I bought a new daily driver last year (2011 Ford Mustang GT) that gets me from point a to b. This being a brand new car, it comes with 5 years of warranty/peace of mind that I am quite happy about. This also brought an end to tracking what I drove daily (I had always owned used cars before). This of course, is not a bad thing. It means I can have two cars. One reasonable dd with backseat, etc and one whatever I want.

My search has brought me here....and I've tried to pull the trigger a few times but have been too slow. Obviously the s2k will be highly recommended here, but I wanted to hear from those who have owned or currently do own the s2k's competitors / cars that fill the same niche and how they compare to the s2k. I'd actually prefer a coupe to convertible but neither are deal breakers. I'd like something that doesn't need a bunch of work to be fun on a track.

Cars I'm currently looking at, and certainly not restricted to (no particular order)

1. s2k
2. Porsche Cayman
3. Porsche Boxster
4. Lotus Elise
5. BMW Z4 M
6. Nissan 370z

 

Well the first question you should ask yourself is can you afford to track some of those cars? S2k is the cheapest to track out of all the cars you mentioned.

Also can you afford either track insurance or wrecking your track car? I wouldn't track a cayman/boxster/elise (VERY easy to total) unless i could walk away from wrecking it with no major financial repercussion.

 

Miata or BRZ/ FRS.

If not the S2000, I would prefer the Miata for track duty and the FRS/BRZ looks like it has potential to be a winsome track carver.

 

I assume the worst with every car I take on the track. I couldn't enjoy myself if crashing meant financial ruin. The running costs are what's of interest to me. I've only been doing hpde's for 3 years, and have had 3 cars that i've tracked in that timeframe. I've learned lighter & less hp = easier on the brakes/tires. I like that. I also found out I prefer handling over horsepower on the track.

 

I've looked at the miata (forgot to include it on my list). I had an rx8 that was a blast to wind out, I could have done with a bit more torque. Thats why the cayman s is on the list. 250 ft-lbs in a 3000 lb car is decent to me.

 

Pre-DI Caymans & Boxsters are great on the track, but there's a high risk of engine failure at high g-forces, and replacement engines aren't cheap. I loved tracking my old Cayman S, but realized I couldn't comfortably swallow the potential costs of a crash or engine replacement.

The Elise is a lot of fun to drive IMO, the most visceral experience of the group. Just don't hit anything or let anything hit you, b/c the bodywork is fragile, expensive, and hard to repair.

No personal experience w/ the Z4M, but I haven't gotten very favorable feedback from a friend who had one.

370Z is a decent car for street use, but they seem to have all kinds of thermal management issues - engine, brakes, etc., and the diff is a crappy viscous unit.

I put the S2000 above all of these, and the NC Miata is pretty comparable when properly prepped for track use (coilovers, big rubber, I/H/E, etc.). NA/NB Miatas are popular and extremely cheap to run, but the NC is a big enough improvement that it's worth the extra $ to me. I suspect the BRZ/FR-S will also be on the list in 2-3 years once they become cheap on the used market. That's what I have my eye on as my S2000's eventual replacement.

 

Out of that group I have an Elise and a Cayman S.

Cayman S is VERY similar to the S2000 but one step up in just about every department. Better interior, faster acceleration, quieter, more torque, more storage space, larger wheels/tires. The driving dynamics are very similar as far as turn in, braking etc. You could easily use this as an only car and it does everything fairly well.

Elise is very different to the S2000, not sure why people compare them other than the fact that they are both 2 seater roadsters with 4 bangers. Elise is very raw, steering is heavy with the manual rack and gives a lot of feedback. Almost 0 room for storage except a backpack or a few bags of groceries in the trunk. Noisy as hell and not fun to drive on the road for more than 30 minutes at a time. The handling limits are higher, acceleration is faster, braking is shorter due to the weight. It's very much a toy, not a only car.

 

Going to echo everything Cosmos said. Not sure why people try so hard to compare the S2000 to the Elise. Not really identical other than the obvious. The Lotus provides a much different experience.

As for operating costs, aside from body damage I'd say the Elise is cheapest out of that group to run on the track. Just buy pads and tires and watch them last double the length they would on the S2000. Also since it runs smaller wheels you save on tire costs/consumables, etc. Initial buy in is of course higher.

Z4M serves as a dual purpose car, which you don't really want since you have the Mustang. (Why have two cars that do the same thing?) Same for the S2000 unless you go crazy on track mods, which at that point in time you could have had an Elise.

My votes on the Lotus if you have a DD. It is arguably the best thrill seeking car of your list. Relatively cheap, easy to repair aside from body, and fun/fast. I put the cayman at a close second, and don't quite understand why you'd take any of the other cars from that crowd relative to what you want to use the car for.

Other options are race cars for a series: Spec racer ford, spec miata, etc. etc.

 

Hey Cosmo I was wondering whether you have driven the newer engine Cayman with Direct Injection with more hp? I drove an 06 like yours and came away with the feeling that it was not much more powerful than the "S" . The reason I ask is that I have driven the Cayman S,91 Carrera,85 Carrera,96 993 Carrera and then an 02 and 08 Carrera Cab and the 02 and 08 have a feel that they pull like a freight train and the others I did not get that! For me once you have experienced what the 08 and 02 offer you have no interest in the others! I know the 993 and Cayman S are somwhere around 280 hp and with the 02 at 320hp and 08 at 355hp you would not think that makes much of a difference but the butt dyno says otherwise .

 

I have driven one and it's marginally faster, not night and day. The Cayman has more torque so you can pull out of a corner easily at 3,500 RPM and even though it doesn't feel much faster it is a decent bit faster. I think stock for stock the Cayman S traps around 104 stock and a S2000 is high 90's to 100 flat. They are 295 hp and around 2900 lbs so right at 10:1 power to weight.