Convertibles

[xXFaNtAsMaXx]

It really depends on what you're looking at doing with it. If you're just going to showboat it around, a convertible will be fine for that. If you're looking to race with it or anything of the sort, a convertible isn't a good idea because it won't handle quite as well as a hard top. The frame will flex much more than a hard top would because taking away the top takes a lot of strength away from the frame.

 

[slugg]

It really depends on what you're looking at doing with it. If you're just going to showboat it around, a convertible will be fine for that. If you're looking to race with it or anything of the sort, a convertible isn't a good idea because it won't handle quite as well as a hard top. The frame will flex much more than a hard top would because taking away the top takes a lot of strength away from the frame.

Tell that to all the S2000 and Miata owners...

 

[punjabiplaya]

Tell that to all the S2000 and Miata owners...

yep. I see more miatas racing/autoxing than anything else

 

[exdeath]

Tell that to all the S2000 and Miata owners...

Miatas, S2000s, and Boxsters were designed from the ground up as open top roadsters. And their frames are smaller, shorter, and not so flexible to begin with, unlike coupes with back seats with very long doors and very long floors.

Most other cars are built first as hard tops, then they cut the roof off and throw in bracing underneath. If there is any design accomodation in the frame for a convertible version, it's just allowing room for floor bracing in a future convertible release.

 

[Throckmorton]

I just checked KBB.com and came up with $23,999 as the suggested retail price for a 1998 Corvette Conv with 19,000 miles on it.

BTW-I hate what KBB did to their website.

KBB gives prices as $xx,999 now? Really? D:

 

[Throckmorton]

S2000 I think is a better buy unless you buy a brand new Miata.

S2000 has the better motor, however the NC Miata has better brakes.
Compared to the NA/NB miata, unless you can find one that for less than 5000, youd spend close to what you would pay for to get a 2000-2001 S2000 equal performance wise.


Here is what I would consider doing to the miata to make it as fast as the S2000:

Forced Induction, Super/Turbo... with a safe boost and tune to get around 180hp
Full Suspension
Wider Wheels/Good Tires
Chassis Brace
Roll Bar (gotta have it, S2000 stock)
upgrade the pads/fluids/stainless steel lines
Sway bars


Once you do that, you have something as quick or quicker than a stock S2000.

However the Miata's cheaper to insure, cheaper to fix, and will wear out parts less frequently than the S2000 due to its lighter weight.

I like the fit and finish on the S2000 but hate having to pay for it on the insurance.
Now with the NC miata, that's a whole new ball game. It's a better platform than the S2000 and only lacks the motor. I like how you can get the folding hard top or a removable hard top as well.

Since when does the S2000 come with a rollbar stock??

Edit: Oh it has the hoops behind the seats

 

[thedarkwolf]

I think the bigger question is where are these $5k s2000s? You can find a pretty nice NA miata for $3k-$6k depending on year and miles but finding a s2000 for less than $9k still isn't easy around here.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Tell that to all the S2000 and Miata owners...

As others have pointed out, both of those cars were designed from the beginning as convertibles, which helps chassis rigidity a lot.

However, both models would still be both lighter and stiffer if they were conventional hardtops. The reason that these cars see heavy track use is simply because there really aren't other options available within their preice ranges. The Miata has no real competition, there just isn't another RWD sportscar out there in its price range, and even the S2000, when it was in production, was the only option out there if you wanted a "step up" from a Miata in terms of power.

Because both the Miata and the S2000 were, effectively, specialty cars (a very high number of them are second cars), making them convertible-only was a good move. Marketing wise, convertibles tend to be more popular as "second cars" since many people tend to think, "well, as long as I'm indulging in a car, I might as well have fun and get a convertible." This is why many classic convertibles, like the Porsche 356 "Speedster", are currently far more valuable than the coupe versions of the same car, even though the coupes originally sold for more money when new. Hell, when it was new the "Speedster" was the stripped-down, low-price variant of the 356. Anyway, since it would have cost more to build both coupe and convertible models of the Miata and the S2000, it made more sense to produce only a convertible model (and mitigate, but not eliminate, the inherent drawbacks) and thereby retain greater popularity in the "weekend car" market.

ZV