Dan02, I know exactly what kind of "tuck-in" you're referring to and I don't think it's due to lift-throttle oversteer. I have noticed this on one other car, the Lexus IS300 and I've also test driven many rear wheel drive cars from M5's, Viper GTS, other makes/models and have only noticed this on the IS300 and the S2000. My guess is that it has to do with the limited slip differential or the rear end.

The feeling lasts for a fraction of a second but can be enough to make the car feel a bit twitchy at low speed upon lifting throttle or by accelerating. I counter that with smoother throttle input and don't notice it as much any more. It was definitely something I didn't like in the IS300 but hey, I now have the S2K (much better choice, don't ya think ).

Of course, the faster you go, I agree with the other guys about not lifting off throttle quickly, especially in mid turn!


[QUOTE]Originally posted by dan02
[B]It isn't my first rwd vehicle, and other rwd vehicles don't do this.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dan02
[B]It isn't my first rwd vehicle, and other rwd vehicles don't do this.

 

exactly

 

It has been stated that the S2K has "weird toe characteristics" in the rear. This is what is contributing to the phenomena you've experienced. The short wheelbase exacerbates it just as a relatively stiff platform and suspension set up will [when you lift, that is] when you're really pushing the car around a corner.

It has a relatively low polar moment of inertia and is stiffly sprung so there isn't that much weight being transferred, but weight transfer is what loads/unloads the tire patches, true.

The car could be made less "sharp" and it would be faster in the hands of the majority of S2K drivers who are considered DRIVERS. And it would also make the car safer in the hands of the poseurs. I don't know what's taking them so long.

 

Ouch! If I'm reading you correctly Chui, you're saying the car would benefit by being less responsive to driver inputs?? Sacrilege! This is not a beginners car. The lift-throttle oversteer mentioned in this post is a sign of a true performance vehicle, it pulls no punches and I dare say most of us wouldn't have it any other way. And one of the first lessons taught in any performance car driving school is "do NOT make sudden throttle adjustments mid-corner". I for one do not fault Honda for engineering this car to meet the expectations of skilled drivers.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dan02
[B]It isn't my first rwd vehicle, and other rwd vehicles don't do this.

 

I'd say it's the other way around, when are drivers going to hone their skills to meet the performance of the car? Honda made a great product that's about as precise as anything you'll see for $32K or even more precise than cars twice that price.

In total agreement with djohnston.

If any of you have ever driven a Tony Kart, you'll realize that the S2K is about as close to that in respect to its precise, neutral handling for a "street" car. Everytime I get back in my Integra (which has an adjustable suspension) it feels like a caddy!

 

I've noticed it also, but only on one on-ramp. It's a long rising sweeper that I comfortable can take at 60-70mph. When I lift off to match traffic before merging, the car tightens it's turn. It's definitely not the rear end sliding. It's got something to do with the suspension geometry changing. Mugen said the front suspension tended to roll steer. Maybe the weigh transfer back on to the fronts causes some roll steer. It actually feels like the rear is steering slightly. With lift throttle steering I can feel the rear slide. Mine does this only on one curve, that I've noticed and happens when I'm pushing 7 tenths. My experience is that its not drastic and the steering correction required is minimal. I don't think a passenger would notice it.

 

I'd like to offer an alternative explanation.

When I first got my car, it was doing really damn weird things in corners depending on what I did with the throttle. VERY unsettling. I chalked it up to the car's supposed "bump steer" problem at the rear end.

Well, after a while I figured it out. It's the rear Torsen LSD. It doesn't behave in the same manner one would expect an open diff to behave in, and when it tightens and loosens, it changes the way the rear of the car behaves. When it locks up, the rear tends to push, when it unlocks the car's line tightens up. It can feel like bumpsteer if you are unaware of how a Torsen behaves, but it's not.

Other than that, I've found the chassis dynamics to be nothing short of exemplary.