Even at 300,000 Miles, My Honda S2000 Is a Serious Track Weapon
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Last summer I bought a Honda S2000 with over 300,000 miles on the odometer, planning to turn it into my dedicated track car. Thanks to a wild new suspension setup, new brakes, and ultra-sticky tires, it’s become just that. After months of upgrades and maintenance, the little Honda that could was finally ready for its first real full-length track event. I’m happy to report that after an entire day of lapping, the car drives wonderfully. Though I’m not sure how many more trips to redline the high-revving engine can make before it blows up.
What Exactly Do You Mean by That?
When I bought this car, the previous owner told me the engine and gearbox had been rebuilt at around 275,000 miles, though he had no paperwork to back it up. The F20C inline four is notorious for burning more and more oil as it accumulates miles, but the one in this car doesn’t burn much when I’m using it on the street. The only time I’ll really see the dipstick reading go down is when I’m continually bringing it to redline, like when I’m at a race track or on one of my favorite back roads. So I’m inclined to believe this engine was rebuilt at some point. What I’m unsure about is how well it was rebuilt.
This engine smokes under load. A lot. People following behind me at this latest track event eagerly told me how much smoke poured from the exhaust pipes when I ran through the gears, especially at high rpm. It’s no wonder my exhaust tips are absolutely coated in a thick layer of black soot.
There are a host of other seals throughout the engine that aren’t as, well, efficient as they probably should be. One look at the block and you’ll see oil seepage coming from every angle. At one point, oil was dripping onto the exhaust manifold shield and causing smoke to emerge from underneath the hood. Not good!
So I’m really not sure how much longer this engine will last, especially if I keep bringing it to track days and wringing it out. If I only used this car to commute I wouldn’t be worried, as I’m sure it could go for another 100,000 miles of easy cruising. In fact, that’s probably how it got all the way to 275,000 miles before needing a rebuild. But that’s not how I drive my cars.
My plan? Continue taking it to track days. If it blows up I’ll either buy another F20C or do a K24 swap, whichever is cheapest.
Other Than the Engine Concerns, How Did the Car Do?
Wonderfully! The combination of KW’s V3 suspension, working brakes, and new Yokohama Advan 052 tires from Tire Rack were enough to help me keep up with even Porsche Caymans and Mustang Boss 302s throughout the day. The AP1’s neutral setup made quick transitions and trail-braking especially satisfying at New York Safety Track, a motorcycle-centric road course in upstate New York.
The tires were the star of the show, delivering impressive grip and tons of feedback throughout the day and even as rain began to fall in the afternoon. I could really lean on them without fear through some of the faster sections of the track. When they did break away, it was progressive and easy to sense. Because New York Safety Track isn’t a very brake-heavy circuit, I never got any fade from my Hawk HPS pads, though at the end of the day it was clear my brake fluid could probably use a flush. But the KWs were faultless, handling curbing and the occasional wheel-off with grace.
This is exactly the type of setup I was hoping for when I bought this car. Now that I know it all works, I likely won’t be making any more big changes.
So Nothing Broke?
Well, there was one thing.
As I was exiting the car at the end of the second session, my shirt caught on the exterior portion of the door trim that sits against the window. When I stepped away, my shirt ripped the piece off its mounting point and broke all of the tabs holding it in place. Oops. There goes $80 worth of parts.
Other than that, nothing went wrong. The drive home was a bit sketchy, seeing as how it was pouring rain the entire time and I was driving on semi-slick tires. Having a soft top that didn’t exactly seal correctly didn’t help much. But I made it home nonetheless.
So What’s Next?
Like I said, I’m going to just keep going to track days. With how the car is set up now, it’s perfectly suited to HPDE and autocross duty... so long as the engine stays in one piece, that is. For now, I think I’m going to just keep an eye on things by monitoring oil consumption. If I find the engine is starting to go through a half a quart every session, I’ll know the engine is really on its way out.
Stay tuned.
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