Thanks again for the positive feedback. Actually, I didn't keep a copy of the shift knob piece - did anyone else? It would be fun to read it again!

Paul

 

Do I see an extra comma?

 

Thanks Paul, kinda put into words what I was thinking.

The passion of this fourm and the great pics of the lovely s2k has made my mind up. I am ordering one on Monday.

Now the question is what colour

Here in the UK the 2002 model has a Nurburgring Blue colour option with an all blue dashboard and blue leather seats and a dark blue hood.

The other choice is the traditional Silverstone Metallic with red leather seats and an all red dashboard.

The Indy Yellow is nice but they don't supply a yellow dash, which is a shame, it only comes with the black setup.

The option of coloured dashboards on the 2002 model's are a nice touch.

 

Just the fun-factor of Vtec far outweights the Torque issue. This car is so much fun....just the sweeeeet sound of the engine at 9000rpm. Can't get over it.

 

I make a motion (Shelly) to place Paul's article in the library and/or FAQs. It was well written, concise, and a pleasure to read. It should definitely be required reading for anyone who is unsure about what they want in an automobile. Thank you, Paul.

 

Most of us who read the US rags are familiar with their usual tests. Things like 0-60, 1/4 mile, skidpad and slalom are often tested. The latter tell something about the car's limits, but not what it feels like at the limit, how easy it is to gather things back in as required, bumpy road cornering, twitchiness and so forth.

One thing that some of the Euro car magazines do that I like is in-one-gear-speed-to-speed tests. They list particular speed ranges and how long it takes the car to achieve that velocity change in various gears. Very repeatable since there is no shifting or driver skill involved.

Cars with somewhat peaky motors tend to do v. well in conventional US style tests but perhaps less well on the in-gear tests compared to larger motored "torque" cars which can feel like shifting is optional. More of a penalty for being in other than the lowest possible gear. Lots of skill and practice and luck are needed to get ultimate 0-60 times from their peakier brethren. This is not necessarily a minus as part of the appeal can be doing just that with the car- very fun and exhiliarating. The slower in-gear times can be very noticeable to the old butt dyno and gives the impression of needing large throttle openings and lots of gear changes. The s2000 does a great job of minimizing these issues but they are still there.

Stan

 

Well, I liked it so much that I did ! I'm sending it back to you by PM.

 

The day that people start to understand that "thrust" or what people call torque comes from (engine torque X Gear ratio X final drive)/ wheel radius in feet, is what drives a car, it will be the day that questions like these are asked no more.

I am not going to go into detail, but it wouldn't surprise me to see that the s2000 "drive force curve" is on average higher than that of the TT even without weight being a factor...

Engine torque numbers, especially peak numbers are almost useless and meaningless.

Suffice it to say, thanks to the high redline, the s2000 is geared a good 30% shorter which multiplies torque at the engine 30% more...

 

Was driving today and remembered that i forgot to add something.

You have to be in the right gear in the s2000, if you are the type that doesn't like to shift, then YES by all means the s2000 low torque is a problem as compared to other sports cars. You have to downshift and take advantage of the lowest gear multiplier for optimal accelleration.

 

Paul,
Would you please post the shift knob piece under a new thread. I, like many of us, look forward to reading more of your observations.

Thank You