honestly a good way to learn how the car reacts under loss of traction is to drive it hard in the rain and see. obviously do this in an empty parking lot or closed road but it will break the tires loose with less effort and you can practice correcting oversteer.

I have owned both an ap1 and ap2 and they both handle very similarly. however the ap2 feels much faster to me as a daily driver. just be careful and don't drive like an idiot and you will be fine. the s2000 will outdrive 99% of people on here (including myself), just like a motorcycle, don't forget that.

 

i dont own an s2000, but i have driven them, an s2000 reacts the same as any other lightweight rwd car in corners, its just has almost instant throttle responce. that means that when you press the gas down the tires get power almost instantaniously. if you are pushing hard into a turn then decide to instantly lift the throttle the rear tires slow down quickly(especially if you where at high rpm) while the front tires are still traveling at the same speed, that will cause the back end to want to slide, for an inexperienced driver that means you are going to spin out. take it easy for a while and dont try to push it the first week. the s2000 is a drivers car and will do whatever you want it to do, you just have to know how to drive it. 240hp in a car as light as the s2000 will get you in trouble quick just be careful.

 

I have a few favorite corners / turns that I use to guage driving characteristics. Everytime I take those corners I increase speed / throttle input little by little. I feel like it allows me to learn a more accurate feeling of the driving characteristics without throwing in factors like unknown road conditions, so I know what to expect way before I even come up to it.

This is my first RWD car (from a prelude -> sentra -> this), and I didn't have any trouble adjusting except the bad habit of being able to constantly lift throttle in a FWD car. But I figured out fast that the car doesn't like that so much ;D

 

Thanks for sharing your insights. Like I said, I'm coming from FWD, so it'll take some adjustment for me to get used to it. Sounds like autocross or an empty parking lot is a good idea to get a feel for the car. I'm very excited to get one as the s2k is going to be my first sports car.

 

If you use common sense, and walk before you run, you'll be fine.

 

It is really difficult to "leave spirited driving at the track".

VSA may help prevent the inevitable. MY 06+ highly recommended.

 

you are talking about conditions where you get into corners way above what is considered safe. You won't spin out driving normal speeds. You can easily drive through a corner in a spirited manner without issue. If you are driving at normal speeds you can lift throttle, you can hit the throttle and pretty much whatever you want, the only time you can't do this is when you've gotten into a corner way too hot.

If you can't afford to drive the car with decent tires and decent tread then do not buy this car, tires mean everythiing on this car. Don't buy this car and then cheap out. If you buy an ap1 the cost of tires is generally less at time of replacement.

 

Well said.

 

this

 

The limits of the car are actually pretty high. Once you reach them or go beyond, you're usually going fast. you're driving the car after all is said and done. It's up to u to keep it safe. It probably won't be the car's fault if you crash unless a part broke unexpectedly or something.