Subaru WRX vs. Honda S2000

[Jaykkub]

I'm not here to start any fights, but I wanted to hear what you all think about the Honda S2000.

I currently own a 2002 WR Blue WRX and a Honda 2001 S2000. I personally love to drive both cars. They both have their strong points and their weak points.

The S2000 runs the quarter mile at around 13.8 to mid 14s, while the stock WRX runs low 14s...at least this is what I've seen.

As for pure bang for the buck...the WRX dominates. Its so much cheaper to go faster than the S2000. It costs about 5-6 grand to gain 100 + hp to the wheels...

I'm actually thinking about going the Turbo route, which would be nice. But it goes for about 6200 for the current setup. While the supercharger for the S goes for about 3900 to 4300...at least the price I can get a Comptech or a Vortech kit for.

Anyone have any experience with an S2000 and wish to share their stories? Sorry I'm rambling...been drinking a bit tonight watching the Sacramento/LA game

Btw, the S2000 is my weekend car...while the WRX is my daily driver. I'm thinking about the Stage 4 kit from...hmm...the company name completely slips my mind, regardless...I've been thinking about which one to mod. And its still hard to just pick and choose.

Jaykkub

[cnoff]

No one on this site will bash the S2k. As a matter of fact, there are a ton of posts that praise the Honda. Just do a search and find a ton of stuff.

The Stage 4 kit that you are referring to is the TurboXS kit. Wish I had the $$$ for it. Here's the link:
TurboXS

[Suparu]

The S2000 can be beat easily with very simple mods. I personally don't care too much about them because I would rather buy a motorcycle if I wanted to rev up to 8500 rpm.

You have both cars, so you should know better than most of us here...

[chuglobal]

My brother and I went again on the hwy going to the dyno session last Sat morning. Tom got the new clutch free from Honda due to their quality ... humm Subaru should do the same. We did some 50-100mph rolls on 575N and the clutch definitely helped him. I still pulled on him a car or so but not 2.5+ like last time.

[Jaykkub]

Both cars are definitely fun to drive. I like the versatility the WRX offers...but at the same time I like the go-kart-like feel the S2000 has to it. It always leaves a smile on my face.

Btw...I read TurboXS' website, but I couldn't find a base price for their kits. I'll start some searches here to see if anyones posted info on it.

Jaykkub

[cnoff]

Jaykkub,

On TurboXS site, Stage 1 & 2 can be found by going to very bottom of page and selecting "Search by Car". Stage 4 pricing is actually on home page of site - just scroll down a ways and you will find it. I don't think there is any pricing for Stage 3, but I could be wrong about that.

[TURBLOWN]

I've ran a few S2000's from a roll and pulled on them everytime. I do love the look of them though. As far as best bang for the buck= WRX. But, when it comes to stlye and looks= S2000. I would love to have a S2000 as my weekend car or better yet as my daily driver and my WRX as my weekend racer.

[mista618]

jaykkub, u lucky bastard...

[Jaykkub]

Originally posted by mista618
jaykkub, u lucky bastard...

Lol Thanks...I take that as a compliment.

Jaykkub

[lilichiban]

Hey guys, I think you guys might find this interesting. I found this on www.i-club.net a while ago, and because this story was so interesting, I copied this and had it saved as a word document. Heres the story:

"Traded my S2000 for a WRX!!! (impressions inside)
Hey all,

Just wanted to introduce myself to i-club. I finally took delivery of my 2002 WRX last week, after trading my S2000 for it. Ok, ok, it was my wife's S2000 (so technically it's my wife WRX also), but still, the new WRX is sweet!!!

First off, a little background info is in order I guess, cause most people go into shock when I tell them we got rid of the S2000 and got a WRX instead. So here it is...

The S2000 was a sweet car. Bought it brand new this time last year. It was a once in a lifetime deal I couldn't pass up. With that said, I never intended on keeping the car - it's too narrow focused as a daily driver. I wanted to keep it for 2 years, and get rid of it next spring (the best time to sell a convertible). Well, with the 2002 S2000's having a glass rear window (our 2001 was plastic), I figured anyone who has 30 grand to blow on a car surely has another 2 more to get a brand new one with a glass rear window. Hell, that's what I'd do...

So we decided to sell it this year instead, to get the most money out of it.

Anyhoo, due to my military schedule, we ended up trading the car in, rather than selling it outright. I know, I could have made a lot more money if I sold it myself, but as it was, I was under unusual time constraints, courtesy of the US Air Force...

Well, before I get started on comparing the differences between the S2000 and WRX, let me just say a couple of words about my buying experience...

First of all, I went down to Cobb Tuning to personally talk to Trey Cobb and tour his facility, and I must say, I was very impressed. I asked him who he recommended I buy from, and he told me to talk to Chris Fleming at Huffines Subaru in Lewisville, TX.


Everything I've read and heard about Huffines and Cobb Tuning is true, absolutely wonderful experiences with both. I cannot speak highly enough about my experience with Chris Fleming at Huffines Subaru. I basically discussed what I wanted, and he said he had the car I wanted coming in a a couple of weeks. He gave me a price (which was very comparable to what the true market value was on Edmunds.com) and I was very happy with it. I gave him a deposit and all sorts of these little annoying requests like to leave the plastic on the seats, no dealer stickers, single digit miles, etc.

Well, the car came in and all my requests were followed to a "T". The car had 6 miles on it (most of them from what he told me have 10-12). Anyway, I was very happy...

With that said, I must sat this, this break-in is killing me!!! I thought the S2000 was bad (<5,500 for 600 miles), but this <4,000 for 1,000 miles for the WRX is insane!!!

Well, I finally got past the 1,000 mark, and I'm still breaking it in, in my own way of course. I've got about 1,700 miles on it now. I figured, from 1,000 to 3,000, I'd stay under 5,500 rpm, and get the oil changed at 3,000. After that, its fair game. Most people I've run across say after the first 1,000 miles, you're good to go. However, I'll keep it under 5,500 rpm until I get the oil changed at 3,000. I'm sure the oil has metal shavings in it from break-in, and I don't feel comfortable redlining it with contaminated oil, ya know?

Anyhoo, down to the meat and potatoes (WRX vs. the S2000)...

Aside from the obvious, the S2000 being a convertible 2 seat roadster vs. a 4 door sedan, the motor and handling is what I'd like to concentrate on...

The S2000 really didn't feel strong until 6,000, where its second cam profile kicked in. At 6,000, there was a noticeable surge of power, all the way up to it's 9,000rpm redline. The metallic rip of the motor was a sound to be heard. It was so sweet - made me feel like Michael Shumacher, he he he. It's 6 speed made it relatively easy to keep it "on the pipe" (as we used to call it in my sportbike days). Day to day driving wasn't all that easy to live with though. It was a weekend car for sure. It's short wheelbase meant for a somewhat choppy ride over expansion joints on the highway, and it's rear wheel drive meant a ton of oversteer. I know what the magazines say (mild understeer at the limit) but in day to day driving situations, where you're not on a racetrack, putting up with lane changes, tailgaters, roadkill, etc, this car had tons of oversteer. It would want to swap ends with anything but the most precision driving. So much so, that my wife actually felt unsafe at times, especially when it got wet outside. The ability for a more user friendly car was definitely in order.

Enter the WRX...

The only car to even compare (performance wise) for a price-point lower than the S2000 was the WRX. I've read the reviews, etc. I used to be stationed in Japan for 4 years straight, so I knew all about the WRX and it's history. What I didn't know was how much I'd fall in love with it.

The power delivery of the WRX is super smooth. Of course, I haven't been above 5,500 rpm's yet, but I could not believe the torque, midrange power, and part-throttle response of this car - simply amazing! It's a much easier car to drive faster, which is not something I could say about the S2000. The S2000 is not very forgiving at the limit, and you really have to know what you are doing to go fast in that car. With the WRX, it just seems easier to drive (read: less work for the driver). It's longer wheelbase makes it much better to live with over freeway expansion joints, and the ride in general is not choppy like the S was.

As for turbo lag, well, I just don't get it. All this talk about lag and stuff is silly when I think of the S2000 not making useable power until 6,000, and even then, it's only over a 3,000 rpm range, until it hit it's 9,000 redline. In a way, the S2000 has it's own lag - it's called VTEC. The WRX feels strong at about 3,200, and I'm sure it pulls until redline, which is 7,000. That's a bigger range of useable power for everyday driving situations. No more constant downshifting (although, that was fun in the S2000, I admit). Plus, people don't realize that the S2000 doesn't make it's 240hp until 8,900 rpm. Who in the hell drives at redline all the time? Under spirited driving, I would shift AT redline, and keep it above 7,000 to "stay on the pipe", but I would never drive it AT redline constantly, so when you think about it, you are not really getting that advertised 240hp all the time. In that respect, the WRX really shines. For day to day driving, it's much better to live with, and the torque is incredible. What really gets me about the WRX is that the power is sneaky-fast. Before my wife actually drove it for the first time (she let me break it in first) she told me it didn't feel as fast as the S2000. Well, she drove it for the first time the other day and was like, ok, I take that back, it's pretty damn fast! The thing is, it's much quieter than the S2000. That car had the sound of a detuned race car at the limit, and you KNEW you were hauling ass. Most people assume since you are louder, you are going faster. Definitely not true... The WRX is so much more quiet, you don't even realize you're hauling ass until you realize you just passed like 4 cars in an instant and you look down at the speedo and your going 90 mph!!!

There are some things though I wish were different about the WRX. After driving the S2000 for the past year, the shifter in the WRX feels like a bus. No doubt, Cobb Tuning has that one covered though (new double adjustable short throw & hardened bushings) One other thing is the headlight relay. Is that damn thing loud or what??? I can hear it every time I turn the headlights on, he he he.

Other that that, no complaints. Well, except that Cobb Tuning wants me to have at least 5,000 miles on it before I can get it modified. I'm going to have everything done at one time, and this 5,000 mile thing is killing me!!! What's cool about the whole thing is, the total cost of what I want to do, plus the cost of the car itself, is STILL cheaper that the S2000, and in the end I'll have a fully modified car that has retained it's streetability while surpassing the S2000's performance - all in a package that I can take four adults in to share the experience.

Thank you Subaru!"

I hope that helps!

[PlatinumWRX]

Great review, lilichiban! Thanks for posting it.

-Jim