I have an Evo and a S2000. I track both cars. My Evo has bolt-ons for 300whp and my S was supercharged for 270rwhp. At my skill level, the Evo is easier to drive and quicker around the track than the S2000. Both cars have great turn-in response. I can generally carry more speed with the Evo though, because it is a lot more forgiving. At track-out the Evo is more understeer biased than the S, but any advantage the S gains coming off the corner is quickly wiped out by the Evo's torque advantage.

 

^^^^
First insightful post on this thread.

Handling cannot be measured by lap times. An ill-handling car with lots of power and stick (e.g. '80s Mustang with a supercharger and R-compound tires) will beat a good-handling car with neither (e.g. stock Miata).

In addition, lap times with random cars at random levels of prep driven by random drivers aren't valid comparisons since you don't know how prepared the cars are, or how hard they're being driven. At the last track day I did in my Boxster, I drove at 70% and still lapped a 997 Turbo multiple times, yet also got passed by an NX2000. Obviously neither of these events accurately reflect the cars' capabilities.

Lastly, handling cannot be completely evaluated on public roads since it's impossible to consistently drive up to and beyond the limit on public roads.

 

have you ever driven a stock evo/sti?

true the s2000 in stock form still has some body roll, but it is very minimal compared to a stock evo/sti. first time i took a hard turn in my old Evo 9 i thought the car was going to flip. but of course, it didn't

it's simple physics...center of gravity and to some extent weight distribution. a larger rear sway bar is a must-have first suspension mod for evo/Sti's to reduce that crazy body roll.

part of what makes the evo feel so good in the corners is the steering. the Sti or s2k can't really compete in that department imho.

 

hahahah! well buddy unfortunately you came to the wrong forum to ask that type of question....95% of people here have no idea because all they care about is drag racing....i don't think they've ever turned their steering wheels........b!tches

 

I have tracked both the evo and S2000. the evo is easier to muscle around a track, but it's tricky at 10/10. I was actually able to 4 wheel slide my S2000 through really fast corners (when i say slide i mean right at the edge of traction on on 4 tires, not some kind of drift move) easier and faster then the Evo.

The drive so differently. On the S2000 it's a lot of late braking, carrying as much speed as you can, momentum car if you will. The evo is braking earlier, trying your best to get it to rotate (big sway bar in the rear helps) and getting on the gas earlier.

The S2000 also responds well to a large wing. It needs more traction in the rear. The evo already has more traction in the rear then the front (read lots of understeer in stock form) so a simple big rear wing does nothing for it.

Stock engine S2000's with wings wup up at PIR on stock engine Evos in my experience pretty much regardless of the tires. My stock engine evo with bilsteins 255s and RA1s , vs stock engine S2000 with 265 RA1's out back with a wing was about 2 secs slower (the evo is slower). We are comparable drivers. I was running 1:29s and he was running 1:27s. This is what I would consider a medium speed track. My straight away speed was higher, but his cornering speeds were quite a bit better.

The evo does have a lot more body roll, but it stick well. Lowering the evo is tricky. You will lower the center of gravity, but actually increase the amount of body roll. You have to stiffen it at the same time. Just another 'feature' of the less then optimal strut setup.

edit: The steering feel in the evo is worlds better then S2000. It's better then any car I have driven.

 

The Evo (RS VI) has a quicker steering ratio 2.1 turns vs 2.4 for the S. That makes a difference too.

 

Yes and No. I didn't mean out handle... I meant just out do all together. AWD classes are 99% of the time faster than RWD classes on the same tracks. The problem is that sure, a s2000 might be able to pull higher G's on a skid pad. YAY! However, the second you leave the skid pad and hit the straights the EVO/STI will easily overtake the s2000.

The reason a s2000 can whomp on a Evo/STI at AutoX, is simply because Auto X doesn't really have any straights at all lol.

 

I have driven an STI with around 350whp. Absolutely amazing experience, but that was only once for a couple minutes years ago. Don't really remember the specifics. The acceleration is absolutely amazing. Handling performance will ultimately be determined by your personal handling goals.

As everyone has more or less said, "it's apples and oranges", "it's the fun experience of the s2k"

All in all, everyone will have their personal preference/bias based on certain factors that mean the most to them whether it be convertible experience, 2 door roadster experience, etc etc.

To add something a little more concrete and quantifiable here are some aspects that should be sorted out on measurements, pros and cons. Hopefully to add to constructive debate.

Turn-in speed:
How fast can you turn into a corner? Someone with track exp chime in?

Understeer/Oversteer tendencies:
AFAIK: 00-02's have a tendency for more oversteer or as other's have described as twitchy. 03+'s have a modified suspension that takes that twitchiness away? I definitely have heard that the newer 03+ have a suspension more catered towards understeer. 04 had the 2.2 liter engine so there was more midrange torque to accelerate without being lifeless until 6k rpms. STI's have an ECU with a differential that can send a large percentage of it's torque to any side of the wheels (left/right/front/rear) to give the behavior described as, "point and give throttle."

Driver engagement:
s2k: you need to take control.
sti/evo: pervious posts points to, "point and give throttle."

Differentials/Drive system:
s2k: you control the front wheels with steering, control the back with throttle.
STI/EVO: the ECU puts the torque where it's needed most to keep you steady and stable.

Springs rates/Shock absorption:

Highlevel Goals:
s2k: built as a 2dr, convertible, roadster.
sti/evo: Built to be a off-road rally car. Very different design goals in mind from s2k. There needs to be more clearance for dirt and gravel, so center of gravity is raised. AWD system is there to allow better acceleration, that's it.

However, AWD does not necessarily offer better braking or lateral Gs. Braking is going to be affected more by the amount of friction between the tires and road, aka larger contact patch and the momentum (velocity * mass (aka weight)) that needs to be converted into heat energy.

Lateral gripping ability is again going to be influenced by the surface area of the contact patch between tire and road. (Suspension geometry/spring rates/shock absorption will affect that contact patch surface area.) The STI awd system's (may evo's too?) ability to deliver torque to any wheel gives it better acceleration capability during the course of a corner as the wheel with most grip can pull/push the car.

This in effect gives the AWD equipped cars a significant advantage in corner exit speed, which in some circles can be faster and thus "better" handling. The s2k is much lighter, far more nimble and it still has the rear wheels to push it out of a corner, so it's not like the the s2k is at a significant disadvantage.

Conversely, the s2k doesn't have it's front wheels to pull it out of a corner, so it's up to the driver to point those front wheels in the correct direction and give maximum throttle possible without losing traction on the rear wheels.

Better handling? Whoever puts the most "good" money into their suspension and tires will be the best. stock for stock, who will "win" is going to be determined by the road and weather conditions, driver, etc etc. So many variables outside of the car itself.

 

Do you run in A Stock? Do you have R comps? I can't see how that's possible. 5 seconds is an unimaginable gap for solo. We aren't talking about a 1 mile track here. We're talking about a .35 second -1.15 minute course. Once again, 5 seconds is HUGE! I don't think the gap between Street Mod and B stock is even 3 seconds.

And btw, with equal drivers a S2000 should beat an Evo in Astock. I don't know about other classes.... because the s2000 isn't too hot in any other class other than Astock. I don't know if anyone has ever prepped a s2000 for National Caliber Street Mod...

 

Stock for stock it's going to depend on how long the straights are! lol.