e46 m3 vs s2000 vs mustang gt

[brainhulk]

In the market for a weekend/track car.

 

[Jumpem]

2004-2005 Miata + FMII.

 

[satyajitmenon]

Of the 3 on your list, I'd pick s2000.

 

[Soundmanred]

rite forem!

 

[thedarkwolf]

2004-2005 Miata + FMII.

too new.

 

[MotF Bane]

Wrong forum.

 

[deadlyapp]

Hmm. The s2k is a great autox car if you stiffen it up a bit. Plus it's got good pickup, but you'll have to stay over 6k rpms pretty much at all times.

I wouldn't use the mustang gt, it's just kinda sloppy, but it will be the most powerful car of the lot I'd say and is the easieest to mod.

I've driven the s2k and the mustang gt, haven't driven the m3 but i've heard great things about them. Personally I'd probably get the s2k.

 

[ballmode]

S2k

 

[OVerLoRDI]

s2000 is a cheaper car to maintain and upgrade but has less power than the M3. I have heard nothing but good about the s2000 as a drivers car. It is a light, fantastic roadster (so I have heard)

I have driven a e46 330i very regularly and it is a blast. The chassis is great and combine that with a tighter suspension and more power in the M3 version and I bet it is heavenly.

In my semi educated opinion I'd take the s2000 over the M3 because of the cost associated with it. My family has two BMWs, one is mine, the other is my mom's. The maintenance on them is not cheap. You can get a newer/better condition version of the s2000 for less money than the M3. Then when shit breaks it will be cheaper to fix because it is a Honda.

Practicality aside go for the M3.

Also Mustang... wtf?

 

[LordMorpheus]

Also Mustang... wtf?

If all he wants is a track car, a stripped mustang with race suspension wouldn't be a bad or expensive way to do it.

If you want something you can also use on the street, than probably an M3.

 

[Modular]

e46 M3 on the track is going to be heavenly. Hands down it's the one to get.

 

[Kirby]

S2000 with a LS2

 

[punjabiplaya]

road racing/tracks or auto-x?

tracks - m3
auto-x - s2k

 

[secretanchitman]

M3 without a doubt.

 

[gevorg]

I would choose even stock e46 over s2000. M3? Easy choice.

 

[Koing]

I have an S2000 and the e46 m3.

In my exp
M3 faster, much more pull, poor steering feel IMO, I much prefer the s2000 weighty steering feel

S2000 cheaper, really fun, made for topless driving, very revy, great gear changes (my m3 is smg, it's cool but you get the disconnect feel from the car), breakes well

I don't like how the m3 leans in to a corner, felt very weird at first compared to the s2000, which was much flatter. The m3 does hold very well just the initial lean was different for me.

S2000 tyres are a lot cheaper then m2 tyres, almost half price for a set of 4!

If you end up doing more track days I'd go or the s2000, feels more racey, cheap consumables and lighter.

Less track days the m3. It's very practical and much faster.

Koong

 

[JCH13]

I voted S2k from the cars that you have listed.

I'd vote for Miata any day of the week if your goal is having fun at the track and Sunday driving given the astronomically huge aftermarket support, cheap performance parts, cheap tires, and availability of cars.

 

[exdeath]

What year Mustang GT? If it's not a new 5.0, save your money for a Cobra.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I voted S2k from the cars that you have listed.

I'd vote for Miata any day of the week if your goal is having fun at the track and Sunday driving given the astronomically huge aftermarket support, cheap performance parts, cheap tires, and availability of cars.

It seems like I read about people saying that if you're planning on dumping money into a miata you're better of starting with the s2000... Thoughts?

 

[Imported]

M3.

Keep in mind, some tracks won't let you on in an S2000/Miata unless you have a rollbar and/or hardtop.

 

[thedarkwolf]

It seems like I read about people saying that if you're planning on dumping money into a miata you're better of starting with the s2000... Thoughts?

Who said that? If you are planning to start off spending $12k then I'd get a s2000. A nice miata can be had for $3k + or - a grand leaving room for a new suspension, tires, and wheels. Also plenty of room for a turbo if you have to have that power. I wouldn't want to wreck a $3k miata on the track but I really wouldn't want to wreck a $12k+ car on the track.

 

[GTSRguy]

Overall, the M3 would be the best, but just for road racing / track...gotta go with the S2000. Hp and 0-60 times and even slalom times dont matter at all - its about driving and having fun. S2000 is going to stick to the road and will be perfect drivers car for the track.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Hmm. The s2k is a great autox car if you stiffen it up a bit. Plus it's got good pickup, but you'll have to stay over 6k rpms pretty much at all times.

I wouldn't use the mustang gt, it's just kinda sloppy, but it will be the most powerful car of the lot I'd say and is the easieest to mod.

I've driven the s2k and the mustang gt, haven't driven the m3 but i've heard great things about them. Personally I'd probably get the s2k.

Depends on the model year. 2011 with the 5.0l engine? Yes. Anything earlier and the M3 will eat it for lunch.

I think the S2K will be the best for handling/cost/ease of use and reliability.

 

[JCH13]

It seems like I read about people saying that if you're planning on dumping money into a miata you're better of starting with the s2000... Thoughts?

The Miata is significantly lighter than the S2K, especially if you get a base-model NA generation. 2100lbs vs 2800lbs. There is no substitution for lightness. Even the typical V8 Miata is still only ~2500lbs (or less). In my semi-professional opinion, lightness is the most important aspect for a track car's responsiveness. It also reduces wear on EVERYTHING in the car in track conditions. It's less weight to wear tires, less mass for brakes to stop, and less mass for the engine to accelerate.

The Miata's engine is closely related to a turbocharged engine, so it has all of the goodies to keep a strained engine running under severe duty. Street driven Miatas are routinely 250k-300k mile cars on the stock engine and transmission. This also means that the engine responds very well to boost, mine is currently running 12PSI on 165k mile stock internals and stock transmission, this is in the 220whp range, more than double stock power levels.The previous owner ran 14PSI for the three years he raced it. I bought my car for $2300 and have spent another $1200 on supporting engine mods and sorting things out, hardly S2K price ranges.

Parts cost and availability. I don't know what an S2K engine would cost new or used. A Miata engine will run you $300-500 used, and less than $2k shipped for a factory crate motor. I would be amazed if an S2K engine was anywhere near this cheap to replace. A quick look at TireRack shows that Miata suspension and brake equipment is anywhere from a little less expensive to a lot less expensive than equivalent S2K equipment. Tires are more expensive in S2K sizes it seems, if you can match up the staggered sizes with the same tire. With over half a million Miata's made, and an entire racing series just for Miata's (Spec Miata) there is simply amazing after market support, and lower prices parts through high volume.

There's also the esoteric benefit of modding your car. It becomes more yours every time you change something. Frankly, half the reason I own a toy car is to wrench on it, the other half is to drive its brains out. I take pride in saying, "here's my Miata, and this is what I've done to it" instead of "here's my S2K, it's stock."

I haven't had any wheel time or wrench time with any of the cars mentioned here other than a Miata. All I will say is that working in a Miata engine bay is cake compared to any other car I've worked on. There is plenty of room generally, and very few operations that can't be accomplished in a few hours. Apparently 1st timers can expect to strip a Miata of all running gear in two 8-hour days.

In terms of driving it is an incredibly nimble, balanced, and communicative chassis to drive. They'll let you know exactly what they want to do, are hard to upset, give you plenty of warning before you find the limit, and are fairly easy to catch when you exceed the limit.

All of the cars you're considering will be fun, and they'll all do well. I can think of competitive examples of each among the local auto-x drivers I race with. However, I think that a Miata will cost less to buy, keep racing, be more enjoyable to drive off-track and to work on, and be able to support serious modding if you choose to in the future.

I have thought about this a lot

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Great post, thanks JCH