S2000 or BRZ, I want your personal opinions

[Tbomb 25]

Originally Posted by fatoni

Just like the wrx revived the alltrac and 323gtx

Damn you just reminded me i got rid of my mint 323gtx like a fool.....

[Tbomb 25]

Originally Posted by s2_slow

The s2000 is one of the most honest, fun and tactile cars you will ever get behind the wheel of.. at any price. Ive owned an e36 m3, evo8, 2002 ap1 s200 and now a e92 m3 and I have to say the most fun car of the bunch was the s2000. Its nearly a perfect track car out of the box. (with the exception of cracking and snapping front rotors every track day or so) All you need is a set of decent tires, and pads and you can reliably track the car with no worries of mechanical breakdowns. I feel that its a great street car as well. It rides well even on stock suspension and it is just so much fun to drive on canyon roads/ on ramps. The best part of the car is the engine. While only making 240 hp, its got amazing character and as long as you keep it in the powerband it it amazingly quick on track.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2440556_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3506168_n.jpg

But please dont think im an s2k fan boy. I happen to think the frs is the best new car out right now with only 1 major issue. The engine is devoid of all character, and is utterly gutless. People may say honda engines are gutless as well but a 2.0 revving out to 9k has a certain appeal, not to mention the glorious induction sound. The 2.0 in the frs just lacks so much. If only toyota could have stayed true to its roots and developed their own 2.0 with individual throttle bodies and like an 8500rpm redline making even 220 hp this car would have been perfect from the factory.

Everything else about the frs is perfect imho. The steering wheel feels perfect to the touch and the steering feel is better than the s2000. The seats are far better than even the evo recaros, the grear shifter is amazingly precise with very positive shifts and the chassis balance is very aggressive in stock form. Honestly the car even looks fantastic.

I think the frs could have been better/faster than the s2000 if only toyota/yamaha could have made a decent engine for it. But still, for a new car its a great value and its a hard choice between the two unless you plan to track the car a ton, in that case the s2000 is the clear winner.

Nice list you got there mine would be the: NA Miata,FC RX7 Turbo II,323GTX,Z31 300zx turbo,Mk III GTI vr6,E30,E36,944 Turbo,Mr2 Spyder,2nd gen Probe GT,2nd gen CRX,240z,FB rx7,1st gen Mr2,Mitsubishi Starion Esi and recently the both V8 & V6 Mustangs with track and performance packs.....with the recaro seats it totally changes the seating postion and makes it very much like the FC and the FRS/BRZ seating position and everything fitting like a glove with everything where it should be. I havent had much seat time in S2000 but im sure it will float the hell out of my boat and i havent driven the FRS/BRZ yet but i pretty much know it will float the hell out of my boat to.

[suzuka]

Originally Posted by jrcoreymv

Hey guys, not sure if this belongs in the VS subforum, but I thought it'd be good here.

I have an opportunity to inherit a 20k mile AP2 s2000 at no cost, or spend approximately 10k dollars to get a BRZ. My father owns the s2000 and babied it, so I know it's condition and service records. Now I realize that it comes down to whether the extra practicality is worth the 10 grand, but what I'm more curious about is what you'd do given the choice. I know both cars would be amazing, but I don't want to be sitting in the brz and regret spending the extra money for an arguably similar car. For what it's worth I'm 23 and the extra cargo room would be very useful, but not sure if i can justify the cost.

Updated with pics (old ones):

Jesus... Your newly inherited s2000 with such low mileage should be worth $25,000 !



Honda and even BMW will not make a car with a Formula 1-inspired, highly-tuned-from-factory and reliable N/A engines to die for within reach for middle class like the M52 VANOS and F20C VTEC for a very long time, so don't dump your S2K right away. Simply put... the VTEC engine and the transmission in that s2000 is worth weight in gold!

New global emissions rules pretty much killed pretty-sounding, F-1 inspired 8K-9K RPM N/A engines for middle class; dull-sounding turbo and hybrid/electrification is the new name of high performance game, and the only way to experience pure N/A in a new car is now only reserved in exotic class (Porsche GT3, Ferrari Italia, Lamborghini Aventador... with gas guzzler penalties)



If I were you... keep the s2k.

Just give your S2k a mugen hardtop, Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and call it a day

[serialk11r]

I am having a strong sense of deja vu, am I crazy or did someone write more or less exactly the same post as the one above earlier?

[suzuka]

Look to the top right of the picture...

it looks as if someone just finished *fap*-ing at the sight of the engine bay

[SamSpecFRS]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

In 3 words, you made my point.

If the FRS debuted at $33k, I'm sure it could have been as fast as the S2000, but it didn't, so it isn't.

I'm also saying that for a difference in MSRP between the vehicles of $8k, you can add 40hp and stickier/wider set of tires to the FRS for much less than $8k and have a car that could equal the S2K on the track yet be better/more functional as a daily driver (except for the drop top part).




It didn't appears as if the OP was talking about a track toy. Also most clubs require you to have a roll-bar installed if your vehicle is a convertible. Installing a roll bar kind of ruins the car as a DD. You are right about the value of the used S2k.

The FRS, on a personal note, is exciting for me because the only reason I'm not driving around in an S2k is for the reasons I posted earlier (practicality and track-ability compliance) and like I said, the FRS solves all those problems.

The s2000 comes with a roll bar from the factory... No aftermarket roll bar is needed.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by SamSpecFRS

The s2000 comes with a roll bar from the factory... No aftermarket roll bar is needed.

Most orgs do require a roll bar that will pass the "broomstick test". I had to get one for mine to run track events with COMSCC.

[s2_slow]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Most orgs do require a roll bar that will pass the "broomstick test". I had to get one for mine to run track events with COMSCC.

im 5ft 9 and I can pass it. It all depends how anal the org wants to be. If you slouch its pretty easy to pass the test.

[ZDan]

Broomstick test usually requires the helmeted head to be 2" below the broomstick. At 5'9", no way. COMSCC specifically calls out Boxster and S2000 factory roll bars as not meeting their requirement. A lot of tracks have regs like this as well. If the track or the sanctioning body has a roll bar requirement for convertibles, most often the factory hoops won't qualify.

[cokelemon]

To be honest, free car over any thing in your shoes. The S2K is an amazing car and if you plan to mod, the market is there. If you want the FR-S/BRZ you're going to have to wait for some after market support, being that if you actually mod to what you like, and not just buy whatever is available. But if you're well off and have money to burn...

[warman]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Most orgs do require a roll bar that will pass the "broomstick test". I had to get one for mine to run track events with COMSCC.

This is one of the reasons I got rid of my S2000. I wanted to track more, but organizations were all deeming the S2000 factory roll bars unacceptable. The cost to put an aftermarket roll bar, seats and harnesses were just not worth it to me.

[lopro25]

I have an AP1 s2000 as well as my FR-S and have to say the S2000 is still a more fun car to drive, in that it is more hardcore and purpose-built for fun driving. It provides a more driver-centric experience and in it the driver is always completely connected to the car. That being said, the FR-S is great at all those things, just not quite as great as the S2000. The one thing about the S2000 is that it is very unforgiving. I have found that the FR-S has been just as much fun because i feel much more confident approaching the limit. I always sort of feared for my life while hitting an on ramp at hyper-legal speeds in the S2000. From a practicality standpoint, I never had many problems with the lack of cargo room in the S2000. The fact is for getting groceries or tooling around town, you will make it work. You will never use either car to go to home depot though. I will soon be selling my S2000 because I don't need two cars with such similar goals. However given your situation I would highly suggest the S2000. You are young and a fast drivers car that can drop the top in a few seconds was always something I enjoyed for the past few years.

[genometuning]

cant beat free. keep the S2k. spend 10,000 on mods or take your girlfriend somewhere nice.

[jkonquer]

Personally i would keep the s2000 for track and weekend car and buy a new comfortable car for daily driver. S2000 vs brz is very minimal for a trade for racing.