This is not an NSX vs S2000 thread (per say)

[imranman]

I'd rather take a FD with a LSx and be done with it.

It has more leg room than the S2k from when I drove them side by side.

Something to consider.

The nose is shorter for the FD so it feels more like a NSX in dimension and driver position relative to the center of the car than the S2k.

Gosh I sure do miss my FD.

Ever try a RX8?

Cheap and I think it handles better than the S2k and FD since it has a longer wheelbase for stability.

Jeremy on Top Gear did say that the RX8 was the best handling car he test drove.

2nd place was the Zonda
3rd was the Z8

My brother in law has a twin turbo FD and its an amazing machine, but I want that Honda reliability at the end of the day. I guess I've been spoiled with my Hondas that anything less in terms of reliability would just get me irritated. With a Honda/Acura, I feel like I can have my fun and still be 'practical,' or as practical as one can be in a 2 door convertible!

On the hunt for a clean ap1!

Disclaimer: The NSX is currently in the shop, good chance that once I get it back I won't be able to go through with the switch, but I'm hoping the smart side of me wins, the S2K is as close to a win-win proposition as it gets (for my needs).

 

[FelonyRuckus]

I own both cars and I love both cars but, going from the NSX to and S2000 and hoping to get back INTO an NSX...will cost you more in the long run. With what you've said, you obviously are very much into the S2000 already. Good luck with your choice, I'm lucky to have be able to drive both.

 

[imranman]

I own both cars and I love both cars but, going from the NSX to and S2000 and hoping to get back INTO an NSX...will cost you more in the long run. With what you've said, you obviously are very much into the S2000 already. Good luck with your choice, I'm lucky to have be able to drive both.

View attachment 102683

The idea wouldn't be to get back into an NSX in the future, it would be to move on and sample other cars (e46 m3 is on the future list, as is an mkIV supra). Not saying I would never come back to an NSX, if I had to pick one dream car the NSX is it, but there's so much out there that when the time comes that I can practically afford and keep multiple cars, the NSX may or may not be the second/third car. Who knows!

 

[BATMANs]

Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait for it....





There!
Dat's the Batman I remember...:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Whew! that was painful, but I'm back. :biggrin:

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My brother in law has a twin turbo FD and its an amazing machine, but I want that Honda reliability at the end of the day. I guess I've been spoiled with my Hondas that anything less in terms of reliability would just get me irritated. With a Honda/Acura, I feel like I can have my fun and still be 'practical,' or as practical as one can be in a 2 door convertible!.....

Considering that I have more years and mileage experience of the RX-7 (FC & FD with a combined mileage of almost 400k for many years) I would say that with the FD RX7 the ONLY thing that I had to rebuild/replace (of course a few times) was the engine. But since my mechanic was doing it for $2k (parts and labor since the seals are cheap) and another $500 for R&R of the block I didn't really mind that much. My NSX and GTO (or any proper piston engine build) was well around $15k each. So think about that.

When I sold the FD, it was reliable for 2 reasons:

1. I started to use these rotary aviation grade seals that were pretty much bullet proof. I detonated a few times and no issues.
2. Proper tuning

Once those 2 were taken care of the RX7 was uber reliable.

There was nothing else about the RX7s that was any less reliable than a Honda. Each of them I upgraded the radiators and changed the clutch once for each. The rest of the car was original (ie- A/C, starter, tranny, LSD, master clutch, etc.).

When I originally mentioned that you get a FD with a LSx it would make the FD just as, if not more reliable then a NSX and S2k.

NSX has it's set of problems and (as mentioned above) so does the S2k.

I've just replaced the NSX main relay.... apparently it's a common problem with the honda/acura line up.

Never had that sorta issue with the Mazda.

BTW, my brother's RX8 has 155k miles on it's original engine.

He's never over heated it.

It's his only car that he uses for school and work.

The key to longevity is using high end stuff like Pennzoil Ultra in his engine.

He bought the RX8 used with 85k miles on it and extended warranty that goes up to 100k miles. He was hoping that the engine seals would go.

Guess not.....

 

[imranman]

Whew! that was painful, but I'm back. :biggrin:

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Considering that I have more years and mileage experience of the RX-7 (FC & FD with a combined mileage of almost 400k for many years) I would say that with the FD RX7 the ONLY thing that I had to rebuild/replace (of course a few times) was the engine. But since my mechanic was doing it for $2k (parts and labor since the seals are cheap) and another $500 for R&R of the block I didn't really mind that much. My NSX and GTO (or any proper piston engine build) was well around $15k each. So think about that.

When I sold the FD, it was reliable for 2 reasons:

1. I started to use these rotary aviation grade seals that were pretty much bullet proof. I detonated a few times and no issues.
2. Proper tuning

Once those 2 were taken care of the RX7 was uber reliable.

There was nothing else about the RX7s that was any less reliable than a Honda. Each of them I upgraded the radiators and changed the clutch once for each. The rest of the car was original (ie- A/C, starter, tranny, LSD, master clutch, etc.).

When I originally mentioned that you get a FD with a LSx it would make the FD just as, if not more reliable then a NSX and S2k.

NSX has it's set of problems and (as mentioned above) so does the S2k.

I've just replaced the NSX main relay.... apparently it's a common problem with the honda/acura line up.

Never had that sorta issue with the Mazda.

BTW, my brother's RX8 has 155k miles on it's original engine.

He's never over heated it.

It's his only car that he uses for school and work.

The key to longevity is using high end stuff like Pennzoil Ultra in his engine.

He bought the RX8 used with 85k miles on it and extended warranty that goes up to 100k miles. He was hoping that the engine seals would go.

Guess not.....

I would never have guessed. All I have heard (through a friend of a friend of a friend admittedly) is that they are extremely unreliable. I have always liked them...I'll have a look for sure, last thing I want to do is rule out a viable option without properly researching it.

 

[BATMANs]

From my experience and that of my friends, the key for reliable and long car life are:

1. Proper tuning (if you have power adders like turbos and superchargers)
2. Proper parts for the job (no short cuts like improperly matched ECU, injector size, etc. to support #1)
3. doing routine maintenance (timing belt, hoses, belts, etc.)
4. Use high quality fluids (it's like ur blood - if ur blood is polluted and has pathogens, you won't do so well now would ya?)


Same thing for the RX8. There are LSx conversions for it.

one of the things that i liked about the FD and NSX is that both are often mistaken for much more expensive and exotic cars to people that aren't that versed in cars.

The way I made my FD look I have gotten the following:

"Is that from Italy?"
"Nice Viper"
"What is that? it's really nice looking..."

For the NSX:

2 Ethiopians that just arrived to Silicon valley for vacation: "that is a really nice Ferrari. How much did it cost? $250k?"
"hey mom look at that Lamborghini"

 

[tof]

For autocross, I think an 03 S2K is about right. You get the 9K redline in a slightly more civilized package and the rear end break-away is a tiny bit more gradual. The car's handling is still extremely "lively".

But if you are looking to minimize maintenance costs and maximize autocross handling, why not a Miata? There is a reason you see so many at any auto-x event. Wouldn't be my first choice for a road car but holy crap, if you've ever tracked or autocrossed a second gen Miata, they are more fun than twins from the Swedish women's ski team.

 

[imranman]

For autocross, I think an 03 S2K is about right. You get the 9K redline in a slightly more civilized package and the rear end break-away is a tiny bit more gradual. The car's handling is still extremely "lively".

But if you are looking to minimize maintenance costs and maximize autocross handling, why not a Miata? There is a reason you see so many at any auto-x event. Wouldn't be my first choice for a road car but holy crap, if you've ever tracked or autocrossed a second gen Miata, they are more fun than twins from the Swedish women's ski team.

I see tons of them at auto-x and they're usually up there on the FTD list but the s2000 was my 'affordable dream car' in high school so I have a soft spot for it.

 

[Chu_Viet]

I too have a soft spot for the S2000.. if I didn't buy the NSX, I would own an AP1.

I see tons of them at auto-x and they're usually up there on the FTD list but the s2000 was my 'affordable dream car' in high school so I have a soft spot for it.

 

[solidol]

I had much more fun in s2000 at auto-x than I would in NSX. What I have also noticed is that I drove S2000 much more than I do NSX. But that's probably because it was my only car

I miss driving topless too

 

[nsxpilot]

ive had both at the same time....the nsx for almost 18 years now....the s2000 eventually got replaced after a few years.... loved the car tho, great fun factor, a better choice obviously for autocrossing ....one thing was always apparent though, the nsx was built to a price point of twice that of the s2000 and it is a totally different car than the s2000......I guess I would put it this way: both are great cars, the nsx is great and special

 

[Dhalsim]

...

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[sca037]

^^^ So to summarize that video, it isn't idiot-proof.

That's a feature, my friends.....it's a true driver's car!

Brian

 

[Tokyo-Joe]

I bought an s2000 and I took it around the alps for a couple of weeks, I found it fun but lacking in power, I seemed to need to change gears constantly when pressing on, I didn't like the lack of grunt and fundamentally it just didn't feel very quick. On a trip the lack of cabin storage was a real pain as well. For me the reason I sold was it just didn't feel special, sure it was a lovely little car but it really didn't set my soul on fire like the nsx does.

edit: I am a circuit fan and am touring most of the United Kingdoms racing tracks with my nsx and it has not yet felt big and clunky as some have described, it feels sharp, accurate and torquey. It's a great track car and a companion that makes fast driving easier, its just a pain running costs are so high. I would be disappointed to go back to an s2k.

 

[peiserg]

I do have fun in my S2000 but it feels so slow I'm actually almost never taking it to 9000... i mean.. what's the point? Of course, I'm jaded a little due to my choice of OTHER cars... but still...

 

[Dhalsim]

Makes me want one more............anyone want to trade for a Dinan Mini Cooper?

http://jalopnik.com/why-the-honda-s2000-is-a-future-classic-840861367

 

[BlackWindEXE]

If you're looking for autox then go for an s2k. I've always had the dream of owning both an nsx (road course) and s2k (autox) as perfect track companions. After selling my NSX I sorely miss it (many can relate) but lately I've been thinking about an s2k, mainly for autox purposes. I've only ever driven an ap1 but would like to experience an ap2.

I figure for my purposes I can even just settle for a cheap ap1 fixer-upper (ones without engine/tranny issues), even a rebuilt title. Even though I daily drove my NSX I still babied it and was too afraid to autox it.