you’d think on board.

Height is the main problem. Even medium suitcases are too fat to fit. Still, don’t let that stop you: all it takes is a bit of imagination and an absolute rule that no large or hard cases are allowed. I’m sure your other half will understand…

Good tyres make it feel invincible

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

People often bang on about the early car’s lack of any safety aids whatsoever. True, mine didn’t have traction control, or stability control, or even ABS. I wanted it that way, as it happened, because I can be a bit of a masochist when it comes to choosing a car.

Instead, all I did was spec it with some brand new good tyres. They were a left-field choice, at least in mainstream thinking, but the Firestone Firehawk SZ90s that went onto it were absolutely biblical, both in grip and feedback. The S2000’s steering isn’t particularly detailed but the Firehawks gave a totally sure-footed and solid feel. They were brilliant tyres and I’d use them again in a heartbeat. A-rated for wet grip, the fresh rubber could suddenly stop the car on a penny if you hit the anchors hard, even in the rain.

Remote video URL

Mine was a great-looking thing underneath. I got under it a couple of times while it was on four-post lifts, and even the independent mechanics who looked at it said it must never have seen a winter. There was no rust other than the common surface corrosion pretty much every car has below the waistline, and the chassis and body were both rock-solid.

However. Despite that, the adjustment bolts on the front lower suspension arms, which are crucial for wheel alignment, had seized solid. It happens to any S2000 that hasn’t had them removed and cleaned regularly, and you’d be lottery-win lucky these days to find a standard-spec early car with free and easy adjusters.

The roof is a faff on early cars

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

Having a roof with a plastic window shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, because the rest of the car is so good, but I won’t beat around the bush: plastic rear windows suck. The roof on mine was an aftermarket replacement but had a zip around the clear window.

You could either unzip it and lie the plastic pane down flat before operating the roof, which was a faff, or you could retract the roof about a third of the way, get out, push the rapidly creasing window into the proper curve and then get back in to finish the roof off: also a faff. If you did neither, the plastic window creased badly – and permanently. A glass window is an advantage.

Perfect balance makes it feel smaller and lighter than it is

9 Surprising Things I Learned From Owning A Honda S2000 For 9 Months

It’s not a small car, and it does have a long bonnet, but the S2000 shrinks around you as though it’s a heat-sensitive wrap. My 1999 car was engineered with all the racecar pointiness and front end bite that the engineers intended, which, with instant throttle response helping out at the back and an even weight distribution, gives the car a precision and fine balance that rewards good driving – and punishes the bad.

Go into a corner too fast, off the throttle, and it’ll lean towards understeer, which feels especially wrong in this car. Get on the gas too hard, too soon on VTEC mid-corner when grip isn’t A1 and you risk making a detour to the fresh trouser department. The feeling of being so close to the edges of the car makes the worry even stronger. Balance the car by learning it; finding the precise mid-point between under- and oversteer and then passing 6000rpm as you begin to wind off the steering and lean more on the rear tyres. Do that and the car comes alive. It’s a difficult chicken to roast, but the taste is so damn good.

Sponsored Posts

Comments

Anonymous

Being the third plus owner of an S2000 is tough; these cars almost beg to be abused by idiots with more funds than brains. You should have looked at your brake issue closer. Go back and read magazine test results for this car. It’s the shortest stopping car I’ve ever driven. 60-0 in something like 153’. And the pedal is properly firm in the factory. Honestly, it’s one of the best braking cars, not the worst.

09/23/2017 - 22:25 |
8 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yeah, and the guy said he wanted it not to have ABS!

12/14/2020 - 14:56 |
0 | 0
Joshua Persaud (Wagon/Estate Squad) (Sleeper Squad) I need a

Honda S2000 vs NB Miata?

09/24/2017 - 00:29 |
0 | 0
Topher505

My dad got an S2000 almost a year ago. He loves it. Space isn’t the best but if you’re looking for space you’re looking at the wrong car. The seats are surprisingly comfortable and hug you quite nicely. First thing he did, though was get a new top with a glass window. You couldn’t even see out of the old one.

I haven’t experienced any real braking issues, though. I autocrossed the car for a day on stock brakes. It performed just fine. Certainly brakes better than my heavy M3. Definitely a fun car.

09/24/2017 - 04:28 |
0 | 0
Gazz

I’ve had 2 and had to sell both due to change in circumstances (1st got made redundant, the 2nd due to baby coming along). I’ll be getting another one some day, absolutely love the bloody things.

09/24/2017 - 13:33 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

This car’s so great, you’d be stupid to buy a Polo!

09/25/2017 - 03:00 |
0 | 2
Kyle

Im pretty sure you did have ABS as it was standard.

The noise on run down was most likely a mix of trans whine and clutch buzz which is common to early S2k’s. Later ones have a revision which eliminates the buzz.

09/25/2017 - 05:51 |
2 | 0
Artur 'The Haferkeks' Kempf

As for the Gearbox: the Aisin AZ6 Tansmission that was used in the S2000 and 6spd nb Miatas is known for its notchyness or rather clunkyness. At first I also thought my Gearbox is done for or the synchros are dead.

09/25/2017 - 07:23 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

and point 10:
If you’re taller than 6 foot 4, look elsewhere

09/26/2017 - 05:38 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Hi Matt, I registered just to thank you for writing this article. I feel that you accurately conveyed the emotional connection to the S2000 that some people have established. In addition, you explored the idiosyncrasies of the ownership experience, down to the limited height of the trunk area and the gearbox sound, which has drawn confused looks from passengers and bystanders alike. I was fortunate enough to obtain my S2000 at 15,800 miles, and I’ve put nearly 10,000 miles on it in the past year. Note that my brakes are very effective, so your experience must have been due to worn components.

I sincerely hope that you will find a way to own another S2000 in the near future.

02/06/2018 - 18:46 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I just checked. Not a single S2000 offered for sale in Serbia. :(

12/14/2020 - 15:00 |
0 | 0