jkim5547

Hello,

After near 2 years of search and multiple trips across nation to return home empty handed...
I have finally found one that I can call mine!!!

2008 GPW with little over 1,100 miles on it. (Not typo, 1,100 miles!)
All bone stock except for clear bra.

I had the liberty of picking up this car about 450 miles away and drive it back home.
During this course, I have come to realize I had very little clue about my most desired vehicle.
To solve this... I have turned to best s2k veterans here.
I thank you all in advance and please bare with me as my questions are from a newbie!

1. Driving 70+ mph on freeway. I hear excessive wind noise from soft top, from passenger side only. I'm assuming this isn't normal since driver side is quite normal.
Does anyone know a fix for this? Will replacing with hard top strikers solve this issue?
2. I feel unsmooth/slight grinding and still feel when shifting gears. My last manual was quite some time ago so I honestly don't have anything to compare with.
Will changing to new mtf solve this? Or am I expecting bigger fix?
3. I hear rubber to rubber / rubber to metal rubbing sound during take off at low miles and the sound disappears (at least from my hearing). Is this normal or should I replace rear diff fluid? Or even a bigger fix?
4. Section of the drive was curvy uphill through the mountain for about 4 miles. After, I pulled over to fill the gas and noticed a slight bit of oil burning smell. Is this normal or should I be concerned?
5. Is synthetic oil change recommended for ap2? Or is normal oil change just fine? If so, what is the recommended oil and interim for the oil change?
6. While in 3rd gear (34 mph and rpm at about 3500), the engine sounds like it's going to blow n really wanting a gear change. But when I do change to 4th, it has a mean kick. Am I shifting it wrong? Or is this normal? I've been changing gear around 4000 rpm (1st to 2nd at appox 17mph, 2nd to 3rd at approx 28mph, 3rd to 4th at 35 because engine sounds like it's going to blow at 3500 rpm). My last stick was 100k miles 125hpw civic. It just shifted. If I'm doing it wrong, please let me know how to better shift or properly shift with s2k.
7. A continuous clicking noise from driver door or rear. I know it's from interior side. But whenever going through a bit rough road, it just makes a light but quite annoying clicking noise. Anyone have experienced this?
8. What is the door speaker size? Is there a twitter speakers on the door as we'll? What are the sizes for them?
9. Should I remove the clear bra? Pick understand it is great protection but I fear of long time color difference between covered and non-covered areas. Also plan in putting in bumper lip and the color match will be quite off?

Being rookie, I obviously won't be doing the work myself. But I do plan to keep this as pristine condition weekend car. And to do so, I'd like to be corrected of all wrong I'm doing to this car if any.

Thank you all in advance!!!

YELLOW JACKET

congrats on your new s. 1,100 literally new! as for shifting, this car screams rpm so it sounds like its going to blow. its not. I shift mine at 3to4k rpm in normal driving. at cruise you'll probably run around 4k rpm. that's normal. i'd leave the clear bra on if its a good one. these poor cars nose and windshield take a beating being so low. and yes you will hear road noise, its a convertible. but check your window seals. oh and get some silicone grease to coat your forward windshield seal. cuts down on squeeking, rubber to rubber. oil....run synthetic. lots of good oils these days to choose from. hope any of this helps you out.

F1 S2K

Like you, I bought a very low-mileage S2K two years ago - mine is a 03 AP1 and it had 4700 miles on it.

Give yourself a bit of time to get used to the car. Like YellowJacket said, noise will be there. As far as shifting goes, it takes practice and high RPM's are a norm. I remember when I first got mine I was not used to rev it. As you get used to the shifter and how the car behaves you will gain confidence and start to shift it the way it needs to.

I would highly recommend you take a very close look at your tires. The car might have 1100 miles but the tires are several years old now. These cars demand good tires on the road otherwise bad things happen. Don't be on the cheap and risk the jewel of car you have because of bad tires. Tires are a hell of a lot easier to replace than bodywork.

Fluids: Please take some time and read the threads regarding oil. This has been discussed numerous times. Read and draw your own conclusions.

Have you found the secret compartment yet? Wonder what might be rattling around in there - that might be the source of your clicking.

cosmomiller

All the info you need is on the forum. Just spend a little time going over stuff. Some of the issues are related to getting to know the car. Overall, you will find you can easily do much of the maintenance yourself. Change out all the fluids. Most folks like synthetics. Many, like me use 0W-30 for the engine. Your choice of Honda MTF or some synthetic like Amsoil. Same for the diff. You may find the transmission gets much smoother after warmup.

Do the rear axle TSB at some point. Sticky on that. Car is fussy on the tires, inflation, and alignment. Ditch the bra.

Have fun.

YELLOW JACKET

curious, why ditch some thing that will protect your paint? as far as fade, your car is white! white doesn't fade near as much as other colors ie,red,silver. your car tho your choice.

fernando.

Because they look absolutely horrible once they get old/rotted/cracked and the front of your car becomes a different colour than the rest.

windhund116

" 2. I feel unsmooth/slight grinding and still feel when shifting gears. My last manual was quite some time ago so I honestly don't have anything to compare with.
Will changing to new mtf solve this? Or am I expecting bigger fix? "

At 1K mileage, the tranny oil is prolly the original. Changing the fluid may help. Perhaps, just drive the car, as is, and get used to the specific shifting and handling feel. Anyhow, I replaced the tranny oil in my '07 (40K miles), with Royal Purple Synchromax. It gave the tranny a more positive feel to the gear exchange. Esp on downshifting. Less gear noise, too. But, this is on a car with +40K miles on it. Much different scenario than your car.

What was the last manual tranny car that you drove, for any length of time? The distance of the gates on the S2000 are much shorter than most cars. This takes a bit of time to get use to.

Enjoy your new ride! Great little beasts.

jimmy-buffett

1100 miles divided by 6 years old = 183 miles/year. You drove it as much getting it home as it was driven in ~3 years.

Odds are that *everything* is original in that car. Engine/trans/diff oil, tires etc. Change them all, and do it right: synthetic for the engine, Honda fluid for the transmission and a good brand for the diff. New tires too. Always let the engine warm up slowly, and if you can help it, let the transmission warm up slowly as well. I usually let mine get to 3-4 bars of heat and then I idle it out of the neighborhood before pushing it too hard on the street.

As for the top, make sure that it was latched correctly and check to see if the Modifry convertible top fix is applicable. My '06 needed this fix.

Beyond that, it sounds like you got a fantastic ride that was idle a little too long in the hands of the previous owner. Take care of those issues and you'll be in very good shape.

Chuck S

Welcome

Despite the mileage this is still a 6-year old car. Doesn't cost much so I'd change all the fluids in the car following the recommendations here. Honda wants the brake fluid replaced every 3 years regardless of mileage and I'm guessing there was one missed 3 years ago. Good time to learn these tasks and there are photo essays here to guide you -- they did me! Just need some crush washers and metric tools. Dealer had changed the oil and brake fluid on mine before the sale (I purchased it from a Honda dealer) and I did the transmission and differential myself "just 'cuz."

I run synthetic oil in all my cars. Overkill always works and mine is a summer car so I figure this will be an annual task.

Honda is fussy about fluids -- stick with Honda brand. Beware the S2000 transmission manual transmission oil is specific and different from the front-engine car's lube. Honda engine oil, MTF, and coolant. I'm using Amsoil in the differential.

Nissan and Mercedes (don't know about Honda) recommend not driving on tires more than 6 years old. Rubber just ages even if the car is not driven. The S2000 demands to be driven fast and hard. I put new tires on my new-to-me '06 when I bought it this summer. Bridgestone RE-11A tires on stock 17" wheels track like a go cart! Ran 300 miles of Ohio country roads yesterday and had a ball!

City driving I up-shift at 4300rpm based on advice here. Seems to work fine. The engine and gearing in this car takes some getting used to as I found out when I bought my 8-year old car.

The passenger seat belt will "click" against the door jam sometimes. Other than that just expect some creaks and small rattles from the soft top. Rubber seals of the top need a silicone grease that Honda sells. A tube should last a lifetime.

Don't worry about speakers, you can't hear the radio anyway at speed other than moving everything to the rear speakers which are right behind your headrests. Stereo for driver and passengers. Cutting up the doors for aftermarket speakers will just decrease resale value and you won't hear them anyway. Same for the basic radio Honda subjected us to, not worth upgrading it.

-- Chuck

jkim5547

Sorry for my stupidity. But what is rear axle tsb and what does this do for the car?