I Agree.. The S2K is PURE sports car. A very balanced track car. It's everything the Brits tried to build, but with reliability. The downsides are few.. lacking torque down low in the rpm band.. and tight seating.

The 350Z is built on a universal chassis designed for mundane cars. Thats why its lousy at the track.. It's built for looks only with a bit of straight line performance.

 

Cheap shot?

As Valcomm said about ... stock MCS and stock S2000 ... no contest.

Since Spyder has a MINI, what am I going to compare it against that he can relate to ... a Scion?

I think you read way too much into everything ... I know MINI's walk on water but get some reality here ... while the two cars aren't in "two different leagues" the S2000 is clearly a notch up in the sports car world.

 

Agreed..

 

Agreed.

However, the thread asks for the pors and cons of the S2000 and the Z convrtible, not a comparison between the latter and the MCS.

No hard feeling men. But I still think MINIs walk on water and run circles around RAV4s.

 

My last car an '03 s2k and I loved it. I switched to the Mini when we moved from Palm Springs to Philadelphia. I think it's a great warm weather car or a second car if living anywhere the temp drops below 40. Regarding the performance the car is a little beast. There is nothing like screaming all the way to the amazing 9K redline, or keeping it above 6K through the twisties. It is the purest sports car I've ever driven and loads of fun on a daily basis. BTW, the transmission is absolutely top notch and a pleasure to snick through the gears with. I had a silverstone with red interior and got tons of complements. If I could afford a second car and had a garage this would definately be it.

 

My friend used to have an S2000 and he absolutly loved it. Unfortunatly the car's life ended in a nasty accident when he got t-boned by a Camry.

 

I just got back from the dealer and drove an 04 with 25K on it....nice car.

I liked a lot about it....... I will say it is NOT as fast as my Mini......

seems like it would be fun in the twisties...... I can't imagine touching the suspension as it seemed top knotch for a street car......

the brakes need an upgrade..... used to the APs on my Mini

it could use some TQ... no doubt... a little weak


when "on cam" it was reasonably strong but no where near as startling as the Elise "on cam".....

I might want one..... need to see what the cost of the upgrades are..... brakes and a small turbo would probably be my choice..... other than that it is very sweet IMO......

 

you'd probably be better off buying a used one w/ a SC'er or turbo, there's many for sale on s2ki

 

Like I said, You Da' Man on modded MINIs

 

OK, here is a question. Can the S2000 engine take on a SC or TC and still remain reliable? What little I know says that engine is already tweaked to the max from the factory with super light parts to facilitate the high revs that Honda loves.

 

honda needs to make a v6 2 seater FR coupe.

 

S2000 easy. Looks cleaner and the 350Z eats tires big time. The Datsun (Sentras are Nissans) sounds better but is no where near as dependable as a Honda. My commuter is a Honda CBR600RR and I can assure you Honda knows engines.

 

First of all, your car should be substantially faster (have more acceleration) than any stock S2k. Even with my mods, I can pull on a S2k about a car a gear. On a track, it would be a different story.

I agree the S2k is a better overall car than the 350Z and more fun to drive. However since you already own a beastly modded MCS, it would probably be nicer for you to buy something with a little more refinement and sophistication...

I would do what Kenchan did and go with an Infiniti G35 couple for a second daily driver. I sometimes miss having an automatic transmission in the MCS; luckily the G35 has a 5 speed auto with a manual shift mode for occasional enthusiastic driving; the best of both worlds.

Is there any reason why you only had a S2k and 350Z in mind?

 

^^ i never thought the G35C's with AT were that exciting to drive.
plus, not the best mpg.... get a 06Civic like i did for a daily driver.
those are actually pretty fun to drive even AT in stock form.

you really need to get the 6MT G35C like i did to feel the car... do some
sus mods like mine and it turns into a very capable weekend car
without the harshness even on 35 profile S03 tires runing 36psi.

 

An automatic? Dude, if you want an easy dependable car buy a Civic. MINI's are driven, not steered.

 

this i can agree to.. to a point

like i said though, the new AT civics are actually pretty fun to drive.
it's the kind of car you wake up in the morning and look
forward to driving to work. honda did a nice job on this one.
car feels good for the price.

 

what started me down this path was the pleasure I get from driving my GFs Miata in the mts with the top down...... I was thinking of something a little bigger maybe with a little more sophistication.....just a touring/sporty kind of ride.....I just don't see myself in the Mini convertible....

after driving the S2K ..... could be just the ticket

the comment about my car faster was a respone to "chows" who thought that the S2K would be faster..... I could care less (there is always someone faster/smarter/richer/stronger ...who cares) this was more a point of reference.

My dd is an Xterra for bikes/kayaks etc..... truthfully, I drive the Mini most days

 

didn't read all three pages, but I'll throw in my experience. The 350Z is more of a grand tourer (soft and more livable), the S2000 the scalpel-like sportscar with reflexes that will bite you if you aren't ready for them.

We had an '02 black/red leather S2000 in the garage for six months while a friend was over in Afghanistan. My wife loved the car....so much so, she wanted to trade her Subaru WRX wagon in and buy one when it left us. Bench racers will say there's no torque (which appears to be true), but the drivetrain is so direct, it doesn't feel that way at all.

In the end, she decided to buy her MCS Cabrio - insurance was 30% of the cost, it has a backseat (great for our two big dogs), and generally more practical. The other issue was size - the first-gen S2000 doesn't have adjustable steering column...the distance between the wheel and the brake pedal was a few inches shorter than from me knee to the sole of my foot (I'm 6'2") - I couldn't safely drive the car, having to get at the brake pedal from the side. Two of my favorite cars are non-starters for me.....S2000 and the NSX for just this reason - built for 5'8" Japanese

 

here's the most reliable FI option I know of for the s2k. . .

http://www.comptechusa.com/store/product1549.html

 

buy the honda. i would buy the nissan because i dont drive stick but if you do, buy the honda.