Who says S2000's are a handfull in the wet - pah!
Discussion
I'm still smiling from ear to ear after a fantastic day in the rain at Donington yesterday. Took the S2000 out for her first foray onto the track and I will admit that I was a little nervous about its behaviour in the wet given all the bad press that it gets.
I have had the car since December and apart from right foot induced tail wagging, I have only felt the back end go once or twice - and even then it is very controllable. That includes all kinds of weather and the recent frost/ice/snow conditions.
Yesterday at Donington was no exception. I slowly built up my speed and confidence after each lap and by the end of the day I was taking Craners at 85 mph with only a slight wobble from the back. The way that it coped with the whole day was amazing and I even had the roof down for some parts! Biggest Scalp of the day was a rather tentative F430 Spider who, understandabley, was taking it easy.
It makes me think that I am either a driving God or (more likely) that the people out there throwing their S2000's backwards through hedges need to get some driver training, take the lead out of their boots and stay out of the vtec!
>> Edited by skibum on Thursday 9th March 13:40
I have had the car since December and apart from right foot induced tail wagging, I have only felt the back end go once or twice - and even then it is very controllable. That includes all kinds of weather and the recent frost/ice/snow conditions.
Yesterday at Donington was no exception. I slowly built up my speed and confidence after each lap and by the end of the day I was taking Craners at 85 mph with only a slight wobble from the back. The way that it coped with the whole day was amazing and I even had the roof down for some parts! Biggest Scalp of the day was a rather tentative F430 Spider who, understandabley, was taking it easy.
It makes me think that I am either a driving God or (more likely) that the people out there throwing their S2000's backwards through hedges need to get some driver training, take the lead out of their boots and stay out of the vtec!
>> Edited by skibum on Thursday 9th March 13:40
i think you hit the nail on the head...
rear wheel drive needs respect, most people nowadays grew up with FWD which you could be heavy footed with, and then go out and jump in a 200bhp RWD sports car, and try and drive it fast in the same way...
dont pat yourself on the back too much though
wait till you get to next april 
rear wheel drive needs respect, most people nowadays grew up with FWD which you could be heavy footed with, and then go out and jump in a 200bhp RWD sports car, and try and drive it fast in the same way...
dont pat yourself on the back too much though
wait till you get to next april My experiences of S2000s are they are very faithful as long as you keep your inputs smooth and don't do anything to upset the balance when cornering, which is fine on track as you know what's coming up. Problem is when you're out on the road you don't always know what's around the next corner, sometimes you have to lift off mid-bend, then things can get a bit exciting. As mentioned, it's a matter of respecting the car/road and being able to drive properly...
I am SO glad to hear this. Picking up my '03 on Saturday, can't wait. Nice to hear what I'd hoped was the case.
Oh...and Donny in the wet is a gem of a track-day, esp. in a car with road-spec suspension...learned SO much about the 'teg that day, and was having a ball keeping it right on the limit, while all the track-day spec GTi's were being, ah, 'digital' with their oversteer - 0 or 45degrees!!!
Oh...and Donny in the wet is a gem of a track-day, esp. in a car with road-spec suspension...learned SO much about the 'teg that day, and was having a ball keeping it right on the limit, while all the track-day spec GTi's were being, ah, 'digital' with their oversteer - 0 or 45degrees!!!
MG_ZS_250 said:
85mph through craners?
come on man! ive been through there at 110 in an estate car(ok not me driving, but a friend)
glad you had a good day out tho! donny is such a good track
When the water is running a river down through craners - 85mph is plenty thanks!!
Dan - I sent my dad off to take some piccies and unfortunately he couldnt work out how to press the button properly - what is it with Dad's and Gadgets! There was a photographer on site but I balked at £10 a photo. Here are some examples from their site though.
DanBoy said:
I feel more nervous in FWD cars these days.
They don't feel as comfortable, if that makes sense.
One of the most impressive cars there on the day was a Clio 182 - it was being driven very well and very quickly. It was a bit annoying that it got past me as I upgraded to the S2K from a 182 - I'm sure I would have had the edge in the dry though
fidgits said:
yeah, the key with rear wheel drive is sort the balance out before the corner (braking, gears etc), turn in and wait for the suspension to settle with the lateral G before gradually accelerating through the corner...
well done by the way - any track day is daunting in the wet!
Exactly - I was treating the car like a go-kart - always brake in a straight line, then turn in and apply the throttle gradually as you exit the corner. Wasnt always easy as people kept going off at craners and covering the entry to the old hairpin with mud, grass and crap - certainly made for a twitchy back end under braking!
>> Edited by skibum on Friday 10th March 08:39
skibum said:
I feel more nervous in FWD cars these days.
They don't feel as comfortable, if that makes sense.
One of the most impressive cars there on the day was a Clio 182 - it was being driven very well and very quickly. It was a bit annoying that it got past me as I upgraded to the S2K from a 182 - I'm sure I would have had the edge in the dry though
fwd in the wet on-track IS going to be a lot easier to get the most from...esp. if you've never taken YOUR car on track before. And the Clio is an awesome machine for the money.
Dry...yeah, you'd have power and grip on your side.
DanBoy said:
I feel more nervous in FWD cars these days.
They don't feel as comfortable, if that makes sense.
no, i agree - I always disagree with the argument about FWD being safer - it isnt...
You instinctivley correct oversteer - to correct understeer you have to fight your instinct..
and yeah, i dont think i could go back to FWD after having RWD (even in something as underpowered as I have)
fidgits said:Really? I'd disagree. Once you've learned how to drive a certain type of car, THEN you instinctively correct the path of the car. But initially? Nope.
I feel more nervous in FWD cars these days.
They don't feel as comfortable, if that makes sense.
no, i agree - I always disagree with the argument about FWD being safer - it isnt...
You instinctivley correct oversteer - to correct understeer you have to fight your instinct..
Example 1 - Me: When faced with a loss-of-grip situation a year after passing my test, I instinctively lifted off...whether it was over- or under-steer. Caused a lovely spin in the Polo. Yet by the time I had the Civic, I'd learned how opposite-lock works, albeit from a fwd perpective. I still need to learn rwd properly.
Example 2 - Becs: She can currently correct understeer in her Fiesta, but a few months back she hit some diesel on a r-bout, the back-end went on her, and she did a lovely pirouette.
So...I'd say it all depends on experience. There's no 'right or wrong' wheels to drive a car, or 'better or worse', there is only 'fit for purpose', and in wet/icy conditions (esp. on busy roads) I'd rather have fwd. Because it IS safer in those conditions!
yep, in most cases it's plain ignorance or "driving without due care and attention" with any RWD car that drivers complain about. my tvr chimaera with its AVONS was very well behaved in torrential downpours. OBVIOUSLY if you floor it you will end up exiting the road and possible appearing in someone's living room. to me a badly behaved car is one that you cannot predict the behaviour of. if that is the case, then the driver has cause to complain. (i accept that diesel spillages, mud on the road etc can cause accidents but to be honest i haven't encountered much of this.)
That looks like a 'what happened next?' post foz.
Did he:-
a) Spin the car off into the gravel;
b) Spin the car on-track and scare the Elise driver;
c) Catch the car untidily into a tank-slapper;
d) Catch the oversteer smoothly;
e) Showboat by drifting it all through the corner.
Answers on a postcard please to the usual address!!!
Did he:-
a) Spin the car off into the gravel;
b) Spin the car on-track and scare the Elise driver;
c) Catch the car untidily into a tank-slapper;
d) Catch the oversteer smoothly;
e) Showboat by drifting it all through the corner.
Answers on a postcard please to the usual address!!!
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