This is not an RX-8 vs. S2000 thread...
 

But I was going through one of my old Car&Driver magazines and found an old sports car shoot out of the 350Z, S2K, Mustang Mach 1 and Audi TT.

What I found very interesting is how similar the S2K with a hard top tested compared to C&D's own April '03 test of the RX-8. Everyone knows that C&D did a very high RPM clutch drop in the RX-8 to get 0-60 in 5.9 secs and that the rolling start 5-60 was about 7.5 secs. Well, they did the exact same high rpm clutch drop to the old S2K and got similar results (acutally slower results compared to their RX-8 test):

From Car & Driver (Dec. 2002)
Our own 0-to-60 time of 6.3 seconds was set with a hole shot just south of the redline on a car with only 369 miles on the odo, but that's behavior reserved for people who can do clutch changes on their lunch hour. Regular Joes can expect 60 mph to arrive closer to the 7.6 seconds of the S2000's 5-to-60-mph time, the second-slowest rolling start ahead of the Audi.

The 350Z won this shoot out btw. Here's the entire article:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

Again, please don't turn this into an 8 vs. S flame war. I just found this article to be of relevant interest as a hard top S2K weighs close to an RX-8.

a friend of mine has a 2000 s2k. I know other people say the S is faster then the 8 but. . . I don't agree with that :)

It may feel and sound faster, but we tested both cars side by side and he's a way better driver then I am and we were neck and neck all the way up to 100km/h. After that the S kinda took a bit of a lead in 3rd gear but i think i screwed up the shift :)

But the S sounds CRAZY when it gets up there in the RPM band.. Oh and also the seats are really uncomfortable :( like back breaking i need to sit in the 8 to correct my back uncomfortable :)


MrJynx

What's the weight difference between the hardtop S2K and the Softtop one?

My dads Girlfriend had a Silver 2004 S2k, I really liked the way it looked. I sat in it but didn't like the way the seats felt either. Interior did need a little work too but beside that I thought the car was great! He has driven both of them and he said he liked everything about my car better except the fact that the S2k was Drop Top. He said in straight-line both cars felt the same but handling the S2k hung just a LITTLE better.

He did like the shifting in the 8 better as well and he also said it felt silky smooth.

Dont know too much about those articles and I never really bothered to read them all the way. But I do see what your saying.

soft tops are always heavier. the canvas for the top weighs a ton. don't forget all the metal supports and extra lines for hydraulic ones.

Yes, but the hard top S2K also includes the soft top. So the hard top increases the S2K's weight to where it's just about 2900 lbs. A few members with base or sport RX-8s have weighed their cars in the low 2930-ish range.

i dont understand the basis of the rx8 vs s2000 argument. they are 2 completely different cars. just because they have similar numbers doesnt justify them being viewed as competitors.

They're both sports cars, executed differently, but with similar goals in mind.

You didn't get the memo? All $25K-$35K Japanese cars that weigh less than 3,500 lbs are automatically competitors...

I've always thought of the RX-8 as a hard top S2K with back seats...

I've got a friend who drives a Suzuka Blue 03 S2K, as well as a pink boosted integra with over 25,000 invested into mods (the car is damn fast, and has been featured on tv, magazines, and won countless awards), she also has a Scion XB, but anyhow...

She always drives her S2K, and once I gave her a ride in the 8. She really liked the interior, and said it was better than her S2K (obviously). I asked her if she wanted to drive, and she got real excited. She said the shifter is much smoother, the ride is much better and seems to handle nearly as well, and feels just as fast. This chick knows her S2K inside and out, I mean she is a car chick afterall....

So I thought that was an interesting fact. Most S2K guys I come across love their cars more than anything...but a girl who is this into cars, and owns more than just an S2K can give a less subjective and more unbiased opinion on the two cars.

Well since I've owned both cars I feel qualified to give my 2 cents. The S definately feels faster and handles a bit better than the 8. The 8 definately has a more comfortable ride and interior.

Paging Ike......Paging Mr. Ike........

:confused:

You forgot to click "Feature-6-0-3-0", rotten :D

Uh, huh. Let's see. In this corner, we have the RX-8 from Mazda. Four doors, four seats, large trunk (well, if you don't mind not having a spare tire). Comfortable. Relatively soft ride. Quiet. Lots of amenities. Performs nicely. Excellent compromise car.

In this corner, we have the S2000 from Honda. Two seats. Drop top. Very elemental. May carry a set of golf clubs, but no more. Does have a spare tire, sort of. Uncomfortable. Small. Tight fit. Unforgiving ride. Noisy. No amenities, unless you count a radio you can't hear. Loads and loads and loads and loads of fun to drive for those who like this sort of car.

Yeah, these would be similar goals. :rolleyes:

Thanks jackass ;)

That would be the execution you're descirbing, the goal being fun to drive.

My pleasure! :D

Well, the four door, four seat thing actually was an important part of the "goal" of Mazda in making the RX-8.

In any event, the driving experiences of the two cars are so very, very different. It seems that almost daily on this forum, someone is comparing the two cars, which always baffles me. As someone who owns both, I have driven both much more than practically anyone here. I do understand that "fun to drive" is a very subjective thing, but, for me, when considering pure driving for its own sake, a four door, four seat car simply cannot compare in the all-important "fun to drive" category to a nimble, relatively powerful roadster.

There is a reason Road & Track didn't include the RX-8 in this odd but fun comparison of various sports cars. And why Car & Driver rated the S2000 tops in its fun review of roadsters here. That's simply because it's fun to drive. Not practical. Not particularly powerful. Not comfortable. But oh, so much fun!

Magazine reviews are always really subjective, but even reviews which are relatively unkind to the S2000 give it its due as a fun driving car.

Likewise, of course, there's a reason why the RX-8 has been on Car & Driver's Ten Best both years of its existence. It's a great compromise car--built to haul a bunch of people and/or stuff; four doors, comfortable, and still quite fun to drive.

I would never choose the RX-8 over the S2000 for taking a nice drive (especially on a top-down sort of day), unless I needed to take more than one other person. But there are lots of things for which I would choose the RX-8 for, and I would enjoy driving it (or being a passenger in it) for all those things, also.

Funny, I think you actually might say "different goals, similar execution" if you consider the "execution" to be the development of a coupe(ish) vehicle with a small engine and very sporty handling.

The S2K is geared more toward a pure performance roadster. The RX-8 is geared toward being a sports car without sports car sacrifices.

So how many pounds does the hard top weigh? how come i can't find the hard top version on honda's site? shouldn't the hard top handle much better the the convertable s2k cuz of more support for the frame?

This is not a hardtop version of the S2000; there is not such animal. The S2000 was designed to be a convertible, and comes only in convertible trim. It is verystiff. The hard top adds 45 pounds (but a bit high up, too). I don't have one, cuz it keeps you from dropping the top on that occasional winter day when it's not raining. :p

The RX-8 is better than the S2000...just kidding! I couldn't help it.

I agree with whatever 124spider says :)

Today I turned the S2000 on for 30 seconds to back it out of the garage, washed it and it started when I was done. Ran it for 30 seconds to pull into the garage and shut it off. Next time I went out to start it, guess what ... it started. :p The S' is the better car ;)

but i've seen hard top s2k's on 2 different occasions on the freeway though. are those custom s2k's?

"This is not an RX-8 vs. S2000 thread..."

Funny, it sure turned into one.

Imagine that.

I do that with my RX8 all the time...I've never had a problem with flooding it.


The S2000 is a cool car...I really like the look and the performance but I needed 4 seats to get it past the buying commitee (wife)