As someone who did spin it on a track with no one close by, you are correct. Getting the speed under control before entering the corner and bringing on the gas as it the car gets straightened out is imperative. The car is great and give confidence. But when it goes, it's gone.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by airsport
[B]I joined the S2K spin club Sunday. Cold tires and a 35mph 90 to the right. Went in a bit hot and stepped on it hard. Felt it give out and got off it. Skidded about 50 to 60 degrees off axis.

 

To be honest...I don't know. I found the S2000 info in an article on Hondabeat and the Z06 info is on the Chevy website. Neither specifies with or without accesories.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Trackman
[B]

It looks like airsport is learning how to power drift!

Just a tip though...remember that this is a RWD vehicle and the way to avoid losing the rear end is NOT to get off the gas.

 

Crussel -- my bluntness was not intended to be insulting. Thank you for being the bigger person and letting me get away with it.

My suggestion on that one -- from a person who currently has a car with Falken Azeni's and a car with S02's is keep the S02's. The falkens are a nice tire .... for the price. 110 for a 245/45/17 is hard to beat .. but they are definatly inferior in all regards to the S02 Poles.

 

As a prospective buyer of an S2K, all this talk about the car easily spinning worry me a bit. So let me ask you this, how hard do you have to drive it to lose it? Real situations, real numbers.

Although I don't drive like a maniac, I still consider myself to be a fast driver. I own an Honda Civic now and the car is quite solid in turns and I never worry about losing control. Will the S2K slide in conditions which my plain Civic could sustain? or would I need to push it way beyond anything the Civic could bare?

 

The S2000, with the S02 stock tires (and not cold out of the driveway), should go beyond anything the Civic would bear. But if the road is wet, and you're on the same stock tires, all bets are off. Those S02s stink in the wet. The new S03s are better in the wet, and I believe a little more forgiving. But not as absolutely sticky as the S02 at the max.

steve c -- online is tricky, and I care about this board enough to always assume the best and to try to make this a community we all share in and learn from.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2k02
[B]
Although I don't drive like a maniac, I still consider myself to be a fast driver.

 

An excellent suggestion. A performance driving school will teach you the limits of your car while making you a better driver overall. The most dangerous thing in the S2000 is that you can get yourself into something beyond your normal capability, and then, because you're unsure what to do(OK, scared, but I was trying to avoid that word), you can do exactly the wrong thing. At which point, the S2K is not terribly forgiving, to be polite.

 

The smoother you are the faster you can go without getting in trouble. The best tip for a driver new to RWD is (besides taking a good performance driving course) learn how to smoothly transition from hard braking (weight shift to the front) prior to a turn to SMOOTHLY rolling the throttle on through a turn (weight shift to the rear). Smoothness is key as well as the judgement it takes to brake to a speed that allows you to SMOOTHLY accelerate through the turn. Obviously if you enter way too fast transfering the weight to the rear wheels is not going to circumvent the laws of physics.

Done correctly you plant the rear and can modulate the throttle to steer the car (throttle steer). This car responds well to loading the rear suspension through the turns with the throttle. What you don't want to do is go quick into a turn and then wuss out and hit the brakes. You will find out how quick the car spins. I suspect many of the horror stories you hear about the S2000 happen in this manner. The driver either lifts or brakes in the corner rather than keeping the rears loaded with the throttle.

Remember a good driver is aware of SMOOTHLY transfering weight fore and aft and side to side. Abrupt transitions will tend to break the tires loose. Ham handed inputs that upset the ballance of the car will get you into trouble. Learn how to be smooth and you can even drive fast in the rain (a true test of smooth driving ability).

Of course that is just my opinion on that.