plutonium239

Me too. And I live in Oregon. All it does is rain this time of year. I just drive as I normally would. There are times when the back might step out just a little on some leaves but the stock Bridgestones are fine in the wet.

RACER

Exceeding the capabilities of an AP1 on S-02's in adverse conditions is not about going WOT in pouring rain.


First off, you would have to be a buffoon to nail the throttle from 7,200 rpm's while going around a bend in treacherous conditions. Especially at speeds above 40, 50, 60+ mph

Like I said, it's not about being WOT, or just being plain stupid. You could be cruising steadily at 55-65 mph, all of a sudden your driving on a differen't type of asphalt, the water is pooled, and then unexpededly, you are fish tailing massively at 65mph.

65 mph in 6th gear is exactly 3,500 engine rev's in an AP1.

Think about that.

I'm not an expert on asphalt, but I do know that there are many differen't types of asphalt that is used on public roadways. In the dry, you cannot tell the difference. In the wet, the differences from one type of asphalt to another is gigantic. The age of the asphalt, how well it was laid down, flatness, smoothness, porous, ect. For example, a road that is porous will absorb water. A road surface that is non porous, and uneven may have pools of water all over.

You ever been driving down the road, and the puddles were catching your front tires and causing your car become darty, and loose it's straight line stability? Then you change lanes, or the asphalt just suddenly changes and there are no more pools of water?

When it comes to the AP1, and the S-02's, the closer the tires reach the end of their lives, the worse it gets. I can remember times driving in treacherous conditions with 10-12k miles on the tires. One minute the car was fine, the next minute I could feel the car jerking from all 4 corners. Keep in mind, I am talking about speeds of 45-50 mph.

Could you imagine going 70 mph on shitty S-02's in adverse conditions and everything is fine, then all of a sudden the road surface changes... At this point, your going way too fast jack, the car is gone (and possibly you too)

I used to like to play with it (at low speed). When my car would do this, it would give plenty of warning. I would be cruising along at 45 mph and it was cool. Then, I would speed up to about 52 mph...Oh shit, back down to 45 mph.

See I mean That was just an example.

Most of the peeps in this thead that have said how great the S2K is in adverse/treacherous conditions, (which is cool) I have noticed they are in an AP2 with tires other than S-02's

I don't mean any dis-respect, cause I'm not a dis-respectful person, but ya'll just don't know.

CKit

It's like a suburban teenager saying, "I walk alone at night with my bling bling and nothing ever happens to me."

Well, that's nice for you.

You know, when I first installed the aftermarket traction control I thought: "This is the greatest thing since sliced bread! For the same cost as a piece of carbon fiber that doesn't do anything, this gizmo turns a twitchy car into a solid all-weather performer! This is AMAZING, people are going to be all over this!"

But then I realized it was falling on deaf ears because the type of driver that needs this won't realize they need it until it's too late....

RED MX5

It's going to be real nice when some kid with an early AP1 gets advice from somebody with an AP2 and VSA, follows the advice, and gets killed. It's going to get even worse with the MY08 owners because of their cars bias toward understeer. They're going to be telling noobs with older cars that the S2000 is just like any other car, and they're going to get somebody hurt (or worse). This thread is just the kind of think that will make that happen.

MitsukillinS2K

hell ive had problems in the dry. but im gonna blame the sand i think i hit

RED MX5

Not long after I got my S2000 I took a familiar corner that I knew well, but this time it had a nice pile of sand and small gravel spread all over the surface. I think a gravel truck had lost some of his load mid turn. I hit the sand going too fast, got sideways, and ended up with the front of my car almost tipped all the way over into a deep ditch. I absolutely DO NOT blame the sand. I made the mistake of assuming that the corner would be as clean as it always was, and didn't check first to be sure, so it was a stupid driver error that got me into trouble.

It's only the car's fault if something on the car breaks, and then only if the breakage could not be anticipated. Hitting ice, sand, oil, leaves, or standing water, carrying too much speed, is a driver error, even if the driver didn't know the hazzard was there. When in doubt you either err on the side of caution, or you have to take responsibility for the results of your failure to do so.

It's not the cars fault, and it's not the hazzard's falut. It's the fault of the driver for not being appropriately cautious under the prevailing conditions.

Berner9

Coming back from wake the dragon there was a really bad storm that sat. night which was then getting icy when I arrived back in Michigan that early am Sunday. I had Falcon azenis on and even in heavy downpour I was cruising at 60-70 and it felt safe. Probably wasn't though.

RED MX5

I don't run into conditions that bad very often, but those are the situations that can quickly make me long for some kind of traction control. Few things are nastier than random patches of ice.

A Benz with 4-matic feels totally secure at insane speeds even when the road conditions are variable and nasty, and it scares me, becuase it inspires too much confidance and I all too often find myself going a lot faster than I should be going given the prevailing conditions. It feels totally safe, but I know in my heart that it's not.
Be careful not to let VSA lure you in too deep.