umi415

I'am an S4 all the way, The older the car is the worst the honda guys feel when you pull them!

royaltrex7

yeah saw a 3 cylinder geo tow a honda had to make him feel like crap

but back on topic ok i dont like the s4 tails but the s5's are so over used.
the front bumper slips not fond of badging or molding. i like slick exterior look not over the top though. as for interior i like the s4 interior but i hate the idiot cluster in an s4.

Turbo II

iTrader: (1)

Die Slow!!!! Seems like I beat this down about every month or so on here. Where's Mark or Aron when ya need them!

Heavier - yeah a hundred pounds more than my '91 Turbo...
Handling - ask everyone I was tailgating at Deals Gap last year...
Braking - see above...
Grip - see above and it was running Pep Boys Wyndstar tires...
Slower - well duh...from a standstill compared to what?
Stiff - has more than your coupe, has too, it's a vert, add the top up, more so...
Rollover - so if you're racing put the top up...
Storage - it's a sports car, oil is all you're suppose to carry...
Wind and Sky - chicks dig that sort of thing...
Looks - see above....

fcdrifter13

Chicks dig the vert

staticguitar313

iTrader: (2)

I win

fcdrifter13

I love that car. Did you ever fix what they fucked you when they did it.

snowball

s5 turbo verts (and all others, but s5 turbo more so) are sooo hot. not to be made fun of.

Turbo II

iTrader: (1)

Heh, I did something like that about two pages ago.. '88 Vert and a '91 Turbo.
Nice shot of the cars though and nice looking cars. Yeah I need to get a coupe
at some point, or maybe two...

BklynRX7

+1 for s5's

Black91n/a

You can't compare the convertible to the TII, that only serves to minimise the weight difference to make you feel better. They're a couple hundred pounds more than the coupes. They have extra bracing, but it doesn't make up for the lack of a roof, and the convertible roof won't add as much stiffening as a coupe roof, and it won't provide as much rollover protection as a coupe roof. There's no escaping the fact that they cut away a significant part of the body, so it'll be floppier, the bracing is a bandaid solution.

I never said that they can't be quick, they can be made so, but with equal drivers in stock cars (vert vs coupe), the coupe will be faster in all aspects of performance (better accel, braking, cornering, etc).

Just because you were tailgating people at Deal's Gap doesn't say anything about the car, it has more to do with how fast the driver wants to go. I could tailgate someone in an Enzo all day on a track with me driving a Geo Metro if he wasn't trying to go fast, does that mean the Geo is faster? No, it means that I'm driving more aggressively.

It's just my oppinion that they aren't as good looking (I think the top spoils the lines) and that the compromises aren't worth it. If you love your vert then good for you, why do you care what I think?

fcdrifter13

Turbo Verts are awsome, and so so sexy. Either S4, or S5 I just want one.

Turbo II

iTrader: (1)

Man I was just having some fun. I do love driving my 'Vert and have had a lot of fun chasing people in it. I do end up surprising alot of people on the twisties, once I catch up to them!!! And you have to have the top down, looks alot better that way that with the top up...of course the chick in the passenger seat helps...

Icemark

OH, no not posting wrong info again are you??? Do you just make it up or do you actually believe what you are saying???

#1. My 88 non P package vert weighs 2870 with no weight reduction. That is the same as the non turbo 89-90 GXL coupe (and comparably equipped) or most any S5 Turbo.

#2 The vert did not have anything cut away. Unlike 90% of other convertibles out there, the Verts were both designed and built as convertibles. Again unlike most manufactures that build a coupe then lop off the roof (as found on the Celica's, Mustangs, Porsche 911, and just about any GM convertible except for the vett and XLR). FC3C are designed from the ground up to be a convertible. With the top up and latched, Car and Driver posted that the vert had ridgity within 10% of a coupe (radically better than most convertibles out there.

#3 the bracing on the vert actually makes it safer in a roll over than a coupe. The windshield A pillar alone can support the car upside down. Unlike a coupe. Then toss in the integrated roll bar built into the soft-top assembly and you have actually considerably more roll over protection than the coupe.


Here is Car & Drivers test of the 88 P-package vert.





MT tests of the S5 vert and S5 Turbo:

Bluecoop91

iTrader: (14)

Wow you "schooled" me with your ability to regurgitate R&T test numbers LOL. Don't believe everything you read. The '88 GTU had the same 4-pot brakes as an S5 GTUs in a lighter body with stiffer suspension. In my humble opinion that would make the GTU a better car. Not to mention the stupid mouse belts in the GTUs...

Icemark

Yep, actually R&T called the 88 GTU the real 10th Anniversary, that they would pick anyday over even the 88 10th AE.

fcdrifter13

Really. Cool

herrafass

iTrader: (6)

S4, just feels more genuine to me. i do prefer the S5 front minus the embossment, but despite the fact that she won't run right (yeah, i know, join the club . . .) i wouldn't trade my S4 for anything.

Black91n/a

So Icemark accuses me of posting wrong information, and then agrees with me (on some points). I find that ammusing.

He admitted that according to C&D that the vert isn't as stiff as the coupe (but is close, but then that's only with the top up, top down it gets worse). So I'm correct and I was posting accurate information in that respect.

You compare the weight of an S4 vert to an S5 coupe, not really a fair comparison, compare an S4 vert to an S4 coupe and that's a more fair comparison. A vert will be closer to the weight of a TII because of the extra weight associated with the turbo, intercooler, piping, stronger diff, stronger tranny and so on. That's stuff that the vert doesn't have. IMHO a more fair comparison is to the same series car with the same motor, so S4 vert and S4 coupe, or S5 vert and S5 coupe. If I compare an FC to a Ford Model T it's practically a supercar, but that's not a fair comparison. Compare apples to apples.

If the vert didn't have anything to cut away, then where's the metal roof?

Do you have any proof to back up your claims of the vert being stiffer and safer in a rollover? If you do I'd like to see it, if not it's just your oppinion that it's safer. It will be safer than most convertibles with the top up because of what you've said, but that doesn't necessarily make it safer than the coupe. Supporting the weight of the car is not the best test for rollover, as there can be significantly larger forces at play in a collision and rollover. As a rule of thumb coupes are safer in a rollover, so I'll continue beleiving that untill I'm proven wrong, and if I am proven wrong then I'll gladly retract my previous statement and admit to talking out of my ****.

Besides, were verts meant to be driven with the top up all the time? No, so whenever the top's down there's less protection and safety. So to claim that it's truly safer, the A-pillars alone must be stronger than the entire coupe roof.

That all said, the FC very good at being a convertible, thanks in large part to it being a pre-planned addition to the model lineup. It's performance, weight and so on are much closer to the coupes than most other coupe and vert models out there. If I was in the market for a vert then I'd probably get one of those.

I just happen to not like convertibles that much, I prefer a coupe, it's just how I am, so that transfers over to me not liking FC verts very much. For me the trade offs aren't worth it, for others they are, that's individualism for you.

Like I said, why should anyone care what anyone else thinks about their car, them, or anything else, the only oppinion that matters is your own.

jerd_hambone

i vote for s4

s4 with s5 intake manifolds.... perfect

i happen to like the black molding, and the look of the s4 front and tails, unlike almost everyone else haha

but, if i wanted a more luxurious car, i'd chose an s5

but for now, i'm sticking with my s4 base

woohooo light weight haha

bradenscreed

****, ive had an s5, hell its in the carport, i have an s4 now, yes, i went from an s5 to an s4. i see major differences in both, but i like too much of both to choose, i like the s4s5 combo really. i like the front bumper, the mirrors, the lights, the radio surround, blah blah everything everyone else has said, PLUS the lighter weight rotors, the 8,000rpm redline, the STOCK 5 lug rims, more than the s4, but hey, the s4 feels more like a sports car, has less electroic CRAP to get in the way of what I want to do with MY car, and so on, so debate if you must, own both and figure it out. turbo or convert, doesnt matter, still an rx7, still can whoop ***, still have a rotary. mix and match if thats your thing, keep it stock, or gut the beast and make your own, who cares, make it your own....

fcdrifter13

Whats the difference between s4 and s5, didnt think there was one.

cdaleracer669

iTrader: (1)

do a search, there is plenty.

fcdrifter13

Not that the mirrors.

Icemark

Compare apples to apples???, they are both apples. This thread is on series. The S5 are overweight porkers, that even a S4 convertible is lighter than half of them. Now if you wanted to compare the FD to a FC3C, then you can make the comment about apples to oranges (or at least a little more accurate to compare Fuji Apples to Red Delicous).

, You just don't get that. Apparently you didn't read either. THERE NEVER WAS A METAL TOP on a convertible. The FC3C is made the same way as a Miata. Its not even built on the same line as a FC3S. It is built on a different production line than the coupe (that is why there was a 92 convertible, while the FC coupe stopped being made in 91 to make room for the FD). Next thing you'll be saying is that the Miata is coupe with the top cut off. The FC3C and the FC3S are not even painted in the same way or in the same booths. Two different production lines. How can the roof be cut off, if there never was one in the first place???

, posted many times. I'll find the articles and post them again... but based on your earlier posts, I doubt that you'll read that either.

, ah yeah, I guess that's why Mazda made a targa roof on the vert as well

No, just strong enough to prevent the A pillar from collapsing... something that happens on the coupes when rolled. The roof is propped up by the B pillar on the coupe.

Now don't get me wrong... I have never said that the convertible is as completely solid as the coupe, no convertible is. I am saying that if you are discounting the convertible for what you proceive to be a more flexible body (as most coupes with cut off roofs are) then you have neither driven a FC3C or have any clue about them. And I am saying that a vert with the same size tires and wheels will out handle a coupe hands down, with no loss of safety when compared to a coupe.

fcdrifter13

SO thats what happens when Icemark flexes his knowledge. lol.