Just bought a 2001 S2K with 30,000 miles. Overall the car seems to handle fine except for clunky shifts which I think are part of the character of the car... however.... when I depress the clutch pedal around a turn, with the revs high enough to upshift, the car 'turns into' the curve, just for a split second and then gets 'back on track'. In other words if I'm turning left and I depress the clutch, as soon as I let off the gas the car will twitch slightly to the left. Doesn't happen at low rpm's and there's no twitch when I shift if I'm driving straight. Happens both when turning to the left or to the right, and only when upshifting, at that moment when I depress the clutch and let off the gas.

Had the wheels alligned... didn't think that was the problem anyway. It's subtle, an average driver would not notice it, but it could be real trouble if the road is slick or I'm driving really fast, etc. If it matters I have 225/50/16's on the rear.

Any comments?

 

What you're experiencing is the unloading of the rear wheels when the weight transfers to the front of the car. This is called trailing throttle oversteer. Very useful for rally driving, not so healthy on the street. Do that when you're closer to the limit of adhesion and you're going to spin the car.

Be in the right gear before the turn; don't let off the throttle mid turn or you'll be sorry.

 

Listen and listen good. DO NOT SHIFT DURING A TURN. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that your last car was front wheel drive. Am I right?

 

In an autocross I try to shift when going as straight as possible for just this reason...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ludedude
What you're experiencing is the unloading of the rear wheels when the weight transfers to the front of the car.

 

Shift before you turn...I get the maximum results this way.

 

Be in the right gear before you enter the corner....good advice there. In fact if you watch the special features on 2 fast 2 furious where they are talking about the driver training they went through, from memory this is the exact advice given to Devon Aoki (pink s2000).

 

"fast and furious" and "driver training" shouldn't be in the same sentence, who was it that taught them about double clutching?!

agreed, shift before turning and maintain at least some amount of throttle throughout the corner. Be smooth with the inputs, steering and throttle included, and you'll be fast, confident, and safe.

///Robin

 

couldn't agree with you more here

anyhow, like others have said, if you're taking a corner at fairly 'high' speed you your shifting should be completed in a straight line (before turning in). this allows you to apply some throttle (neither accelerate or decelerate) during the turn to prevent too much weight transfer to the front. the idea is to take advantage of the 50:50 weight balance of the car.

i'm going to go a step further and say that the goal of keeping inputs smooth is to try and achieve smooth weight transfer of the car throughout the turn, which is very difficult to master at high-speed and takes a crapload of mindful practice...

 

I agree "Fast and Furious" and anything serious shouldn't be in the same sentence.

At least the driver training was not done by the writers of the script.