Hello, im looking at used 2002 S2000.... I wanted a car just to use for sunny days and at the track... I was close to getting an MR2 and thought maybe to look into the S2000... My big concern is high G cornering....

Im used to the Lancer Evolution... gripped like a champ....

Is the 2000-2003 S2k prone to oversteer? and hard to keep planted? The Mr2 can be made to do 1.05+ with some $1500 in mods.... SO MY QUESTION is is there a setup to make the S2000 hard to oversteer and stay firmly neutral and do about 1.0+ G?

I am also looking for some more midrange punch.... thanks

-Shahul

 

u meant MR2? or MR2 Spyder?

S will handle better than any of those cars

 

go test drive one of our cars from the dealer...

my guess is that will answer your question and you will walk away with the keys!

 

I actually worked at a Honda dealer...I sold them from 02-04.... the 04's are awesome but I cant afford one of those....

The thing was I saw ALOT of people wreck their S2000's and I go to road courses twice a year and an S2000 spun out in front of me and there was a guy once there just couldnt seem to keep his from oversteering on every turn....

I know those guys probably didnt know how to drive but I was wondering what you all thought and if there was a way to keep the car more "planted" mainly the rear...

When the 2004 was out our rep said the rear roll bar was smaller because they wanted to keep people from wrecking...(too stiff causing oversteer) which I still hear clearly in my head....

I love the car but this was always a concern.... please respond, thanks

-Shahul

 

oh and it is an MR2 spyder.... mid engine cars are also a tad twitchy i know

-shahul

 

I drove a MR2 Turbo some years back. That car had very, very little body roll. Even with the small wheels and tires, that thing felt like it was on rails. They are good cars

That was a long time ago, and now I drive a S2K The S2000 has a distinct flare of it's own. It is in a class all by itself. You couldn't touch anything close to it in it's price range.

The car is downright fast considering it is a normally aspirated 4 cylinder. I like the way my car is balanced (the amount of grip in the front verses the amount of grip in the rear) Actually I like a little bit of oversteer at slow speeds (20-50 mph) I purposely inflate my rear tires two lbs higher than the fronts to create the balance that I like. I have broken traction at mid-speed (60 mph) and was able to overcome the rotation. The result was a four wheel drift. (this was on a closed race course.

I almost lost it at a very high rate of speed, but was able to retrieve control of my car. I knew my tires were not that great, but I had run this particular straight section many, many times before. It was under braking that I nearly lost total control. I was caught totaly by surprise, but it was my lucky day.

There are ways to make an S2K a more safer, solid car by inducing mechanical understeer. This could be done by an alignment or simply tweaking tire pressures. Altering the tire pressure wont cost you a cent. If you have aftermarket suspension, that could be tweaked too. Keep in mind, even if it doesn't oversteer, if you come in too hot, you will probable slide straight off the road.

I hear a lot of talk about heavy oversteer in this car and I'm like I would never want oversteer at high speed, but a little oversteer at low speed doesn't hurt if you have the ability to control it. The way a car is set up will determine what it will do on the road, but don't forget, the driver is also a very important part of the equation.

Both the MR2 and the S2K are fine automobiles, it just so happens that I have the better of the two cars. You can't go wrong with either one, just watch your speed Btw, the S2K is also a mid engine car, (front mounted mid engine) and it is also a convertable

All I need is four fresh tires, a tankfull of gas and a green light