No way an S2000 will beat a Evo around and AutoX course. Been there and seen it.

I would like to see the S2000 trainy take the torque from a modded Evo. Joe neither car is good for a first time owner.

Evo

 

Wow...interesting thread

Well I currently own an S2000 so I thought I should speak up. First of all, my golf clubs actually fit in my S2000 better than my 2G Eclipse (I have a ping hoofer stand bag, with a 44" Bertha).

I am actually selling my S2000 right now, for a Silver Evo so Joe if you want a black one, I can give you a good deal. Check out www.smanders.com.

I do track driving schools and autocross. I prefer driving schools and am hoping to be an instructor within the next year or so. I have done events at Summit Point, VIR, Talladega, and autocrossed since '96. Since I bought the S2000 a year ago, it has been a big problem getting onto the track. A month before I bought the S2000, a Miata went off course at VIR and now they require SCCA approved rollbars for all convertibles. I talked to fabricators and other S2000 enthusiast and found no solution I was comfortable with. The S2000's interior is not rollbar friendly. So instead of losing thousands in value by gutting the interior, I am selling it.

Now I have done one driving school in AL with the S2000 and several autoxs. I have to say that the S2000 is tricky to get the max performance out of it. Keeping the rpms over 6000 is not easy. The handling is a lot of fun. I have gotten more and more comfortable with the rear end slipping out. A quick twitch of the wheel and a little throttle goes a long way . I hope the evo's handling is as fun and controllable as the S2000's. I KNOW the evo will be more fun exiting the corners. I am looking forward to that spool and kick in the pants of the turbo again. The tranny of the S2000 is AWESOME. It has a rod driven linkage so the shifts are very crisp. I read that the evo's steal cords are thickened and stiffer than the standard cables used in Mitsu's other cars. At least some effort and thought was put in so I'm not worried about it.

Having a two-seater has been an inconvenient at times. I always want to take the S2000 wherever I go so when my wife and I go out with friends, they have to drive separately. I can't take my wife and friends along for the ride . I also own two dogs and we always have to take our Pathfinder when they come along so having a back seat won't be a bad thing. Except I'll probably have to drive to lunch more once I have four seats . I do love the cockpit feel of the S2000 and the high center console. I like to be able to rest my arm while I shift when I am just cruising around town. That may not be so comfortable in the evo. The center armrest looks short, we'll see. The S2000 is not a friendly environment for upgrading the engine. Between the wallet and the gains, you'll be frustrated. The only forced induction I would consider is comtech's supercharger($4800 parts). Anything else would be asking for trouble. The only exhaust where you actually gain HP is Mugen's ($1500). You can see where I am going with this. Also the supercharger adds 100HP at the peak, 8300 rpms and not a whole lot where you need it, 3000 rpms. The last thing in the performance area is brakes. The S2000 was great, 12inch rotors in the front on a 2800lb car is a good combo. I gained most of my ground on other cars at the track because I could brake 20-30ft later then them, them being US WRXs, TypeRs, Preludes, Mustangs, and others. Due to the fact that the evo has brembos and 13 inch front rotors, I know the braking capabilities for the car are going to be top notch. Even with a 400lb disadvantage I am expecting the evo to brake just as good, if not better than the S2000. I am looking forward to testing that .

Reliability: having had a Mitsu that did not give me much trouble after beating it with autox and track schools up to 108k miles, I feel perfectly fine with the reliability aspect; especially knowing that the engine has ten years behind it. That's what makes me nervous about the STi's new powerplant (separate topic). And with the center diff being the same as most of the previous evos, I have no worries there either. I would be more worried if ACD/AYC were there.

All in all, for me its not about the looks. It’s about acceleration, stopping, corner grip, feedback, and having a FIXED ROOF.

Sorry so long,
smanders

 

i belive the EVO handels more G's in turns soooo it has the ability to take corners faster....

"the differentials tend to get shreded all to hell "

ye have fun with that POS!!!! s2k diff, it sucks ***, i had a supercharged s2k and i shredded the diff after about 2 months(s2k diff = $3500)

 

oh and the s2k has serious snap oversteer

 

I have to agree with erikgj. The Evo should post better times than the S2000 autoxing and rip it a new on the track.

As far as snap oversteer on the s2k, I have to disagree. I have never had a problem anticipating oversteer on the s2k. I think that rumor was started based on inexperienced driver's mishaps. I drive my s2k hard every day. I have two turns on my way to work where I get the back end lose with no problems on a regular basis. I always feel in control.

 

s2k has no chassis flex at all, but neither does the EVO

sure the s2k is a go-cart sized little beast, but that is on dense little beast at 3000 lbs

 

well i had my s2k snap oversteer on me

 

whatever floats your boat.....i would so get an EVO though. I guess it depends where you live, here in CO the only people i see driving around in S2k's are old retired folk, the kids know where its at!

 

Really, as stated, you're somewhat comparing apples to oranges, so just concentrate on what your priorities are. Yes, the Evo is going to blatantly out-perform the S2K in pretty much every aspect (some areas more and respectively less than others) and you don't have to drive it like you stole it to utilize its power. It also wasn't designed to be beautiful, though it IS beautiful . I also like the S2K and it is appealling in an entirely different way. You seem preoccupied with the convertable concept, so by all means, if that's what you want then you have your answer. As far as limited goes, you can discount that about both cars. I see no less than 15 S2K's on any given day and it remains to be seen about the evo, though I actually think it'll be LESS common than the S2K, not more. Because the Evo has such great driving characteristics doesn't mean the S2K doesn't drive well also. You'll be happy either way; just decide if you want all-out performance or good performance along with the image of an S2K, since that seems to be the image you're more drawn to.

 

I stopped reading all of the pointless posts inbetween. This moron is obviously looking to ruffle feathers. Why are you asking for others opinions on two cars if you're only going to slam the Evo and defend the S2K on every account? Get a life loser. The S2K is a nice car but I'll do donuts around your S2K and leave rubber chunks on your hood from being in front of you all day. If an S2K got a mid 13 1/4 bone stock it was a ringer. The car is not that fast plain and simple. It looks nice but if you want a sexy 2 seater with power buy a used Supra and hit 12's all day with less than $400 in mods. I can't believe there are 5 pages of responses to this fool. Nothing but a lurker trying to start a fire.

Oh yea forgot to add. Most dealers don't know wtf they're talking about so the fact you bought into most of their mularky is comical. A car that does 0-60 in 6.0 secs won't hit 13's. This car is also NOT handmade.

 

wow guys thanks for ur imput i greatly appreciate it ....

 

what constitutes a sports car though

 

Whats a rally car?

 

i seriously think u shouldnt get either car. i forsee insurance rates goin up, and not only for u. i'm not saying u will get into accidents, i'm just sayin ur more likely to get into accidents. and when insurance comanies sees how a certain car (evo for example) is more proned to accidents, then the rates for eveyone who has that car will go up.

having a nice and fast first car is great, but it mite not be the wisest choce considereing your age and inexperience. and i think many people here can agree with that.

fast is cool, but living to see the next day is a much better feeling. dont go crazy and be patient.

 

I was wondering who was going to mention the snap oversteer problem on the s2k. Apparently, with the stock suspension, everything is peachy. It's when you start affecting the suspension geometry with aftermarket lowering springs/shocks that snap oversteer can rear it's ugly head when pushing the car to it's limits.

Oh, one more thing. That computerized tach reminds me of my parents old 87 ford taurus tach. T-A-C-K-Y...