garrett23rd

The question is do you still love the s2000? I just bought a CR last week so that would be my answer. CR, it has a hardtop (with the option to remove it), you are already comfortable with the platform, it is much nicer(newer) than an ap1, you get to keep lurking on the best car forum online
but.....You are asking on s2ki.com

probably should just get an m3

EricJT7

The BRZ limited with brembos.

ZDan

I drove a BRZ and two '06 Cayman Ss today, and honestly found the BRZ to be more fun to drive. The Cayman Ss (Caymen?) obviously had way more power and quicker acceleration, but felt less engaging and were more remote feeling. BRZ felt lightweight and responsive, Cayman S felt heavier, slower-steering. BRZ is ~2800 lb., Cayman S ~3000 lb., but the BRZ felt like it was more like 500 lb. lighter.

I fully expected some sorta Porsche magic to overwhelm me when I checked out the Caymen, but it just didn't happen. Didn't expect any BRZ magic, but damn, it was there! Subaru felt more *alive* and engaging.

Hmmm...

TheDonEffect

Yeah, driving around town and such the 86s are a lot of fun. Their short footprint, lightweight, and direct feel creates a great experience. The on throttle torque is great too something I appreciate more than the s2000.
Where this car does fall short though is when you find a nice on ramp and hit it, the initial punch is good but then it just runs out of breath.
So having owned mine for over a month now (2014 frs monogram manual) I can say that if this were my only car I would be happy but as a weekend car it just lacks some, hmm, sex appeal, some extra power or some cache would go a long way.

Elistan

What if you applied that $30k to the S? Get a new hardtop. Replace all the bushings and mounts (suspension, diff, transmission, engine, steering box.) Tear down, blueprint, balance engine. Tear down and rebuild diff and transmission. Get a set of CR coil overs and sway bars. New wheel bearings, possibly new CV joints.
You’ll likely have plenty of money to put together a good video, lap time, data recorder system.
The tricky part is finding somebody you can trust to do the work.

Bullwings

I'm in the BRZ camp here.

The intended purpose is DD that is fun. For me that means two requirements - 1. Reliability (vastly under-rated by car enthusiasts) and 2. Utility.

Since you already have an FD-LSx, I see no need to go over board on the stretching out your "fun" requirement. Rather, I think Reliability with low consumables costs and maintenance should be next in the weighting factor.

The BRZ will be the newest of the bunch, covered under warranty, and will be the cheapest. Also, you can flog it around town all you want and not have to worry about getting into too much trouble.

The other thing being a DD - you don't want a special car that you'll get attached to. There are too many morons on the road to crash into an "irreplaceable" CR or a nicer Porsche that you might get attached to for whatever reason that enthusiasts get attached to their cars. The BRZ is likely not a car that you will "care" for in such at way that you are emotionally vested in it. This is great for a DD as far as I'm concerned.

I recently stopped DDing my S2k about 1.5 years ago, and it has been great. Now, with my replacement car, I don't care much if it gets door dings or whatever else happens to a DD due to other's lack of respect and general carelessness. The BRZ will beat out any other car in the running in this regard. It likely won't attract the wrong attention (as long as you don't rice it out with a fart can exhaust and park bench wing), and it will be a car that you can feel at ease driving with the general public and parking anywhere for whatever reason.

If I was looking for a DD with occasional track use, the BRZ/FRS would be my choice. For a dedicated track/toy car, I'd get something else. For you, the FD-LSx already fills the dedicated track/toy car. You're asking for a DD, so get one.

TL;DR
-You already have the FD-LSx as a dedicated track/toy car
-Get the BRZ/FRS as a reliable DD that has utility, agility and torque to be fun, and will be both emotionally and financially worry free on a regular daily drive setting.

Good luck. Post pictures.

DanielB

I have a track friend with a 2013 FRS that he has left stock. He also has a nicely sorted Miata turbo ~300 HP for more hardcore track time. But he takes the FRS to the track often given how reliable it is along with low consumables. (The Miata isn't too bad either, but is faster so everything just seems to cost more and there's typically something that needs attention.) I've driven the FRS a few times and while the engine is not as engaging as the S2000, the chassis is really fun to drive to the limit given how communicative it is. It's really more sorted than a stock S2000. And off the track it's reasonably practical given it's a lightweight sports car.

So I think an FRS/BRZ for the role you described could be a fun car. Pick one up that's a few years old and it won't cost you much if you decide to sell it in a year.

WolfpackS2k

Yes and no. No you really can't beat the value of the Performance Package. I think it's only like $1200? The problem is that you can ONLY buy the Performance Package if you opt for the Limited model, not the base model (base model = Premium). Real jackass move by Subaru there.

I've actually struggled with this decision a bit myself. I love my 987S dearly, but I also love track events dearly. And I want to do MORE track events. But I really can't afford to do more if I continue tracking my Porsche. Sure Porsches cost a bunch to maintain, but it's more the issue of the car now being 11 years old and having almost 100k miles on the odometer. So...I'm considering switching back to a slower BRZ myself. Then again who knows, I really fell in love with my car again at VIR last weekend.

TheDonEffect

I was hoping your would chime in on this thread. So the brz is still on your radar then?

WolfpackS2k

In my opinion it makes a big difference if you own another, faster, car in addition to a BRZ. Without that power fix just having 200-205 hp might drive you nuts. You say you're never in VTEC in the S2000, well I do remember when I had my BRZ that I was using all 7400 rpm all the time. It's kind of like all those auto journalists, that test drive a BRZ then thumb their noses at the enthusiasts screaming for more power. My POV is, oh yeah? How big of you to think that after driving it....then going off and test driving something considerably faster the following week. Let's see one of them live with it for a year and drive nothing else.

Heh, well yes. Of course the big disclaimer is that I haven't driven a stock BRZ in over 4 years. And I really hated that engine at the time. Unremarkable power, not much personality. Inferior to most performance Honda engines, even those of the VTEC Integras. I had more fun exploring the redline of my GSR than the BRZ and that's a problem. Every once in a while you'll find a boosted BRZ for sale for a reasonable amount. Assuming it was modded properly and wasn't strung out and I'd consider those.