I dunno, it seems like many of the posts on Miata.net indicate an extremely high level of respect for the S2000. They recognize it as a no holds barred, very serious, sports car. Some had Miatas, bought an S2000, and traded it back for their Miata. Some sold their Miata and bought the S2000 and are very happy. Some would like to sell their Miatas and get an S2000 someday. Nearly 100% are very satisfied with their Miatas.

There is simply no need to stir up, ruffle feathers, or find MORE ways to divide roadster/sports car/convertible/ etc. enthusiasts. Most of the folks on the Miata forum love their car just like folks here love their S2000s and folks on the Mustang/Camaro/Porsche, etc. etc. love their car.

This thread is just pointless. The Miata and S2000 have only a few things in common; inline 4, 2 seater, convertible top, rear wheel drive. Most EVERYTHING is a different as baseball and football. Comparing the two cars is indeed like comparing an apple to an orange. There is however ONE very, very important difference regarding the owners. Miatas folks tend to be older and IMO much more mature than S2000 owners. They're old enough to 'live and let live', seeking the simple solitude in going for a ride with the top down and enjoying their car with other enthusiasts.

That said, there are plenty of Miata performance nuts too. You'll find turbos, SC, NOS, and Normally Aspirated (N/A) junk for the Miata. There are lots of 300+HP Miatas and even V8 Miatas. And hat's off to the N/A folks. Talk about people climbing a mountain. The Miata motor is a N/A derivative of a modestely boosted turbo motor designed in ?mid80s. You folks in S2000 land have a clean sheet, very modern Honda motor. Super high flow head, big valves, high compression, Vtec, high RPM valve train, etc. etc. Mazda didn't and simply doesn't have the resources to build a killer inline motor, so that leaves Miata enthusiasts having to do that for themselves. Those folks spend countless hours and $ trying to extract good HP for a motor NEVER designed for that purpose. Repeat, the Mazda Miata motor, all variants, was NEVER designed to be an ultra high performance motor. If it's not sinking in, then say as a manta, again and again, until it does. I have no idea if it's an excuse but I've read that Mazda has kept the power output of the Miata at modest levels for fear that insurance rates would drive the car out of business. A small company like Mazda simply can't afford to lose this model because of insurance rates. Honda can lose the S2000 and it wouldn't hurt the bottom line one bit.

Several more points, Mazda has sold over 500,000 Miatas world wide. The Miata was built, not as an exclusive, limited edition, ultra sports car. It was built as a roadster, IN THE TRADITION OF OTHER ROADSTERS, with modest power but with excellent handling capabilities FOR THE MASSES. Honda has created and sold what maybe 20,000 S2000s world wide to a largely exclusive audience? Mazda has sold over 500,000 to many folks with modest means. Who created more 'cosmic joy' in the universe? FYI Miatas are VERY popular in Japan with young drivers, which is not the case with the S2000. (blah, blah, blah ...)

Let the the friggin Miata .vs. S2000 debate die, it serves no purpose but to divide and create dissention.


DaveK.

 

Hear, hear! Sitting around debating the sexual preferences of Miata drivers, or losing sleep over what Miata owners are or aren't posting on their site, demonstrates paranoid behavior. I know several gay men who are programmers. Dang... maybe I should get out of this field before I start down that path! </sarcasm>

The guy down the street can tell his buddies all he wants that he's more man than I am. He may be, or he may not. My wife isn't going to care what he thinks, so neither do I.

Tim

P.S. I posted this, knowing full well that what some folks thrive on IS division and dissention. Oh well...

 

The Miata folks who spend time posting about the S2K, Boxster, Audi TT, etc. all have not taken the time to invest in a turbo system.

Later... going back to the "street encounters" forum, I've got to keep me eye on the forced induction folks there.



...........
Turbo toy

 

i owned a gen i miata and loved it. i am not gay. i was very active in the local miata club. it's full of enthusiastis (just like team irvine) and to the best of my knowledge, none of the male or female owners are gay. as a rule, the owners are older and while there are some reall dedicated auto x's in the club, there are also some wine and cheesers who simply like to cruise.

the miata is one hell of a perfromance bargain. it's nowhere near as hardcore or fast for that matter as the S (without spending some $ on the multitude of supercharger or turbocharger or other aftermarket parts available). however, it's almost a more useable sports car in the united states. by that i mean that becuase it's so well balanced and has relatively meager power output, you can use 9/10ths of the car on public roads in the united states. i can't begin to wring that much out of an s on the public roads. i know that many owners do, but imo, that's just stupid and irresponsible.

does that mean that a miata is more fun? no, just different fun.

i say don't knock it til you try it. i also say that pre-judging miata owners is as distasteful as the pricks that troll this board and flount theri big block muscle cars or high end german machinery and look down on the s. to each his/her own.

ps - the folks that i hung out with in my local miata club (one of the biggest in the US) had a lot of respect for the S. nearly to an individual they all love the car for what it is. many even lust for one, but the reality of keeping a budget steps in. and before you start saying stupid crap like it's only $10K more, think about making mortgage payments, car payments, student loan payments, paying for your kids today and saving for their tomorrow. $10K is a lot of money to most people (even here in S.CA)

 

"To me an S2000 is like a Miata with balls."

LOL there is not better way to say that

 

I don't know what's up with that but if I do recall somewhere I read where one of the mags. compared the Honda Del Sol DOHC Vtec vs. the Miata. I owned a del sol before my S2000 and I remember smoking a lot of Miatas at the night races back in California. Stock to stock there is no comparison(S2000 vs. Miata). Two totally different class of cars(sports car vs. sport compact). The del sol DOHC Vtec and the 99-00 civic SI are in the same class as the Mazda Miata. I am talking stock to stock here on that comparison . I am not putting down the Miata at all so sorry if I offend anyone. Thats my opinion.

 

sorry jdm, obviously we have different opinions but i think that no S should have a body kit. she already looks hot anyway . the CF hood looks great by the way

 

I have to agree, and go even further to say that most body kits on most cars look exactly what they are - an afterthought. The design don't jell with the original body lines, they fulfill no meaningful function in terms of aerodynamics and when mounting them you have to drill holes that will make the car rust.

So far the factory kit looks best IMHO, it's a pity it seems to fall off the car at speed though. (I have seen reports of the front lip cracking and the side strakes falling off...)

 

I found this quote from Car and Driver.


"Final Word
As a package, the Honda del Sol offers some unique characteristics. Its hard targa top provides top-down motoring without a winter penalty. The front-drive layout also offers a bad-weather advantage over the rear-drive Mazda Miata, the Del Sol's primary competitor".

I threw in the civic si since it has the same 1.6L 160hp dohc vtec engine(b16a2 in the del sol and b16a3 in the civic si). Its just a newer version in the civic si since they stopped making the del sol in 1997.

 

Yes, why do we need to put down Miatas or Miata owners? The car is responsible for the resurgence of the roadster market in the US and Miata owners are generally a great group of people. They are loyal to their marque just as we are loyal to ours. Why should we get annoyed if some of them think their cars are better than an S2000? We all know the truth.