I also own a bmw 335i which is rwd just like the s2000. And yes the s2000 does Handel much better but the s2000 is also much Easyier to spin out in.

 

Handel's Messiah (Comma) much easyier?

 

Yeah, it's because your 335i doesn't have perfect weight distribution, centralized mass, a short wheelbase or optimized suspension. Not as apples to oranges, but the two shouldn't be compared dynamically..:

 

Strangely I have never had lift off oversteer in my S2000, or even in the Formula 1s & Formula 2s I raced for years. In fact in all of them, easing or even lifting off the throttle has always brought the tail back. Nothing would of course bring it back if I had exceeded the limit, even in front wheel drive things, that have promoted this clumsy form of driving.

I have experienced the happy tail of my S2000 many times. I used to commute in it sometimes, through the mountains, where an early morning shaded patch of damp on an otherwise dry road, or a patch of frost not yet gone, would send the Hondas tail off on a little jaunt, but never viscously. It was no more troublesome than my sedan or Hilux ute on the same run.

The thing that does make the S2000 dangerous for the inexperienced is the steering. It is so light & quick, & the car is so responsive to it, that overcorrection with opposite lock will have the car snap back the other way to the first slide, usually much more viciously than the first slide. Inexperienced rear drive drivers will often throw huge amounts of opposite lock, cause the car to flick back, & leave the scene backwards, on the inside of the corner.

The other thing not mentioned is the age of the tyres. No matter how good when made, by 4 years old, tyres are way past their best. You might as well have the cheapest imported ditch finders on the car by 5 years. A tyre OK on your sedan is just not good enough for a car so responsive to throttle, & steering input.

Treat your S2000 to good young rubber & geometry, & it will be a kitten for you. Just don't be ham fisted with it, it is not a lumpy SUV. Don't go overboard for this slow in fast out either. It leads to excessive throttle application at the wrong time, & is part of the ham fisted driving no S2000 will accept.

 

I have an AP1 and the rear is definitely prone to snap oversteer, make sure you buy a much stiffer front sway bar, also do not do what I did and take out the stock springs and replace them with lowered springs. If you're going around a corner and you hit the bump stops you will lose the tail end, and if you're an unexperienced driver like myself you will be in trouble again.lol

On my first track session I came off the track SIX times, yes SIX times.

My car is off the road, I am putting a stiff front sway bar on, new tyres, new suspension etc...

 

I agree with this.

By the way, I keep seeing this car being referred to as a mid-engined car. Regardless of where the S2000's motor is in relation to the front wheels, the car does not handle like a "mid-engined" car where the motor is behind the driver. I've owned a Cayman, and I've also had extensive seat time in the Audi R8. For all intents and purposes, this is a front engined car. Suggesting it is anything other than that is rather silly.

 

For a long time, the term 'mid engined' was synonymous with mid-engine rear, as there simply weren't many mid engine front cars to be discussing the handling traits of. If you said mid-engined, you almost always meant engine behind driver. No one bothered to say mid-engine rear, so it was easy to think mid-engine always meant mid-engine rear.

But just because a term is often misused, doesn't make its original definition null.

Sent from my SM-G920P using IB AutoGroup

 

Correct; this car is mid-engine, popular description be damned. The layout doesn't lie...

 

"Snap" oversteer is caused by driver error. If you spun six times in one session, the problem was you.

 

I can't imagine a 500whp Integra or Evo are all that great to autox, the power curve of both likely don't favor being on course. Then there's the fact that both those cars tend to prefer understeer to oversteer, making them "almost impossible to spin out."

Agreed. It's a short wheel base RWD car.

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.
[/quote]
Not that I totally disagree with the notion that tires are helpful, but sorting issues prior going to much softer rubber(and the higher speeds and hidden mistakes that come with them) is smarter. sorting those issues, then going to 17x9's only help the car oversteer more resulting in sorting more issues. The joy to the 17x9 setup is the addition of more front rubber, my car came with a 6.5" front wheel and 205s in front. adding 2.5" of wheel and 50mm of tire certainly helped the front, but with no other changes made the rear want to come around it. After sorting it out, I wouldn't want to go back, but only because I'd have to deal with an understeering S until I sorted it out again.

Agreed. The steering is a bit on the quick side, so quick hands keep you out of the ditch if you get into trouble.

I also own a 335i and the car is super prone to understeeer, especially in stock form.

I'm still going to argue and say the engine is in the front. However, it is positioned in the front most part of the car inbetween the axles. Typically we are used to seeing the mid engine cars in the middle to rear of the wheelbase.