I very rarely venture much above 80-85 on the roads as fans of my speradsheets will know I have far too much time on my hands and am therefore not normally in a big hurry.

This makes the S perfect for me, as I don't need huge power to do those sorts of speeds and the S is a far more capable car than I am a driver.

I guess g-forces are what make the thrill of driving, the S can manage as much as most cars laterally, and is adequate longitudinally.

As most people think it's an MX-5 (and I have a quiet exhaust) one can sneak up on the obstructive feckwits and pass before they are aware of one's presence

 

so.. i think we're all on the same hymsheet.. maybe less than 100 is the general mark.

I do like the S. Mine is annoying me because it's making an odd noise from the rear at the minute but the flat stance is good. the level of refinement suits me because i do use it for the odd jaunt. i'd like a supercharger like yours Mikey as it feels a bit flat to me now but this could end up in a Bibbs situation (as above plus the bad) . Also the dorris does most of the driving in it these days and she has very bad technique, out of corner and mash it, which would lead to bad things.

accelleration is good

 

Well done that man!!

 

It's all about how fast you can nip past the sunday drivers, ie 30-50 or 50 -70etc times, although a fast 100ish blast through some nice sweepers on a quiet highland road with a couple of other like minded people is good too.

 

In the car, generally I'd agree.

Sometimes it's not quite enough.

Now on a bike that does over 100mph in first gear. . . .

 

I went from a 320 bhp s4 to the S2000, because when i lleft a 350z off a damp roundabout like he was stopped i realised that actually.. he was having all the fun. it's not the speed it's the adrenaline

 

Some sensible reasoned answers here, more so in view of the petrolheadeness of the contributors.
For the first time since ownership have spent two consecutive days driving hither and thither across the south, Sussex and Hampshire on all types of roads from lanes to motorways. The experience has sharpened my thoughts on speed.

At 6am with hood down on a lovely sunny morning for a brief moment on a long straight clear of traffic it was a buzz to see a fair bit more than 100mph on the clock. BUT in the light of a possible Plod hidden out of sight, a wish to keep a clean licence and always that unerving thought of a tyre blow-out, I could live, literally, without being able to do more than 100mph.

The ability to go round corners as if on rails is a revelation ( but only since a geo re.setting), but on public roads to attempt cornering on the limit, whether the bend is blind or not, with no reserve for change in road surface and the actions of other drivers is a bit immature and irresponsible. Best left to a track where surface conditions are better and a known and you will only hurt yourself and the car not others.

What I would find unacceptable and downright dangerous is not having the acceleration to get by the bumblies and downright intentional obstructive drivers. The latter seem to take particluar pleasure in slowing down a sports car, somebody enjoying themselves and anybody and everybody going quicker than themselves.

For me the fact that the S2000 can do 150mph is no big deal at all.

 

you are in Sussex, so you know what it's like

I give them 10secs from spotting me in the mirror

if they haven't moved by then, they aren't going to

so if the road is clear and obstruction is obviously the name of the game

or they are going to turn off in 2 miles but haven't got around to indicating

they will be passed

inside or outside, makes no difference to me

but doing that in something low in power is far riskier

 

[QUOTE=gaddafi,Jun 4 2009, 09:34 PM]you are in Sussex, so you know what it's like

 

I found that I had been constantly going upwards in BHP with every car I bought until I reached 400 BHP in my last car, an EVO VIII MR FQ300. I think I had gotten myself into the mindset that that was what you had to do each time you bought a new car.

I decided that was a daft idea and dropped back down to 265 BHP with my latest car the Z4 Coupe.

I'm finding that I can cover ground just as fast in this car as I could in the EVO and it takes corners just as well too. This is probably more down to my ability as a driver rather than what the car(s) can do as I'm sure I never pushed the EVO anywhere near it's limits.

I'm also having far more fun now that I had in the EVO as I can get a little tail happy again same as I used to do in the S2000.

Not sure if that adds much to this conversation but it's just my 2p worth.

More BHP isn't always better