Extra Long-Term S2000 Review

[Mike]

Following up to this: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://mmsports.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5024">http://mmsports.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5024</a><!-- m -->

Another year and a half has gone by. The car now has 62k miles.

Maintenance performed since last review: 2x 10w30 M1 oil changes, 2x 245/45/16 Bridgestone RE750s, replaced front brake pads.

Pros: Still a freaking blast to drive, and my payments are far outpacing depreciation. I don't see these things going for much less than $10k ever.

Cons: Starting to get a good few rattles, I can begin to see daylight through the roof, and my timing chain tensioner was loose one random day... if it ever starts acting up regularly, I'm looking at $125 and 45 minutes to replace it.

Plans: All four tires are currently toast so I'm looking at replacing those ASAP w/ 205/50/16 and 245/45/16 Yokohama ES100s. I imagine she'll need new rear pads this year, and I plan on getting some sort of leather/denim patch kit for the holes developing in the roof.

I did plan on selling it since owning two cars (and two pedal bikes and a motorcycle) for a 1.5 mile commute is absolutely retarded, but do I really want to go back to having to worry about where I park the Civic everywhere I go? Not really. I've looked at other Civics or Integras that are nicer and closer to stock, but they're just as magnetic (maybe even more?) than mine... Sigh...

At 8 years old, it's still a head-turning car and runs like a top... how can I complain? When I need utility I do have the Civic and when I need to carry more than one other person, I have Caitlin's Corolla

[HAULN-SS]

How much is a new top for one of those? 4 - 500$? Will the patches stand out?

[Mike]

New top? 750ish. The patches would be inside and they won't be noticeable at all; I currently have tape in those spots and I only notice it when they fall or something The holes are from the metal frame rubbing away at the inside.

[Evan]

Mike I did a vinyl repair kit on my 99 miata to fix some holes. I took pics and plan on doing a write-up/how-to in the future.

[Jeff]

old guy at the local upholstery shop just cut a piece of vinyl off a role and grabbed some kent ultra-stick and fixed a tare I had in my top. You could never tell it. But maybe I just wasn't that picky with my 91 Lebaron.

[Mike]

Mike I did a vinyl repair kit on my 99 miata to fix some holes. I took pics and plan on doing a write-up/how-to in the future.

ya, a lotta s2k guys do those things. a write-up would be nice, but i'm sure there isn't much to it

[Evan]

Well, it isnt a patch. Its a kit where you mix liquid vinyl, color match it, apply matching texture and heat it with an iron to cure. Done right it is 100% repaired like new. Its not easy, but having a black top makes it much easier, as mixing and color matching to the top was time consuming. (and the color changed a bit after curing on mine).
The kit I got also didnt have an exact texture match unfortunately.

[Mike]

link?

[Maengelito]

hook up the "how to" as i've got a hole in the black soft top as well

[Evan]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81781-Style-Leather-Repair/dp/B0007TQWK6/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_text_b">http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-81781-St ... uto_text_b</a><!-- m -->

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/automotive/81781.pdf">http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/a ... /81781.pdf</a><!-- m -->

[ScottyB]

Mike -- how quickly does the S wear tires? i know it's mostly driver based but does it have a pretty aggressive alignment?

also, how noisy would you say it is? are road trips out of the question?

[Mike]

scotty, i need to pull my logs off my old machine, but i've had the car for 30k miles now and have been through 2 sets of rears and 1 set of fronts. mind you, i run my tires a little longer than i probably should.

noise? meh. not really any different than any other sport/non-luxo car. i can't think of a much better road-trip vehicle.

oh... the car no longer needs 4 new tires :twisted:

[Beej]

I always thought my S2000 was loud - the rest of the car did a pretty good job of making you not care, but it was significantly louder than most other cars I've been in.

[Mike]

hrug: i suppose noise doesn't bother me after having driven the hatch for several years. i severely hate rattles, which my s doesn't have. wind noise? oh well, that's what you get for not having a roof.

[ScottyB]

i'll be honest, i have long wanted an S and i still keep thinking, "maybe next year...."

thing is, i drive 40 miles a day highway and i sit in traffic from time to time. i'd need a decent highway car but more importantly i'd hate to waste a car like the S2000 as my DD commuter-mobile. it's so focused i think i'd feel like an idiot just driving straight for 30 minutes at a time.

so, that's why i've been asking these questions

[Mike]

waste? how is driving the car "wasting" it? you would not feel bad about commuting in an s. shit, it can make sitting in traffic enjoyable.

[WRXtranceformed]

I can't remember the last time I found driving anything with a MT in traffic enjoyable

I can see where Scotty is coming from; for a commuter car, I'll never own anything that doesn't have an automatic / tiptronic transmission. For a fun car to enjoy in the mountains / on the track during the weekends, MT all the way!

[ScottyB]

waste? how is driving the car "wasting" it? you would not feel bad about commuting in an s. shit, it can make sitting in traffic enjoyable.

by waste i guess i mean just piling boring miles on a car that can do so much more. like buying a Viper to take it to the grocery store on sundays....i'd personally consider that a waste.

sounds to me like its the kind of car that makes average things alot of fun, which is something i'd love to experience every day .

[WRXtranceformed]

You know Scott.... a WRX or STi swap into your car would make doing average things a lot of fun too ha ha ha

[ScottyB]

You know Scott.... a WRX or STi swap into your car would make doing average things a lot of fun too ha ha ha

stoooppp...don't think i haven't thought about that one.... 8)

OK sorry for the derail, return thread to regularly scheduled program