YES! A V8 rocks! I have had many. Mostly Mustangs.
Problem is... Road handling. The new Mustang
is a real hit: I took a real sincere thought of buying
one and import it here to Sweden.
But, although sexy enough: in the end of the day
my memories of delight driving are in fast sports-
cars. Porsche 911: 3 litres with 350 bhp with 10 inches
wide rear wheels.... Sigh....
Some specs:
Heating: No
AC: No
Baggage: toothbrush and a lunch-box maximum
Stereo/Radio: No
Carpets: thin, very, very thin
Power Steering: No
Central locking: Locks? No!
Alarm: No
Weight: 850 kg
Quiet: Absolutely no
Comfort: nope

I had my 51:st birthday. I have gotten fat and lazy...
Longing back to 'the days of thunder'; 280 bhp@1600kg
isn't a supersportscar. But it is useable as a 'everyday'
car with all comforts I need. And it outruns most of the
ordinary cars out there. Even parked
And it's got sex... Uh... sorry the swedish, s-i-x cylinders...

 

s2000 is a def chick car, its small dinky if you hit a curb the car will crumble, 4cyl sports car is a joke, z will outhandle, and out perform no question about it

 

Can't we have a normal discussion without idiots blindly following their own car.

Is the Z awesome? Yes

Is the S2K awesome? Yes

Is the Z VERY SLIGHTLY faster? Yes

Will the S2k outhandle it? Depends on the driver.

Are they both great cars? Yes

The more great sports cars out there, the better the world is.

 

i wouldn't even classify a 350Z as a sports car.....more of a GT car
3200+ lbs is much to heavy to be a sports car
i don't see how the 350Z can be heavier than say a corvette or 997
the number of cylinders in the engine doesn't really define a great sports car engine....i think it's arguable that the VQ with such a limiting redline might be considered less of a sports car engine (though i hear the anniversary edition will have a bump to 7000 RPM....nice!)
on the track, it'd be questionable if the Z will indeed lap faster than the S2000, for all intensive purposes they are right about even.
oh and modern cars are designed to "crumble" when the hit anything, it's called absorbing the impact of the collision...all that force has to go somewhere, i'd rather the car take the force than my body

 

Lap times on the track and handling are two completely different things..

the 350Z MIGHT have a faster track time but the S can DEFINITELY out-handle the Z.

And I love both cars.. so don't think i'm being biased

 

lap times on a decent track are a good measure of a car's performance characteristics, including acceleration, braking, max grip, and dynamic handling characteristics. probably the only thing it doesn't measure it top speed (unless you have a car with a loooong straight away or banked oval). Handling can have different meaning for different people....max grip might go to the S2000 (but tires play a large role in this.....and the AP1 S2000's have very sticky S-02's), while other people might feel the 350Z less twitchy and easier to drive at the limits...while others might feel the S2000 is more "tossable" and with a more neutral feel.....

 

btw nice car, nice color

 

I can very much agree with that

 

and that! GPW is the best - we gain 20 extra HP!! hahaha

 

4-cylinder sports car isn't a joke. Tell that to the guy around here who has a 700hp MR2 (4 cylinder sports car).
Chick car? Not really, "most" chicks don't like to drive stick, and the S comes only in 6speed.
Crumble? Cars will do that for safety reason, they are designed like that on purpose to prevent the engine from hitting you in the face in a frontal collision.
Outhandle? I've driven the S, and the car handles amazing. You should take it out for a test drive.

 

Nice take. A few other differences:

The S beats the Z on turn in. The car just can’t wait to turn. With slight steering input off it goes. The slight under steer (quickly offset by throttle input) , under-boosted power steering, and greater steering travel stop-to-stop, makes the Z "feel" very heavy on turn-in.

I also think the Z beats the S at its limits. In my limited experience the S breaks very quickly when pushed pass it's grip limit. The Z is very controllable at this point. It makes managing turning with low-end torque throttle input alotta fun! This gradual loss of grip may be one reason why the Z doesn’t pull higher a g on the skid pad. Dunno, just a guess.

The Z also beats the S at high-speed stability. The Z produces excellent down force at high speed and +120 mph feels like 70 mph. On the other hand the S feels like it has a tendency to lift and a little uncertain say +100 mph. But I'm sure it is predictable and if you drive it everyday you'll get used to it.

 

weight distribution on the Z and s2000 are very similar if you do research Z is
Weight distribution (%) Front/Rear
53/47

and s2000 is
Weight Distribution
(%, Front / Rear) 49 / 51

Z shouldnt be considered a sportscar cause of its weight? what a joke.....it weighs very little more then a corvette or mustang, and will pretty much outhandle both

topend the Z is very stable you can do 160 on a windy day and not feel like you're gonna float away

I dont consider 4cyls sports cars really, s2000 is just rice its in f&f and people do ugly crap to them like civics, i am not denying that some people brutalize their z's with aluminum wings and ugly bodykits, its a lil 4cyl high rever in general they're 'overrated'.

I guess you could say s2000 was designed as a economy sportscar, 4cyl.... I dont consider integra, civic, prelude, delsol sports cars either

 

Hahaha you're a funny guy. Really, you are. And a corvette can't outhandle a Z? Go drive one and tell me if you still agree. And don't get mad when you pull up to a S that according to you isn't a "sports car" and it blows you away.

 

Actually a sports car by definition is a lightweight, RWD, 2 seater vehicle. Look at all the sports cars since the inception of sports cars and this will be true. Probably the purest sports car in NA is the Mazda Miata. While I do concede that safety requirements and other "luxury" and electronic doo-dads have forced modern sports cars to add on weight, 3200lbs is still very heavy for even modern sports cars. Also the corvette C6 and C5 will easily out accelerate, out handle, out drag, out track, out whatever you want the 350Z and the S2000 and nearly anything remotely in its price range. Mustang is not a sports car, and the Mustang GT is barely a GT car . Oh and most sports cars are 4 cyl btw for the above mentioned reasons. All those other honda sports coupes and economy coupes you mentioned are not sports cars, well for many reasons but one being they are FWD. And the fact that the 350Z can go 160mph in ease and comfort would actually make an argument that it's a GT car

 

oh on second thought the purest sports car in NA is the new Lotus Elise

 

 

s2000 = lil ricer car that sounds like a fart

end of story

ps. never said a stock z would out accelerate a vette, said handle with it.

 

actually the S2000's exhaust is pretty quiet compared to that of the 350Z...and yes i do love the 350Z exhaust note

and nobody claimed you said the Z out accelerated the vette...i was just pointing out that the vette will out handle the Z and beat it in most performance measurements.

 

s2k a chics car? What kind of chic car only offers a 6 speed manual gearbox? No option of auto. Have any of you who justify that its a girls car driven this car? If u ask me- in terms of driving-the s2k involves more attention than that of driving the Z. Im pretty sure if a girl was to buy a 6pd manual Z and then go to the s2k- shed have a harder time driving the S2k than the Z. Why do i know this? I own both cars. i drive both cars just as regularly. It kind of pisses me off when ihear these comments about cars being "chic cars" and "man cars" whats up with that? Obviously both cars were made for a person who has a passion for cars and likes to drive. Whether its a chic or not. It all basically comes down to preference. And by far- If ur goign through twisty and windy roads- The s2k would definitely leap ahead of the Z. It handles better than the Z. im not saying it to protect the s2k because why would i do that..when i own both cars? This ranting about chics and men need to stop....

 

Spoken like one of many who have posted on this thread who have never driven an S.

I've owned an S and a Z, and as others have stated, regardless of what might happen on a track (the S sticks like glue, but when it comes unglued, the end can come around on you in less than a second, as others have posted; the Z is easier to control at the limit), the S wins the handling battle thru the twisties, but the Z out-pulls it in a straight line. The S goes where you point it, like a go-cart racer w/slicks on blacktop, and if you're good enough at shifting right at the redline (until '03 was at 9000), you can keep it in VTEC all the way up thru the gears. I've outrun 5.0 Mustang GT's in the S, and I've only seen a few women driving them. However, one of those women was my wife, who has some great hand-eye coordination, and has dusted many men who THOUGHT they knew how to race over the years. I'd love to see some of the "studly hungwell" types who have posted get their lunch eaten by a chick in a "chick car."

The difference between less displacement, but more rpms, as far as sound, is the difference btwn NASCAR and IRL. Last time I checked, both cars went fast, but the smaller engined, lighter cars went faster.

Finally, the S is easily more nimble than the 'vette, but if the 'vette driver knows what he's doing, the S won't outhandle it, and neither will the Z.