Krisko

I just went to their school there and I know the track fairly intimately so I'd like to hear about S2K owner's experiences there. I am considering either a Miata or S2K as a dedicated track car.

ellisnc

I know the guy with the "track toilet" was there when I was there in my WRX. The subaru is pretty modded suspension wise and the weight is dropped almost 300 pounds so most everything that isn't modded has trouble keeping up at Mid-O except 911TT and Z06. I can run 1:48-1:49 with turn 2 and 3 in place in the dry with no passenger on my current setup. There was a black S2k there last time and I'd say he was running 1:52's or so, maybe slower...

From what I've seen with the S is you really have to be able to drive to drive it quick... especially at Mid Ohio.

CoralDoc

I can't say anything about Mid-Ohio times, but I'll make a suggestion about the car. The Miata will be a lot less expensive to run at the track and the only thing you'll give up is some room inside the car and power. There's a ton of aftermarket support for the Miata, whereas much of the track prep on the S2K needs to be done with either custom fabrication or with harder to find low volume enthusiasts. That's where this board and forum come in handy. Spec Miata times are generally a little slower than the fastest slightly prepared S2Ks, but not by much.

Krisko

I appreciate the advice. I think that the S2000 would be a better car all around as I'll be using it for some street duty on weekends. But you are right, the Miata is probably the better car for track duty.

Jason Saini

Back to the original topic at hand, Rick Gilhart posted a 1:44.3 in the race at the '01 Runoffs. Expect Kris Skavnes to better that this season, weather provided - especially with the new track layout!

For comparison's sake, the guy with the track toilet turned 48's in his first outing there, and with limited miles on the car.

For T2 the problem is that the Camaros are getting 128mph trap speeds to the S2000's 118... You gotta make up too much in the handling department. It's a damn shame, as I'd love to race one in T2.

Krisko

1:44...that's fast! A friend's Stage 3 S4 ran a best 1:52 at MO last weekend. I have no idea if he had traffic or not. I ran a 1:55 in a nearly stock RSX type-s.

fastoldman

Since I have both,the answer is simple. Pure, dedicated track car, the Miata wins hands down as parts are super cheap through Mazdaspeed ( formerly Mazda Competition ). You can buy parts at Dealer cost and there is tons of support out there. Track and street, there can be no question that the S2 is the obvious choice. Course, I may be biased,as this is how I use each of them, ha.

Krisko

Do you ocassionally take the S2000 to the track? How much faster is the S2000 over the Miata? If I got the S, I definitely wouldn't be removing the seat or interior or anything crazy like that, whereas if I got a Miata that's exactly what I would do.

IDO914S

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Krisko
[B]1:44...that's fast!

ellisnc

A 1:44 in an S2k is absolutely flying! I take it that's the club course? or was it the pro course? I need to run my Subaru in the faster groups to see how quick it really is. There was no one in either group I was running in that could even come close to touching it. The head instructor in a 993 C2 with Victos couldn't keep up... said I was even pulling away from him going down the straight which I'm not so sure about. I think with Hoosiers I could pick up a couple seconds.

I would think the S would hit over 120 down the back straight...

The Subaru hits almost 125 and that's easily before the first braking marker (250m?) with just a downpipe, uppipe, straight through exhaust and boost controller set to stock boost to hold it up top a little more. A lot of that could be the run off of corners the car gets.

Anyway, back to the original question... I'd just choose a Miata honestly. It's a LOT lighter right away and parts are quite a bit cheaper and more readily available for it. I think the choice is easy to be honest unless you want to do something different. And like someone said, is there any S2k in such a condition at this point that you'd want to rip the interior out of it?



On a side note, I rode with a guy I know in a modded N/A Z06 at Mid O... hits almost 150 down the back straight. Crazy fast!