11Past9

I am looking for a used s2000. I have seen them as low as 50k miles to as high as 100k in my budget but all AP1's... I have found some 2002 and 2003's however.

From what I understand AP1's consume/burn oil...

QUESTIONS!

1. What does this mean for the car and its performance?

2. If I get a leak down/compression test and the numbers come back good does that mean it has not been abused?

3. What is the difference between consumption and burning of oil?

4. How do you tell if it is burning oil or consuming oil when looking a car over for purchase?

5. Does oil consumption mean that if I want to keep my s2000 until 150,000 miles that it's going to be a worn out dog of a performer by then?

6. If I get a 2002 or 2003 does that mean I am most likely not going to be affected by the oil issue?

I want an s2000, I love the car... but not if this oil consumption issue is going to basically mean I am buying a car that is going to perform worse every time I drive it...

I will take care of it, but I want to buy one and know that it's going to be just as good to me as a performance car as a car that doesn't consume oil...

Can someone actually ANSWER my questions without dancing around them after 20+ replies?

Saki GT

1. nothing.
2. it means the cylinders are good, or are at least not beat to hell - no idea on whether the car was abused or not.
3. nothing.
4. Smell the exhaust - does it smell like oil? Is there excessive oily residue on the rear bumper? Is there smoke pouring out of the exhaust? Do you see a puff on start up and when you initially get on the gas? Unless the car reeks of oil and there's a huge cloud billowing out of the exhaust or engine, any oil consumption is small.
5. no
6. no - mid 02 and 03s got upgraded oil banjo bolts, which can mean better life out of the engine by not oil starving the #4 cylinder, but that's different from the basic oil consumption, which will have no effect on engine longevity as long as you maintain the engine.


AP1s typically use the F20C engine. They burn oil most likely because they have looser tolerances than the redesigned F22C engines. You usually see this as a puff of smoke on hard accel, and hard right turns. Nothing wrong with an F20 engine that goes through 1 qt every 1k mi or so.

As long as you keep on top of oil levels and maintain regular oil changes, the engine will run fine.

dammitjim

What Saki said and OMG you're overthinking this.

Any used car is a crap shoot. If you're not comfortable inspecting them, just find one that looks clean, carfaxes well and has an owner with a good story. Get a mechanic to check it out and get the compression and leakdown tests if you're concerned.

Since these cars are known to consume oil, if you get one you should plan on frequently checking the level. I do it at every fill up even though my car doesn't use much at all.

Oil can make a big difference too. My oil consumption dropped to basically none when I switched from M1 to Redline.

mad pup

I think you're overthinking this too. There are quite a few AP1s on the board that have 200k+ miles and still going strong. It's a Honda motor.

It's also a VTEC motor. Many VTEC motors consume oil. Preludes, Integras, Civics, they all do. So do VW 1.8Ts and RX-8s. The F20 tends to burn oil by design. F22 doesn't burn as much. That doesn't mean that the F20 is an inferior motor, or that it won't last as long.

If you've read some of the oil consumption threads here, there doesn't seem to be any correlation between normal oil consumption and performance or longevity. Some oils are more susceptible to burning (i.e. Mobil 1), some less.

I understand your reticence with buying a car known to burn oil, but try to get over the old school thought of burning oil = bad, at least with the AP1.

I'd drive several cars to know what a well running F20 should feel like, look out for any unusual noises, get a compression/leakdown test and call it a day. If the fact that an AP1 burns oil really bothers you (nothing wrong with that), I'd save up a bit more and buy an AP2.