S2000 as a first car
03-01-2015, 10:20 AM
#121
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My daughter is approaching driving age and I am considering letting her drive the S2000. I know it might not be a good idea for a teenage boy, but for a VERY responsible girl I think it could be OK. My biggest worry is the overall safety of the car. It is an 03, all stock. No traction or stability control. The S2000 is a great platform to learn how to drive, how to really drive. If you don't rev it, it is quite tame, and I have little concern that she would drive irresponsibly. I'm more concerned about all the other people on the road and the car's overall safety. What do you think? Bad idea?
I'm going to be brutally honest with you here. Stop with wanting to make your kid happy and get the "cool" convertible for a 1st car and be a responsible parent and put limits on what your kid wants. It is good to "want" things. Gives them something to work towards. Yes, the S2000 can be an inexpensive option for a cool car for a teenager, but if she wants a convertible, get her a VW Beetle...... A S2000 is a pure analog sports car... WHAT THE #$#@@ is the debate...???
If you are concerned with safety why is it even on the table??? The S2000 is NOTORIOUSLY a difficult car to handle. Especially the Ap1. She may never drive it irresponsibly, but it only takes a split second.
A Mazda MX5 would be a better option IMO if that is the kind of car she wants and even then, I'd say go with a Honda Civic Si.
03-04-2015, 09:24 AM
#122
Originally Posted by caraficionado' timestamp='1422842450' post='23489860
Just to clarify - you're saying you'll let your teenage daughter drive the S2000 by herself?
I've let more of my friends who are girls and my girlfriend drive my car than I have dude friends, I'm 22 and all my friends are from 19-25. If a guy wants to drive my car it's because he wants to drive it how you or I would, to experience what the car can do. All the girls are like "omg it's convertible and cute, I want to cruise under the sun/stars" and they drive it like a Caddy, lol.
TL;DR: Girls are more careful to not abuse the car, yes they don't take care of a car like we do, but there won't be threads of "I hit VTEC in 1st around a bend and binned it."
Chris Brewer
03-06-2015, 09:53 AM
#123
Another consideration, liability. If something bad does happen, even if its not her fault, imagine a lawsuit and the other side is saying you were irresponsible giving a new driver such a performance car. They could easily put into evidence countless magazine articles touting how fast, and demanding, this car is. Sure, a jury is going to start out thinking Honda, big deal. But it wouldn't take much to change that opinion.
Then there is this thread, which will be here forever, and easy to find, with all these owners warning it was a bad idea. It would not end well for you.
If you do insist on giving her a non VSA S2000 as a first car, let me recommend disabling VTEC. That would go a long way towards minimizing the danger. Of course, its still possible to get into plenty of trouble without it. But it would make a world of difference.
I would unplug the VTEC solenoid, then put some shrink tubing over the wires plug, so it can't be reconnected without you being able to tell. That would mitigate the boyfriend driving danger (though not foolproof. Someone could put some shrink tubing back on after they are done.)
Tell her not to rev past 6k, and the CEL will only come on if she (or bf) violates that dictate, so again you'd know (again not foolproof).
Then there is this thread, which will be here forever, and easy to find, with all these owners warning it was a bad idea. It would not end well for you.
If you do insist on giving her a non VSA S2000 as a first car, let me recommend disabling VTEC. That would go a long way towards minimizing the danger. Of course, its still possible to get into plenty of trouble without it. But it would make a world of difference.
I would unplug the VTEC solenoid, then put some shrink tubing over the wires plug, so it can't be reconnected without you being able to tell. That would mitigate the boyfriend driving danger (though not foolproof. Someone could put some shrink tubing back on after they are done.)
Tell her not to rev past 6k, and the CEL will only come on if she (or bf) violates that dictate, so again you'd know (again not foolproof).
Sure, it's a spirited little roadster, but it is hardly in the high performance range and most significantly it isn't widely recognized that way by the Camry driving masses. It's a "Honda".
I could see this concern if you give your kid the keys to the Enzo, but not so much with the S2000. The issue is purely limited to the trailing-throttle over steer and such. Also, reading this board you'd think that the S2000 was the worst afllicted car ever made with respect to oversteer. It is hardly the worst even in the last few decades.
The car demands respect, although any car does to some extent. It will all depend upon the maturity of the driver and the level of driving skill that they have obtained. I doubt that a 14 year old Ayrton Senna would have had ANY issues whatsoever driving an S2000. I know some 60 year olds who would quite literally kill themselves with one.
03-06-2015, 10:01 AM
#124
personally I would let her drive it after a few auto crosses. Once she gets the handle of the cars capabilities he should be good. The reason most kids get in wrecks and such in the first place is because they are never taught how to drive properly in the first place. We are all too dependant on nannies. Honestly the power of the S2000 is pretty anemic these days. I would put wider and stickier tires that are good in the wet like PSS to help induce under steer and still have excellent traction in rain and above else teach her the limits of the car and how to really drive it. This will save her life more than any computer could. And if you still want traction control get a aem infinity and program it in 
Here's a fairly simple graphic that explains oversteer.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features...rsteer-feature
Technically speaking, oversteer means that a car's rear tires are operating at a greater slip angle than the front tires, i.e., they're working harder. In real-world terms, it means the tail of the car is sliding sideways. Holding the car in this dynamic state results in a glorious drift. Failing to hold it usually ends with an inglorious spin. Controlling oversteer in a rear-drive car is all about separately regulating the lateral velocity at each end of the vehicle. Here's what's going on when your car gets going sideways.
UP FRONT, the tires are still planted. To prevent a spin, the driver steers in the direction that the rear tires are sliding. This is called "turning into the slide," or countersteering. It allows the front of the car to also move in the lateral direction. Straightening the tires reduces their lateral velocity relative to the rear, causing the tail to rotate more quickly. Dialing in more steering does the opposite. This is often a limiting factor in controlling oversteer, because every car has a finite amount of steering lock.
A SPINNING TIRE has less longitudinal and lateral traction than a rolling tire. With the rear tires no longer gripping as effectively because they're spinning, the tail of the car slides toward the outside of the turn. But while the rear tires are slipping, they still have some grip. More important, they are still producing forward thrust. So the tail of the car slides at an angle with respect to the car's direction of travel. The driver's challenge is to keep the front tires ahead of the rears. Since the rear tires' traction is inversely related to their rotational speed, if the driver flat-foots it, they'll go up in smoke and traction will evaporate. Reducing power lets the rear tires slow down, increasing lateral bite and reducing the rear end's lateral velocity.
Obviously there is more involved to this as wheel camber, etc. plays a role. However, if you are considering the role of the tires it is probably more important to keep them from losing traction-thus the reason to not get overly spirited in the S2000 when your tires are worn and/or the road surface isn't ideal.
03-08-2015, 10:06 AM
#126
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personally I would let her drive it after a few auto crosses. Once she gets the handle of the cars capabilities he should be good. The reason most kids get in wrecks and such in the first place is because they are never taught how to drive properly in the first place. We are all too dependant on nannies. Honestly the power of the S2000 is pretty anemic these days. I would put wider and stickier tires that are good in the wet like PSS to help induce under steer and still have excellent traction in rain and above else teach her the limits of the car and how to really drive it. This will save her life more than any computer could. And if you still want traction control get a aem infinity and program it in
Modern electronic safety features are important though, and I will want her to have a safe car for year round use, so her primary car will not be the S2000. I'll get her something else that handles well and has stability and traction control. I will let her drive the S2000, after she has appropriate training and experience, but not as an everyday car.
I've experienced the S2000 tendency for lift-throttle oversteer on a racetrack. I've spun it more than once. However, on the street when driving at less than 8/10ths, I find the car very benign, easy to control, and safe. The S2000 can be a twitchy car at the limit, and it has a wide performance envelope. It can be driven fast, but you have to make it do so.
03-08-2015, 03:15 PM
#127
considering all the stupid drivers on the road I wouldn't risk a young, inexperienced driver in my s2000. There's going to be many times where she has to avoid an accident from defensive or aware driving and I think she would do just fine in a stock 92-00 civic 5 speed.
Spend the $2-$4k on a civic, don't worry about anything happening to your car.
Spend the $2-$4k on a civic, don't worry about anything happening to your car.
03-08-2015, 03:17 PM
#128
as long as the noobs have self control they'll never see the limits of the car...
03-13-2015, 06:00 PM
#129
Originally Posted by InTheZone
as long as the noobs have self control they'll never see the limits of the car...
03-14-2015, 08:42 AM
#130
I would tend to agree with the car being a handful in the rain IF it had oem s02's or any dry only tires. A tire like the Pilot Super Sport which are great in the wet should make the car livable even in the rain. I remember back in 2004 when I first got my s2000 with the S02's holy crap was that white knuckle driving in the rain lol. Later on when I had Faulkin 451's and after that Re01r's it wasn't as bad at all. I currently have the Super Sports on my evo and it is a beast in the rain even with 400hp.
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