i like squirrelly. its fun (=

 

[QUOTE=ALFYonso,Apr 27 2008, 10:21 PM]Awesome!

...To respond to some comments, no it's not supercharged, it's stock and yes they still break loose, and no the previous owner did not mess with the tires or the CDV, they're the OEM RE050's (4+ years old now...), and how cold does it get where you guys live?

 

i'm surprised that no one has said slow down >.<

 

I swear I cant get mine to spin in second either. to be honest... I think my clutch doesnt grab very well. I dont care much tho because weak clutch = happier diff haha.

 

Well, I said to be careful when the tires are cold, which really amounts to the same thing as saying "slow down until the tires warm up."

 

Good call. Actually, I do drive pretty sanely most of the time, and really only open it up occasionally (apparently enough to mess the car up). I keep it extra cautious if the ground is wet. This whole ordeal was a result of me under-estimating how sensitive, cold tires react to cold weather, and how cold it gets in MI (moved here from WA a year ago). Prior to owning this car, dry ground always meant being able to get "enough" grip. I've never had tires this sensitive though, and while the S2000 isn't my daily driver, it's probably the only RWD car I've driven in colder conditions on the street, as my experiences with RWD have been through auto-x or driving friend's cars around in warmer weather. It just sucks that I had to do some damage to get the message. Luckily it wasn't that bad, and although it's an eyesore and the alignment is ever so slightly tweaked, the car is still very drivable and still something I can enjoy with the weather getting better.

I'm actually debating on whether or not I should fix the car or pay for an upcoming, highly revered driving school. This isn't because I can't properly drive the car without hitting stuff, but more because my buddy that took the class killed my Auto-X time by 2+ seconds with my car. My time was actually pretty decent too, and he would have trophied in my class had it not been an after-event fun-run. What do you guys think? The core support / cooling components are bent, the FR caster is off by less than half a degree, but the car seemingly operates fine.

Also, not to thread jack my own thread, but Red MX5, do you mind sharing how quick turn-in causes understeer? It makes sense to me in the sense that you can turn the wheel and the wheels will move, but the tires don't have enough time to "catch up" and get grip, and the car has too much forward momentum. Is that semi-correct?

 

[QUOTE=ALFYonso,Apr 28 2008, 06:22 PM]Also, not to thread jack my own thread, but Red MX5, do you mind sharing how quick turn-in causes understeer?

 

My tires are bald in the rear and that is the only time i can get sideways without trying hard. Something is not right. Start to Autocross. I have learned alot from autocrossing. I'm not into drifting but i can slide sideways like you are talking about very well. You have to learn how the S2k drives and handles. I almost crashed my car the first week i bought it. I went on a group drive and the second corner i almost spun out. Now i know how to drive it.

 

I agree with everyone, especially REDMX5 about overdriving the front tires and plowing.

Here's a thought from a National Champion autocrosser (not me):
"You can turn any car into a dump truck if you overdrive it, I don't like driving dump trucks."

I would suggest you get some formal education on car handling and physics to better understand the fundamentals of what a car / tire can and cannot do.

Evo school is great. Some local schools do a very nice job and actually might serve you better if you're a very noob noobie to the driving fundamentals.

I also suggest like everyone else to pick up a few books on racing: Speed Secrets and Secrets of Solo Racing are two of my faves.

 

Enzo Ferrari use to say ...

"The car understeers.
The car oversteers.
It all depends on how fast you want to go."

I'm a big fan of Formula 1, and even though I am just a lowly autocrosser, I have actually benefitted greatly from Niki Lauda's book, "The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving." Niki talks a great deal about what it takes to be a world champion driver, and much of what he says applies to far more than just racing. Some of his words tell me how far removed I am from the kind of competitor he was, but that kind of knowledge has value too. Anyway, Niki attributed much of his success to his understanding of the cars and the physics of racing, and I'm absolutely convinced that the more you know, the faster you can go.

Books on racing technique are always a good investment, and you can never read or learn too much.