I love my 2006 Boxster S.

I don't feel the chassis crashing into bumps with lower back pain but there is TONS of steering feel-info coming through the steering wheel.

And the steering is extremely responsive, like an S2000.

You'll never make an S2000 steer like a Porsche or a Lotus and you'll never make a Lotus-Porsche shift like an S2000.


Like I said before, no car is perfect.

Enjoy your S2000 for what it is.

Recently my friend just got a 2000 miata which I've been helping him to modify and make track worthy... Toss in a few test drives and I'm finding that the s2000 is almost lacking in some key points in comparison...

After driving the miata and then switching back to the S, I find that the S feels "numb"...

The steering response is numb around center to the point where there is almost no feedback from the steering wheel around center at high speeds whatsoever....

the throttle (2006 electronic throttle) is numb

turn in is vague in comparison and requires much more effort than on the miata...

Don't get me wrong, I love my S, but I would probably have a miata if I could fit in one...

So yes, the s2000 isn't perfect, but isn't that why so many people are on these forums to learn about modifications that can be done to it?


In regard to the numb steering, I find it very vague in feedback pressure provided while turning in. If I'm about to enter a high speed sweeper corner, the turn in is vague to the point where I often wind up turning the steering wheel a couple degrees too far, and then I have to correct due to the "numb" response from the steering wheel...

This wouldn't be quite as annoying if the S didn't have scalpel like precision where turning the steering wheel even a single degree or more translated into actual response from the chassis.... Not that I'm complaining about the razor sharp handling... I love it, but the steering wheel makes it hard to be razor sharp in accuracy with my inputs...

Low speed corners aren't quite as bad since you have to turn the steering wheel further and the amount of resistance seems to be higher, but when only making tiny steering wheel inputs (read: between 0-5 degrees in either direction from center) there seems to be a range of values at higher speed (maybe +/- 5 degrees) where the steering wheel feedback is completely numb or vague... (This does not mean that the steering is inconsistent, or that it is not precise, it absolutely is, and there is little if any "slop" in the steering wheel... What I'm referring to is the "feel" or "feedback" provided by the steering wheel).

What I then have to do is make an input through the steering wheel and then wait for the feedback from the rest of the chassis after it has "taken a set" to determine whether my steering input was sufficient to follow the desired line. I should not need to do this...

As some posters mentioned, I could simply "get used to it", however I should not need to guess how far to turn the wheel, or "interpolate" in my mind how far to turn the wheel without any (immediate) feedback from the car itself...

On the miata, I do the same high speed turn-in on the same sweeper and I just "set it and forget it", the car seems to read my mind and go exactly where it should...


In regard to the throttle pedal... I learned how to drive using cars with throttle cables, and I have found that in general the feedback from throttle cable gas pedals is FAR superior to the pedal feel of my 2006 S2000's gas pedal... Infact I really dislike that I will make an input to the gas pedal and then I have to wait and feel or look at the tach to make sure that it's doing what I wanted... It may have to do with not having sufficient resistance in the pedal, but it just doesn't provide enough or the correct feedback...

With throttle cable gas pedals, there is often a little "slop" in the pedal travel before the cable is actually engaged and the butterfly valve opened. After this "slack" or "slop" in the cable, it becomes noticeably more difficult to apply pressure to the pedal as it's actually pulling on the cable. This feeling helps with knowing exactly how much gas to apply when rev match downshifting, heel toeing, even just regularly accelerating/shifting... I can't stand being off by more than 50-100 rpm when performing these things and I find that even after owning my 06 for 2 years that it is still difficult to perform perfectly...

I hop into my friend's miata and I'm able to rev match/blip the throttle/etc almost immediately and with only a few minutes in the car, am able to nearly perfectly...

So yes, if there is an option for at least making the steering feedback more responsive and linear (especially around center), similar to the hydraulic steering racks of so many other great cars... I'd be highly interested in finding out more about it....

just replace the power steering oil. honda sells it for $8.99 a quart. part number is 2468357-S2T-00123

i got a 5 pack because i change it every 6k miles. :thumbup:




:popcorn:

^I see what ya did there...

If you want to talk about numb steering feel, try driving an 08+ STI. Aftermarket companies have tried to improve the steering feel by using harder bushings which does help a lot, but the feeling is still quite disconnected.

STI steering rack bushings


I'm wondering if stiffer steering rack bushings in the S2000 would help.

I had a 2002 WRX before, and these steering rack bushings made a big difference. Unfortunately the reason for installing the poly-urethane steering rack bushings was to solve a different problem than the reason behind the numb steering in the s2000. The poly steering rack bushings were created to reduce the amount of "play" or "slop" in the steering wheel.

In stock form on the 2002 wrx, the steering rack is held onto the chassis of the car with relatively "soft" rubber bushings which wear out/allow for too much slop. I suppose something like this would be necessary for a vehicle which is designed for off-road use.

The s2000 does not have "slop" in the steering wheel that I'm able to discern, I believe that the "numb" feeling in the s2000 is produced entirely by the EPS feedback programming/design, because at low speed, the numb feeling isn't as pronounced as it is at higher speeds where the EPS seems to change the amount of resistance/feedback it sends to the driver between ~+/-5 degrees.

I guess some way of re-programming the EPS mechanism would be necessary to resolve this issue short of replacing the whole system with a purely hydraulic system from another vehicle...

I'm with what someone said on page 2.. the s2000 'steering' feel comes through the seat of the pants, not so much the steering wheel.

also, i have noticed that even slight changes in the front end alignment change the feel quite a bit..

if your steering is numb, especially around the center you may have too much toe out on the front wheels, or something else might be off.

I agree, the feedback from steering inputs does come through the seat of your pants... however as I was stating before, you should not need to guess as to what steering input to make, and then have to wait for feedback from the whole car via your pants' seat. Having to rely on feedback from the chassis from a steering input induces a "lag" time between what you want the car to do and what the car is doing (the time it takes for the WHOLE chassis to respond to an input is almost certainly greater than direct feedback from the steering wheel).

This lag time can translate into increased input errors and at worst can lead to a dynamically unstable system when operating at the maximum limits of the system (spins/"sawing" at the steering wheel to maintain stability). For instance lets say you're carving some corners on a canyon run at the limit of adhesion through a series of tight, fast switchbacks. Having increased lag time between what the car needs to do and knowing that you've already done that action to remain stable increases the probability of making errors.

While the answer could be to simply anticipate what input you need to make before you enter a corner, this does not necessarily work in real world driving conditions. On a track where you see the same corners at the same speed over and over, yes, you should be able to anticipate what needs to be done before you make the inputs. However since the car is to be used in a real world situation, such as canyon carving where no two corners are the same, the more immediate and accurate the feedback you get from the car, the higher the dynamic stability of the system will be.

Due to the lack of immediate feedback from the system, what we have is a car which we know has very high theoretical capabilities, but which needs to be driven in a "theoretical" manner. In other words, this leads to a system where you know that the capabilities are there, but it becomes difficult to "feel" them out and ride the limits. The car then becomes a separate entity from the driver instead of an extension of the driver's mind. Just as you can feel with your fingertips how hard you're pushing on something and its reaction to your force through your finger tips, you should be able to get the same immediate response from a car such as this. I believe that when driving the miata, I get the sense that the driver becomes a part of the car, whereas with the s, you're in charge, but just along for the ride....

But yes, in regard to checking my alignment, I realize that I have my front toe a 0 degrees for tire wear preservation, but perhaps getting a little TOE in would increase the resistance to steering inputs at higher speeds...