the s2k blog

When I moved out to Dallas from Los Angeles a few months ago, one of the first things I did was get my insurance in order for my vehicles. I had been with Farmer’s ever since I turned 16, but figured with a new start in a new place, I might as well shop around for insurance as well. Finding the best rates on car insurance can be easy at carinsurancelist.com. I saved hundreds of dollars by switching to another insurance company with better coverage than I had before.

The weather is pretty different and can be a lot more extreme here in North Dallas, than anything I ever experienced in Los Angeles. Strong winds, tornadoes, and more commonly hail can do a lot of damage to a vehicle. It’s also getting pretty cold here and snowed for the first time this year. I’m not really sure what kind of damage hail does to a convertible top, but with as long as the hood is on the s2000, there’s plenty of surface area to do lots of damage. Dallas doesn’t get much snow that sticks, but when the temps are low enough, ice can make for some hazardous driving. I keep the s2000 garaged and have been taking the civic to work when the weather is bad, but it’s nice knowing that it’s insured in the event I ever get caught out in it.

I’ve got a few mods planned for the Spring, including a new top (maybe a hardtop?) and some new suspension. I figure I’ll wait until after my first Winter here to see how bad the weather gets and what, if any damage it does to the car.

I was putzing around on ebay and came across a good deal on this neuspeed strut bar so i picked it up. Just got it put on and posting up a pic. The frame of the s2000 is so rigid that i doubt it’ll make much difference, but it looks cool and was easy to install.

Installing is just a matter of removing the 14mm nuts that hold the top of the shock on, putting on the bar, and re-torquing the nuts to 22ft lbs.

Ok, I haven’t updated this site in a LONG time. I got relocated from sunny Southern California to VERY sunny Dallas Texas. There’s obviously a lot of differences between here and Los Angeles, Ca., but one of the biggest driving differences is cops and their radar guns. In my last post, from months ago, I installed a cheapo radar detector that I had lying around, and per the comment it was located in a rather poor place.

There’s actually a lot to radar placement, and the comment that it was too low to be effective was only partially right. For lidar detection, you want the detector to be placed as low as possible, and for radar as high as possible. Since lidar is rarely picked up in time in either case, placing it higher for regular radar (which at least here in North Texas seems to be what the cops are using) is the way to go.

I know the Valentine V1 has long been revered as the best radar detector, but at pricey $500, the second highest rated Escort 8500 x50 was the route I took. I got a good deal on an open box one at Best Buy, without the power cord or suction cup (which i wouldn’t have used anyway) for about $160. The s2000 has a very small window, so I didn’t want to place it under the rear view mirror. instead, I ordered the visor mount and hard wire kit from Escort (available on Amazon for about $15 for the pair), and the install is clean and so far the detection seems very effective.

Unlike Los Angeles where most of the times the cops get you from pacing your speed. Out here cops stand out with their radar gun, ready to chase you down. Since there are so few hills or curves or anything out here to obstruct line of site for the detector, i’ve noticed quite a few seconds, and as much as 20 or 30 seconds or so of heads up before a trap.

I had this in my Acura a few years ago and figured I might as well install it in the S since it was just laying around. I’d like to think in all the years I had it in my Integra that it saved me at least a couple of times. Most of the time it’s only good for finding the entrance to the supermarket, but every now and then, particularly on the highway, it’ll warn me of an upcoming trap.

On the left side of the dash, it doesn’t interfere with anything and is within reach to adjust the audio or turn it off altogether if I want to. I removed the plastic housing on the A-pillar so that I could route the wires down under the dash and connect it to the ignition, so it automatically turns on when I start the car. I also used some braided wire housing to give it a clean look.

My wife and I are expecting our first child at the end of May. While we expect most of what we need will get picked up by our registry, I just couldn’t resist buying this:

Of course it’s not really going to be used in the s2000, I just put it in there for a couple of quick photos. Aside from it being dangerous to have any child seat in the front of the car, pre-2006 Honda s2000’s didn’t have a switch to turn off the airbag when a lightweight person is in the front, so it’s both dangerous and illegal to have a child seat (with a child under 20lbs) in the front of the car.

The seat looks and feels fantastic though. It’s going to be used in a Toyota Highlander and an Accord, and of course there won’t be any spirited driving with the little one on board, but at least she can look fast going slow.

I finally got new rear tires for my S. I had been running the RE-050’s at the warning marker for a while and while it was definitely fun to drive them with that little tread, I figured the danger outweighed the excitement so I replaced them. After browsing different forums and talking to other s2000 enthusiasts, I went with the Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 tires in 245/17/45 for the rear. The front tires still had plenty of tread on them so I only swapped the backs. I guess it depends on your driving style, but it seems I can get at least two rear tire swaps for every one set of front tires.

The RS-2’s have a pretty funky tread pattern, but I really like their profile view on the S. Tire’s have a break-in period of a couple hundred miles, so I haven’t pushed them yet, but they don’t slide around like my bald RE-050’s used to. It would make sense that a more bald tire would be closer to a racing slick since there is increased contact patch, but on regular street tires, different layers of rubber have different densities, and the layer I was on was really hard, so while I had a great contact patch, it didn’t have any of the “stickiness” that a new tire has, so particularly when they were cold, they’d slip through almost any turn. Since the tread was so slow, they were also very responsive… but yeh, for safety’s sake, I had to change ‘em.

After only about 50 miles or so, I’m liking the RS-2’s, like I mentioned, I like the aggressive profile of the tire, and the ride isn’t any harsher or noisier. The tires were also markedly less expensive than the RE-050’s. Both rear tires installed came out to a little under $300. I’ll do a full writeup after I break in the tires and get a few more miles on them.

To mark the end of an almost 10 year run of the legendary roadster, Honda has announced the s2000 Ultimate Edition which is set to be released in March of this year in Europe, ahead of the scheduled June 2009 production end of the car.

The Ultimate Edition will have the same drive train as the current ‘09 s2000, and will be available in Gran Prix White with graphite colored wheels. A red leather interior will contrast the body color and will also have numbered placards on the kick panels to designate the number in the series.

Since it’s introduction in 1999, the Honda s2000 has sold 110,673 units worldwide. The s2000 Ultimate Edition will first be displayed at the Geneva International Motorshow, starting March 3rd. No word yet on whether the Ultimate Edition will be exported to the United States, or if we might get our own special “send-off” version of the car.

Well it’s official. It had been rumored and expected for a while, but today Honda announced that 2009 would be the last production year for the beloved s2000. The s2000 wasn’t really expected to be the hit that it turned out to be. Designed as a commemorative car for Honda’s 50th anniversary and first released in 1999 it became a hit among enthusiasts.

While sales in 2001 and 2002 churned out almost 19,400 cars in the US, Honda only sold about 7,000 units in 2007 and 2008 combined. A slowing economy and Honda restructuring spelled doom for the roadster. Hopefully once the economy swings back the other way, we’ll see another s2000 or similar car from Honda to fill the gap. Now that the NSX and s2000 are out, Honda really needs something sporty to stay true to their racing heritage.

The run was a lot longer than anyone expected. 10 years is a long time to keep a car pretty much the same. I also like the thought that my AP2 s2k is going to become a little more special now that no more are going to be made.

Rumors abounded that for the 10th model year and as a celebration of the company’s 60th anniversary, Honda would re-conceptualize its two-speed convertible, the S2000. Concept drawings appeared on the Internet and hopes ran high, but alas, Edmunds confirms the truth. “There are no significant changes to the 2009 Honda S2000.” But is that necessarily a reason to dismiss an affordable sports car that knocks off zero to sixty in under six seconds?

Look at the sleek aerodynamics of the 2009. Take in the chiseled nose and the high x-bone monocoque frame. Are they dated or pleasingly familiar? The individual consumer will have to decide, but everything that has ever communicated speed and power in the S2000 is still there. Under the hood there’s the usual 2.2 liter, 16-valve VTEC engine and it still producing a more than pleasing 237 hp in a RWD vehicle that starts at a base price of roughly $34,300 (six-speed manual transmission.) Step up one trim level to the CR and pay $36,300; add AC and Audio and the sticker reads $37,300. Those numbers alone are more than enough to make a would-be sports car owner think twice about the S2000.

The CR or “club racer” trim features a removable hard top, track-ready sport suspension, and additional body cladding. Safety features available include an anti-skid system, traction control, and ABC. In safety crash tests the S2000 earned perfect five-star scores for side-impact and rollover crashes. (For front impact crashes, testers awarded four stars.) However, don’t expect these results to help any when looking for the cheapest car policies. Consumer Guide does point out a lack of over-the-shoulder visibility with the top up and there is no switch to turn off the passenger side front airbag, making the car potentially unsafe for children. But this is still a sports car that can do commuter duty Monday through Friday and live the high life on the weekend. Expect fuel economy of approximately 18 city, 25 highway. (Estimates vary.)

First introduced in 1999 for the 2000 model year, the S2000 has consistently won accolades from reviewers for excellence of handling, weight balance, and impressive performance under the hood. Forbes described the 2008 Honda S2000 as “an exhilarating concoction of race-bred technology and sleek styling.” AutoWeek said, “This S2000 need not worry about its soul getting exorcised. Indeed, there is much left as it heads into its ninth model year, and it is unlocked in the new CR (Club Racer) edition.” Is it disappointing that the company didn’t offer anything new for the S2000’s decade year? Absolutely. Does that mean the S2000 itself is disappointing? Absolutely not.

In the last few days, the weather here in Southern California has been beautiful, low to mid 80’s, with the Winter sun that hangs low and as long as its not directly invfront of you makes for great top-down driving. Just a few weeks ago we were having all kinds of inclimate weather here, and I hadn’t washed the S for almost a month since it seemed almost pointless. This last Sunday though, my s2k buddy Eric and I spend half the day washing and detailing our cars and it’s been great zipping around like this in the middle of Winter. I can’t imagine ever living anywhere other than SoCal.

I do have a couple of projects in store though. My seat belt on the driver’s side isn’t retracting very well and I need to fix or replace that and I’m also thinking about changing the suspension so I’ll be sure to take lots of pics and do a writeup on both of those when I get around to it.