That's kind of the good thing about the S2000 though. You can drive it relatively slow on the street and it feels like you're the fastest mofo out there.

I would not recommend driving more than 6/10ths on the street however (at least in the curves)...its not the safest conditions. Take the car to a track and see what it can do. I had my S at Road America, a race track in wisconsin. There is a turn called "the carousel", basically a big loop (see roadamerica.com for a track map or check out video in my sig). Very similar to an on ramp. What I found was by the end of the carousel I'm at 75+ mph. I almost think I can go faster. The idea is that if you feel like the back end is slipping out, accelerate more. Yes more. That will weight transfer to the back and keep the back end planted. So, in a race situation, if you keep accelerating, than you should be stable.

To apply this to the street, if you feel yourself braking loose for some reason, add more gas and you will probably save yourself. Well, at least know that the LAST thing you want to do is slam on the brakes.

DISCLAIMER: Do not try racing techniques on the street. Do not push your car to the limits on the street. Testing out this technique on an highway ramp is STUPID (if you mess up, you're F****D. If you mess up in a race track you get some gravel in your wheel).

 

Amen to that!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

I crashed my Daytona Turbo C/S in a high speed corner but i was just driving beyond my limit, but that just inspired me to hit the autoX course right after i grew the balls again to get back into the drivers seat. i've grown into such a better driver too from it

 

I agree, I am much more comfortaable cornering in my 92 gsr than the s, But I have driven the acura forever it seems. But I still love the twisties in the s. I am just more careful because I do not have a lot of experience with rear wheel drive sports cars. Be safe and drive within your means, If you screw up on real roads, bad things happen. I agree drive fast at the track.
.

 

yeah on a very curvey road... it feels like im going to tip over at like 70 km/h... but then when i drove my benz... it felt alot easier on the car...
but it makes sense that you can feel everything more on the car... but im still learning how to drive my car

 

The sense of speed in an s2000 is far greater than most vehicles, most likely because of how low to the ground you are + the stiffness of the suspension + how loud the exhaust is. It's kind of a sensory overload thing, where you're thinking, "holy crap, I'm going too fast!" when you're really only going 45mph.

I drove my girlfriend's saturn ion on the highway the other day and it was so much more quiet and smooth at 80mph.. It definitely gives you a false sense of security and speed when a car is quiet and comfortable.

 

I think many of you are losing sight of the question asked by the original poster.

[QUOTE=Globetro,May 26 2005, 05:10 PM]So I guess my question is, exactly how much of the S2K's potential is an average driver able to utilize?

 

That can be a recipe for disaster depending on your speed at the time. It seems so counter intuitive to add gas sometimes for more grip but that can often be the case. Tougher to do with someone in front of you though.


I still do not know the limits of the car yet. Would love to try an autocross. I would take a certain ramp on my way to work at a much higher speed in my MR2. Something about the weight in the back just brings a lot more confidence in its stability. I am sure the S 2000 can corner more than I give it credit for, it just "feels" unsettled and light in the tail, but I know that is much more me than the car.

 

One thing that you have all failed to mention is that with the S2000 being much lower than the average car, you seem to be going much much faster while really accelerating at equivalent velocities.

There is a freeway onramp near my work, a real tight 320 turn and the max I've ever pushed the S was 50mph and I could almost swear its as fast as the S can handle without flying off the ramp. My friend who in the first day of his purchase, took his stock S up the same turn and hit 83mph on it.

Its all in your head.

 

The S2000 has this incredible ability to make you feel like a terrible driver.

I love how the car feels completely on edge, even in situations where you know it's not. The feedback is almost as perfect as it gets.