My question now is, what does a manual novice like me need to learn about the S2000 so that I will avoid accidents that have been a cause due to lack of experience with a racing car like this one?

 

Commonsense, we didn't get close to 8000 RPMs. Is that where the real action is then?

 

yeah, This car has two different sides one is meerly "pepy" and the other is a race car, once you get it up there you'll have all the power you need.

The best way to learn this car is to take it on a back country road NO DITCHES on the sides, dont go over 40mph and see what it will do. But dont get a big head, I have almost lost it a few times, it put me in my place.

The wors time to find out your going too fast is in the middle of a turn, Brake early!

 

OK, as if you asked, here's my take on this. The S2000 is a challenge for several reasons and none of which have to do with being able to use a manual transmission. The car's power curve is relatively flat. Look at it. Yes, the peak is high, but it is (more or less) relatively flat. The car's power is available throughout much of the power curve, it just to happens to have a high rpm peak. That means that yes, it loves the revs, but that doesn't mean that it's not going to scoot around nicely below the peak -- again, due to the relative flatness of the power curve.

Second, I hazard to guess, based on a lot of previous threads that many, if not most S2000 owners have been driving FWD cars, many of whom are Honda folks and if they are indeed Honda folks, that means they are driving FWD, unless they are driving the NSX. The fear of losing the tail is almost unheard of in FWD cars, oversteer isn't the easiest thing to generate in a FWD car. Of course, oversteer is not the ONLY cause of a spin, but it's generally present when a spin occurs.

Third, the car is very demanding on the driver. I have had the car to 13-14 track events this year and I can with some authority as to how this car handles at the limit. It oversteers not a smidgeon more than any other powerful RWD car with a 50/50 weight distribution. You want tailhappy? Get into a powerful RR car with a 40/60 distribution and we'll see how long you can keep it on the racetrack.

The S2000 has made me a FAR better driver because I "get it." I have have the car in all possible conditions on the track and my experience can be summarized in this simple statement: The S2000 is beautifully balanced, it feels like a real race car, it's fast, it's nasty and it's aggressive. The fact of the matter is that it will PUNISH the driver who dials in bad input. It's not sensitive and it's not twitchy, it's demanding.

I may have strayed from your original proposition a little here...but I would also submit that you, VTEC, not really being comfortable with a manual transmission and only driving the car for a short while, you haven't even started to "get it" ...

Am I an expert? Don't make me laugh! I do know the car and have 20K+ miles and thousands of track miles to prove it. I'm just trying to lend a hand to your experience with what you don't really know that much about due to the simple fact that you have no real time behind the steering wheel...

That's it...where's my Corona?!

 

I totally agree with you, Greg. I do not "get it" at all. The only thing I get is that I will be getting the car soon.

And I don't think I will get it like you because I don't plan on taking it to the tracks like you. I just want to get it enough to have the confidence to take a corner fast without fearing it's going to spin out (sunny conditions).

Like I have a fear of exiting onto an off ramp and during the turn, engine braking or applying the brakes only to have the rear spin out because of the weight shift to the front wheels... or if i accelerate while turning at a high speed and have the rear do the same spin out.

Given good road conditions, would anything bad happen in the situation mentioned?

Thanks for the post.

 

Vtec.. perhaps have a read of this... I know I found it informative... it's about racing but the dynamics of it still apply to any vehicle in any given situation.
http://members.home.net/rck/phor/index.html

I suspect you could easily find yourself in a bad situation driving the S2k based upon your previously posted questions.

 

Please explain this to me, how is it easier to start of in 2nd????????????

Are we talking from a standstill ???

Usually the higher the gear you are in, the esier the car will stall because the clutch will not GRAB.

Any car that has been test driven for 9k miles has been abused and sucks crap ...

Just think of it this way, i now have my snow tires on and they are not as grippy as the stock SO2s. How many cars do you know barring the torque monsters that can chirp shifting to 3rd.

The car is FAST from 1000 to 6000 RPM, the Car FLIES from 6000 untill the rev limit.

The fact is that the car is so fast after 6000 RPM that people think that it is slow below it.

As for the M roadtster argument.

I raced one on the highway and beat him by over 8 car lengths, on the road they are as fast or a tad faster however.

 

It depends on what kind of off ramp, but let's take a cloverleaf for example. Is this where you are most nervous? Here you main concern would be speed, obviously. As your throttle input should be very slight, just enough to keep whatever speed through the whole sweeper. If you have too much speed through this kind of turn, ease off the gas a little and try not to brake and you'll be fine. The thing that I have learned is to be smooth. It's something that all drivers, on tracks or not, need to practice and I have gotten FAR smoother than when I first got the S2000.

As I said, the car is demanding in the sense that it doesn't like abrupt input. If you accelerate too soon through a turn, it's a natural thing to expect oversteer...it's up to you to know how to handle/react to it. The car is going to do what you tell it and if you tell it to do something wrong, it's not going to correct you!

I personally have never ended up "facing traffic" on the street. I have, more than I care to admit, had that happen on the track. But through any turn, you will want to have finished your braking and downshifting before you take the apex of the turn. And don't get on the gas hard until you are confident that doing so won't toss the tail around. And if you do feel it stepping out, back of the gas a little bit, it should pop right back there. If not, you're too hot and you'll be staring at traffic.

There are things that you should do to correct it...here are a couple of links to good sites for driving tips, etc...

Car & Driver

Grand Prix Fools

Anyway, hope that helps...and most importantly, don't take the car to the limit on the street, you'll likely hurt someone or yourself. Nevertheless, enjoy the car...it'll be blast!

 

OK I'm sorry Sev, it is fast below 6k but it's just an animal above that . . . Thats why I call it peppy or zippy below 6k

And as Gregg was saying, make sure you know the car before driving too "spirited-ly" seems I had a false sense of security at first, it will punish you, heh, I have been punished. . .

And a different set of tires make you learn the car all over again. . .

 

Jees, this is a BS post. Either Vtec is really this clueless or he is trying to see what kind of responses he can elicit from us.

Reread his posts. I mean, come on, no one is that clueless about a car that they are going to buy, especially an S2000.

How does the Porsche and BMW compare? Whatever. That is a perfect example of starting sh!t.

Maybe I'll join the Boxter board, and do the same thing that Vtec is doing.

I could be completely wrong, as I have been before...