I can't understand how some people have a problem with this. When I took delivery of the car, I was almost afraid to turn the steering wheel because of all the posts I read on s2ki about the car's tricky handling. I soon realized that I have to be travelling at an insane rate of speed to lose the rear end in a corner. What gives? Why is it so easy for some of you? Is there something wrong with my car??

 

man, dont you guys ever play gran turismo?! break on the red dotted line, cruise/turn through white dotted line, and accelerated on blue line!

meaning, break before hit turn, turn w/o gas into turn, clip apex -_^, then accelerate (even before you fully exit turn)

go play some gt3 and you'll be driving like a pro in no time! it worked for me!

 

:r ofl:

 

take a performance driving course. when I did that, i realized how little I actually knew about driving.

 

i find this car to be the most roadworthy of any i've ever owned. i do not understand the posts that claim a problem with losing the back end.

i track my car pretty hard and even when i let it slip i get it right back. i wonder if it is a situation where us old guys who grew up driving rwd cars just instinctively get it and those younger owners who don't understand the different dynamics of fwd vs rwd can't appreciate the difference in techniques. i would suggest that grand turismo is no way to understand how to drive a spectacularly designed driving machine like the s2000. driving lessons are strongly suggested.

 

What pfb said.

Also if you've driven only front-drive cars before, you can't compare a rear-drive car in terms of handling in corners. With front-drive, you can hammer on the gas and the drive wheels will "pull" you through the corner. Too much throttle, front starts to understeer, lift off the gas and everything hooks up again. With rear drive, cornering under power takes some training. Accelerate gently while coming out of the corner, and under no circumstances engage VTEC while in mid-corner. Also check your rear tire tread; even with mileage as low as yours, you may need new rubber in back.

 

Props to ToyBoy for posting and acknowledging he has problems with the S2000. I'm sure he's not alone. There have been gazillions of threads on this subject which contain sound advice for those new to cars lke the S.

Perhaps someone should write a post containing the accumulated points of advice and good driving practice from these threads. It could then be posted for comment and editing as necessary, the final result being 'stickified' somewhere where people could easily see it, or more easily be referred to it?

I've got this vague feeling it's already been done though?

 

As one of the "old guys" here, I think we're sometimes a little too hard on the younger posters.

As someone said earlier, we grew up driving rwd cars. But that simply means that we made our mistakes (and hopefully learned from them) 30 years ago. The younger folks are making theirs now. The "adults" back then thought we were reckless, or nuts, or both. So what else is new?

I think there are a couple of differences though:

1) Most of us couldn't afford a high performance sports car when we were 18. So the cars we drove probably couldn't get us into quite as much trouble. (It's pretty hard to spin out in a 1950 Buick with dynaflow!)

2) If we did drive high powered cars, they were GTOs or 442s, etc. "Muscle" cars whose torque curve peaked much ealier and trailed off sooner. So they regained their grip easier than the S2000 with it's relatively flat curve.

So if you lose it once, well, that's a learning experience. If you keep losing it, that's stupidity, and they should take your car away. It's not the road's fault, it's not the car's fault, and it's not the tires' fault.

....and like several have already said in this and many other threads, it's best to get most of your learning experiences these days somewhere off the public roads, so you don't kill anyone in the process.

 

Just drift it around the curve baby

 

I had to get used to the RWD of the S2000 when I first got it. The S is the first RWD car I've owned or driven. I was always used to shifting down into a turn and punching the gas coming out. I found that the RWD is much different! I've broken loose on one occassion and learned from that experience. The posts on this board are very helpful as well. Now I shift down before the turn, hit the brakes a bit, slowly apply gas until through the turn. I'm not an expert by any means, but I have found that using the excelerator as a feeler for the rear wheels is the way to go. Apply the gas slow and easy. You can feel it when the rear gets a little uneasy.