Hi I'm Chris.

I've been after a S2000 for a number of years now, was almost ready to pull the trigger about 3 years ago when I learned my insurance would more than triple and I just couldn't justify it. This past weekend I was at Mid-Ohio for the ALMS/Indycar race and my friends and I followed a Laguna Blue AP2 out of the track and I knew I had to have one. Found one online and now it's on it's way, it should arrive in about two weeks and then it will officially be mine. The issue is going to be that I will most likely be in Pebble Beach when the car arrives during car week. I'm going to feel pretty stupid for being surrounded by Ferraris, Bugattis and Lamborghinis and the only thing I will want to do is fly home to pick up my Honda.

The biggest issue I currently have is that I can't drive stick, I've driven plenty of performance cars, but all have been paddle shift and I've obviously had no problem driving those. I spoke to a friend and he is going to drive it home from the dealer for me and I'll spend a couple days driving it around my neighborhood before I take it out on the highway. I've driven a friends Miata for about 30 minutes to try and learn and it didn't go fantastically, in my defense it was raining and there was a hill in the parking lot. I don't think I'll have much of a problem after a few hours of learning though.

I'm also a hobbyist automotive photographer and I'm very excited to have a car that I can be proud to take pictures of, I'm trading in an '02 Camry with plenty of road rash, not exactly the best car to take photos of. I'm sure I'll be posting dozens of photos within the first few days of getting the car.

 

I'd recommend finding a friend with any other stick shift car and asking him to give you some lessons. Perhaps make it worth his time. You should be OK learning on the S2000, but be careful with the clutch release if you're using a lot of throttle, because too many poor aggressive starts can damage the diff, which will certainly cost more than some driving lessons.

 

Unfortunately the only cars my friend's have with sticks are all exotics and there is no way I'm tearing up one of their clutches, and the Miata I learned on before doesn't get driven much and got some interior mold damage from a storm we had a couple months ago. I'm just going to be driving it very carefully until I feel comfortable with the manual and the car in general.

 

Was it all stickered up for the parade lap? Regardless, welcome aboard Chris! Yes, please share some photos with us when you get it!

 

I saw all of those and that's what put the thought in my mind, but I don't think the one we followed out was.

 

Honestly I would just pay a driving school with a stick to teach you. its worth the investment. Id rather pay a few $$ to learn to drive on someone's car

 

You will be fine if you take it slow and learn the box first. My S2K appreicates gentle press when going to the outer most gates (1 to 2 and 5 to 6 gates) otherwise the spring pressure in the box makes finding the center gate (3 to 4) very natural and easy.

 

I'm honestly not that worried about it, I know all the motions, it's just going to be putting them into practice.

 

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OP, congrats on your soon to be s2k! Let's see some pics!

 

I would post some, but the dealer took it off the inventory page, it's a '06 Laguna blue pearl with black interior, all stock. (and it's staying that way, no offense to the tons of people here who love their mods, just not my cup of tea)