2004 Honda S2000
2000 + 200 = 240: S2000 gets a bigger engine and more usable power



By MARK VAUGHN

THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT improvements to the 2004 Honda S2000, but you have
to push a little to find them. Indeed, after several laps of the Spring Mountain Motorsports Park road course out in the desert near Las Vegas, we were searching our senses to notice.

Yes, there was more torque from the 200 new cubic centimeters of displacement added when the 2.0-liter normally aspirated four-cylinder engine was stroked. Yes, the car’s rear felt better planted with its revised suspension tuning and 17-inch wheels and meatier Bridgestone RE 050 tires—215/45 front, 245/40 rears. And yes, the new transmission ratios and better shifter feel were evident, too. There was even more room in the cockpit than before—a half-inch more hip and shoulder room. But was that all?

“Ask Mr. Uehara, the chief engineer, to take you out for a couple laps,” said a Honda guy.
Uehara? That was a familiar name. Where had we heard it? We asked Uehara-san if he was available for a tour of the track. He bowed humbly showing much reserve. We asked several times, not sure if he understood what we wanted. The translator said he had agreed, and the engineers who seemed to be hovering around him like novices said he had agreed. But it was a few, somewhat awkward minutes before we actually got in the car. Why had the Honda guy suggested this?





Then, oh man: Uehara nailed the throttle and wailed up through the gears, smacking redline in each one like he designed the whole thing.





“More torque,” was all he said

He entered the very first turn, a long right-hand constant-radius sweeper, at what seemed like about 20 mph faster than we had been driving through it all morning—faster than anyone had ever driven through the thing ever for all we could guess. Who knew the S2000 could go this fast?




Then, in mid-turn, at what we had assumed was the limit of adhesion, Uehara lifted off the throttle and sawed the wheel back and forth a few times. Despite the new revised spring, damper and antiroll bar rates, increased body rigidity, enhanced suspension bushings and optimized rear toe settings, we expected to swap ends and start bouncing backward across the gravel runoff area, dust and rocks flying, lizards leaping, jack rabbits fleeing for their lives. But no, the S2000 just kept on gripping the hot pavement.




“Revised suspension means better control of lift-throttle oversteer,” he said.

Then we remembered: Uehara was Uehara, the father of the S2000, the father of the NSX and the former chief engineer of the Honda F1 efforts.

He kept it up for three more laps, doing a magnificent job of heel-and-toe downshifting into each turn, nailing the throttle on the way out and making the S2000 yelp with pleasure.

When we pulled back into the paddock, “Thank you,” was all he said.

No, thank you, we said.

We had seen the light. We were ready to ****** the pebble from his hand. We got back into another 2004 S2000 and had at it. Yes, it goes quicker than we had assumed. Yes, it has more torque. Yes, it shifts better. So, this was how you’re supposed to drive this thing!

We stayed out all day, trying to take all the tread off all the cars. It was great.

2004 HONDA S2000

ON SALE: October
BASE PRICE: $32,900 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 2.2-liter, 240-hp, 161-lb-ft four-cylinder; rwd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2835 pounds
0-60 MPH: 5.9 seconds (mfr.)

Originally posted by The Mirror

Now people will lower them and screw it all up again!