Did not Race But Did the Same Thing Also (m) (archive)

I own a 1998 2.8. My buddy has an S2000. I drove it hard for the first time this weekend. Below 6500 RPM the car drives like a nice sports car convertable, no great torque or power while driving conservatively, but nice. Door sills are WAY too high. However, when I wind it out, let the Vtec kick in at around 6500 RPM and let her fly to 8500-9000 RPM, it is quite exciting. The car pulls forever. 9000 RPM is insane, but fun. The car handled nicely, but I drove fast on mostly straight roads so I can ot povide any other details. Then my buddy drove my car, he said the brakes are much better, the torque curve is smoooth, linear and very predictable, and overall, the BMW is a wonderful car, just different from the S2000. You almost can not compare them.

Last night a friend of a friend brought out his S2000 to my car clubs meeting. After lots of trying, I finally talked him into racing me for fun. We took the cars back to a deserted road and lined up. I am running on 19" Breyton Magic Racings and he was on the stocks we each had a passenger, the combined wieght of me and my passenger was at least 450lbs. The two guys in the S2 were maybee 240. Weigh advantage S2.
1st race:
I launched at 2500-3000 RPM (he was clutch dropping at 7K!!!) and feathered a little and got a decent launch. I bogged a little, at the end of fist I was a little ahead. By the time I pulled second I started pulling hard. At the end of third and catching 4th I was a full car ahead. from there on out he could not pull on me.
2nd race:
I tried to launch a little higher (3000-3500) and I totally messed up the clutch and gas an bogged bad. After the launch he was a half car ahead. He satyed there for the whole race, he could not pull away and I could not gain any ground.
3rd race tie breaker:
I launched at 3000-3500RPM but this time I nailed it right on. The Guy in the S2K leftthe line early and had a 1/2 car after the start. Since I got a good lauch I was able to run him down and pass him by the end of the race and my forth gear I was 1/2-3/4 cars ahead.
Basically the M was definately faster, I had a weight disadvantage and was running on 19's. If we evened the weight and I was on the stockers I would have been further ahead at the end of the races.
Then out of curiosity we decided to switch cars and drive each others rides. We didnt race because niether of us trusted each other in thier cars while racing.
Obsevations on the S2000:
The car has an amazing suspension, it felt better in stock trim than my M with a Dinan bar and H&R springs. It felt more predictible in the corners.
The overall feel of the car was slower. Its not that the car "is" slower, it just feels that way. The M is so tourqey it throws you back in the seat when running it hard. The S2000 just accels smoothe up to the 9000RPM redline. It's deceptively fast. The car is not hard to drive around town like others have said. Its a normal car below 7000RPM's. You can definately feel the Vtech kick in at 7000-7500. It's allmost impossible to get the tires to chirp gears though.
I don't like the gearbox. Its very soft and doesn't let you know when the gear has engaged. The throws on the shifter are shorter than my M though, I like that. You get allot of vibration through the shifter also.
The car felt cramped in comparison to my M. The door sill was really high also. Meaning you had to reach your arm up to try and rest it on the sill.
I definately like the M better, the S2 was a nice car but the M fit me better because I am a bigger guy (6ft and near 250lbs), I also prefered the notchy feeling of the M's gearbox. The tourque also makes the car more fun to drive in my opinion, it just feels faster. I did prefer the suspension of the S2K better though.
Just my observations, please this was not intended to start anything.

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