nastinupe1

If you truly felt as if the S2000 was perfect, then you wouldn't have the 8000 > 9000. Apparently Honda improved on it's product.

RED MX5

Vic, I've reached a point in my life where I'm actually getting to see history repeat itself. In the case of "horsepower wars," the first one took place in the 50's and 60's, and this one is playing out in exactly the same way. Back then "muscle cars" were all the rage, and to stay competative, the cars had to get more powerful every year. For whatever reason (and I think the reasons are pretty obvious) people really liked the muscle cars, but concerns about the environment and gas prices eventually brougnt it to an end. (Gee, does any of that sound familiar?)

During the first horsepower war (the "muscle car" era) I drove mostly MG's, because that's the kind of car I liked at the time. Horsepower has proven to be a great marketing tool simply because just about everyone likes it, but there are plenty of people out there who have other priorities. Some of us, like yourself, play to a different drummer. No Honda has ever been build to take part in any horsepower war, and it is highly unlikely that Honda will ever even consider that particular marketing strategy, because Honda also plays to a different drummer.
If they're playing your song, then I don't think you sould worry about what's going on in the broader marketplace. It's not a bad thing to find your own way rather than following the crowd. You are interested in things other than the current horsepower glut, and it's good that we're not all interested in the same things. If we were all just interested in power, US built cars would still handle like a 1952 Ford.

energetic

[QUOTE=nastinupe1,Oct 25 2007, 04:43 PM] How can you say that with all these people doing power mods to their car?

RED MX5

No car is perfect for all purposes and situations. However, just because I'm running FI, you can't assume that I feel that a stock S2000 is underpowered or slow. I *might* think that way if I were thoroughly jaded, but I'm not.

I'd much rather see Honda come out with a lightweight (under 2,000 lb.) version of the S2000, but that's even less likely than a major power increase.

RED MX5

I don't want to come across as argumentative, but you are mistaken. I have the CTSC/AC, which bumps peak power about 33% and adds some weight up front. I'm running OEM S02's, and am currently generating steady state cornering numbers of 0.92-0.93 G's, as opposed to 0.90-0.91 G's stock (based on a large number of trials and averages). IMO that is still within the margin of measurement error, but if you don't think my car handles turns BETTER than it did when stock, you are simply mistaken. Alignment tuning with a pyrometer makes a bigger differrence than the added power (and weight) of a supercharger. Adding power has NO EFFECT AT ALL on the way the car takes turns. The mass of an SC/AC *does* make a difference, but that's managable. Extra power actually makes the car EASIER to drive in some ways, because you have more torque at lower revs when driving on the street.

Ignoring the added mass, how is adding power going to negatively affect the cars handling? Are you just imagining that this might be the case, or do you have some basis for your thinking?

hirev

So....to sum up...everyone has an opinion and nobody knows "why". This is nothing new, many of us have wondered this, check out the "tell Honda" forum on this site. Honda knows what it is doing, only they don't let us know what they are doing till they have done it, then it is their way of the highway.

The S2000 is a great car, it is getting towards the end of it's run (my opinion) and to compete it needs to do what so many others have done, refresh and revitalize, raise the bar, evolve, and increase in this and that.

Sure, I like it the way it is...have grown very satisfied with what i have...and there is always room for improvement. So lets see what comes next.

I think Honda has a great car to build on here, as classically potent as a 911 was years ago, if they only take that road the S2000 will endure.

The worst thing would be that all our cars become some sort of saught after classic like a sunbean tiger or .....?

RED MX5

My crystal ball is a little foggy, but I think it's saying that this is actually highly likely.

All the Sxxx Honda's became orphans (and highly prized), so unless Honda is going to change their ways, the S2000 will go the same route. Some day people will look at the S2000 the way we look at an S800 today.

Look, even MGB's have become saught after, so how could it NOT happen to the S2000?

Besides, by the time the S2000's reach the bottom of their depreciation cycle, the kids and ricers will have distroyed 99% of the cars and nice ones will be as rare as hen's teeth.

I won't be here in 40-50 years to see it, but many of you young guys will still be kicking.

iam7head

[QUOTE=nastinupe1,Oct 24 2007, 05:58 PM] You guys act like you've never heard of turbo before.

You can get more out of a 4 banger...

Honda should have just given us a turbo instead of the CR.

energetic

We don't argue, we only discuss!

But anyhow, my reply was based on the original post of this topic. For an average driver based on his daily drive it will be dangerous to control the car with the additional hps, especially on FI. I was not reffering to your S, which I just found from your post that is FI-ed. To be more specific the additional hp, as in your case, will be hard for an average/daily driver to handle while cornering, turns etc. In your case and mine we know our car and we know how to control it cause we practice frequently. I dont know if you understand what am actually trying to say.

I have seen on track other cars with great numbers of hps and they could not handle their power, they were not familiar with what they had under their hood and how to handle their car.

I hope you understand my point now.

ace123

I dont care if they leave the engine at 240 hp. But I must admit, I'd love it if they shed 300 lbs!

Unfortunately, it will never happen, as that would add a ton to the cost of the car; Carbon fiber and metal matrix composites might be the only way to meet all the requirements and still keep from dumping the A/C and radio (which i like)!