Is the s2000 right for me?
Registered User
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,140
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, FL
Originally Posted by imnida,Jun 9 2008, 02:33 AM
Hey hey hey, hold on a minute. I've spun out myself but in no way do I blame the car. Road was wet after a nice rain, 2nd gear reaching vtec, one left turn.
Seriously?!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 879
Likes: 1
From: Rockford illinois/Las Vegas
Originally Posted by qbmurderer13,Jun 9 2008, 08:21 PM
Reaching vtec in 2nd gear.... while turning.... on a wet road.....?
Seriously?!
Seriously?!
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,755
Likes: 1
From: Detroit, WA
If you get it, just take it real easy on the street and you'll be okay. I told myself I wasn't going to push it on the street before autocrossing it, and I ended up smacking a curb in the dumbest way possible because I don't have any self control apparently.
If you're patient with the car, and learn about it in a controlled environment, I think you'll find the s2000 to be a very enjoyable car.
To be quite honest, after nailing a curb on the second day of ownership, I didn't feel totally at ease with the car. I'd get a real nervous feeling and convince myself that the car had much less grip than it really did when going around corners. I'm still a little nervous driving it sometimes. However, through autocrossing it, a lot of this anxiety has faded and I've become a lot more familiar with the car's limits. Even with the nervousness, I loved driving the car, but now that I've gotten more comfortable, it's become even more rewarding to drive.
Good luck
If you're patient with the car, and learn about it in a controlled environment, I think you'll find the s2000 to be a very enjoyable car.
To be quite honest, after nailing a curb on the second day of ownership, I didn't feel totally at ease with the car. I'd get a real nervous feeling and convince myself that the car had much less grip than it really did when going around corners. I'm still a little nervous driving it sometimes. However, through autocrossing it, a lot of this anxiety has faded and I've become a lot more familiar with the car's limits. Even with the nervousness, I loved driving the car, but now that I've gotten more comfortable, it's become even more rewarding to drive.
Good luck
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 379
Likes: 0
From: Santa Barbara, CA
Sometimes I wonder how the human race survived !
RWD drive cars were the standard for what 80 years of the last 100 years of cars ? I had NEVER driven a FWD car until the wife got a SUV 2 years ago.
Its RWD drive so what ? drive the daylights out of it like its supposed to be, just don't punch it hard in the corners and be prepared to countersteer if you do.
RWD drive cars were the standard for what 80 years of the last 100 years of cars ? I had NEVER driven a FWD car until the wife got a SUV 2 years ago.
Its RWD drive so what ? drive the daylights out of it like its supposed to be, just don't punch it hard in the corners and be prepared to countersteer if you do.
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 16,377
Likes: 2,616
From: Long Beach, MS
I wonder how many of these informed opinions actually come from people who have taken their s beyond the limits (spun) at least two or three times. (I'm sure some of them do but others make me skeptical.)
I have done so, on a closed course. Two of my spins (actually one 180 and one where I ended up sideways) were due to overcorrection. But the third (another 90 degree) was a result of just carrying too much speed into a corner. I didn't lift or accelerate or brake. The car simply continued to rotate after I straightened the wheel...even a good bit of countersteer had zero impact on rotation, although that may have been applied too late to do any good.
So yes, it is possible to follow all the "rules" of high performance driving (brake early, don't lift, etc.) and simply spin because you misjudge your entry speed.
The lesson: New drivers don't have to drive like their grandma to keep their S out of the ditch but don't get overconfident until you know exactly what the car's limits are and, (just as important) how to tell when you are approaching those limits.
I don't find the S to be all that communicative. Once it starts to rotate on its own it takes some fairly practiced skill and reaction to correct properly, imho. (Your skill may vary.) But the S2000 steering gives you almost no information about the adhesion of your front tires. My cue is tire noise. The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires I have make plenty of progressive noise as the limits are approached, at least on most surfaces. My son rolls on Falkin Azenas that are almost silent when they slide, though, so your tires may not be so communacative.
Bottom line: I will echo what others have said. If you intend to drive your S agressively you should first get to know it well on an autocross course or other closed course.
I have done so, on a closed course. Two of my spins (actually one 180 and one where I ended up sideways) were due to overcorrection. But the third (another 90 degree) was a result of just carrying too much speed into a corner. I didn't lift or accelerate or brake. The car simply continued to rotate after I straightened the wheel...even a good bit of countersteer had zero impact on rotation, although that may have been applied too late to do any good.
So yes, it is possible to follow all the "rules" of high performance driving (brake early, don't lift, etc.) and simply spin because you misjudge your entry speed.
The lesson: New drivers don't have to drive like their grandma to keep their S out of the ditch but don't get overconfident until you know exactly what the car's limits are and, (just as important) how to tell when you are approaching those limits.
I don't find the S to be all that communicative. Once it starts to rotate on its own it takes some fairly practiced skill and reaction to correct properly, imho. (Your skill may vary.) But the S2000 steering gives you almost no information about the adhesion of your front tires. My cue is tire noise. The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires I have make plenty of progressive noise as the limits are approached, at least on most surfaces. My son rolls on Falkin Azenas that are almost silent when they slide, though, so your tires may not be so communacative.
Bottom line: I will echo what others have said. If you intend to drive your S agressively you should first get to know it well on an autocross course or other closed course.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,087
Likes: 2
From: Dry Branch
Originally Posted by tof,Jun 11 2008, 11:55 AM
I wonder how many of these informed opinions actually come from people who have taken their s beyond the limits (spun) at least two or three times. (I'm sure some of them do but others make me skeptical.)
I have done so, on a closed course. Two of my spins (actually one 180 and one where I ended up sideways) were due to overcorrection. But the third (another 90 degree) was a result of just carrying too much speed into a corner. I didn't lift or accelerate or brake. The car simply continued to rotate after I straightened the wheel...even a good bit of countersteer had zero impact on rotation, although that may have been applied too late to do any good.
So yes, it is possible to follow all the "rules" of high performance driving (brake early, don't lift, etc.) and simply spin because you misjudge your entry speed.
The lesson: New drivers don't have to drive like their grandma to keep their S out of the ditch but don't get overconfident until you know exactly what the car's limits are and, (just as important) how to tell when you are approaching those limits.
I don't find the S to be all that communicative. Once it starts to rotate on its own it takes some fairly practiced skill and reaction to correct properly, imho. (Your skill may vary.) But the S2000 steering gives you almost no information about the adhesion of your front tires. My cue is tire noise. The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires I have make plenty of progressive noise as the limits are approached, at least on most surfaces. My son rolls on Falkin Azenas that are almost silent when they slide, though, so your tires may not be so communacative.
Bottom line: I will echo what others have said. If you intend to drive your S agressively you should first get to know it well on an autocross course or other closed course.
I have done so, on a closed course. Two of my spins (actually one 180 and one where I ended up sideways) were due to overcorrection. But the third (another 90 degree) was a result of just carrying too much speed into a corner. I didn't lift or accelerate or brake. The car simply continued to rotate after I straightened the wheel...even a good bit of countersteer had zero impact on rotation, although that may have been applied too late to do any good.
So yes, it is possible to follow all the "rules" of high performance driving (brake early, don't lift, etc.) and simply spin because you misjudge your entry speed.
The lesson: New drivers don't have to drive like their grandma to keep their S out of the ditch but don't get overconfident until you know exactly what the car's limits are and, (just as important) how to tell when you are approaching those limits.
I don't find the S to be all that communicative. Once it starts to rotate on its own it takes some fairly practiced skill and reaction to correct properly, imho. (Your skill may vary.) But the S2000 steering gives you almost no information about the adhesion of your front tires. My cue is tire noise. The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires I have make plenty of progressive noise as the limits are approached, at least on most surfaces. My son rolls on Falkin Azenas that are almost silent when they slide, though, so your tires may not be so communacative.
Bottom line: I will echo what others have said. If you intend to drive your S agressively you should first get to know it well on an autocross course or other closed course.
) is so that people who don't know me can see that I'm not just talking out my a**.The EPS does leave a lot to be desired, especially if you like to slide the car around a lot. When the back tires are spinning the EPS gets confused and the feel is very inconsistent. The limited steering lock is also a factor, one that got me into trouble once, right after we got the car. Even when all four tires have grip, the steering still doesn't provide as much feedback as I'd like, but now that I've adjusted to the car better I hardly notice.
Your description of the way the car wants to continue to rotate once it starts "self rotation" is another way to say what I said earlier about "tossing" and "catching." When you throw the car into a slide beyond a certain angle, you go through a period of time during which you have essentially no control. The car is going to go wherever you "tossed it," but it looks like you have control, because you toss it to a certain place and regain control where you intended, but my point in explaining that was that there IS a period when the car is just going to do whatever it's going to do, and you're just along for the ride. LOL, a situation that is fun and rewarding when you do it on purpose and get it right, or a situation that is bad news if one gets into it unexpectedly. I have done both.
FWIW, one of the reasons I wanted to own an S2000 was because I was certain that it was a car that would make me improve my driving skills, and that has certainly turned out to be the case.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post