i own an rx-8 now, so i spend much of my internet time troubleshooting my car on rx8club.com hahaha

 

The M is faster, but the S was more fun imo. Sounds like you agree.
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Yep, agreed. On the street, you can use more of the performance of the S, more of the time. On the track...well, they're too dissimilar to compare.

 

I'm here! And new. In Calgary.
Silver 05, will keep my eye out for meets in Calgary.

 

Haha yeah I was thinking that too...after I bought it!

I drove it from Calgary back home and I've probably put on 2000km of very windy roads now. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing at first. The M isn't as raw and connected as the S feels. The steering is lighter and the tranny harder...I'd prefer it the other way around. I thought everyone raved about BMW trannies, but it sure seems rough compared to the s2k. But with that said, the motor is a work of art and it really seems to offer more overall "car" than an S ever could, which really makes it a great deal. The handling is probably better than the S2k in terms of grip and how easy the tail is to control with the super smooth LSD. But I dunno, I've got suspension mods on the M3 now, something that I didn't go near in the s2k. I love the attention to detail in the car, even the way the door locks sound is seriously awesome. But on the same token, it's requiring far more maintenance than I expected. Right now, I'm dealing with a squeaky blower motor, a broken headlight adjuster screw, and a stutter cruising down hills.

 

Haha yeah I was thinking that too...after I bought it!

I drove it from Calgary back home and I've probably put on 2000km of very windy roads now. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing at first. The M isn't as raw and connected as the S feels. The steering is lighter and the tranny harder...I'd prefer it the other way around. I thought everyone raved about BMW trannies, but it sure seems rough compared to the s2k. But with that said, the motor is a work of art and it really seems to offer more overall "car" than an S ever could, which really makes it a great deal. The handling is probably better than the S2k in terms of grip and how easy the tail is to control with the super smooth LSD. But I dunno, I've got suspension mods on the M3 now, something that I didn't go near in the s2k. I love the attention to detail in the car, even the way the door locks sound is seriously awesome. But on the same token, it's requiring far more maintenance than I expected. Right now, I'm dealing with a squeaky blower motor, a broken headlight adjuster screw, and a stutter cruising down hills.
[/quote]

The S gearbox has spoiled us all for life; everything else just seems notchy and imprecise by comparison. Going to a square wheel/tire setup dials out the M's steering lightness, and along with some sway bar changes ups the grip level and tossability of the car. I started with 265/35/18 all around, then dropped down to 255s which eliminated some of the tramlining on the street which was driving me nuts. BTW, 48k+ on the S now, and aside from tires, oil/tranny/diff fluid changes, she's been bulletproof. Oh wait...the driver's side door speaker cuts out every now and then and needs a whack on the speaker grille to wake it up, and there's diff whine at 80-100k that a 75w/90 fluid change didn't help (next up: 75w/110). I hear you on M maintenance...everything seems to cost 2x what it does on the S, but when it's all working right, and you're pushing the M past 8/10ths it all seems worth it.

 

Haha yeah I was thinking that too...after I bought it!

I drove it from Calgary back home and I've probably put on 2000km of very windy roads now. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing at first. The M isn't as raw and connected as the S feels. The steering is lighter and the tranny harder...I'd prefer it the other way around. I thought everyone raved about BMW trannies, but it sure seems rough compared to the s2k. But with that said, the motor is a work of art and it really seems to offer more overall "car" than an S ever could, which really makes it a great deal. The handling is probably better than the S2k in terms of grip and how easy the tail is to control with the super smooth LSD. But I dunno, I've got suspension mods on the M3 now, something that I didn't go near in the s2k. I love the attention to detail in the car, even the way the door locks sound is seriously awesome. But on the same token, it's requiring far more maintenance than I expected. Right now, I'm dealing with a squeaky blower motor, a broken headlight adjuster screw, and a stutter cruising down hills.
[/quote]

The S gearbox has spoiled us all for life; everything else just seems notchy and imprecise by comparison. Going to a square wheel/tire setup dials out the M's steering lightness, and along with some sway bar changes ups the grip level and tossability of the car. I started with 265/35/18 all around, then dropped down to 255s which eliminated some of the tramlining on the street which was driving me nuts. BTW, 48k+ on the S now, and aside from tires, oil/tranny/diff fluid changes, she's been bulletproof. Oh wait...the driver's side door speaker cuts out every now and then and needs a whack on the speaker grille to wake it up, and there's diff whine at 80-100k that a 75w/90 fluid change didn't help (next up: 75w/110). I hear you on M maintenance...everything seems to cost 2x what it does on the S, but when it's all working right, and you're pushing the M past 8/10ths it all seems worth it.
[/quote]
Sounds like you have a loose connector...it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to pop the door panel off! And when did the diff start whining? I never launched that car (or did the CDV mod either) as I was always afraid of breaking the diff heh.

The car came with staggered 19s on some Kumho SPTs, which I traded for Michelin PS (much better tire!!) and I was considering buying a set of 18" CSL reps for next season and going to a square setup. But geeeeez yeah the S2k tranny really has ruined me for life. Funny enough, my old AE86 had a really great shifter too, so it's not just Honda who can make a great feeling transmission.

 

Haha yeah I was thinking that too...after I bought it!

I drove it from Calgary back home and I've probably put on 2000km of very windy roads now. To be honest, it was a bit disappointing at first. The M isn't as raw and connected as the S feels. The steering is lighter and the tranny harder...I'd prefer it the other way around. I thought everyone raved about BMW trannies, but it sure seems rough compared to the s2k. But with that said, the motor is a work of art and it really seems to offer more overall "car" than an S ever could, which really makes it a great deal. The handling is probably better than the S2k in terms of grip and how easy the tail is to control with the super smooth LSD. But I dunno, I've got suspension mods on the M3 now, something that I didn't go near in the s2k. I love the attention to detail in the car, even the way the door locks sound is seriously awesome. But on the same token, it's requiring far more maintenance than I expected. Right now, I'm dealing with a squeaky blower motor, a broken headlight adjuster screw, and a stutter cruising down hills.
[/quote]

The S gearbox has spoiled us all for life; everything else just seems notchy and imprecise by comparison. Going to a square wheel/tire setup dials out the M's steering lightness, and along with some sway bar changes ups the grip level and tossability of the car. I started with 265/35/18 all around, then dropped down to 255s which eliminated some of the tramlining on the street which was driving me nuts. BTW, 48k+ on the S now, and aside from tires, oil/tranny/diff fluid changes, she's been bulletproof. Oh wait...the driver's side door speaker cuts out every now and then and needs a whack on the speaker grille to wake it up, and there's diff whine at 80-100k that a 75w/90 fluid change didn't help (next up: 75w/110). I hear you on M maintenance...everything seems to cost 2x what it does on the S, but when it's all working right, and you're pushing the M past 8/10ths it all seems worth it.
[/quote]
Sounds like you have a loose connector...it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to pop the door panel off! And when did the diff start whining? I never launched that car (or did the CDV mod either) as I was always afraid of breaking the diff heh.

The car came with staggered 19s on some Kumho SPTs, which I traded for Michelin PS (much better tire!!) and I was considering buying a set of 18" CSL reps for next season and going to a square setup. But geeeeez yeah the S2k tranny really has ruined me for life. Funny enough, my old AE86 had a really great shifter too, so it's not just Honda who can make a great feeling transmission.
[/quote]

lol...was romping around the site, and just saw this reply. The speaker has "self-repaired"...hasn't cut out in a couple of months (may be due to the warmer temperatures). Noticed the (slight) diff whining a few weeks after getting the car...but curiously you can only hear it from 80-110 kph with the top down. With the top up, there's other cabin noises masking it, and in gets drowned out in the mechanical din we all love ;-). Diff fluid will get changed to 75-110 when I do the oil change for winter in the next couple of weeks. Yep, 18" CSL reps are the way to go...and even with the CDV removed, that M gearbox is a clunker. At one point I swapped out the stock shifter for a UUC short kit, but removed it about two weeks later. The throws were shorter but it vibrated and buzzed horribly. Also tried a monster UUC weighted knob, but it made it feel like there was a two pound weight perched on top of the lever (which there was) and I was worried about the long-term effect on the synchros. Finally settled on the shorter knob from the 330 (might have been part of the ZHP package? Or maybe ZCP...can't remember) that looked good and felt better in an OEMish way. BTW, picked up a set of AP2 V1 wheels that I've been using with summer tires...much prefer the look over the V2s (which are now relegated to winter duty). At 51,000 km now, and still looks like it did the day I picked it up.

 

Man, I've been missing the S2000 a lot lately. Maybe I'll buy one again haha. Funny enough, I had a horrible diff groan with low speed turns when I bought the M, and a fluid change with OEM fluid fixed that. I was considering the UUC kit myself...but really I'm not convinced I should be modding the car at all. The M3 has such a nice engine, it's taking me awhile to get used to all the power on tap when driving hard. But then again, I felt the same way about the S2k, you already get a so much potential bonestock, what's the point in modding if you can't make use of the added performance?