There seems to be a fair bit of comment in this forum about front braces, bars etc.

I was wondering what peoples' experience with the rear of the car has been. I find the rear of my S2000 breaks away pretty easily under power even in the dry, but then I'm used to FWD and AWD cars. This doesn't worry me in itself. However, my car copes poorly in my opinion with road irregularities mid corner. The rear end is thrown off line and squirms around (oscillatory behaviour) too much for my liking, even at mild speeds. It feels like some flex in the chassis, or maybe it's the damping? My Subaru WRX is far better in this regard. Are there any well known fixes for this situation?

 

see this thread: http://www.s2000online.com/forums/showthre...?threadid=11288

and might want to make sure you are in gear through the majority of the turn - engaging in a different gear while in mid-turn will cause the rear to swing around if you aren't careful.

 

Just to clarify, I'm talking specifically about the rear end's response to bumps mid corner. It feels like something winds up then lets go (then winds up again etc). The car is also thrown off line by relatively small bumps. This is at constant throttle, maintaining speed, or under power. Would front end bracing do anything to correct what feels like poor suspension control at the rear?

I wouldn't change gears mid corner if I can help it, but the back did break away once when I changed into second at 9000rpm on a very slight bend. Now THAT was fun

 

changing things in the front end, for instance, a thicker sway bar, can induce a little bit more understeer and should help settle the rear end. I haven't driven an s2k with a bigger front bar, but that is what I hear. on previous cars that I've owned, I've usually had a small collection of front sway bars. this time, I'm waiting on the comptech adjustable bar - which, as I hear from the threesome (Jason, Juliann and Brad) it will be definately worth it.

 

naishou-

The only thing that will help you there is revalved shocks. In my experience Honda really missed the mark with the shock damping, and I really don't like the OEM ones at their limit.

 

To compare the WRX to the S2K is quite misleading - what are the cars designed for? The WRX is more of a road car (I rather doubt that the stock suspension is a good rally setup - it's detuned) while the S2K is much stiffer. This stiffness will cause more loss of traction when encountering a large enough bump in a turn. It's really tuned more for track conditions than rally ruts. The WRX isn't going to even come close to the S2K in track conditions while the S2K is totally in the weeds in a rally.

I agree that the shocks would be a good place to start. However, determine what you really want from the car and do it as a well-designed SYSTEM. Attacking only one piece without understanding what the effect is on the rest of the suspension is a shotgun approach - it may work but, unless someone has already sorted it out for you, you risk spending money unwisely.

 

jguerdat,

Changing to Mugen coilovers seems to be the most common answer, although a very expensive one. I'm not about to spend $3,300 to cure a little oversteer.



Now if someone came out with a $1000 solution, I would consider it.

 

Mikey,

My oversteer does seem to be less after going to the Mugen Coilovers... but, I do think I will play with the rear shock rebound settings. I think firm in the front and softer valving in the rear should be optimal...

If you really want major adjustability, the Mugens offer great flexability...

 

I just noticed that Spoon has a set of diff mounts for 55,000 Yen (see http://www.spoonsports.co.jp, but only the Japanese pages have product info so far). Has anyone tried them? I have a feeling the phenomenon I described could be the diff moving around. US$500 is a bit much for diff mounts don't you think?

 

A cheaper alternative would be to slow down a bit; however, I know that's no fun!