I need a second car so that i can give my jeep to my wife. I keep vacilating between an s2000 and an rx-8.

Today I negotiated a pretty good lease deal (muchhhhhh better than I could get on a s2000) and was feeling pretty good about it (cheaper than the s2000, more practical, etc.). Then I saw an s2000 drive by me and I got confused again....

I just don't want to have buyers remorse in a few months. Adding a second car payment is a big deal.

Just ranting... and stalling....

Thanks for being a great forum.

J

 

Get the 8. You won't look back.

 

Because the s2000 will be in front of you. :D :D

Sorry couldnt resist.

 

how do you figure...isnt the 8 just as fast if not faster than the S2000?anyways...get the 8...looks cooler....bigger inside..rotary engine...s2000's are nice cars but i heard the news ones suck because the bigger displacement engines (2.0 to 2.4)=less rpm's to play with.I dont know..i mean i like the S2000 but for some reason if it was that or a 8...id pic the 8

 

S2000

Obtained from C&D December, 2002
0-60: 6.3 Transmission: Manual
1/4 Mile: 14.9
1/4 Speed: 95

RX-8
Obtained from R&T April, 2003
0-60: 5.9 Transmission: Manual
1/4 Mile: 14.5
1/4 Speed: 96

 

Both are great cars. Do you really want a drop top?
Drive the 8 around some corners or a back road ... better yet .... take 3 friends along for a ride. can't do that in the s2k now can you?
By the 8, join the cult!

 

Let me make this comparison for you, since I have experience with both cars (traded my TT with a friend for a few weeks before I bought my 8).

Both cars are relatively equal in accelleration.. both are very high revving engines and off plenty of power. This category won't be the decisive one.

The handling on the RX-8 is awesome. So is the S2000. The only difference is the firmness of the ride.. The S2000's suspension is twice as firm as the 8. The 8 has more body roll but feels more balanced. The 8 is very easy to control compared to the S2000, which is more of a racer's car. I think you have to be a bit more skilled to get what you want out of the S2000, whereas the 8 you'll feel the benefits immediately, except the ride is softer.

There is about 2-3 inches of play on the 8's clutch. The S2000's clutch is almost completely void of play, that is the movement between fully down and when the clutch starts to catch the power.. Which is better depends on the driver. Personally, I don't mind the extra play, but most racer-types do not like it.. You could always add a clutch-stop if it's a problem..

Speaking of clutches, the clutch on the 8 seems more robust than on the S2000, which heats up more easily (slight burnt smell) while holding the car on an uphill slope. This is probably because not having the extra play on the clutch made it difficult to 'hold' the car without burning the clutch on the S2000.

Which brings me to another point--the rotary engine is known to recover from near-stalls quite aptly. The rotors run in one direction (unlike pistons) so a complete stall can often be avoided by quickly putting down the clutch as soon as the engine begins to stutter.. Under the same condition, a piston engine would stop immediately. Sort of a neat behavior of rotary engines.

The shifting on the 8 is a bit notchy at first compared to the S2000, but after a while, once you break it in it's pretty smooth from then on. The S2000 I drove was already broken in (30k), and it was pretty easy to shift. The 8's shifter has very close shift 'slots', so don't be surprise if you miss your shifts a few times in the first several weeks of driving the car. BTW, the shifter on the 8 vibrates a bit while in idle, but not while driving.. This can be bothersome unless you enjoy frequent hand massages

Steering response was about the same on both cars. Not too different. Perhaps slightly firmer on the 8. Both cars gave plenty of feedback through the steering wheel.

Stopping performance on both cars seemed excellent. Not noticeably different. FYI, I never was in a situation that caused me to slam on the brakes on either car, so under that condition, I am unable to comment on either car's performance.

The S2000 is very loud, especially the top down.. It makes for a terrible daily driver. The seats aren't as comfortable. You can't raise or lower the seat on the s2000! WTF.. Anyway the engine sounds great but you will not have much of a choice when you want some quiet time. The sound dampening on the S2000 is not too good, so you'll hear lots of road noise also, and even more with the top down. The 8, on the other hand, is much quieter, however when you punch it, the engine can growl quite nicely. With the windows down, it sounds very sporty with spirited driving, but "normal" driving remains relatively quiet, only a bit louder than a normal car (such as a 3-series bmw). You'll appreciate the sound system far more on the 8 than on the S2000, for sure. With the top down on the S2000, My skin was turning to leather like all those over-tanned rich old ladies from Santa Monica.. My daily commute consists of 50 minutes to 2 hours each morning (Huntington Beach to Santa Monica, 405 all the way up . Anyway, if your commute is a similar drive, be warned!

The 8 is the clear choice if you want to bring along more a single passenger. This was the reason why I choice the 8 over another TT when my lease for my TT was up.. My previous TT was great, but there had been times when I wanted the four seats to be functional, not just for midgets and contortionists.

Subjectively, the 8 looks far better. It has more character, very unique curves and innovative styling for a 4-door. Most of the time, people can't even tell it's a 4 door, unless they knew in advance. As for the interior, there's no comparison. The S2000's looks cheap by comparison.. The RX-8 wins hands down in this category.. She's a beaut, I say!

Visibility on the S2000 is great with the top down. The 8's visibility is so-so. (much better than a TT's though, which had very poor visibility due to the high beltline and small rear view through the hatch) . With the top-up visibility is only slightly better on the 8.

The 8 offers ****-poor mileage. I have logged all my miles up to date, all 23000 of them. My average mpg is 16.5. When I drive aggressively my mileage is anywhere between 13-15 mpg.. When I'm not driving like I stole it, I get 16-18 mpg. So if saving money is your concern, you shouldn't be buying either car anyway--go buy an Accord or Civic.

Neither car offers alot of trunk space. I didn't use the trunk on the S2000 at all, so I can't remember if it was bigger or smaller than my 8's trunk.

Lastly, if you get an S2000, you're car won't be as special as an 8, which is in it's first year of production. New model cars always gets lots of attention.


Hmm... what else.. Oh, options.. remember, the NAV option integrates beautifully into the dash and console of the car. It really is a kick-*** option. You won't be able to get something anywhere near like it on an S2000. The start button on the S2000 is hokey, but some people like it.. It's available for the 8 as well, but you'll have to custom order/install it since it's originally on Japanese RX8's.

 

Damn, good write up !

 

That was a very comprehensive write-up!

I guess it comes down to how much more I want a convertible here in San Francisco...

p.s. The great lease offer I negotiated on the 8 has one drawback... they wanted $800 for a bank fee to initiate the lease... b.s.

Thanks again for the responses.

 

So are you from the bay area? Just curious which dealership did you go to~

 

Good job, awesome write up, I was looking at the s2000, but went with the 8. Glad I did!

 

What a freakin moron... you have got to be one of the most ignorant people on this forum. I JUST went to the Car and Driver web site and typed "S2000" and pulled open the first available article. Titled "Extreme Sports" it has the S2000 doing 14.0 stock. This is quite close to all the other very low 14's that most professional publications are producing.

How convenient of your dumb azz to find the slowest possible S2000 time ever seen and then put it next to a decent RX8 time. Average s2000 drivers pull low 14's with occassional high 13's stock. Average RX8 drivers are pulling low 15's/high 14's, with very, very few mid 14's. Next time do some research before posting something so stupid.

I've driven both cars more than once and power wise, there's no comparison. The s2000 is hands down the winner. It has a surge of high end power where the rx-8 feels like a snail ("linear" power according to most people on here).

 

my gf's dad has both the rx8 and s2000.

the Rx8 is his winter car. nuff said.

Overall I like the Rx8. It's a sports car without the sportscar price tag. But if i had more money at the time of my purchase. I think i'd grab an s2000.

Still love the 8 though

 

LOL.. Whoever posted those numbers is a complete moron! The S2000 is capable of a mid to high 13 sec quarter mile, stock....

I went through the same dilemma as you when purchasing my car.. All in all, the RX-8 interior felt a little cheap to me.. (Could not stand the ribbed part on the side and middle of the seats.. Secondly, it didn't drive as nice as the S2000... There is no jump in the Higher RPM's in the RX-8, whereas when you take them S2000 past 6K RPM, the engine really opens up, and you can feel it!

Speedwise, the RX-8 will not even contend with an S2000... In reality, the RX-8 is a closer competitor to the Acura RSX Type-S.....

S2000- More exclusive, pure sports car.......

RX-8- Nice Sedan, but a little overpriced for what it is.....

IMO: The styling of the S2000 is alot nicer than the RX-8.. But hey, I chose the S2000 for my own specific reasons.... I am not bashing the RX-8, it's just wasn't all that I expected it to be...

 

Well, driving aspects aside, i am not surprised he chose the RX8 as a winter car. It is afterall the only one with a roof.

 

I guess S2000 drivers were offended by numbers. Who cares if the S2000 can smoke me from a stand still, my car looks, rides, feels better and costs way less !

 

very true....

but he was close to getting a miata for the winter car. With the removable hardtop of course. He didn't want to get the 8 becasue I had it. I told him to pick it up any way . The drive way looks pretty cool with a red rx8 , yellow rx8 , black s2000 and a SE prelude .

I need to take pictures :P

 

Lol. Tell that to pretty much every mag and TV show that has reviewed the car.

But yeah, the S2K is more of a sharper car than the 8 from what I drove. Since I have long commutes, the 8 won it for me pretty easy. Engine sound, feel of the car and extra seats are just what I wanted.

 

If you make Long commutes, DO NOT get the S2000! I love mine, but it can be uncomfortable to drive for a long time.... (Partially because I try to keep the leather from cracking, and try to not lean on the side bolsters....)

As for looks, the Rx-8 is a beautiful car, but I just can't stand the fender flares on the front and back. It takes away from the styling of the car.. IMO

 

While I agree that the S2000 is the faster car, this statement is not correct. The RX-8 opens fully at 6250 rpm (technically, the third air intake port is opened) and there is a jump, and quite a big one imho. Plus the 8 starts roaring very nicely at this point ... :D

 

What is that program?

 

It's a presentation / documentation of rotary engines and in particular the Renesis engine from Mazda.

Someone posted it for download here not long ago.

 

Could you find me the link, please?

 

My brother has an S2000 and I have the 8. Given then choice, I'd stick with the 8. It's alot more fun to drive, the S2000 doesn't "wake up" until 6500rpm and it gives you a false sense of accelleration because you get a little burst of speed at the top end. I'm not one to buy a car based on the numbers. The 8 is much more fun to drive than the S2000.

 

An RX-8 is more fun to drive than an S2000??? Funniest thing I've heard in a while.....