jmatfrank

Is the 04'+ S2K faster than an 03'? I noticed that comment was made earlier. I know that the newer car has a more even power band but nothing was ever written that would lead me to believe that the 2.2 is that any faster then the 2.0 overall??? Am I off base here?

h22accord

In a strait line drag race the 04+ s2000 is slightly quicker. For two main reasons; 1. its power comes on a full 1000 rpms sooner than that of the 03-, 2. because it has lower transmission gears than the 03(except i think 5th is higher than the ap1 and i know 6th is higher also). If you notice in my sig you can see the difference gears make on a stock AP1. So coupled with the characteristics of the 2.2s lower red line and fatter torque curve it makes for a slightly quicker car. Granted the gearing isn’t anywhere close to being as low as the 4.57r, but you get the point.

Now once you hit the twisties it’s a completely different story. With the top gear acceleration 30-50 and 50-70 being much better than the 2.0, the fat torque curve of the 2.2 should only take a couple of laps to put the 2.0 back in its rearview.

shivers

The engines have changed, but the cars are very close in accleration and overall times. The '04+ cars have the power peak brought down lower in the power band, a slight increase in torque due to the extra displacement, and a shortened 1-4 gear set. The "00-03 cars have a higher point of peak horsepower and torque, but 1000 more rpms to take advantage of holding each gear longer.

In the end, it's basically a wash and neither car is significantly faster than the other. Anyone that says any different has not accepted the fact that both generations of the car are great and neither is better than the other.

Phateless

well said. they're different. different personalities. i have had the fortunate opportunity to drive them both and what i can tell you is that the 2.0 is a more primal car all around. it feels a little more unruly, and a lot of folks prefer it for that reason. the power curve is much peakier. it's tail happy! the ride is firmer. the 2.2 on the other hand feels more civilized. they bumped the displacement by lengthening the stroke, lowered the redline to 8k (they had to because of the lengthened stroke), which not only increased torque, but you have much more torque available much earlier on. this is actually very noticeable when driving the car.

2.2
-17 in wheels instead of 16s
-softened rear suspension, so ride is much more comfy (you'd be surprised how comfortable it is!) but skipdpad and slalom numbers were better! (counterintuitive, i know) also, this makes it understeer just a hair, but of course just use your right foot to fix that.
-changed the exhaust
-carbon coated syncros in tranny

in 06 they added electronic throttle with stability assist (booo!!!)

that's about all i can think of off the top of my head. any other questions just ask. i'm in sales at a honda dealership so that's how i know all this crap. i would love to own either one. i don't think i could make the decision on my own.