What's up with this car and control? S2000 lovers will say it's great feedback that's unique and special and all so sweet, but normal people will think it absolutely sucks big time and is way too dangerous in the hands of an average driver. Makes me want to steer clear of all S2000s on the road.

Is the lack of control (oversteer) in the wet and dry applicable to the Boxster S or any other rear wheel drive sports car?

 

Its applicable to any mid engine 50/50 balanced car ...

The car is obviously not raceable in the wet in rookie hands. SO ??????

Big deal.

 

aran, where in Virginia do you live?
I haven't seen any yellow yet here but love to see it in person.
I live in McLean, near Tyson's Corner.
I love to meet with you and check your car out.

On the subject of spinning out, gosh thank God you and your car is ok. Just take it easy when the road is wet.
I had my share of scare when I had the car in the beginning. I took the exit corner little too fast in the rainy day and almost spun out. My back end started to come around but thanks to my quick reaction I was able to recover and avoid colliding with the guard rail.

It is not the S2000's handling problem that causes this. S2000's power output is very strong at vtec near the peak hp rpm cannot be driven like that otherwise you will always lose control taking corners or shifting hard going straight spinning the rear tires. Also the fact that OEM tires are not so good wet/snowy road. Pole position will help somewhat and those have been certainly better in wet situation in my car although you will lose some handling on dry road.
Having driving lesson on skidpad could be very invaluable lesson if you get a chance and you will sort of know what to expect and what to do when your car started to slip in the wet road, but this is good for preventing accident worse or avoiding it altogether.
But we should all take it easy and tone down our urges to vtec and drive hard on the wet surfaces.
But all in all, it really isn't that bad, you can still drive in vtec zone and stay in the powerband the wet surfaces without losing control but you lose it when you are not smooth and causes sudden movement to the car with sudden acceleration/braking and also you can't never expect what kind of condition the wet road you are traveling and it can certainly maky you lose control even if you do everything right.



[This message has been edited by 1Randyc (edited December 17, 2000).]

 

I would almost think that by now the people who frequent this board wouldn't be spinning out anymore. However, there still seems to be a couple per week. It's a good thing that not too many have resulted in damage.

Last night I was comming home from Taco Bell and was accelerating in third (normal acceleration) and hit a patch of ice. The tail came swinging around and startled me and scared the shiznit out of my girfriend. I just took my foot off the gas and the car corrected itself pretty much.

 

Must be the coriolis effect (the thing that makes the water spiral down the plug hole the other way in the northern hemisphere), but I have never seriously lost the rear on the S. And Cliff knows I've tried.

Ok, so I've almost always driven RWD cars but I have to say the S doesn't talk to me, it communicates. If I want to throw the rear out I chirp the Go pedal on a corner, if I want to bring it back in I ease up. The things a beauty to drive.

No offence intended, but I'm beginning to thing their should be a TSB on "The nut that holds the wheel".

 

I just put an aftermarket shifter in my C5 corvette a few days ago, and noticed the shift knob rattling above 4000rpms. I turned onto a highway (55mph speed limit), and tried to accelerate as gently as I could to ~6000rpms. I upshifted to second, and matched revs perfectly to 4500. Released the clutch, and started to gently apply the gas pedal a bit more, all the while trying to figure out why a tightened shift knob would rattle so much. The car got sideways very quickly, luckily I caught it with a quick twist of the wheel.

On dry pavement, even with powershifting into second, my car never starts to turn too much. The tires will spin, but it'll go in a fairly straight line.

AusS2000,
It couldn't be the coriolis force (at least for me), because my car oversteered in a clockwise direction.

 

Ok. I've had it with this line of nonsense. My car handles beautifully in the rain. I can only think of three explanations for all the problems that people (including the so-called experts that write for magazines):

(1) I grew up in Seattle, and know how to drive in the rain;

(2) I grew up driving RWD cars, and know how to treat an RWD car in the rain;

(3) I have the secret, experimental AWD s2000; or,

(4) People are trying stupid things like making abrupt speed changes and downshifts in the midst of a turn.

GOD!! It's so easy. Just brake in a straight line before the corner until you are going just slightly "too slow". Make the turn and as you are bringing the wheel back to the center, accelerate smoothly.

WFT is the problem?! I'm so sick of this blubbering and moaning about the car's handling flaws.

Bottom line: if you spin your car 720 degrees on a public road, it's your fault, not the car's.

Excuse the flame, but that quote from Autocar is just so f*cking infuriating. My s2000 handles better in rain than my bimmer did and it handles better in rain than my alfa did and it handles better in rain than my freakin' ford truck. So what's the fuss all about?

Excuse me. Just had to get that off my chest.

 

So your saying that this car requires no more attention than any other car you have driven?!

I beleive that at the limit the S2000 requires ALOT of attention, and in the rain or cold that limit is severly hampered.

 

I have to agree with Sunchild and others. The rear end is going to step out on any RWD car when too much power for the tires is applied, dry pavement or wet. Of course, since there is less grip on a wet road, it is going to happen a lot easier. VTECing in a wet road can be bad news. I'm used to RWD and love to fishtail the rear end at times. I suggest that all of the former FWD drivers practice in an open lot, or attend a driving school. IMHO, this car handles GREAT, wet or dry, it just takes a little caution, commen sense, and driving control.

 

Yes, I do agree with that, however when I changed to the PP's wet handling was greatly improved . . . says something about Hondas effort to put as much rubber on the ground as they could.

They made a compromise.

Besides I have a RWD truck and it doesnt slip all over the place like the S2000, it also has softer suspension, and a different footprint.