Howdy folks,

After a brief hiatus from performance driving and I ready to get back into it. I previously had a national caliber ITR which saw some national tour victories and divisional smackdowns. I had that car pretty well dialed in.

I have an 01 S2000 that needs a bit of upgrading. This time (post having a kid) I only have timee for the occasional track day. So I don't need to build this car for competitive autox or solo I. However, as a way to control budget I would like to keep it generally within SCCA stock guidelines.

I hav had the S2K out to a couplee of autocrosses and I have found the handling of the car to be seriously flawed. I have had difficulty setting the car and it gets out of shape pretty easy in transitions and the more technical elements (like say leaving a slalom and entering a chicago box, threshhold braking into a box, etc.). Then coming out of those elements the car being out of shape makes it difficult to get all of the power down (I suspect this has something to do with the inside rear tire lifting, though I haven't been able to verify this or spend any time on it).

So, my self-diagnosis tells me the car would like to have better shocks and a serious front sway bar to keep the inside rear planted.

To this end, does anyone here have experience with the Koni Series 30 on the S2K in track/autox conditions?

Or, if you have used other shocks with the stock springs let me know what you used and how it worked.

In terms of a sway bar I think I will get the comptech adjustable one (I will be using R compound tires and streets in a range of temps and surfaces so a non-adjustable bar is probably out of the question). I read the swaybar thread already, but if you have anything to add here please do.

Thanks in advance.
Justin

 

It sounds like you should pay the racing and competition section of http://www.s2ki.com a visit.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by justinmadisonsmith &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I hav had the S2K out to a couplee of autocrosses and I have found the handling of the car to be seriously flawed. </TD></TR></TABLE>

say wha?! "seriously flawed"??

Granted you have an 01, and the 04+ suspension was supposed to reduce the rear tire lift problem, I'd hardly consider the handling characteristics of it "seriously flawed".

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ScreaminTeg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

say wha?! "seriously flawed"??

Granted you have an 01, and the 04+ suspension was supposed to reduce the rear tire lift problem, I'd hardly consider the handling characteristics of it "seriously flawed". </TD></TR></TABLE>

i think he just needs to learn how to drive our car. its not easy and takes time

 

Sorry I posted this in the wrong place.

Not to start a flame or anything, because mainly I have loved the car. But the handling is seriously flawed. Not noticeable on the street, but in an autox or on the track you expect to be able to set the car and get on the throttle. The chassis is great, but it just needs to be corrected to be a great track car. I don't follow Solo II anymore but I am sure there are no competitive S2000s at anything above the local level without serious work on the shocks and some kind of beefy swaybar. Without it, I know from experience, you can't work the tires.

Asking for your impressions (I don't need a driving lesson (today), or your opinion about whether I should learn to drive this particular car--I know enough to know the handling is flawed). Flawed may be the wrong word. Perhaps the proper term would be "not correct", and in my opinion "seriously not correct".

I will take the post over to the other forum. Thanks Nishant.

 

My statement was not meant to flame you. I was just stating a fact. The S is very difficult to drive at its full potential. The stock set up is fine. A beefier front sway bar helps give the car a more neutral feel. The National winning S's are pretty stock besides wheels, tires, and front swaybar. This I know from s2ki. A couple of those drivers are there.

I do not mean to start an argument here so don't take it that. Any person who tells me the stock suspension is wrong in someway. I will always say its either you can't drive or its your driving style. You can ask any long time owner who tracks their car regularly this and they will tell you the same. Even track instructors who own or have driven a S2000 will tell you this. I myself have become a regular track driver and have a stock suspension. Some fellow board members can attest to my driving. Our car is all driver. Anyone here can tell you that.

 

well someone is really full of themselves......

and this is the first time ever hearing that the handling is flawed.....

and lets see. you came from an itr.. which is front wheel drive. which has complete different handling characteristics then the S which is rear wheel drive....

word of advice... you won't get much help with your cockyness..

 

I would highly suggest a good alignment (maybe UK specs) and checking to make sure that the spring spacers are not still installed. Most people find that with a good alignment, the S2000 handles very well, even in an autocross.

Tim

 

Timg thanks for the alignment advice. I will def realign after the shocks go on. To 03s2kblue this is obviously an emotional issue for you. You think the S2K is sweet (as do I), your opinion is that there is nothing wrong with the handling. I happen to disagree but that doesn't invalidate your point of view. In my opinion if you set the car and the rear drive wheel lifts then by definition that is a flaw in the design of the suspension. If inside drive wheel is spinning in the air, then its not putting power to the pavement, nor is it providing access to the entire friction envelope of the car. It is, more or less, a waste of energy. I don't find the car uncontrollable, nor is it more difficult to drive fast than some other cars I have had. It just has this problem with r compound tires. I am trying to find a solution to this problem. That solution is deeper than changing my driving style. It's understand how to keep the inside drive wheel in contact with the ground when I set the car.

Knock the ITR all you want. But out of the box it is a better autocrosser than the S2K and the car has a character that is missing in the S2K. So what if its fwd, you have to take each car on its own merits and the ITR is on of the defining cars of our generation. I kind of wish I had hung onto mine.

 

i never said the handling was perfect... thats why i have done suspension mods to my car to make it adapt to my personal driving style.. but you saying that the s2k's handling is flawed is blasphemy, not to many cars out there can out handle the s2k...

and i'm not knocking on the itr it's a great car and i've known tons of people that have had it..... all i am stating is that the itr is a fwd while the s2k is a rwd... the handling characteristics are completely differnt on these two cars....

but like i said... your cockiness in your driving ability/skill won't get you anywhere... just cause you were supposidly good in your itr doesn't mean you'll be good in the S....

 

no 30K rwd convertible car is going to have perfect handling. And most likely what your experiencing is the fact it's like 700 lbs heavier than the miata so it's not the perfect cone carver.

Driving does not cover imperfect handling properties, however the car is at a high level but does have it's quirks I guess too.

I personnally do not feel super comfortable driving a stock one @ high speeds, so I would recommend you drive the car and mod slowly to take the most from it.

the RR forum has a Koni employee in there and he could tell you more on the shocks I am sure

 

Thanks Stormy.