The Honda S2000 Does Not Get Enough Love And Respect

The Honda S2000 is the proverbial middle step-child. It simply doesn't get much love or attention. Though many consider the Honda S2000 as one of the greatest roadsters of all-time, it seems to fly under the radar when lists are made of the best sports car or even JDM cars of all-time. People instantly think of the Supra, RX-7, Skyline GTR, and even the Accord or MR-2 but the Honda S2000 simply doesn't make most top 5 or even top 10 lists. I was making my morning commute in my S2k which got me pondering why this might be the case. The Honda S2000 is an agile and nimble car with a solid to great (depending on who you ask) 6 speed manual and of course the legendary VTEC engine which begs to be rung out. But there are certainly downsides and drawbacks to this legendary roader which could explain the lack of love and respect that the car gets from many enthusiasts.

[mickeyhartsell]

The Honda S2000 ROCKS. I have 4 carrs and the S2K is my favorite, my 94 RX7 is always needing maintenance.

[MrPPtruth]

The biggest thing I love about the car is power to weight ratio. Perfect amount of power to have a whole lot of fun on public roads. 😊

[FourTheWheels]

The simple DIY shifter rebuild with new Honda Urea grease will make the shifter feel brand new. Shifter is notchy by design and performs best after 10-15 min of driving after all warmed up (with Honda MTF in my case).

[seanhumphreys]

You have a very interesting perspective. I think your shifter is broken, it’s very sensitive to fluids. Also, I don’t feel like the S2000 is underrated at all. It gets a lot of love, more and more lately. I also feel like the high revving VTEC engine has become one of its biggest charms in a world that’s now going to high torque turbo engines that don’t ring out. Now, it was not an expensive car and you definitely got a lot for your money, but if you start comparing it to a bunch of high dollar high powered cars, it might may fall short. I’m wondering if maybe you are dealing with people who have access to some very high end cars. Because I believe that it’s a car a lot of people dream of attaining someday. I’m glad we’re all different and have our own unique opinions though, yours is definitely surprising yo me. Cheers.

[marloon]

Your best two cars are the s2000 and the nsx!

[bige]

I honestly think the S2000 is the best jdm sports car of all time, it’s literally PERFECT, 50/50 weight ratio, 9, 000 rpm redline, long nose short tail makes it look faster then it is but that’s just me im an AP1 owner so maybe im biased 🤷‍♂️

[marloon]

Try changing out the transmission fluid to amsoil. Once warmed up, see how you feel about the shift experience again. 😊

[aylahughes]

couple thoughts on this off rip- they get a ton of love. there were a ton of them. they were cheap for what they were at the time. they are also very small. a bigger then 6'2 dude has a hard time with them. that being said- good ones are selling for half or more of ORIGIONAL mspr, even with a huge supply on the market side. They dont get respect because a 98 t5 volvo will gap a stock ap1 or ap2 s2000 on any roll, any speed in any condition. they also dont get respect because most people have never been around well set up one cornering like a champ. that brings me to my final thought- some cars have very normal depreciated value curves. goes down and down and down and then eventually, goes up. some cars are not like that.... a good example is the b5 audi platform. those cars have gone down under 10k, back over 15k, down under 7500, then back to 15k, and now down under 10k again. i believe this is because they are expensive to work on, and the platform is more abundant then owners would like to admit-- this means that whenever there is a good one brought back from the dead there are inevitably 3 other bad ones rotting that can be had for cheap which keeps the price down. i know of at least one broke down parked s2000 in my city with more then 10k in mods. probably even rare parts. these cars that im thinking of will most likely never run again, and certainly wont be by their current owners. that is because they were purchased before covid in an economy that no longer exists. that being said, it wont get worse forever. as more of these cars rot, the actual rarity of these cool birds will become a major factor, and all that love and respect will be obvious as a guy will have to pay 30k(or equivalent value) for even a high mileage example. 1st gen mr2s did this also. they are getting very very expensive, and there are no longer any bad ones. and even the bad ones are getting valuable because the are rare. back in 2013 there would be several aw11 mr2s at the local u pull and pay. i haven't seen one since 2018 for sure. its over. the good ones still run, the bad ones are being hoarded for restoration, and there are no others. once that same thing happens to the s2000 the real value bubble starts.

[BicboiL]

If you don’t like the OEM shifter, try out the renegade short shifter with the countersunk knob. Completely changes the experience in a good way. Much more mechanical feeling

[mikeyerke]

I always want to drive mine more than I do!

[BicboiL]

All you have to do is get Hondata and you can lower vtec engagement to 4000 rpm. Gets rid of the vtec change over since you’re in power. Add a header too if you want better torque and get it professionally tuned.

[SHOUTband]

what do you do for living to be afford to own all these cool cars?

[wonbongcho]

i say the same thing, I feel like it's because it's a roadster that is why when we think about the other jdm "legends" they are not roadsters or convertibles something about convertibles that make people not want a great car, I have a VGS model I really love love mine, another thing is because it is not a drift car BROooo s2000 cant drift = not cool man.