Most cost effective way to neutralize handling?
 

I recently bought an 01 S2k. Only change I have done to it so far is give it Avon M500 tires since the ones on the car were not in great condition.

My question is this... I used to drive a modded S13 (240SX) and was used to the car's fairly neutral handling... albeit it was modded, but nevertheless I liked the neutral handling of the car..... the S2k so far is a bit prone to oversteering and in taking the corners, I have far more confidence in my S13 than in the S2k. In fact I'm a bit afraid of taking the car out too hard because of the easy oversteering.

What is the most cost effective way to get the car to be more neutral? Whether it be through modification, alignment settings, etc.

If someone that is NOT running on aftermarket shocks/springs/coilovers and could give me advice, I'd appreciate it. Also I know that alignment will definitely help alot, so if someone could post the proper specs with stock shocks/springs in mind, that would be great.

Also, this car is a daily driver but I plan to attend some high performance driving schools (they come twice a year to my city), or other similar events.

Take it to an autocross and learn how to drive it first. Then, when you have a specific issue you want to address, it will be much easier to discuss.

What size tires did you install?

Quite honestly the S2000 is pretty neutral from the factory. Most other cars, including the 240sx (I had one too) are biased towards understeer. As was previously suggested, some high performance driving instruction, either through autocross or at a racetrack, would probably be more beneficial than changing the car at this point.

Agreed - the stock S is very neutral but by not being biased to either over- or understeer it's easy to see the ability to bring the rear out to be perceived as biased. Two things - 1) check the alignment since that will make big differences and 2) watch your tire widths since the 225 S02 has the width of everyone else's 245. Use a normal 225 on the rear and watch the oversteer. The key is to have ~1.5" actual tread width difference front-to-rear - most other 205/225 combinations are only about 0.5-0.75" difference...

The tires I have are 205/55/16 front and 245/45/16 rear.

I hit up a local curvy road tonight, to get a better guage of the car's handling characteristics. I was actually pretty surprised that I could fly through it at a much higher speed than my S13. I'm very impressed with the car's handling (this is the first time I drove this car hard).

I know this street pretty well, so I can somewhat accurately determine the car's weaknesses/strengths based on it.... what I notice is that the rear tends to want to twitch out at times but it is pretty easily corrected. Is this twitching normal to this car? It seems that alot of people have stated the rear is "twitchy" and that this was corrected with softer rear suspension (well it was more or less redesigned) in the 2004 S2k's.

If this is indeed normal, what can I do to decrease this twitching? Driver skill has alot to do with a car's handling, but some things are just inherent to a vehicle. For example I do not drive this car the same way I drive my S13 because it has totally different handling characteristics (for the better). But what can I do to decrease this twitch? Certain alignment specs? A mod? What?

LEARN TO DRIVE THE CAR!

You should NEVER use the roads to experiment with the limits of traction. Sooner or later, that kind of assclownery will end up with someone dead. Hopefully it will be you and not some poor woman headed home from the night shift. There are plenty of legitimate places to learn your car's handling. Go to an autocross or high performance driver's education event.

As to your question, it is clear you are just repeating what you heard others say, so no amount of valid suspension advice is going to solve your problem. The problem is in your head. Trust me, I've been there.

Are you here to get pointers on how to drive better, or do you just want to know which blingin' JDM ricer ghetto suspension you should put on the car?

payneinthe.... your comments toward the end were a bit uncalled for and in my opinion unbecoming of a member of s2ki.

Perhaps you ASSUMED that my name "jdm baller" means I am a prepubescent teen looking out to buy the most "bling" mods. You should know the phrase "never assume because it makes an ass out of you and me". Your comments about getting blinging JDM ricer ghetto mods is an insult and shows your lack of maturity.

I, like many others, are seeking constructive advice. As I stated before I used to have a 240SX. I had to mod the car to get it to handle like I like it. Stock 240's have horrible handling. I was also used to the neutral to slight understeering characteristics of my 240. To me, having slight understeer is a little safer than slight oversteer. It's my own personal preference of driving.

Additionally, many people post about the car having excessive oversteer. Even the SCCA stock class FAQ states that the S2k is more prone to oversteering than any other production US car. It is with this in mind, and based on my own driving impressions, that I inquire about mods or alignment settings that will decrease this from happening. In a response earlier, someone said "get an alignment"... no one has replied with alignment specs on stock suspension yet. The SCCA FAQ seems to have specs but I believe that people are running aftermarket shocks and front swaybars to use those settings.

Did I say I will never attend a driving school or other event? No I did not. They don't offer them here very often where I live. In fact I have to wait until August/September of next year to goto the next one.

I've never had to deal with any type of oversteer (that was not self induced) in any car I've owned in the past (both the 240 and the FF cars I've owned). My first oversteering incident with this car that I did NOT purposely intend, was a bit scary. If the S2k is SUPPOSED to be like this and one can NOT change this, just tell me that and I'll learn to deal with it. No need to yell "LEARN TO DRIVE" and "do you just want to know which blingin' JDM ricer ghetto suspension you should put on the car?".

At any rate. Advice other than "learn to drive" would be helpful. I am just not understanding why me, and others, feel that the car is prone to oversteer, but those few that have responded to this thread disagree.

Stock suspension + ~stock tire stagger + street driving = stock alignment

Your local alignment shop can tell you what the specs are, but since my factory service manual is within reach:

Camber Front -0.5 deg Rear -1.5 deg
Caster Front 6deg
Total toe Front 0mm Rear In 6mm (0.25")

Bingo!

Abrupt steering inputs or bad traction are the most common ways to induce oversteer on a stock S2000. My guess is that you're jerking at the wheel and upsetting the car.

Thanks, that answers my question.