Honda S2000 - AP1 or AP2?

I would really love to pick up an S2K. I just really don't like the feeling of parking the car and then worrying if it will be there when I come back all the time. berkeleying Honda thieves.

The AP2 is a little less exciting, but I prefer it for its consistency. It's still just as much fun, and I'd rather not be paranoid about unpredictable rear end handling when on a twisty public road. My biggest complaint about the car is the seats, which when used in an upright driving position don't have enough room for a helmet behind your head.

I'm on my third S2000. I got an AP1 in my early days of racing. Traded that for a CR when I got pretty good at autoxing. Then last year sold that to build a 2006 AP2 Time Trial car (the CR was too nice to cut up and weld in a proper cage and/or risk hitting a wall).

The CR was the best out of the box for sure. Incredibly well balanced - a balance I still look for when building my track car. Nimble and lightweight like an AP1 and comfortable and better midrange like an AP2.

The AP1 is a bit more fun than the AP2 and can be just as fast depending on the course/track. It has the higher redline (fun), you probably have to shift more (fun), is lighter (fun), and has razor sharp handling (fun). Probably a lower entry point too. I recommend 02 - 03 just for the rear glass.

The AP2 is more refined and I found easier to drive around town and while racing. The added torque is nice and just feels a bit more composed (as far as S2000's go). The reason I went for the 06 is the tunability/reflash. Not going to get a lot of power from any S2000 but the Hondata reflash really brings out the already better midrange of the AP2 and raises the redline to 8500 (fun). The midrange improvement and higher redline turned a 5th to 2nd downshift at a local track to a 4th to 3rd shift.

Personally, I'd stay away from the 04/05. Save your money and have more fun in an AP1 or spend a bit more and get a car that can be reflashed.

S2000's make horrible drift cars.

You really can't go wrong with any S2000. They are great cars. The slight differences between them are all relatively minor and really a matter of preference.

Not to confuse you more, but I recently picked up a Z3 3.0 Coupe (if the S2000 came in a hatchback, I would be in that instead of the BMW). The Z3 is not as fun but a lot more refined. And then I found out the Z3 3.0 has nearly the same power to weight ratio than an S52 M coupe/roadster. The lighter aluminum block M54 makes 225hp while the heavier iron block S52 makes 15hp more.

patinum wrote: Personally, I'd stay away from the 04/05. Save your money and have more fun in an AP1 or spend a bit more and get a car that can be reflashed.

Thing is, I'm seeing 04/05 cars down at the same price range as 02/03's for similar condition and mileage ($10-13k). '06+ cars, I'm seeing at $16k+. Of course, they are also substantially lower mileage. I should probably just spring the money for a lower mileage car. It would be nice to have something with <100k on the clock. But... $6k more to get a Honda with 50k fewer miles?

S2000's make horrible drift cars.

That's okay. I'm not a very good drifter. It takes backseat to open track and auto-x. I just like to go hoon around at the occasional drift event.