For sheer sports driving "pleasure" I would go with an S2K if you fit in one.
Lighter, better MPG, more responsive. The 350Z and G35 IMO are too heavy for sports cars. People on here bitch that SEDANS that weigh that much are too heavy, so how could a sports car not be? Of the G or the Z, I would take the G. Much better looking, and you may as well get the luxury if you are going to get the weight. The interiors are kind of plasticky though.
Not to mention that the prices for low mileage S2K's are going for these days, and you could have yourself a serious bargain. Only word of caution, you BETTER respect it in the rain, since they like to swap ends on even experienced drivers.
If you go with an AP2 (in the near future the AP1 as well) you could bolt a Kraftwerks supercharger kit on it, have a completely linear powerband, good MPG, and have a car that will harass C6 Z06s, and some other quite heavy hardware. Depending on what you pay for the car in the first place, you COULD potentially do that for about $20K total if you wait for the AP1 kit. Preliminary numbers have a lot of otherwise STOCK AP2's laying down around 360-370WHP, with nothing more than a catback exhaust in most cases. Factor in the gearing and the redline (raised to 8500 for the AP2), and you have a seriously fun car on your hands.
As for H22 CB, that depends. They are suprisingly quick if you do it right, in fact I have seen at least 1 H swapped CB rape the crap out of a G35 coupe, so they aren't THAT much faster. They merely have the illusion of feeling that much faster based on the added torque. But you will in essence be dealing with an older car, that is more likely to have minor parts wear out. I personally, have ZERO issues with mine, but I am realistic in knowing that mine is and was in far better shape than the average CB. Also, from a rigidity and safety standpoint, the CB is somewhat lacking by modern standards. You can engineer around it, but with a newer car, you don't have to. I personally haven't had 1 single issue with my car since I swapped it, and I drive it every day, and I have put quite a number of thousands of miles on it. I drive it everywhere without concern, and I wouldn't hesitate to get in it and drive to Florida today. ALL of my accessories work fine. Reliable isn't hard to get if the swap is done right. I also average 27MPG when raping it (I have seen it dip as low as 25MPG), but normally, I am closer to 30 and on the highway stretches with steady state 80-85MPH cruising I am closer to 33-35MPG. So it can be done. It isn't rocket science. I just takes patience to get everything setup and working properly (there WILL be at least minor issues), and it takes a little willingness to spend your $$ on quality stuff. I haven't found many swaps by ANYBODY yet that follow both of those principles, mainly because they are either in a hurry, or wanting to save a dime.
You probably would be better off asking yourself the following question. "Do I want to take the long, hard rewarding road of knowing that I built it myself for a fraction of the cost, or do I just want something new that is already equivalent to what I have?"
The first road is great fun if you have follow through. Most people have no follow through, and even if you do, you are still driving a car that isn't worth what you put into it, and people will still not look at as much of a car.
Then again, if you take on a huge payment, you are STILL driving a car that isn't worth what you paid for it (unless you get some kind of miracle deal, which I doubt, but it CAN happen), and people will be more "envious" of you, but I am not convinced that is a good reason to buy a car.
Ultimately, it comes down to what you want. Constant payment for a newer "more reliable" car, or the lack of a payment for an older fun car.
Lighter, better MPG, more responsive. The 350Z and G35 IMO are too heavy for sports cars. People on here bitch that SEDANS that weigh that much are too heavy, so how could a sports car not be? Of the G or the Z, I would take the G. Much better looking, and you may as well get the luxury if you are going to get the weight. The interiors are kind of plasticky though.
Not to mention that the prices for low mileage S2K's are going for these days, and you could have yourself a serious bargain. Only word of caution, you BETTER respect it in the rain, since they like to swap ends on even experienced drivers.
If you go with an AP2 (in the near future the AP1 as well) you could bolt a Kraftwerks supercharger kit on it, have a completely linear powerband, good MPG, and have a car that will harass C6 Z06s, and some other quite heavy hardware. Depending on what you pay for the car in the first place, you COULD potentially do that for about $20K total if you wait for the AP1 kit. Preliminary numbers have a lot of otherwise STOCK AP2's laying down around 360-370WHP, with nothing more than a catback exhaust in most cases. Factor in the gearing and the redline (raised to 8500 for the AP2), and you have a seriously fun car on your hands.
As for H22 CB, that depends. They are suprisingly quick if you do it right, in fact I have seen at least 1 H swapped CB rape the crap out of a G35 coupe, so they aren't THAT much faster. They merely have the illusion of feeling that much faster based on the added torque. But you will in essence be dealing with an older car, that is more likely to have minor parts wear out. I personally, have ZERO issues with mine, but I am realistic in knowing that mine is and was in far better shape than the average CB. Also, from a rigidity and safety standpoint, the CB is somewhat lacking by modern standards. You can engineer around it, but with a newer car, you don't have to. I personally haven't had 1 single issue with my car since I swapped it, and I drive it every day, and I have put quite a number of thousands of miles on it. I drive it everywhere without concern, and I wouldn't hesitate to get in it and drive to Florida today. ALL of my accessories work fine. Reliable isn't hard to get if the swap is done right. I also average 27MPG when raping it (I have seen it dip as low as 25MPG), but normally, I am closer to 30 and on the highway stretches with steady state 80-85MPH cruising I am closer to 33-35MPG. So it can be done. It isn't rocket science. I just takes patience to get everything setup and working properly (there WILL be at least minor issues), and it takes a little willingness to spend your $$ on quality stuff. I haven't found many swaps by ANYBODY yet that follow both of those principles, mainly because they are either in a hurry, or wanting to save a dime.
You probably would be better off asking yourself the following question. "Do I want to take the long, hard rewarding road of knowing that I built it myself for a fraction of the cost, or do I just want something new that is already equivalent to what I have?"
The first road is great fun if you have follow through. Most people have no follow through, and even if you do, you are still driving a car that isn't worth what you put into it, and people will still not look at as much of a car.
Then again, if you take on a huge payment, you are STILL driving a car that isn't worth what you paid for it (unless you get some kind of miracle deal, which I doubt, but it CAN happen), and people will be more "envious" of you, but I am not convinced that is a good reason to buy a car.
Ultimately, it comes down to what you want. Constant payment for a newer "more reliable" car, or the lack of a payment for an older fun car.
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