Agree! My first car was a FC RX-7 and I drove it for 3 yrs before I upgraded to a S2000. I learned alot from it, went AutoX and got a track day. I dont how people can say these cars are not any safer than a S2000. The S2000 got much more power than a RX7, 240sx or a miata. It is much easier to spin ur tires on the S IMO. And also the older RWD cars are much cheaper to get, and if you crash it... O well. Thats the way I looked at it, but I was safe the whole time i had my FC. I'd recommend getting a older RWD car to gain some experience, but if you really jsut love the s2000 and can afford it, it doesnt hurt to get it, but just be careful, man. Good luck

 

i got my S when i was 18, i would say just be safe and know ur limit. also take it easy, and the S will keep you safe. i also learned manual on my S and this was my 1st RWD car.

 

Agree with this statement. If you are a jackass, you are a jackass in any car you drive. A 240 or a miata are just as easy to wrap around a pole if you drive like an idiot. If you can be responsible, maybe take a few courses, you should be fine.

 

Have you driven it at the limit side-by-side with, say, a Miata?

No one's saying that the Miata will save the OP where an S would kill him but there's certainly a difference IMO (and others').

 

I've driven it on the same track as i've driven the miata (cirquit du laquais, france). I've spun the miata about three times, i've never spun the S2000 (and got sideways a whole lot more than with the miata, until the instructors told me to stop drifting on the track actually...).

 

i totally understand where you are coming from.
im 18 and more than likely will be getting my s2000 in the next couple months. ive been on this board for a decent amount of time. constantly researching, learning. some of the topics in s2000 Talk are brilliant and can help in so many ways.
I've already planned on going to some Track Days and the Performance Driving School at the Texas World Speedway.
being that i live maybe ten minutes from the track, i know that that will be the place i take out any speed or anything that i want with the car. im excited to learn to actually DRIVE the car, rather than just read about it.
the streets are no places for driving fast and recklessly. from what i read i hear that the AP1s are more "raw," more than likely ill end up with an AP1.

needless to say im excited to finally be able to get one. and i know for a fact that i will respect the car, as far as experience, i dont have much. i drive the Scion tC every day. and the BMW 635csi every once in a while (sadly only when it's working). the bmw is the only RWD car in our family. i doubt it will translate much into the nature of the s2k.

oops semi-long post.

 

Because you demonstrate maturity far beyond your age, I would recommend to buy it, but drive very carefully at first. Try to attend a few autocross events to learn the limits of the car fisrt, before going to the track first. Enjoy it!

 

 

I'm 17 and the S is my first car that is mine alone. Mine has VSA and I really have only ever had it kick in when I intentionally tried to get the rear end to step out. Even in the rain, the car isn't going to lose grip and spin if you are driving like a normal person in a normal car at normal and safe speeds. The trouble only comes in once you try to start testing the limits on the street, at which point it will spin easily if you don't know what you're doing.

 

17 yr old with a MY09, cool..... I only wish that the S was around when I was 17.
You should be around if/when our S becomes a "classic"..... don't ever sell it if you can help it.