agreed.

i bought mine in oct, my first RWD too. take it easy at first, get some training (i did walshy's car limits at north weald), read this forum to get an idea of the cars peculiarities & you'll be fine.

 

A healthy fear of the car's wet weather handling will see you through the winter fine

 

the car is not a widow maker, and i was not trying to scare the new owner, but there is a big difference between FWD and RWD. as others have said go do a car activity day for 50 quid and learn the car. RWD is very rewarding and great fun to drive. i won't go back to FWD

if you understeer in a FWD letting off the throttle and then reapplying the throttle when you have recovered it tends to pull you out of it. in a RWD car if you get over steer, and lift off the throttle and or braking and then reapply it you can actually make the spin worse. you have to feather the throttle and steer in the same direction the rear is going. (if that makes sense)

this doesn't make it a harder car to drive, just different and knowing what the car will do when it goes and how to control it is the big thing.

as said before the weak link is the driver. heavy footed, bad weather, lack of respect for the car and handling = ditch finding missile.

the car won't eat you up and spit you out at the slightest hint of rain. but if you start off steady; learn the car, its a hugely rewarding drive.

 

Thanks to all that have given input, I do understand where you are coming from, especially since I guess you get alot of lead-footed fwd owners comming to this forum and crashing there car through lack of respect and common sense. I like to think I'm sensible behind the wheel, so I'm pretysure I'll be ok.

When you guys are talking geometry, are you refering to a full alignment,toe & camber set-up or is it something more specialist?I have an alloy wheel specialist very close tome that does laser alignment etc and am thinking this is maybe the place to go straight away once I get an s2000. Also I have mallory park a stones throw from me which does track days so maybe one of them should be booked also to safely test the car.

 

Geometry = alignment as you describe. Different settings do make a difference to the way the car handles. At the very least having good symmetry will make the car more predictable.

 

track days are good, but i would reccommend something like a car limits day. there are several a year organised on here and others around the country.

they tend to be on airfields, and the advantage is they setup a variety of senarios like high speed bend, and mini tracks throughout the day. and when your driving, you are the only car on at the time. so nothing to hit but cones. and oodles of run off. so a very safe environment in which to play. if you spin its no biggie and you don't hit anything.

when moving to RWD everyone has to learn at some point and i don't see why not in the S2000. its a great car and if treated properly will look after you as well.

 

Ahh ok, that would prob be better. When I say track day though I ment more your one on one in your car (or a choice of performance car) with an instructor with noone else on the track.

 

that too is a good idea, 1 on 1 tutition is good, reason i like the car limit days is they are about 50 quid, track days and tutition can be more expensive, but admitedly you can gain alot more with an instructor with you in your own car.

whats your location, i know a driver who does tuition at woodbridge

 

i came from a del sol to an ep3 to a dc5 and now to an s2000, and the s2000 is by far the best. It has better handling than all the previous, you just have to be aware of rwd and the fact that if you do push the car you wont get understeer like in a fwd but the back end will bite. Dont go vtec ing in 1st gear out of corners and im sure you will be fine. i too was sceptical when purchasing but so glad i did, yes the dc5 was prob easier to drive especially in the wet but i wouldnt change my s2k to have it back. Your del sol looks well cherished so im sure your not the type to just buy to thrash. go an buy one just remember the potential of the car especially in the wet and driv accordingly. I have had mine well over 6months now and it is daily driven (30mile a day commute) half motorway and so far i have had zero problems even in torrential downpour

 

I am also new to S2000 ownership coming from FWD and never driven RWD before. The S is fine, but you have to really treat it with respect in the wet. I drove up the M40 on Friday in the heavy rain and some prick annoyed me on the roundabout joining the M40 and I booted it a little too much when round the corner and joining the slip road to the M40 and the arse hung out a little bit, this was at about 50mph, but it was perfectly rescuable, you just steered into the slide, came off the throttle a bit and the car came back straight again. The car stayed within the lane.

I have also spun the car at 7mph going into Tesco car park in the wet when the tarmac changed, but I was new to the car then and RWD, but I got away with it!

However, I wouldn't recommend it! Gets the old arsehole quivering a bit!

I have done a few trackdays and a racing tuition session at Thruxton (about £180) but to be honest what saved me was probably instincts more than anything, all my training has been in the dry, so I am now looking at skid pan training which if you have not driven RWD before I think you need, well I definitely do!

People will probably laugh, but if you have Gran Turismo and a steering wheel, practicing in the wet conditions on there in a S2k is quite similar to how they handle in real life...obviously real life is better, but the playstation is cheaper and you can do it everyday!

So the S2000 is a great car, I love mine, and I think my misdemeanors are more indicative of my heavy right foot which I am taming, rather than a problem with the car as such. The car will punish poor driving in the wet, but equally it will really reward good driving in the dry!

I have had the car since March, but I have been out of the country all summer at sea so not really driven, so I am still very new to RWD. I think it is easier for the older guys on here as they learnt on RWD (as most cars in the 60s/70s/80s were RWD!) when they passed their test and obviously that experience helps. I am only 23 and not had that experience yet so still learning. My Dad is helping, but it is of course something you have to master in time.

So I think the key is to take things REALLY steady in the wet and nail it in the dry if you want to. To be honest, I find 2nd gear the most satisfying, by the top of 3rd you are well and truly breaking the speed limit!

I am s*!t scared of the car in the wet, and to be honest, I think that is the best attitude to have.

Graham