Sorry, been a bit busy. For those that dont know Im the Chairman of SXOC, and Ive owned various S chassis, only driven S15 though.
The popularity is due to IMO to 4 things: RWD, LSD and reasonable quick as standard, easily tuneable and relatively light. If you can think of another car that does all of that Ill be impressed.
The turbo kick and weight makes them more exciting than Z33 to drive and they are actually pretty practical - big boots and can be 4 seaters if youve only got little legs
The Zed is a generation later though, the chassis on an S15 dates back to the S13 (1988), the SR20 despite being a quality engine was being used from 1990 and the interiors can feel a bit sparse and dated, they can be a bit rusty as well, even S15.
I came very close to buying an S15 instead of my Zed but didnt because I was worried Id get carried away and have another 400hp driftcar within 2 weeks rather than a daily and Im probably glad I did, but if youre looking for something to modify, track or drift Id have a serious look at them.
Prices are a source of comedy for many long term S chassis owners - I bought a mint S13 in 2010 for under a grand and you could pick S14's up for roughly the same until about 2 years ago. Since then drifting seems to have got a lot bigger, numbers are falling so values are going up - if I was in the market Id be looking directly at S15 as they are that much newer and nicer (although I still harbour deep love for S13)
The S14 Tarmac posted is horribly overpriced for what it is and thats the biggest problem with these badgirls, there is huge variety in conditions, modifications and miles so people just take a chance.
For comparison this one is about (w)as good as S14's get: http://www.sxoc.com/...White-Huge-Spec and this Id buy in a second if I had the space: http://www.sxoc.com/...w-SR22-big-spec, I know the car and the owner well
Feel free to ask anything youd like to know, theres not many people who know them better than I do, Ive written off 5 (6 if you include the S12) to start with
Admittedly I don't know what I am looking at with these models at all, the one on eBay does look nice though.
The problem for me with the ones you have linked to is that as gorgeous as they are... they are pretty much done. I would rather choose my own mods and personalise it myself rather than one that is highly modified already so a more standard one would be preferable. Did you see the white S15 on DWs? Whats your thoughts on that one bud?