im looking to build an s2000 before im off to college, I have a lot saved up and a car I can sell for this. My budget is maximum around 32k. I've done lots of research but I figured id take it here for a more specific question. If I wanted to daily drive this car but be able to take it to events here and there and drive it hard once in a while, what would be a good build? Obviously you cant have it all but a good happy medium where this car can still perform but drive to school everyday even if that sacrifices some power. So I guess TLDR what is the most I can put into this car without making it unreliable.

 

Can one even find an s2k for $32k?

 

there's like a 30 of them listed right now.

 

With a good set of tires, the car in stock form will do everything you asked about.

 

I would suggest trying to find a hardtop for added security when driving it daily and leaving it parked at school. This will be a significant investment because it is a high demand option. The more affordable s2k are likely to have degrading soft tops, and they've always been a high ticket item because a knife gets you access to the interior. Aside from that, look at some decent 300ish tread wear tires. The factory dampers preform just as good as most entry level coilers from BC and TEIN — with that being said you could put some lowering springs on to adjust the visuals without large sacrifice to performance.

My tire of choice for the past several years has been the Firestone Firehawk INDI 500