I work at Honda and one of my coworkers always tells people this is the problem with their car - you'd be surprised how many people don't get it

 

[QUOTE=ZDan,Mar 27 2009, 04:04 AM]I give the chassis 5-stars as well.

 

[QUOTE=burningtreez,Mar 26 2009, 08:14 PM]If the car was made for race driving why does it lose control so often?

 

Tires are also a big factor.

There were two times I experience "snap" oversteer...Ironically both times I was doing less than 30mph and driving in a straight line. The cause was the cheap tires that were on the car when I bought it. In low temperatures and wet weather the tires had no grip whatsoever.

In all honesty, the car is very predictable when it does break traction.

 

Changing to a later rear bar will help. No reason it wouldn't "work" with stock AP1 springs/dampers. You could also go to a stiffer front bar, but I'm not sure if there is a stock S2000 front bar that's stiffer (CR maybe?). Somewhere around here there's a comparison of front/rear spring and bar stiffnesses...

The important thing is to remember that when the back end *does* start to feel loose and come around, don't abruptly lift off the throttle. Gently countersteer and apply "maintenence throttle" or neutral throttle.

Obviously, if it's power-on oversteer (oversteer caused by applying too much power), then you don't want to keep the pedal down, but don't abruptly LIFT either. You have to be subtle in your inputs at the wheel and throttle.

The tendancy of a car is to UNDERsteer under acceleration (up to the point you start getting power-on oversteer in a rwd car) and to OVERsteer under deceleration.

So it's something of a paradox, that if you try to immediately SLOW DOWN when the back end gets loose, you only encourage it to come all the way around (i.e., SPIN).

Sorta like a dog that will only bite you if it senses fear!

The important thing is to keep your head and don't do anything abrupt.

 

Here you go Dan:

OEM Sway Bars:
00-01: 28.2 x t5.0 / 27.2 x t5.3
02-03: 26.5 x t4.5 / 27.2 x t4.5
04-07: 26.5 x t4.5 / 25.4 x t4.5
08-up: 27.2 x t5.3 / 25.4 x t4.5
08 CR: 28.6 x t4.5 / 26.5 x t4.5

 

[QUOTE=ECale3,Mar 27 2009, 12:04 PM] There were two times I experience "snap" oversteer...Ironically both times I was doing less than 30mph and driving in a straight line.

 

1-2 shift pre-vtec, minimal throttle input, poor road surface, 20 degree outside temps, wet road, shitty summer tires.

It wasn't throttle induced as I wasn't even close to being aggressive on the throttle, the tail just stepped out suddenly after the 1-2 shift. Haven't had a problem since I switched to a better tire.

I think the main contributing factors were the cold and wet conditions, the poor quality road (uneven, inconsistent surface, potholes) and the low grade summer tires.

 

The S2000 is a very good handling car. Try to auto-x or track an SW20 MR2 Turbo (91-92) and you'll soon learn what Snap Oversteer really is.