I am a truly diseased individual. I had my 2023 Subaru BRZ project car that I documented all of last year. It was beautiful, and perfectly modified with my Recaro Pole Position seat, Nitron three-way motorsport dampers, Brembo Pista big brakes, and a whole lot of time spent in fine-tuning.
The BRZ was, functionally, the perfect track and street car for me. I bought it brand new and put just 22,000 miles on the odometer. I had just barely started my journey with it. So I sold it and bought a rattly old Honda instead.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Meet my 2002 Honda S2000, draped in my favorite shade of Spa Yellow Pearl. My friend (who I purchased it from) built it up over several years of owning it, and the opportunity came up to buy it. I couldn’t keep the BRZ while owning the S2000, so I had to clear the space. But it was an opportunity I had waited a long time for.
The S2000 has been on my hit list since… forever. It’s one of my earliest “dream” cars, since I was 10 years old. Because my parents really had no clue what to do with my car obsession, they took me to dealerships as fun weekend trips. I’d run around, open the cars, and climb around. If I ever found a manual, I’d spend my entire time there fake shifting.
One day, my mom took me to a Honda dealership, and in the showroom was a yellow S2000, and as they say, the rest is history
Now, there’s a yellow S2000 in my driveway. And in customary fashion, I bought it and intend to immediately track it at Buttonwillow raceway for my birthday. It comes with all of the goodies that my BRZ had, but in a slightly different font.
Instead of Nitron R3s, it has JRZ RS Pro suspension. Instead of Recaro Pole Positions, it has Recaro RS-Gs. And instead of Brembo big brakes, it has AP Racing Pro 5000 brakes. It even has some lovely bonuses like an AP2 (2004-2009 S2000) gearbox with a slightly shorter overall gear ratio, an OS Giken limited-slip differential, and NASCAR-style Karcepts sway bars. The car is beautifully built, so there isn’t much to do.
Of course, I chose an AP1 because of the 9,000 rpm redline—and because I believe it to be the most sincere expression of the S2000. It’s what chief engineer Shigeru Uehara would have wanted.
That said, there are some infamous issues with the car, particularly the AP1s. The valvetrain is known to be weak, as are the timing chain tensioners. My car was already reinforced against this with AP2 valve retainers and a Billman chain tensioner.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
But there’s also the AP1’s handling characteristics. If you’ve been on YouTube long enough, you’ve probably seen videos of people inexplicably crashing S2000s. That’s because of the S2000’s suspension geometry. There’s some secret sauce in there that makes the S2000 rotate at all costs, at any time. My car has some AP2 geometry correction as well, and bump-steer adjustable rear toe arms. That will become important later.
I always like to do a baseline of any car I buy, so the S2000 received a fresh set of Bridgestone RE-71RS tires and Counterspace Garage CP brake pads, along with an oil change and general checkup. I found some loose stuff and tightened it up, and replaced a set of J’s Racing front lower ball joints. Then I could finally take it for its maiden voyage at Buttonwillow.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Figuring it was a Honda, I street drove it the 100 or so miles to Buttonwillow for a day of open lapping with the SoCal Drivers’ Club. Immediately, the car was manic and delightful. It wasn’t shy about vibrating and rattling. The shifter is short, direct, and also vibrates with the engine’s frequencies.
The engine—just unbelievable. The resonance and aggression above 6,000 rpm, with an incredible scream to 9,000 that could shatter fillings. Basically, everything vibrates, and it’s delightful.
I was ready for a proper day out with my friends, in my new car, and I was keen to discover what the legend of the S2000 truly was. The car checked out well, so I set my track tire pressures and went out for my first session.
By god, was it a handful. It couldn’t help but constantly wag its tail and step out. I was so used to the molecularly dialed setup of my BRZ that this was a huge adjustment. Where the BRZ had an excellent, linear steering effort with genuine feel, the S2000’s electric rack felt dead in comparison. That, plus diabolical handling, made my first laps an exercise in learning.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
I have never encountered a car with such a propensity for rotation. Half of it was the S2000—my friends all told me that these cars require another level of precision and care. The other half was setup and my natural style. I love hustling the car pre-apex and rolling tons of corner speed. A properly set up S2000 will entertain this more than any other car. My car had a bit too much front grip.
While I kept lapping, I built up a model in my head. I started thinking, “OK, maybe a little less front sway bar. Add in some rear rebound to settle entry-mid…” Then I started feeling something odd. The rear shifted on the straightaway. Just a hair, but enough for my coccyx to understand the movement. Strange.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Then it shifted again, and the handling got slightly weird. I would exit corners, and the steering would shift a few degrees to the left or right of center, depending on the direction of the corner. Something was definitely wrong, so I started to cool down. Then, disaster.
A massive clunk, and suddenly, the rear was completely out of my control. I brought the car to a stop off-track, but without much input from my hands. “Oh fuck,” I thought. “I did it this time.” I waited until recovery vehicles got to me, as the track was very hot with other cars. Once I hopped out, I found the issue quite quickly.
Something in the passenger rear suspension broke. My trackside guess was the upright, which can happen on S2000s with modern tires. But since the S2000 was my ride home, I had to call the tow truck of shame back home, where I could investigate. My 8-hour track day became a 15-minute one.
Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1
Upon investigation, it was the toe arm shanks that failed. The parts were about six years old and many track days old, so it isn’t entirely unexpected. In fact, it’s very lucky that this failed on the track. If this failed on Angeles Crest or any other canyon, it could have spelled disaster.
Still, I haven’t quite conquered the S2000 yet. There’s work to do here. But that’s for another blog.
