124Spider

It's amazing how often this same, stupid question is asked.

Drive them both. Decide which one you like better.

They're slightly different cars--one a two-seat roadster, one a four-seat, four-door coupe.

Why ask us?

And what answer do you really expect on an RX-8 forum (and, BTW, one yahoo pointed out that the RX-8 claims 238bhp, while the S2000 claims 237bhp, as if that means the RX-8 is more powerful than the S2000; in the real world, the typical RX-8 dynos at about 185 rwhp, corrected, on a Dynojet, while the typical AP2 S2000 dynos at about 210 rwhp, corrected, on the same Dynojet).

I've been on this board for a little less than three years, and I'll bet this is the 20th "RX-8 vs. S2000" thread in that time. And all of them were stupid.

The Drunk IT Guy

As far as the S2k goes...

1985 called, they'd like their cd player back..

They've got digital gauges, a push button start and zeons, yet they decided to shove in this antique looking CD player with the classic orange-lit display. WTF??

I was checking them out on Ebay and my legs ache just looking at that interior..

And Angry Bunny was right, no armrest, that's gotta suck..

tajabaho1

^ its a roadster dude, a roadster

CosmosMpower

At least you can take it out and replace it with an Alpine without paying 500 dollars for some gimmicky tacky aftermarket piece to re-arrange your heater controls and stereo, now that's stupid.

The S2000 interior doesn't rattle, fall apart and use cheap materials like the RX-8. Our S2000 is 7 years old with 107K miles on it and NEVER had an interior piece break. My 05 RX-8 had 2 sunvisors, a cupholder door, a glovebox replaced within a year and a half not to mentinon half a dozen other things.

CosmosMpower

Depends on what kind of numbers you're looking at. Lets say you autocross which many RX-8 and S2000 owners do. A common SCCA class winning margin is 1/10th of less of a second.

If you put the fastest RX-8 time B stock with the S2000 class Astock it would've finished 9th. Anyways I don't care, I've driven both extensively and my opinion is just that I like the S2000 more all around (except practicality). I also realized I'm 24 and don't have kids so it would be fun to replace the 4 seat RX-8 with an Elise while I can

Carry on.

The Drunk IT Guy

Dam dude, my interior has held up pretty good..

Your right, it's easily replaceable.. But I've really grown on those steering wheel controls, I've never had those before and they're so handy!..

When my upcoming checks from my new job start coming in, I'm going to replace all the interior speakers with better ones. I'm going to buy a separate amp for them as well, and that'll go with the sub in the trunk that I've already got.. It'll look completely stock while blasting away at ridiculous volumes..

I want to get that Ipod connector too, that'll be spiffy.

chancejat

iTrader: (2)

for a high revving sports car 8300.....03> 9000.............i see s2k's all the time with 110000 miles.........ive seen one with 130000..........they are far more reliable than most 8's........but have a horible ride quality...........no good interior......glovebox for a trunk..........and very loud road noise.........the 8 is more of a dd..........the s is a weekend warrior...........

TrochoidMagic

^^oh no, we all have ford mustangs!

i love both honda's and rotaries. honda has great technology, and those cars also begs to be pushed, minus the oil consumption. if you have the budget to afford either one and you're in ur early 20's, go with the S2k.

lets face it, you are still at that luxury point where u can still ask that question:
S2k or RX-8? and if it won't hurt either one u choose, then take the honda.
1) gas is **** off the roof and it never keeps staying lower,
2) S2k's are just as reliable as any other civic's or accord's.
3) equal or better performance in all aspects to the rx-8
4)high resale value

though i had to get the 8, i would still love to have a S2k in my stable. the reason i can't is for needing the 2 extra seats in the near future.

TrochoidMagic

just keep the S2k nice and simple and not like every other kids honda toy in which you see getting pulled over all the time. no need to body kit such already beautiful cars outta the box. if y

TrochoidMagic

the rx-8 is a perfect candidate DD with race plans due to
1) 9k rpms! its a rotary.
2) that the stock suspension?! and this is a 4 seater?!
3) the simplicity of things to remove such as weight and not needing much to make the car a fun and competitive car.
4) put a "baby on board" sticker on the back with mods and you'll still get less attention than even the stockest S2k.

Chrisbert

Mine has an armrest, and I keep my radio door closed all the time so I never see the radio. The only downside to my armrest is I cannot bake bread under it like I could in my 8.

Chrisbert

No offense, but if you have stock AT he was not trying. Also, my insurance strangely was $25 / year cheaper on the S than the 8.

9291150

Where does that extra 25hp at the wheels on the lighter S2000 show up here???

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...upe_comparison

CosmosMpower

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ecs_price.html

It traps almost 5 mph higher in the 1/4 which is a lot. Mag tests are stupid.

eclipsegsx

i think you'd get a lot more attention in an rx8 than an s2000.

imho =P other than that drive both as a billion ppl have told u and you decide, its yo money foo!

9291150

Yes, and the garbage on these sites are much better eh?

The 4.4mph diff. occurs in the 90-100 spread where the 8 bogs down after the 3 to 4 shift. fact is, there isn't the diff. that "25hp" and a 200 pound lighter car should produce, especially considering that also have identical top speeds.

124Spider

It is a well-established fact that the typical stock RX-8 dynos at 180 - 185 rwhp, corrected, on a Dynojet. It is a fact that the typical AP2 S2000 dynos at 205 - 210, corrected, on the same machine. There are lots of threads even on this site which confirm that. See, e.g., https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/pics-vids-dyno-day-53949/ .

Believe what you want, but the facts are the facts.

The typical car magazine test (as opposed to the cherry-picked one you came up with) has the S2000 doing 0-60 in the neighborhood of 5.4; the RX-8 in the neighborhood of 5.8 (note that the S2000 takes one more shift to get there, since it redlines 2nd at 57mph). Likewise, the typical car mag has the S2000 doing 0 - 100 in 14.0, with the RX-8 being about a half second slower (and also taking one less shift, since the S2000 runs out of fourth gear at 97mph). That doesn't sound like much, but, in the real world, it's a significant difference.

There's nothing about the performance of the RX-8 to be ashamed of. But, stock, it's in a different class, literally and figuratively, than the S2000 when measuring pure performance. Its strength is its combination of excellent performance and utility. But being a mindless fanboi, pretending that the RX-8 is "better" in every way, ignoring well-established facts, does nobody any good.

9291150

^ cherry picking??? It's the only test where the two were tested side by side, same day, same conditions, same testers...

If you're gonna believe that the S2000 is "in a different class" of performance, then you're the fanboi. Re-read the test.

I never said the 8 was a better sportcar, but I will say it's nearly the performance equal to the S2000 while being a vastly better daily driver. The fact that it seats four is another bonus. If this statement makes me a fanboi than - guilty! Or maybe you can tell my what I said to make me a fanboi over you??

124Spider

*sigh*

The S2000 won A Stock this year at SCCA autocross nationals. Fact. The RX-8 won B Stock. Fact. Different classes. Fact. For a reason. Fact. Nobody with any knowledge of both cars thinks that there's any race course in existence in which the RX-8 (stock) would beat the S2000 (stock), with expert drivers driving both cars. Fact. The stock S2000 typically dynos at 25 rwhp more than the stock RX-8. Fact.

All I'm trying to do is correct misstatements of fact. But carry on. It's apparently a hopeless task.

RX-8Newb

its okay to admit that there are faster cars out there than out 8 lol, get over it geez

tajabaho1

its not misstatements spider........its called truth rejection

eug

iTrader: (2)

I mean really, both are fine cars. Can we get over this human nature to have to declare a winner and a loser, or better versus inferior?

NoRotorNoMotor

I've also seen a lotta spin out's with S2k drivers.

I'd have to assume that the rx8 is an easier car to drive than the s2k.

But thats what Mazda goes for ... well balanced ... not just a numbers car.

Gotta respect them for that.

Dlin23

Really depends what you are looking for. I just currently switched from rx8 to s2000 and i can tell you for a fact that the s2000 is faster. One thing that the rx8 has over the s2000 is the comfort and it barely has any road noise. If you want a more mod friendly car i would say go for the s2000 but if you want comfort go for the rx8.

Ike

Actually, the S2000 is more like 2 seconds quicker from 0-100 and 5+ seconds quicker from 0-130 despite what i assume is extra drag from the vert. Yes, it is a difference level of performance and we all know who the biggest fanboi on this forum is.