SkiLLeDS2000

RE-71's for the tire.

In the front, max camber in the front, Max caster and 0.0 toe

In the rear... 2.3 camber and a little bit of toe in... Like 1/4.

The numbers above are all dependent on what type of suspension you have.


People also forget that the rear of the S2000 is a huge sail. Once you hit speeds over 85-90, the car lifts. A high speed brake check can totally ruin anybody's day in the S doing 80-90.

I always tell myself to trust my car and tires and stay on the gas through turns, even if I feel like I'm coming in a little faster than I think.

The best bet for any s2 owner is to hit the autox once or twice to feel the car out. I had fun spinning out when I did my autox. I was able to understand the limits of the car without putting anybody in harms way.

riceball777

Compared to all my other cars I have owned I would say yes the s2000 is very easy to crash. I have owned an 500whp integra and a 500whp evo 8. I have auto crossed all the cars and the integra and evo they are almost impossible to spin out. When your going to fast or give to much throttle or the boost comes on to say the car just pushes and under steers. With my s2000 it handles amazing but when taking turns at 10/10 it's always on the verge of spinning out. When pushed to hard instead in of just pushing the back end will kick out and it will start sliding around.

Fokker

LoL, so much bullshit in this thread.

I'd bet money that anyone who has spun the car in a straight line either broke the rears loose without expecting it or was riding or almost riding the bump stops and hit a significant bump.

This car is no more spin happy than any other rear wheel drive car with a neutral balance. Get a good alignment, get good rubber, and go spend time driving at multiple autocross events.

RedCelica

^^^100% agreed. I've spun my car a lot [at the track], but it's because I overdrove the car and made a mistake. Don't blame the car for a loose nut behind the wheel

Best to start out with an extreme tire (RE-71, RS3, ZII StarSpec, etc) and a UK alignment and go from there. Read this: https://robrobinette.com/S2000Alignment.htm

With my AP2 I dialed in a lot more front camber (-1.8) and less rear toe (.16 total), it was great. With an AP1 you want a little less camber up front and a little more toe in the rear.

Now once you get real comfortable there, a non-staggered setup on 17x9" wheels and a large front sway bar is the natural next step. You can really get a lot more usable camber out of the car and the grip is simply amazing. Once you go square you never go back.

Carbon Blue

just do what this guy said, end of story.

MercGuy

This is an interesting thread.

I bought my 01 late last summer and I've only put a few thousand miles on it so far.

I'm not an especially skilled driver, but I've been sneaking up on the limits (both mine and the car) and carefully figuring it out.

I have never experienced over steer after lifting off the throttle, but I don't really approach turns aggressively (yet).

What I do experience, and what I've found to a potentially disastrous situation is when I enter a turn in a low gear such that the engine has plenty of power available. Half way through the turn if I put the hammer down the rear end will break away from me right now !! I have to be damn careful to prevent a complete spin out.

What I'm working on now, and having some success, is entering the turn, hitting the gas, waiting for the rear end to come around just the right amount and then letting off the throttle just enough to stop the spin and end up pointing in the direction I want to go.

Questions:

Is what I'm experiencing normal ?

Am I approaching the whole thing properly, or is my technique flawed ?

Oh and just F.Y.I. I'm running Bridgstone S02's with about 50% tread

gerry100

"Hammer Down" ?,"hitting the gas"?

May be a sign of the problem.

Near the limits of any car in any situation its important to not upset the balance of the vehicle.

" apply the throttle" is the way to think of it.

How much and how fast you do this depends on the vehicle and the situation.

Say you are on a long sweeping ramp and near the limits of grip.

Slamming the throttle, lifting the throttle, smashing the brakes,jerking the wheel or simply shifting suddenly all change the grip somewhere and can cause loss of control.

None of this means much when you're well with in the limits of the car. ie if you're on a dry entrance ramp at 30mph and smash the throttle on your Camry you'll get a lurch and maybe a squeal.

Learn the car and listen/feel what it's telling you and speed will come.

This sounds a little wonky but it will become apparent with experience.

Smooth is fast

radiantm3

I was surprised how easy to drive the S2000 was when I got mine. I came in thinking it was going to be a hairy ride too based on all the comments about the car. But I do have to say that you need quick hands if the car unsettles at the limits. I suppose that's pretty normal for a shorter wheel-based car.

white98ls

Exactly right. I had read all about the S2k's tail-happiness before buying one. And even then, on the 8-hour drive home I stupidly let off the throttle on a wet onramp and it snapped into oversteer, which I held for a pretty sweet drift, but it was a wake up call that I can't forget to treat the car with respect!

As I had planned, I quickly did a driving school in the car and then an autocross before doing my first track day. The school and autocross really helped, as especially autocross highlighted exactly the right and wrong things to do in the S2k. Mainly, don't upset the car mid-corner (lifting off the gas, sharp steering movements, etc.) and slow-in, fast-out has never been more appropriate. The car puts down power very well due in part to having 51% of its weight on the rear tires (and not a lot of torque!).

I'd say on the track it actually feels less threatening and is for the most part a very well-behaved car, and part of what makes it so fun is how easily the rear will "participate" in cornering - it's very well-balanced. With that said, I have to admit I still clench my teeth in high-speed sweepers and braking from high speed into a corner - it is pretty unforgiving stock, and demands respect. You have to judge entry speeds well because if you enter too slow, it doesn't have the power to boot you out of the corner and cover up that mistake, but if you enter too fast, it can be hard to rein things in without getting rather loose or spinning. If you drive like a novice and make mistakes, it can bite. That said, it's not an unwieldy monster if you get some experience in a parking lot first...

AP1Driver

Yeah... You're comparing a mid-engine rear-drive car to a wrong wheel drive car and a car based on a wrong wheel drive car. What do you expect? Apples to oranges...