I've decided to sell my Evo and move on. I don't really drive it anymore and my friends have all sold their cars.

That being said, I'm doing some casual research on my next sports car purchase, which won't likely occur for at least two years. I'm leaning towards something light (less than 3,000 lbs) that is track oriented and relatively inexpensive to race (in stock or lightly modified fashion). I'm leaning towards an S2000 at this point, Lotus Elise would be perfect but are too expensive (even two years down the road). Does anyone have any experience racing S2000s or have other recommendations on vehicles

 

inb4 regret.

 

Miata + LSx.

 

Just get a C5 ZO6 or C6 Vette and be done.

 

Depends on what you want:

Faster (maybe): Vette or new boss mustang.

Better handling ( u did mention lotus and s2k). So you want handling ?

So sometimes I like to take a different path. Usually I would just say get an m3 (e46) in your price range. But you are going to lug around that extra weight and your mods are going to break the bank.

So lets stay german: they really make solid cars. but lets drop the big dollar part. Ok now you are going to need to reach with me a bit hear. But forced induction germans are few. Sure you could get a gti but its fat these days.

So that leaves puts me with 2 choices:

1) Mini Cooper S JCW. Yeah the wrong end is pushing the car. Yeah its got less HP than a weed whacker. But it handles like a monster. The newer turbos mod well. It takes less HP to move significantly less weight. Plus you get the other stuff: butt warmers, auto headlights, auto wipers, climate control, basically all the stuff you cant have in an evo!

2) a 1 series: fix the rear end and you got a rock solid turbo 6. With all the extra gear that you have in the *cough other bmw above Still on the porky side but the drive to the track will be enjoyable

Am I bias ? yeah. I bought a mini as my daily because the evo was killing me. regrets ? none I love it.

 

LOL, car sold today after only 3 days on craigslist. Didn't even have enough time for my evom membership to mature enough to post on the marketplace. It was bittersweet to see her drive away, but I'll get over it. Evos are probably the best cars in the price range to race, but the wear and tear is too much. Looking for more reliability and may sacrifice power.

 

vette

 

there's an ly evo 8 owner who has a s2000 in rockford illinois .. we are going to have a cruise from rockford to somewhere around o'hare airport in 2 weeks if u want to talk to him .. i don't know his evom account here but his name is john ...pm me if u wanna roll

 

^me and all my buddies will be attending that cruise my friend alex is the one who set it up should be about 40+ cars and john is a good guy he just recently purchased that s2000 and his evo is built with bigger turbo hopefully ill see you out at the cruise

 

Elise

 

I had an S2000 and I loved it. It will be a huge step down as far as power goes, so go ahead and expect that, but as far as handling, maintenance, and reliability goes, it's hard to beat.

I'm sure you know the things to look for, the '02's and later had glass rear windows, the '04's and later the 2.2 liter engine and the lower redline. It seems to be a matter of preference as to which of the two engine choices is preferred. The earlier cars will have the more aggressive stock suspension setups.

If you decide you want more power, there are some pretty nice turbo and supercharger kits that put down plenty of horsepower without having to build the engine. Most of them let you keep factory AC.

You can find S2000's in excellent shape for less than $20k, so I don't really think you should be cross-shopping an elise and an S2000. They are in very different price ranges. If you can afford the elise and the payments, take one for a spin and see what you think.


Also, I'd recommend against an E46 M3 because I had the VANOS break on mine and I had to have it replaced to the tune of $3,000. It is a very well rounded car, but the maintenance is killer. Way more than an S2000.

 

once thing to keep in mind if you go with the s2k is that most clubs won't let you in on track days in a convertible unless you have a roll bar. so if you track a lot do some research on local clubs and see what the requirements are with that.

 

Thanks for the insight. I am prepared for a dramatic difference in power, even as compared to my lightly modded '03 Evo. I'm assuming the 2.2L is more desirable, as it should have more torque over a useable power band. I would only put a header back, catless exhaust and an intake on the car as far as engine mods go. A gear for sure and a supercharger down the road. Everything else would be suspension/braking oriented.

 

Everyone on the S2k forums says drive both before you assume the 2.2 is better.

Also, if you put a loud exhaust, and gears on the car, it will be terrible for any kind of highway cruising. I had an Invidia exhaust on mine, and it sounded great, but it's very droney at highway speeds. I can only imagine it would be worse with gears. If you don't plan on any road trips, go for it.

 

C6 vette is fun but i'm selling mine and going back to an evo!