What this is, and how to trust it.

AP1AP2 is an independent reference for Honda S2000 owners. It exists because finding one number about a twenty year old car should not require reading nine forum threads from 2009.

Where the information comes from

Every reference page carries a Sources section at the bottom naming the specific documents behind its figures, so you can go and check the original for yourself. This page and the contact page are the exceptions, since neither carries specifications of its own.

Facts are not copyrightable, which is why a reference like this can exist. Paint codes, bulb sizes and torque figures are facts. Honda's own text, diagrams and photography are not, and none are reproduced here.

Service data

Maintenance intervals, fluid capacities, dimensions, tire pressures and alignment figures are transcribed from Honda's own owner's manuals, checked across all ten model years rather than one. That work found three separate schedules rather than one: 2000 and 2001 have shorter coolant and transmission intervals, 2002 through 2005 use the longer fixed mileage schedule, and 2006 onward use the Maintenance Minder. Torque values come from the factory service manual where it covers them. Part numbers and socket sizes are compiled from parts catalogs and owner documentation, because Honda does not publish tool sizes at all. Compiled means exactly that: this site is built to be right, but it is not the factory manual. Before you torque a fastener or order a part, confirm the number against the manual for your year. That is not a disclaimer, it is how anyone serious works on a car.

When sources disagree

On a car that ran ten years across four markets, sources contradict each other constantly, and sometimes Honda contradicts itself. Two examples currently live on this site:

The F20C redline is variously given as 8,800, 8,900 or 9,000 rpm depending on who you ask, and whether they mean the gauge marking or the fuel cutoff. Honda's own 2004 press kit settles the engineering figures with a row labelled "Rev Limit / Fuel Cutoff" reading 8800/9000 for the F20C and 8000/8200 for the F22C1, so the 9,000 and 8,200 numbers quoted almost everywhere are the fuel cutoffs. The complication is that Honda marketed the car on 9,000 rpm and the tachometer red zone starts there, so for the AP1 the marked red zone and the fuel cut effectively coincide. Both figures are given on this site rather than one being picked.

For 2006, the owner's manual contains the full Maintenance Minder with its coded services, while Honda's own owner site publishes a fixed mileage schedule for the same car. The manual is followed here, since it describes the car rather than a database entry, but the conflict is real and unresolved.

In those cases the disagreement is recorded on the entry rather than resolved by picking whichever number appeared first in a search. A reference that quietly guesses is worse than one that says it does not know.

What is not here yet

VIN positions four to six, eight, nine, ten and eleven are now confirmed against more than forty real US market VINs, and the plant letter change is dated to Honda's own February 2004 announcement. Position seven still rests on enthusiast documentation rather than a published Honda source, though since it is 1 on every US car it carries no information either way.

Production counts and curb weights are not published in the owner's manuals: Honda points you to the certification label on your own doorjamb. The figures here are the commonly cited US ones.

Year ranges for seven of the ten colors never sold in the US vary between sources, so they are left open rather than guessed; the three with dates Honda documented are shown. Owner's manuals do not cover paint at all.

The engine oil drain plug has two Honda figures that disagree: the factory service manual gives 29 lb ft and the owner's manual 33 lb ft. Both are shown on the torque page. The values with no Honda source verified here, such as the valve cover, oil filter housing, rear caliper bracket and brake bleeders, are labelled as unconfirmed on that page.

The 2009 manual lists the front side marker and parking light as a single amber bulb, where this site treats them as two positions. Bulb part numbers are not in any owner's manual, which gives wattages only, so the part numbers and the AP1 to AP2 changeover years here come from Honda parts diagrams rather than a manual.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, it should be fixed. Corrections backed by a factory manual, a parts catalog or a build sheet are especially welcome, and the entry will be updated with a note about what changed.

Not affiliated with Honda

This site has no relationship with Honda Motor Co., Ltd. The names Honda, S2000, AP1 and AP2 are used only to identify the vehicle this reference covers.