i just got the s2k a few weeks ago also it is my first rear wheel drive car. However, i have noticed that whenever I go on a very slight turn and vtech from 1st to second I fishtail side to side like crazy, up to the point where I feel like I'm losing control and about to crash. Is this normal? Thanks for the replies

 

You're kidding right? Take it into a large open parking lot on a rainy day, keep it in first, rev and turn all you want, and get a feel for rear wheel drive before you kill yourself...... if you aren't kidding.

 

Also, make sure your tires are warm or you may lose control much easier than when they're warm and sticky.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jlee33
[B]i just got the s2k a few weeks ago also it is my first rear wheel drive car.

 

wow thats amazing not trying to flame you but take it to a open parking lot like posted before and go at it....

The reason the tail wants to slip is all of your weight is going away from the turn its called centripital force.... The only thing holding your car to the road and keeping it from going in the opposite direction is your guess what tires. Well you lay on the gas heavy and your tail is gonna slip since your power is going to the rear. When the tail slips you get that fishtail you were talking about your tires are spining not getting grip.

 

jlee33, congrats, you just got yourself one of the best cars out there. Please get enrolled in an AutoX or a driving school. This is a powerful, well balanced car and VTECing in corners can bite the untrained driver hard!

Here is my two cents. Before you make any judgements get your car to the dealer for an alignment. If you bought new you may be able to get the dealer to pick up the cost, I was. The S2000 is notorious for being delivered with settings that are all wacky. Many of us suspect it is a combination of bumpy rides- ship/train/truck.

When I took my car in I had them put it on the machine and print out the results. Of all the settings more than 69% of the potential adjustments were beyond the Honda specified range. These settings were marked with an "*" and there was a not at the bottom that said something like settings may cause premature tire wear and can present safety issues. The word "safety" was my free ticket, that is what I used as my rationale for the dealer to fix my car.

Once My 4-wheel alignment was set to spec or slightly improved my car handles so much better it is not even funny.

 

First off if your fishtailing side-to-side your not turning anymore. If the back end jumps out or slides on you going into a turn the last thing you want to do is jump out of the throttle. Learning how to control the car in a slide will take some practice and a good driving school can teach you that. As an instructor many people come to school with techniques that can get them in trouble and bad habits that are only corrected once they are made aware of them. Just remember the fastest cars in the world slide through corners

 

That's probably a common mistake among novice drivers.
If you shift in the middle of a turn, then be ready to lose control. Unless of course you know what's going on(i.e. not a novice anymore).
And for the love of God, don't instinctly let off the gas or hit the brakes to stop the spin, it'll only make it worse.

 

Wait a minute, this is a little unclear to me. Are you saying that the rear tires are breaking loose and spinning and the rear of the car is swinging back and forth? Or are you saying the "fishtailing" is more subtle, like it feels like the tires are about to break loose during the shift and it feels like the car is rotating a bit? If these turns are indeed slight, I can't imagine you're really breaking the tires loose. And if you are, you're driving extremely recklessly on the streets. The only time I've broken the tires loose is during an auto-x, and most of the time it is intentional and in control. The car isn't that hard to drive, like any performance car, smoothness is the key.

 

I didn't think the S2000 had enough torque?