S2K, Boxter, Miata, or 370Z 'vert?

[Looneybomber]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but as a daily driver, you're going to put some miles on the car, and the S2000 is a SNAP to change the oil on. While on the NA chassis miata you nearly have to remove the passenger tire to get the oil filter off, with the S2000, you can do the entire oil change from the top of the engine. The drain plug can be reached with a 6-8" extension and also the oil filter is easily within reach while just bending over. It was the first time I ever changed the oil on any car and didn't get a drop of oil on me!

S2000's do eat up rear tires even with easy driving. Their alignment and helical diff are great for performance, but not for tire longevity.

[flohtingPoint]

S2000's do eat up rear tires even with easy driving. Their alignment and helical diff are great for performance, but not for tire longevity.

If you're easy driving, you wouldn't even notice if you had a diff or not

As long as nobody is running ridiculous toe in or retard levels of rear camber, tire life is not an issue at all. Tire life in DD cases is more about treadwear and the person behind the wheel maintaining proper driving etiquette and not being an ***hole on public roads.

Below is a picture of the front tires off my FRC. They're bad tires and old, hence the chunking. The aggressive wear is also due to a motorsports based alignment (ie: NOT A STREET CAR ALIGNMENT). I have toe out in the front and a good amount of negative camber. This wear came from normal driving, I dont compete on street tires. As long as you keep your alignment in check and use tires that are not trash, you shouldn't have any issues with tire wear.

[IBCoupe]

Weird, but for me it's probably down to the S2000 or MRS. Why? Because I'm not going to buy something "normal" if I'm buying a sporty 'vert. The Z just isn't enough car, especially for the money. And the Miata's a blast but honestly a little too...sane. And as for the Boxster...that car is about the performance, not the top, which means you buy a Cayman instead. And since this is a poll about Verts, the Cayman is out, and I think an S2000 or an MRS with some mods would be a great second car.

And, btw, I don't buy "summer cars." If I buy a car it's getting driven. It's not getting stored or covered or winterized. Driven. If I bought an S2k or an MRS, I'd drive it in 4 inches of snow and I'd smile all the way. I might turn the heat down and put the top up if it's actively snowing.

The MRS would definitely need some mods to get it where I'd want it (primarily wheels and tires...what idiot at Toyota decided to sell it with such tiny rubber?!), but I could absolutely enjoy owning one.

The S2k is kinda ready out of the box. One of my favorite interiors ever, too. So in the end I'd probably go S2k. But I'd test drive some MRSs along the way.

So much this. I voted S2k for these reasons, but the more I think about it, the more I realize: I'm going to buy new wheels and tires anyways, and so if I could, I'd probably go back and change to the MR-S. I saw one lowered with decent wheels, and I thought, "That looks like an insane amount of fun."

[Bubba1]

FWIW,I was just at NJ Motorsports Park (NJMP) this past week, and chatted with a friend who uses his last gen Mr-2 as a dual purpose car (track day fun car + occasional commuter) Not sure it was an S. He hasn't done any modding to it beyond a roll bar as it's very low mileage and pristine. He praised its handling, reliability, and low cost to operate, but acknowledged it was rather underpowered and a bit cramped inside. He also noted it's an annoying car to repair at times as engine access is tight. This owner didn't mind that his 'yota was not fast as his priority was simply to have fun. so the MR2 seemed like a very good fit for him. It's a nice car for what it is. But for Ray, who, to me, seems more competitive than that gentleman by comparision, and coming from a quick little turbocharged Miata, I'm guessing that gen MR would feel like a good handling rolling chicane to him unless he puts some additional money into it.

[frapjap]

Funny you bring that up- I just drove one yesterday at a dealer who seems to buy only used 'cool cars' in pretty decent shape. I wouldn't have really bothered except that it was on my way home and there wasn't anything better to do.

Anyway, the car was an 02 was a 5 speed with about 100k on it. The car was zippy around turns and felt pretty solid and tossable, but accelerating out of turns wasn't a very entertaining affair. The chassis has pretty decent balance, but since this was a test drive with a sales person on wet roads, I didn't get to really find the cars limits aside from taking a short radius bend with a little bit of throttle in it and having the rear step out slightly; but this was probably due to the economy rubber on the wheels. Its definitely faster than the Subaru I drove there, but much to your point, isn't fast enough to keep me happy. It also felt like a Yaris inside.
They also wanted 10k for the damned thing!

They also have a '99 Boxster for a grand more, but I declined to drive it until the roads were dry in a effort to look semi responsible, haha. I have no intention of buying either car, but am glad to have the opportunity to educate myself on them.

[IBCoupe]

That's the problem with an MR-S. They're absurdly expensive for what they are. I haven't seen one below $10k since they came out.

[WDRacing]

I'd take a 2nd gen MR2 over the MRS all day, every day. To me the MRS is under powered and ugly by comparison.

[IBCoupe]

The 2nd Gens are superior, but they're a lot harder to come by, and that's saying something.

[Bubba1]

Funny you bring that up- I just drove one yesterday at a dealer who seems to buy only used 'cool cars' in pretty decent shape. I wouldn't have really bothered except that it was on my way home and there wasn't anything better to do.

Anyway, the car was an 02 was a 5 speed with about 100k on it. The car was zippy around turns and felt pretty solid and tossable, but accelerating out of turns wasn't a very entertaining affair. The chassis has pretty decent balance, but since this was a test drive with a sales person on wet roads, I didn't get to really find the cars limits aside from taking a short radius bend with a little bit of throttle in it and having the rear step out slightly; but this was probably due to the economy rubber on the wheels. Its definitely faster than the Subaru I drove there, but much to your point, isn't fast enough to keep me happy. It also felt like a Yaris inside.
They also wanted 10k for the damned thing!

They also have a '99 Boxster for a grand more, but I declined to drive it until the roads were dry in a effort to look semi responsible, haha. I have no intention of buying either car, but am glad to have the opportunity to educate myself on them.

That is an interesting coincidence. The factory turbo version of that '02 would be the MR-2 model you'd want if you were to go in that direction. . Since you're already comfortable dealing with turbo lag, I'm sure you'd enjoy the way they accelerate coming out of turns far more than the N/A example you test drove. But I agree with Isaac. The hard part is finding a nice one at a decent price because their value as a fun track day car are no longer a secret.

[frapjap]

Are we talking about the same car that your friend has?
I drove one of these:


Not one of these:


The MR-S didn't come with a turbo option in the states, at least I don't think it did. The one I drove certainly didn't, though there are kits for everything.

I love, love, love the second photo body style, but they're hard to find, especially in turbo trim, and aren't convertibles which rules them out of the discussion. I remember LeesRedGT having a build thread on one on the forum, but think he quit updating it. I drove one of those a few years before I really knew anything useful about cars, but really enjoyed the ride. It handled well, was speedy (the owner also modified it) but remember looking at the engine bay and thinking, "That sucks!" Even the engine bay isn't that bad compared to todays standards. Kinda like the 3000GT and 300zx. It was bad for the time, but they still have WAY more room than the VW's and Audi's of today.

[Bubba1]

Yes, my friend at NJMP drove that first pictured MR2. Here it is in the Lightning paddock.



I also have two good friends that both regularly track their red turbo MR2's, like the one in your second pic. I drove one of them at VIR years ago, and recently taught the other's GF in the other one. They're great little cars.

here's one of turbos...




here's the other. This is the one I drove.

[AZhitman]

The 2nd-gen turbo MR2 is on my short list of "cars I'll own in the next 5 years" - even if it's just to preserve one as a classic.

If I ran across a black one that's unmodded, I can't promise I wouldn't snatch it up.

[WDRacing]

I was going to buy one while I was over on Okinawa. I told the dealership to fix 3 things before i was going to buy it, one of the noises ended up being rod knock. So the deal fell through and I bought a Miata instead.

I'd love a Gen 2, wicked fun and they can be made pretty damn quick with very little $$. The CT26 is good for 20psi on the 3sgte.

[Looneybomber]

S2000's do eat up rear tires even with easy driving. Their alignment and helical diff are great for performance, but not for tire longevity.

If you're easy driving, you wouldn't even notice if you had a diff or not

You do when it causes your tires to chirp when making hard turns in parking spots, u-turns, etc... all at slow speeds.

[AZhitman]

You're thinking of a welded diff. A properly setup helical diff does none of these things.

[Bubba1]

S2000's do eat up rear tires even with easy driving. Their alignment and helical diff are great for performance, but not for tire longevity.

From what the few owners I know tell me, in street use, the S2K rears do tend to wear a bit faster than the fronts, and you can typically expect maybe 10,000 miles out of them. That's obviously not good compared to an Accord, but it's about on par with many other sporty cars that come equipped from the factory with soft compound performance tires, like a Porsche 911 or Mitsubishi Evo.

[WDRacing]

Funny, most of my tires on a rear drive vehicle wear out first...wonder why that is?

/sarcasm

[Looneybomber]

You're thinking of a welded diff. A properly setup helical diff does none of these things.

I assumed it was from the Torsen diff since my open diff explorer doesn't do it. Never mind.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

My torsen will protest a little bit if I turn really tightly (like, at lock), but its nowhere near clunking like a welded diff.