Question for all you "experienced" S2000 owners and drivers....will the car go faster with the roof up or down, or will it make any difference anyways?
Thanks,
Lesley

 

Yes, it makes a significant difference. If you notice all these whackjobs that do these crazy-fast runs all have the top up. This prevents (for the most part) air from recirculating back into the cabin and creating a ton of drag...thereby decreasing the top speed by a pretty significant margin. I have heard stories (second hand, of course... ) of people more of less hitting a wall in the up 140's with the top down. Not that I would have any personal or first hand knowledge of such dangerous activities...

With the top up, the wind is prevented from doing this...and makes the car more aerodynamically slippery.

So, if you want to be a whackjob and do one of the ball's out high speed runs, make sure the top is up!

 

I just love the feeling of the car with the top down. I can do 120, 130 which is plenty fast for me.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gregstevens
[B]If you notice all these whackjobs that do these crazy-fast runs all have the top up.

 

Hey! I never said being a whackjob was a bad thing!

 

I wonder if the hardtop makes any difference. I've seen the vids of people with the soft top - wonder what it would be any different with the HT. Thoughts?

 

The hardtop makes the overall chassis feel stronger and more secure, well after all that's one of the reasons what it's good for. Don't know about doing top speeds ... But on track for me, it's much easier hooking a corner than without the top ... Feels a lot more flimsy with the hardtop off trying to do the same thing.

 

ALL convertibles are faster with the top up. It's a matter of aerodynamics. I would suspect the S2000 would be faster still with the hardtop (less drag) but haven't tested it.

 

At a recent local Honda "track day", some people were runnig with the roof up while some people run with the roof down. The "roof up" people were reaching 205kph on the main straight while the "roof down" people were reaching 195kph. That's a 10kph difference there so the roof does make a fair bit of difference.