NFRS2K3

Hello,

I am going to be in the market for an 03-04 S2000 in the next couple of months and have been researching everything I can about this car before I buy one. The one thing that I see continually on all the Forums that I have visited relates to the inadequate Rear Diff on these cars. How much of an issue is this? Is it an almost guarantee that it will take a dump if you are a driver that is always in "Spirited" Mode when your behind the wheel. What is the best aftermarket brand name in the Honda world to resolve this potential issue?

I was planning on buying this car to beat it like a red headed step child; but in a nice kinda way!

Thanks!

honda606

Then you may want to start considering other alternatives or spend the money to beef it up as much as possible.

Type in "differential" in the search bar and start reading.

NFRS2K3

I have no problem spending the money to prevent such an issue but coming from the european car world my knowledge on S2000 specific components is limited. I have already done plenty of searching on this forum but haven't turned up any answers to my specific questions. You mention "The other alternatives" which are for myself (350Z,EVO,STI) and I have seen a fair share of issues on these cars. Specifically a very weak clutch from the factory that likes to die in under 15K miles with no abuse. The S2000 appears to have far less issue besides the Diff.

alex s

i think it's unfair to tag the s2000 as a "weak diff" car. it's all in how you treat it. there have been plenty of s2000s that have made it to 80k-100k range and never had differential issues.

it's just like guys i know with LS1s, they get heads, cams, n20, torque converters and lay down nearly 500 rwhp, then complain when they start breaking things. wtf. pay to play you know?

aggressive driving is fine, but doing 7,000 rpm clutch drops on sticky sticky tires is where things start breaking.


spend the $1500 or so on a beefed up diff/rear end if you really want to 'beat on it'. it'd be better spent on that rather than a Toda header or something of the like.

just my .02

cheers!

wwwracer

You probably only need to worry about the diff if you are going to be launching your S.

slipstream444

Many of the problems experienced with the diff were improved upon or solved with the '04 model. I decided to buy an '03 new (after the '04 had been introduced) mainly because I liked the higher reving characteristics of the earlier motor. I believe the '04 is a better car on many levels though and have modified my '03 with several mods, including an '04 diff with 4.57 gears.

AndyDoh

Just wondered if I've missed a thread on this or is it just your opinion? do you have any facts to show that the 04 is stronger?

Cheers

Andy

steven975

I believe Honda's press literature stated that they strengthened the differential casing. Check out hondanews.com

NFRS2K3

Thanks for all the replies,

I am giving myself a $5k cap on mods on this car because I don't want to go all out like I did on my current car ( $16K )

What I'll probably end up doing is just hope for the best and not touch the rear unless it breaks but if it does what is the aftermarket Diff and gearing of choice for an S2000 that doesn't completly kill it's top end?
I saw a 4.77 ratio but I would think that would kill the top end by 10-20 MPH which I would not want since it only tops out at 140 somthing as it is.

alex s

hahaha, i think we all gave ourselves a "cap" at one time or another. once you start modding, it's hard to stop until you have that vision in your head of what your car should look like. and considering almost every mod for the S is near a grand or more. you will blow through that 5k limit faster than you can think.

oh and the top speed with 4.10 is theoretically 160, but most people are aerodynamicly limited around 155 i believe is what i saw once?

4.77 should bring it to the high 140's. but honestly, how often do you go that fast?