That's the "low torque" baby! Seriously, I felt like this car had quite a bit of learning curve to it. It took me a couple hundred launches to get the technique down... you should see the graph of my 0-60 times over the course of the first month of ownership.

The quick and dirty of it is... you'll need a ton more gas that you think you'll need driving other cars. Have a fellow s2k'er go with you and they'll hopefully be able to show you proper launching technique. Otherwise look at some of the vids and see how much gas/revs you need to prevent 0-1 bog.

 

If you were buying the car for performance, yes go re-test with the AC off.

Let's face it, don't be shy as you are the one going to be putting 30k+ out on a new car

 

Something else worth mentioning is that your driving style is going to change after getting an S. I had a Miata before my '04 and between the combination of that car behind lighter and having pretty much the same power to weight ratio as the S2000 below 6000rpm, I didn't shift at as high of an RPM in the Miata. I used to shift at 3.5-4000 rpm in the Miata, but in the S, it seems as though this motor revs so easily I usually find myself taking it to about 5k once it's warmed up. The motor in this car is abit anemic below 2-3k RPM, so you may feel disappointed at first, but once you learn how to drive it and keep it in the right gears, it's fine. Trust me though, once you take it above 6, all hell breaks loose. This car is kinda Dr. Jekil/Mr. Hyde. Did you test drive an '04?

 

no the one i drove was an 01. even though i couldnt drive it like it should be driven, i am in love haha

 

I had not driven an S2000, nor did I know much about them, until I found the one that I eventually bought. After my first test drive, I told the seller that I thought the handling and transmission were exceptional, but the engine didn't seem very impressive. After I did a little research, I learned about the high revving nature of the beast and the characteristics of VTEC and the F20C. I've learned to love this engine...especially the way it comes on in VTEC and the wonderful sound it makes. I don't do hard launches or spend a lot of time above 6,000 RPM, but I've come to appreciate the way the engine handles in normal driving, the exceptional fuel mileage (I get almost 30 mpg on average), and the fact that such an efficient engine can drive an S2000 to about 150 mph. I own a Mazda MX-6 that cruises at 70 mph at about 3,100 RPM. The S2000 does 70 mph at close to 4,000 RPM in 6th gear. It took a little time for me to get used to operating at those higher revs.

 

Only a good idea if the car has more than 600 miles on it. Less than 600 miles & it's still in the "break-in" phase when VTEC should not be used (as per proper break-in procedure).

 

Open loop = more fuel = drive faster and harder.

 

AC robs a TON of power under 6000 rpm.

The s2000 has about 100-109 wheel horse power at like 3000-4500 rpm
(saw on dyno runs) so if it robs 10-15 hp, thats a BIG difference.

 

make sure u get a skinny salesman riding with you too, not a fat salesman!