S2000/S800

[YellowMaranello]

which car was better for its time, the S2000, or the S800?

[F20C]

Hard to compare.

[Jay!]

I dug up some stats; the S2000's may be old... F20C can feel free to correct me.

Honda S800

engine type: inline DOHC slant 4
bore/stroke: 60x70mm
displacement: 791 cc
horsepower: 70 hp @ 8000 rpm
torque: 48.5 ft.-lbs. @ 6000 rpm
compression ratio: 9.2:1

weight: 1632 lbs.

top speed: 100 mph
0 - 60 mph: 9.4 sec

Honda S2000

engine type: inline DOHC VTEC 4
displacement: 1997 cc
horsepower: 240 @ 8300 rpm
torque: 153 ft.-lbs. @ 7500 rpm
compression ratio: 11.0:1

weight: 2809 lbs.

top speed: 150 mph
0 - 60 mph: 6.0 sec
1/4 mile: 14.0 @ 100 sec

stats from Grassroots Motorsports magazine; May/June 1999 and a MY2000 Honda S2000 sales brochure

NOTE: edits in purple

[F20C]

JDM Spec S2000 are more powerful.

The maximum hp is achieve at 8300 RPM.

I'll add a few other stats in.

Fastest 0-60 achieve in S2000 on record is 5.1 seconds.

Fastest 1/4 mile achieve in S2000 on record is 13.6 seconds.

[YellowMaranello]

how was the S800 compared to the other cars of its time?

[Jay!]

They were never (offically) sold in the U.S., so you'd have to compare them to non-American cars of their time.

The S800 was an evolution of the S500, by way of the S600. The S500 was Honda's first car.

Excerpted from Grassroots Motorsports, May/June 1999; story by Bob Lang
The Honda S500 debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show in 1962. It was a "formula" car, built to a list of regulations set by the Japanese government for wheelbase, engine displacement, and other criteria that made them exempt from expensive taxes and fees. It went into production in 1963, with a 531cc engine (54x58mm) producing 40hp at 8000 rpm.

The car was technically fascinating: it featured an aluminum block, double overhead-cam engine, four-wheel-independent suspension (including an ingenious chain drive mechanism, with a chain located inside each of the two rear trailing arms), and a heavy, ladder box frame.

Honda may have considered a more sophisticated backbone-type chassis and fiberglass body like that of the Lotus Elite, but the idea was rejected in favor of a design that could stand up to the rough Japanese roads of the day. Furthermore, Honda engineers had much more experience building engines than automobile chassis, so a conservative approach to chassis design seemed sensible. They saved the goodies for the engine.

The S600 picked up where the S500 left off. Introduced in 1964, it was the same basic car, but with a 606cc (54.4x65mm) engine and 57hp at 85000 rpm. In addition to the convertible, a coupe was also offered. The cars were now being exported to Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Next came the S800 in 1966. The engine, now up to 791cc (60x70mm), produced 70hp and could propel the car to a top speed of 100 mph. the other change was to the rear suspension and the manner in which power was transmitted to the rear wheels. The chain drive was replaced with a more conventional rear differential and live rear axle; suspension consisted of four trailing arms, a Panhard rod and coil springs over hydraulic shocks.

The S600 provided Western automotive journalists their first exposure to the S cars. They were intrigued by the strange newcomer from Japan and by its odd mix of old and new. They called it "endearing," "a jewel from the east," "an imitation Sprite." "a proto-Jensen Healey," "a gleaming mass of machinery," and so on.

American Honda had test programs for all the S cars at one time or another, but for several reasons, the car was never officially imported to the United States. T.C. Browne, writing for Motor Trend in January 1981, recalled one ill-fated test of an S500. It was 1964, and representatives from Honda Japan brought a brand-new S500 to California for testing. For three weeks they thrashed the car - from the Nevada desert to Death Valley to L.A. - and it performed nearly flawlessly.

Then they drove to San Francisco in search of the steepest streets they could find. When they arrived at the bottom of Polk Street, the little Honda, with 44hp at a lofty 8000 rpm, was doomed before the driver ever let out the clutch. The driver made several attempts - at increasingly high revs - to launch the car so that it could carry enough momentum to reach the top. Sadly, the car never made it to the top; the clutch burned out along with Honda's plans to bring the S500 to the U.S.

It's estimated the number of S cars in the U.S. reached its peak at 350, but only around 150 to 200 remain. Many were shipped back to Japan because their value there far outweighs their value here.

[gang$tarr]

Originally posted by Silver S2000

Honda S800

engine type: inline DOHC slant 4
bore/stroke: 60x70mm
displacement: 791 cc
horsepower: 70 hp @ 8000 rpm
torque: 48.5 ft.-lbs. @ 6000 rpm
compression ratio: 9.2:1

weight: 1632 lbs.

top speed: 100 mph
0 - 60 mph: 9.4 sec

going 0-60mph with 70hp that's impressive!

would anybody care to post some pictures??

[Jay!]

Originally posted by gang$tarr
would anybody care to post some pictures??

Oh, yeah! Duh!

Cabrio and coupe; street and racing:

[gang$tarr]

the cabrio looks much better... i think the coupe looks like a pinto or somethin

can't beat the screaming 70hp under the hood

i'll take an S2000 please, hehe i'm not much of an old car guy