AP1, 80k Miles, some extras

Thank you for taking a look at my 2003 Honda S2000 AP1. I’ve owned the car for about 6 years now. It’s been wonderful, but now I need more space, and it’s time to pass it on to the next happy owner. You probably know what you’re getting yourself into with these, but here are some things you may not have known. The 2003 is the only year that was made with the 9,000rpm-redline 2 liter engine, but also a glass rear window. They were made of plastic before that. The glass is better, and the rear defogger is functioning (great for when it rains). In fact, all of the electrics work. It doesn’t have keyless entry, but you can unlock both doors by turning and holding the key in the unlock position for a few seconds. Locking with the key automatically locks the passenger door as well. If it’s anything like my old Honda Element, keyless entry can be added with an order from Honda for a few very easy-to-install parts.

Changes and Updates:

Wheels and Tires – Original stock wheels are included in the purchase! They’re in fine condition, if a little dirty from sitting in my shed for 6 years. There is no road rash. Installed on the car as pictured are white Volk CE28n’s with red lip, in 17x7.5 up front, and 17x9 rear. Offset is pretty close to stock, and there are no spacers. These wheels are the same size as those used on the S2000 Club Sports from a few years later, and that’s what I used to figure out sizing. They come wrapped Bridgestone RE11’s, at 215/45R17 up front, and 245/40R17 in back. Tires have a couple years on them. Again, the sizes match the later model.

Suspension – When I bought the car, it had about 60-something thousand miles on it, and the original shocks were finished. I replaced them with a Bilstein fully-adjustable coilover kit. The tops of these can be seen in the engine bay image. They have spring rates that are again similar to those of the later Club Sports. They also allow raising and lowering of the car. I had it about in an inch lower for years, but returned it to stock ride height for sale. Tools to adjust ride height are included (shown in trunk image), and a local shop can do the job for you in about an hour.

Oil – I did all the oil changes myself (using Mobil 1 synthetic, if that matters to you). To make life a little easier, I replaced the oil drain plug with a Fumoto valve. This is an industrial-grade ball valve that allows you to empty the oil from the car by simply pulling a small lever on the valve itself, rather than fussing with a drain plug that inevitably makes a mess when it comes off. Changing the oil on these cars is about the easiest I’ve seen it, since bleeding off oil from the filter before complete removal drains down right next to where the oil drain plug empties to. I’m gonna miss that.

Stereo – A previous owner decided to put in an after-market unit, and did a generally shit-tactular job. So I ripped all that out and started over. All connections were replaced, and all joints are soldered and heat-shrunk. The doors have two-way speakers that now correctly use the original speaker ports in the doors (with tweeters above the leg). While I was at it, I added a subwoofer in the trunk, which you can see in the photographs. The install for the whole thing is clean and robust. Finally, the head unit is a Sony model with discreet sub out, and Bluetooth for phone connection. It has all the XM hardware including antenna, but that is not working right now. Last, but not least, the head unit is connected to the factory stereo controls on the left-hand side of the steering wheel, and they work properly. That took some work, but it was worth it.

Exhaust – Here’s the place where you may have to lay out a few bucks to get things back to stock, should you so choose. The original exhaust wasn’t remotely quiet (especially with the top up), but wasn’t all that exciting either. I replaced it with an Invidia N1 cat-back unit. Without the silencer tips (included in photos), it’s the loudest damned thing on the road, which I found to be hilariously fun. You may not. All things considered, this isn’t a difficult mod to revert. And the silencers that are on the car now do a fair job of reducing the obnoxiousness. But unfortunately, I don’t have the original lying around.

Engine bay – Everything is kept stock in here, with one exception. I added the hood dampers to make it easier to open up one-handed. Otherwise, I was perfectly happy with the performance, and felt no need to fiddle with the engine.

Full Disclosure:

The car does have some foibles. The synchro from 1st to 2nd can be finicky if you aren't smooth and deliberate. The driver floor mat is missing. Body and paint have some chips and dings that indicate that the car has seen some battle damage from a previous owner. Here’s the ones I know of, and there’s a photo for each:

Paint chip on the upper nose, badly covered up

Paint chips on rear deck lid

Paint chips and slight rusting starting at the bottom rear driver side front wheel well

Front fascia – I think the car hit some parking bumpers in its life. The bottom of it should extend almost to the front axle, but part of it is sheared away. A previous owner did a crap-tastic job spraying on a black stripe to either cover it up, or make it look like the car had a front lip. Not very awesome. Fit of front fascia near right front headlight is close, but not perfect.

Rear end – Though the CarFax is clean, I think the car was in a light rear-end collision. The deck lid is resprayed, and not an absolute perfect color match (though you have to look for it). It closes and seals perfectly fine, but the left back edge doesn’t look perfect. Again, you gotta be right on top of it to see. The right rear of the plastic bumper does not fit perfectly.

One of the after-market rear wheels has tire installer rash

One of the spars in the roof is installed backwards – It opens and closes fine, the roof was probably replaced at some point, and reassembled wrong