southpaw

Thanks for the input man. Means alot.

I feel pretty content about the S2K.

Fuuck the haters/fanboys/etc. This is the car i want.

stevoe88

Damn, I went through the same shit as you did when I got mine. I bought mine 2.5 years ago when I was barely 19. Got my share of haters too so don't feel discouraged or any of that bullshit because you'll love the car and nobody can stop you from getting it. I was deciding between the 350Z and S2000 at the time. I loved both cars, but couldn't get over how ugly the 350Z was but the VQ's power delivery was nice but even during the testdrive, the cabin creaked under "light" cornering and the overall upholstery was at least a tier lower than the S2000's. I drove my friend's AP1 and fell in love with it, and decided to go AP2 because I got a deal on one.

I can't tell you which car is better or not since I haven't driven the E36 M3 before however ... I'm a diehard fan of the DTM E36 M3 so It'll probably be on my list of cars once I have a steady income. Being in college I'd say get the S2K just out of the convenience factor, not necessarily cheaper. I'm guessing you're going off to a UC/CSU or some private school down south and it's going to be a major pain in the ass to keep maintaining your car and praying your car will start every morning before class. (Especially if you have a midterm or quiz) I will tell you this much, if you're going to daily this car its going to get tiring and at times frustrating because of the space constraint and noise. But nothing a little top down canyon run couldn't fix

So in a nutshell, get the E36 M3 when you're older and have enough money to own multiple cars so you can keep the M3 has a dedicated track/show car or what not. That is my plan at least ... Sorry for the long response, I just failed a calc quiz and I'm trying to keep myself from thinking about it.

southpaw

Steve, that was the response that i would get on the first post.

Thank you so much.

I think i need to test drive the AP2 again just to verify my choice...

apxking

Sold my e36 M3 for a S2000 for many reason and one of them was the badge, the main...when i sold it i kinda missed it but now my S is my everything and i'm never gonna look back...if you think S is ghey...take a girl out with the top down and she'll love you just because of your car...
get whatever makes you happy mate...that's what life is all about...

best of luck.

PsykotiK

dont get the ghey s2000

DFWs2k

id rather get a civic than a old ass bmw

Steponme

You guido belong on BMW boards; you sound like one of them. So in that light, please please don't buy a Honda and taint the image. You guidos should only drive BMW and Mercedes with a gangsta lean and the bass bumping to impress the high school chicks.

stevoe88

If it makes any difference, the AP2's dyno a tad bit higher than the AP1's. I dyno'ed at 208hp and 146tq compared to my friend's 201hp 141tq that day. (He has an AP1 with minor bolt ons) Also, all AP2's come with glass rear window + updated interior colors if that will help you choose between the two. The only thing I like about AP1 is their 9K redline, besides that I lean towards the AP2 100%. Although from what I hear, AP1's are stiffer from factory, and they feel more "Go-karty" when taken to the limit. I never planned on tracking my car more than twice a year so the little luxury the AP2 provides over the AP1 was the x factor I needed to make my decision.

i_heart_my_DB8

The BMW crowd will welcome you with open arms.

Go with the e36.

TheDonEffect

Badge is not a pro or con unless you were comparing lux cars or something, or unless you're looking in the big buck range.
HP per liter is also not a pro, power is power, I mean do you give props to people who choose to take the harder way to achieve the same result?
And between those two cars, you say stuff like choosing an eg over a bmw or that badge doesnt matter, and that you're already leaning towards it, and that the s2000 drives better, and yet here you are still decding. You found that one car is better and aligns to your criteria seemingly perfectly, and you mentioned the other one has a badge and that you would fit into that crowd better, so...
I mean don't get me wrong, it's your dough and you could spend it how you see fit, and there's nothing wrong with badge whoring provided that you admit it. Not saying that you are, despite my comment implying that you are. See what I'm getting at?
Lastly, anyone who thinks a E36 M3 has more cache than an S2000 is just retarded, they remind me of people who buy out of warranty CLKs just because it's a Mercedes. I'll even go a step further by saying anyone who thinks either car has cache is plain retarded (yeah I'm looking at you folks who snob cars like the 350z and corvette just because you see more of them than you see S2000s on the road, nothing wrong with trying to be unique... in a Honda... but snobbing is retarded).
But to answer your question, no friggin question, AP2. Now if we were comparing E46s, differnet story since I my criteria is a lil different from yours, but I'd probably still go AP2 just because I'm afraid of the maitenance costs.