Pros/Cons of the S2

[Kit]

I've been thinking about buying one to replace my impreza type ra, I was wondering if someone could point in the direction of a good review or perhaps post a review themselves?

I want to know how a standard car drives, in terms of:
Comfort/ride
Positives and negatives/Strengths and Weaknesses
Which is generally considered the best model/year
Which/who are the best people to go to in order to tune/service one in the U.K?

[macspring]

Welcome, Kit

Answer to question number 3. Engine code: ABY, 94 - 95, Coupe or Avant dependent on your circumstances, how many potential passengers, wife, kids etc.. You won't outgrow an Avant.

You'll need plenty of money to successful mess / tune S2s.

HTH.

Kind regards.

[S2central.net]

@kit - Welcome...

We don't get many people coming from the Scooby world into this one.

Have a look at the buyers guide on http://S2central.net

I have some articles on that site of test drives and such, but Mike Dewar has a LOT more at http://www.s2-audi.co.uk

The S2 is a lot more solid than a scooby. Its built like a tank - which is both a strength and a weakness. The engine is immensely strong and can be upgraded to proportions limited only by the size of your wallet. Tuning starts cheap around £250-400 for a decent chipset / remap depending on source for an extra ~50bhp and 50Nm.

The ride / comfort compromise is pretty good on standard suspension if the dampers are fresh. Tired ones will feel choppy. Handling has a natural desire for understeer on the S2 - as Audi intended. There are stiffer RARBs and other tricks capable of giving the car much less understeer - and downright oversteer if you want.

My personal opinion is that the ABY engined ones are better due to the higher tech COP technology - no mechanical distributor. Of course tired old coils can cause troubles so when looking see if you can find a car with recent coil changes - they are expensive. Later ABYs tend to be most better equipped and of course potentially look a lot fresher than an early 3B which is 5 yrs older. In saying that - there are some really tidy 3B Coupes about - generally owned by folk on here. That engine has a slightly edgier flavour to the engine - it has a lighter flywheel. The ABY feels smoother.

One potential weakness on 3B is the 5-speed gearbox - OK in mild tune levels - but not up for the big torque demands of RS2 conversions and such.

Lots of things about the S2 are expensive - especially if you are reliant on garages to do the work - lots of seemingly simple jobs take a long time due to access limitations on the engine bay. Also some real specialist knowledge is needed for some service / upgrade operations.

They are solid / dependable cars that you can put starship mileage on without any great stress. When they go wrong they can be expensive and time consuming to fix, but the knowledge on this forum alone will save you thousands.... or cost you thousands if you get the big tuning bug !

[GazzaG60]

hi kit

from a driving prospective an s2 will never match the ra. from a handling prospective the same.

tuning is a drop in the ocean compared with SUBARU'S. the main issue is turbo size in comparison. the most similar to the ihi turbo on the ra would be a RS2. the s2 runs out of puff well before then.

if you wanna go in a straight line fast the S2 will be better, its also a lot better built and more comfortable.

being quite up on both cars id honestly say there are as many + points about each car. if you are after a faster car thhat has the characteristics of the subaru id look to get hold of a cossie subaru block or maybve a crawford performance unit. mad the inet to to be front entry and fit a gt35r turbo kit.

one of the big issues with the subs is the weak 5 speed. similar to the audi setup. putting the 6 in the subaru is easy though whereas putting a 6 speed in a 3b audi is more complex. audi drivers tend not to worry bout running gear like subaru owners do.

its easy to get an s2 fast but not to get it round corners.

[Azman]

S2 all the way, my friend has a Scooby The 303 BHP version and it fly's and holds the road better for fast cornering but he S2 feels aot more solid and comfortable to drive on a daily basis, Upgrades come thick and fast when you want them and if the cash is there then there are simple ones to improve the cornering of the S2 as S2central has already said with roll bars etc being simple bolt on items from the RS2, Having had a coupe and now an Avant, the Avant feels alot smoother on acceleration while my old coupe (which was chipped) was a bit brutal on the understeer if too much power was fed in at the wrong time but it was on standard suspension. Bigger wheels than standard help with the grip.

My own opinion is the S2 is a better all round car than the specifics of the Scooby, as been said the Audi is better straight line speed machine and with th right skill and tuning does become good round corners too.
Happy Hunting

[Ross]

I don't think you'll ever get an S2 to handle like a Scooby but they really are a different beast. The S2 is more about performance with refinement. And a 5-cylinder soundtrack. A subaru never does it for me, but if I wanted a point-to-point speed machine I appreciate it would be a better choice.

[S2central.net]

Now I've only ever driven a Scooby once - on a test drive from a dealer in the states believe it or not - I shudder to admit that, but Audis were utterly unaffordable from new for me and I had no scope for a B3/B4 project at the time - even if I could have found one.

Anyway - The S2 handling is much derided in comparison to the scooby - courtesy of ~10year technology gap I suspect. That and the much higher weight of the S2. With reduced weight and lots of time and money spent on suspension (eg KW v3 and complementary ARB upgrades) I'd be confident that it would provide a massive improvement in handling versus the stock setup. There will be less comfort of course but thats the price paid I suppose.

What I mean is - the scooby handles really well out of the box, but the S2 can be made to handle a lot better with the right suspension work, some weight loss, better / fatter tyres and really good alignment. Its not like the S2 has such horrific handling that it can't be cured... Its essentially the same setup as the legendary UR quattro which is still today lauded as a great handling car - the only difference between them is things like spring, damper rates and about 300kg of extra weight on the S2.

[GazzaG60]

i think one of the main issues with the subs now is fashion. halfords window attack cars are not in fashion any longer and subaru has lost its way quite considerably.

personally i think you have one of the best fun imprezas there especailly if its a 3 door.

personally i think an s4 is a better move on from a sub.

[shark_90]

personally i think an s4 is a better move on from a sub.

But even more detached than the S2.

[Jamo]

Scoobies, keep plastic mechano cars

I can't say they out handle an S2 they just feel different, Audi feels solids, Scoobie you can throw about.

Personally I couldn't own a Scoobie, they look nice but they are nowhere near as solid or reliable.

[mcandmar]

A friend had an RA i wasnt very impressed with it. Imagine a 90 quattro made in japan, less weight and flimsy build quality. Suffers from the same drawbacks, mcpherson strut suspension, engine sticking out the front, there not that different really. I just cant stand the noise they make, and the interior was awful. The extra 200kg of an Audi is a small price to pay for a luxury interior, superior build quality, and a great noise.

There is a valid argument that the Scooby is the better car to grab by the scruff of the neck and drive in anger, the rest of the time daily driving the Audi is a much more complete package.

[TEKNOPUG]

An S2 will never overcome the basic issue that is the big lump of iron overhanging the front wheels and all round weight of the car, compared to the low slung boxer engine behind the front wheels and lower weight of the Scooby. It's like trying to get a Mustang to handle as well as an Elise. No doubting that the S2 can be made to handle very well, much better than a stock Scooby but it will never outperform a Scooby on a like for like budget. However, all other aspects of the Audi are superior to the Scooby. So Scooby for track, Audi for everything else!

[Rusty]

An S2 is about as anonymous as you can get... a scooby isn't.

[HPmuirt]

An S2 is about as anonymous as you can get... a scooby isn't.

Egg Zachary Orificer Casey. The Scooby will always sound like an MGB with a straight through exhaust and will always stick out like a paed0phile in a playground.

The S2 is a total sleeper. It looks like an old Audi 80 to most people even with its badges still in place but debadged it won't get a second look until you light the blue touch paper.

Out of the box, the Scooby will always out corner the S2 (why the hell did Audi put the engi that far forwards in a Coupe ) and can equal the straight line performance £ for £ as you start tuning, so if you drive point to point flat out all of the time, stick with the Scooby.

But, if you want relaxed understated motoring with the ability to embarass most modern cars (and my mate on his Bandit 600 - god was he p!$$ed off ) on the odd occasion that there is a quiet road and a knob in the next lane then you are making the right move

Cheers n

Si

[GazzaG60]

thing is it doesn't. every subaur i have tuned has lost the chug chug sound. the subaru is mapped standard wityh very low timing off boost to create the sound and feel of great power on boost.

a subaru can loose around 80% of that flat 4 sound.