Help... My car died so I gotta get my S2000 soon. Should I get a new 2004 or try and find a new 2003? It sounds like the pre 2004 engine with the wider powerband (higher reving) is more fun to drive then the 2004's engine. Any opinions on which one I should buy? If you guys could choose a new 2003 or 2004 which would you want?
Thanks

 

I'm in the same dilemma. Just trying to takeinto consideration the depreciation impact...

 

Ya, if I'm gonna spend 30k on a sports car then I want the one that is the funnest to drive. The 2004 17' wheels are cool but all the s2000 vets talk about is that great high reving engine. going from a 3000 rpm vtec powerband to a 2000 rpm
powerband seems like a lot to give up for no more horsepower. I'm gonna test drive them both this weekend and hopefully make up my mind. Anybody else got an opinion on this issue?

 

I was in you two's shoes last week and I decided to buy 03 new in GPW. 04 is very nice, but i just like 03 better myself. I think you should go test drive both if you can to decide. I tested both and I went with 03.

 

2004 has about 26 more whp and more torque providing for a faster car.


Facts taken from temple of vtec website testing original s2k against new 04 models.

 

You really have to decide for yourself. I got ansy in my pantsy and bought an 00.

While I have Zero regrets, and I got a pretty good price, I should have waited to buy an 02 or 03.

04s are nice, but I couldn't afford one even if I wanted to and anyways, I do like the 9K redline, that is fun as hell - plus people are more impressed by it, lol - that's just the stunna in me talking. No flames, we all have a stunna in us no matter how deep or on the surface.

 

your best bet is to test drive both and come up with your own solution.....
both cars are equally as good... good luck...

 

Plus I understand the steering is slower in the 04. Overall my impression from reading the reviews is that it's kind of "toned down" from the pre 04 model. Heck if I'm buying a sports car I want 100% performance... If can save some $ over the 04 that would be frosting on the cake.

 

It is said Honda has fixed the bumpsteer problems on the 2004 S2000.

 

Bumpsteer? what's that? I had read that the steering was 7% slower in the 04 car. I have't seen much on the net about what people think of the 04 car verses the pre 04 car. Whenever I read new car reviews and they say stuff like "its more manageble" or easier to drive or less harsh etc I can't help but think they are taking away some performance....

 

2004 all the way. [PLEASE get the oem lip]

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by joe21 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bumpsteer? what's that? </TD></TR></TABLE>

MY 00 feels like it's been snorting crack - especially since I haven't driven it for a while, it's steering - while extremely tight, is also very twichy - just like a crack addict......

The 04 have many improvements over the 00-03 - I'm sorry to say, it hasn't been watered down, it should in fact handle better then the 00-03s and in case you guys don't know, the 04 for autocrossing is now is A-STOCK , where as the 00-03s are in B-STOCK. Probably simply due to the fact that the 04 has a 2.2, but still maybe I have a shot at winning my class once in a while LOL

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by joe21 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bumpsteer? what's that? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Bumpsteer is changes in toe (front or rear of the car) during the compression or rebound stroke of the shock that leads to undesirable changes in direction of a car (e.g. spin off...in other words, not the direction you want to go).

Now from what I understand, the MY00-03 S2000's actually needed to run a good amount of rear toe-in to minmize bumpsteer (the other solution is to limit suspension travel =&gt; really, really stiff suspension settings). It is said the My00-03 S2000 toes-in during the compression stroke, but what toes-in must toe-out. Hence its twitchiness. Now the MY04 S2000 susposedly fixes the rear bumpsteer problems with a revised suspension geometry.

 

This is my first S2000 and bought the 04 so I can not compare the two. My previous car was an ITR which had a higher red line than the 04 S2k but the max. red line does not mean much when the max. HP is below 9k. The 04 has a better powerband thanks to the increase in tq. and increase in HP (Honda states the same HP figures but numerous dyno test have shown otherwise) and different gears for the increase in tq. I autocrossed my car for the first time last weekend and the car is amazing even on OEM tires. I can not wait to get some R-compounds. The low end tq. was very helpful in the "slower" portions of the course. The end of the course straightens out a bit and the first run hit the rev limiter very quickly so the rest of the runs I up shifted to 3rd to get more speed through the trap. The issue of the S2k being in AS or BS is up for debate and will take at least this year maybe the year after to determine if the 04 should be in BS or vice versa.

 

04

 

i'm currently in an '01, and yes.. running to 9k is a rush..

having said that, i'm swapping the '01 for an '04 or '05 down the road... i wasn't a big fan of the '04 style, but now it's growing on me.

either way you go, it's still a great car

 

get the 04!!!

 

really

 

good choice

 

What is everyone paying for an 04?

 

04 all they way! Love the torque

 

There's so much misinformation, egregious amount of hearsay on car boards it befuddles me.

-The '04 does in fact have a fatter powerband, but that 26hp peak gain is inconclusive as other dyno results have shown a much smaller difference.

-The '04 still is a torqueless wonder which is in itself a misnomer since the S2000 has the appropriate gearing and the sweetest shifting six-speed in the world (why people think the 2.2 suddenly makes it into a torque-machine as compared to the F20C I will never understand).

-99 percent of you guys that drive this car will never, ever experience bump steer so to steer someone away from the F20C because of this is poor advice at best (and if you are a track master, this can be fixed and guess what, people still be laying down fast lap times in a stock F20C S2000 and it enjoys much success in auto-x).

-The feel of the '04 and '03 is different. The pull in the '04 in VTEC is a bit more ferocious, but you feel shorted by that 8,200RPM fuel cutoff ... the extra 1,000RPM is a good bit of extra room to play with (9,200RPM fuel cutoff).

-I'd never get a new one unless you're the typical debt-laden American. Let someone else take the depreciation hit. 10K miles on a car is nothing.

-Like someone else said here, drive both and make a decision. Asking for opinions on a car board is just about the most wasteful thing one can do when the comparison is so damn subjective in the first place.

Good luck,

 

03

 

I'd definitely go with a 2004..

 

I don't have anything to add here other than reading magazine reviews of cars from biased reporters and taking every word for word is similar to taking the time to read the owner's manuel regarding air bag deployment while in the middle of a car accident. It's counterproductive. Excercise common sense and go out and drive the cars then let me know if you notice the slower steering response. If you want to build a dedicated track car or will regularily track the car, then bump steer may become an issue worthy of concern.

And to put it to rest, the '04 makes more power and torque than the previous models. To argue otherwise is useless. There is more involved in dyno'ing a car than just strapping it on and letting it rip.