Another vs thread! S2000, contender or pretender?!

Greetings all, as some of you know I currently have a 05 GT (5EAT). Within the next few months I'm going to be trading it in and finally jumping into the deep end of the pool. Going to take me a bit to revert this bad boy to stock considering the freezing temps. At any rate I'm only looking at two cars for my next, another 2005 GT and a 2005 S2000.

 

So! As it stands I really like the LGT (except for that nasty slow trans...) and would like to try it in stick, but can't resist that sleek styling by Honda. Plus I've really been wanting a coupe lately I'm hoping to get some input from previous S2000 owners. This car will be my DD and about 85~90% will be highway miles. I hear it has a nasty ride and noise level. Any other suggestions would be appreciated too, thanks fellas!

They are much different cars. The honda is low on Tq and what not. But the LGT is heavier and far less of a canyon carver.

 

Have you considered any other coupes? Like the 350Z/G35 coupe? Just some ideas.

 

I would say try and drive a S2000 for a few days. You might find its a little small for you to travel in everyday.

 

I am partial to the Turbo AWDness of the LGT. Especially in weather like we have right now. A S2000/350Z are NOT all weather vehicles.

Yeah I've been wanting to drive one around but I only know one person with one. Unfortunately that's a big no no haha. I've considered the 350Z, G35 coupe, and Z4. I'm looking around the 20 range and that automatically cuts out the G35 and Z4, and the 350Z just kind of.. fell out of favor.

 

And yeah I gotta be honest, with the weather we've been having I've been loving the AWD. Except this powdery snow is enough to keep me at home haha I was slipping all over the place this morning. Thanks for your input!

Maybe go and test drive a S2000 and just take the guy out for a 20-30 minute drive. see if it stays comfortable to you.

 

But if you want room/passing power(turbo)/AWD... its hard to beat the LGT/FXT for overall badassness.

a friend of mine has a s2000 and loves it. i've driven it a few times and it was nice but lacked power and hondas vtecs needing to be revved out in every gear never sat well with me. driving in any weather other than sunny skies are less than pleasant

I wonder which car is actually faster in a quarter-mile run? I would think the S2000 by a car length...stock vs. stock.

I wonder which car is actually faster in a quarter-mile run? I would think the S2000 by a car length...stock vs. stock.

 

First summer with my 05 lgt I took it to a local 1/4 mile raceway and took an s2000 by at least 2 car lengths, and he had a faster reaction time then I did. This was stock at 5500' altitude. The s2k barely trapped 90mph. At stage 2 it's no contest, especially up here in the this thin air.

So! As it stands I really like the LGT (except for that nasty slow trans...) and would like to try it in stick, but can't resist that sleek styling by Honda. Plus I've really been wanting a coupe lately

 

 

Manual will make all the difference, especially with a COBB or Kartboy STS. Will this be your daily driver? If you lived in Florida I'd say you have some thinking to do, but Maryland? AWD baby.

ya gotta keep the awd, especially if u have to deal with snow etc. try driving a 5mt leggy and u will get hooked

the LGT is faster in all the ways that matter for a daily driver, power/accel wise stock for stock due to the more useable power band. on a track, the s2000 makes more sense since you are in the rpm sweet spot more. they are 2 different cars that serve 2 different purposes. for the OP, if this secod car is gonna be a weekend/fun car, the s2k will be a better choice, but if its gonna be a daily driver that you will mod, the lgt is the one to get.

S2k's are amazing. I talked my freind into getting a 2002 (my favorite year) and I am so jealous. The way you wear the car like its an extension of yourself and the way it handles and sounds makes evey trip an adventure. We have a 2002 ( 9k redline and glass back ) here in tysons for sale. Its got 80k but was owned by a school teacher from arizona. Let me know if you wanna come try it out.

Well I sold my 05 S2000 and got my LGT. For me I wanted more space and more on demand torque and didn't need another car for the track. I will say the S is one of the best cars I have ever driven. It was my DD and I treked through one of the worst WI winters in recent memory with it, and I drive 60 miles each day. It's an absolute joy to drive, like a civic in low rpm driving, and really comes alive after 5200 rpm. I also loved being able to put the top down on nice spring/summer nights. To the OP, they are two very different cars. If you aren't looking for space, and can live with having to rev the engine to expose any sort of torque then the S my be a really good choice for you. I'd say slap a comptech sc on it and it would be close to the perfect driving car.

I had an S2000 for 5 years. With the amount of driving you will be doing, forget it. It doesn't make a good daily. I did it in my for about 2 years and finally couldn't handle it anymore.

 

S2000-the good.

Handling- Absolutely awesome. No quams about that. You can't get a better handling car. Feels like a go cart.

Transmission- again, probably the best 6 speed out there. Short, precise shifts. Really is fun to row your own in this car.

Storage- the trunk in the S is actually quite large. Bigger than you would expect for a small roadster.- Can actually fit two carryon pieces in the trunk.

 

Bad-

Couldn't stand the seats- Hard, uncomfortable for long trips and didn't fit my lats.

Lack of torque- you want to feel the power in an S? You gotta beat it up. Its fun at times, but on your daily commute, you just aren't going to be pushing 7k rpms.

Top sucks- will definitely tear on you

Radio sucks- you will have to replace it with nicer unit

S2000 has good handling, compared to the Legacy. Smaller car, lighter, easier to toss around. Great tranny. But... you have to drive the piss out of the car to have any fun. Thing revs to the sky, so keep it revving. There is no bottom end at all. It is all top end and you have to stay in the "vtec" range. No fun in winter. No fun in traffic, no fun around town.

 

My dad has a stage 2 WRX and an S2000. Guess which one he drives every day? Yeah, the WRX.

 

Oh, and the S2000 can stay with a stage 2 LGT until about 100mph. Then the LGT walks away. At least thats what happens when he and I go for it.

2 very different beasts. i have about 30k on the legacy and 6k on the s2k but pretty much it's what it is on the surface. you pretty much know what there is to know.

 

s2k is a weekend car, or a car u drive to work if work is 10 minutes away.

 

if you have to drive something every day for awhile stay with the legacy.

 

 

ALSO. the tires are staggered so you cant rotate. the rears wear out QUICKLY. add this into your cost analysis as well.

 

the s2k is a bitch to mod as well. good luck getting any kind of power out of it.

 

here's my suggestion.

 

get the legacy, then wait a little... and get a miata.

 

miata = 85% of the fun of an s2k, 20% the price.

 

4 doublewishbones all around, torsen rears (find one that has it), convertible, lightweight RWD. same formula. even the transmissions are made by the same company as honda's tranny IIRC.

Wow where to start.. from the last time I checked there's been an explosion of responses haha. Thanks for all of the input guys! I've seen a lot of new undeniable bad qualities about the s2000.

 

Earlier in the week I was taken for a spirited drive on a very curvy road, I have to say after that I realized that the s2 is definitely not DD material. Like many have pointed out it's quite the canyon carver but it has plenty of bad...

 

- I felt just about every pebble on the road

- Power comes around 5,000 RPM (8,200 RPM redline, 2004+?)

- Seats are uncomfortable, space is extremely limited

- Where in the world is the torque on this thing?!

- Dash is pretty much blank, just irked me when I actually saw it..

 

I started to do some research prior to the spirited run and realized that they cost an arm and a leg to modify, with minimal gains. Headers and an exhaust could easily amount to over 3,000 for less than a 10hp gain. Anything short of supercharging it is a waste, and supercharger kits run at least 5 grand new.

 

So on a closing note, definitely going to be getting another GT! I could list all the reasons but come on now, we all have those down. Again I want to thank everyone for their input! Helped me quickly make my decision

 

 

- By the way m sprank, did you mean a 5EAT or a 5MT? I'm reading a lot of different things from a lot of different people, I'm wondering whether it's altitude related or tranny related?

- By the way m sprank, did you mean a 5EAT or a 5MT? I'm reading a lot of different things from a lot of different people, I'm wondering whether it's altitude related or tranny related?

 

I'm curious as well...did you actually launch the LGT, or was this taken from a roll? I would have thought that power braking your 5eat would have given you a good cars length lead by 60mph

Sorry I did not clarify. Of course we have done it in both my cars, lol. With a torque brake from a dead stop the S2000 has no chance (my dad is even a professional driver). Against the SpecB, its close (and fun) from a stop.

 

We prefer to do rolling tests (this is more what happens on the street). In the 5EAT the S2000 gets ahead of the car by 1/2 length from 60-100. But, once the 5EAT shifts into 4th, its gone. In the SpecB they are side by side until both cars shift into 4th (85 ish), then the Spec gets on the boost again and splits.

 

Seems like the S2000 really runs out of juice at about 100mph. Plus, its screaming like a Banshee at 8000rpm and my Legacys are cruising at 4000rpm. Thats the problem with the S2000 at speed. You have to wind it our to get on the power, then when you shift you are out of the power band again. Even shifting at redline its hard to "stay on the pipe". Damn thing drives like its a 2 stroke.

Damn thing drives like its a 2 stroke.

 

Vtec, love it or hate it.

Sorry I did not clarify. Of course we have done it in both my cars, lol. With a torque brake from a dead stop the S2000 has no chance (my dad is even a professional driver). Against the SpecB, its close (and fun) from a stop.

 

We prefer to do rolling tests (this is more what happens on the street). In the 5EAT the S2000 gets ahead of the car by 1/2 length from 60-100. But, once the 5EAT shifts into 4th, its gone. In the SpecB they are side by side until both cars shift into 4th (85 ish), then the Spec gets on the boost again and splits.

 

Seems like the S2000 really runs out of juice at about 100mph. Plus, its screaming like a Banshee at 8000rpm and my Legacys are cruising at 4000rpm. Thats the problem with the S2000 at speed. You have to wind it our to get on the power, then when you shift you are out of the power band again. Even shifting at redline its hard to "stay on the pipe". Damn thing drives like its a 2 stroke.

The tests you ran on the 5EAT, were they your stage stage 2 or was it stock?

stock? whats that? lol. Sorry, stage 2 (.5) on both cars (S2000 stock). This is a stage 2 vs. S2000. But, even in stock form my old 05 5EAT would have been a handful for the S2000.

 

With the prices of used S2000's dropping like a rock you would think that the tuner crowd would be all over the cars. But, the reality is that the cars are well tuned from the factory and require a lot of cash for small gains. Not tuner friendly.

soo weird that a HONDA product would not be soo "tuner friendly" i love the car, i just dont think its a practical vehicle for those of us who have to deal with snow and sleet and lots of rain etc.

^ Its not. But practical isn't always fun. Thats the glory of a Subaru.

I traded my 2005 S2K for my 2005 LGT. The car was my DD and the novelty wore off after about a month. I miss the quality of the car and the attention it used to get me, but I'm MUCH happier with my LGT.

soo weird that a HONDA product would not be soo "tuner friendly" i love the car, i just dont think its a practical vehicle for those of us who have to deal with snow and sleet and lots of rain etc.

 

 

The S2K isn't very tuner friendly because the Honda engineers wrung every drop of performance they could out of that engine.

 

 

It is a great car, my best friend owned one for a couple years before writing it off. I can attest that the car survives very well against serious accidents. The whole car blows apart and leaves the passenger compartment intact, like an F1 car.

 

Also, it is a very good car- for little people. My friend is 5 foot 9. I'm 6 foot 2 and my legs/ knees were always smashed up against the glove box like I was flying coach on the crappiest plane you can imagine.

 

The LGT is infinitely better for daily driving. It's just not as sexy an S2000.

 

 

Good choice on getting an LGT.