foxy_s2k

Some of you just need drving lessons. I don't think of myself as a particularly good driver, but definitely in the category of 'those who can drive RWD and not kill themselves immediately'. I overcook it occasionally, if I didn't I'd never find the limits of the car. My most common mistake is not straightening the wheel quickly enough when oversteering, which causes immediate oversteer in the opposite direction, but again, I never found it unmanageable, even if it did result in a verbalisation or two. 'WOAH!!', is my most common verbalisation when that happens, but I haven't spun it round or hit anything yet, or even felt I was going to. Actually that's a lie, one time in the rain I made a BIG mistake going to fast into a corner with a little negative camber, and lifted off. Of course the back started coming round quickly and immediately, I was sure I would crash. Ayrton musta been watching over me though, cos while I fishtailed all over the place with arnco on both sides, I eventually collected it (this was on a public road as well, I have since learned that this particular corner has seen off many RWD cars, and one or two drivers as well), and finished the rest of my journey shaking with adrenalin. Got into my house and shouted 'Babe! I nearly died!' lol. She wasn't impressed (but she knows I can handle it, I've done plenty of power oversteer when she's been in the car). She just told me to be more careful, and she's right. The car demands respect, and while I do push her a little bit, she knows I respect her, and she mostly takes care of me. She loves to give me the occasional brown trouser moment though, but I forgive her.

I dunno, maybe I'm a better driver than I thought in the end, but I don't find the handling unhandlable, even when I screw up. I have an AP1 on stock geometry and suspension parts.

CKit

Every winter here I see plenty of FWD cars spinning out.

No car is safe with bad tires + bad driver.

My $0.02.

1. TIRES: If you take any car (FWD, RWD, AWD) and put it in neutral, you can still spin while driving in a "straight line" if the road conditions exceed the grip of your tires. A puddle, line of snow between lanes, banked road, etc. can be enough to induce angular momentum. If your tires don't have enough grip to resist that induced momentum without breaking free, you may spin.

I see this all the time in Winter with low hp FWD cars on all-seasons. They hit the slush on the side of their lane and it pulls that tire over and rotates the car.

2. RWD: An additional way to spin out is to reduce the traction of your rear tires relative to your fronts while carrying angular momentum. This is the added "danger" of the RWD car in the hands of the inexperienced.

Add 1 and 2 together and you have a higher likelihood of spinning.
Even with incredible skill, you may not be able to recover. Watch F1 drivers get caught in the rain on slicks.... once the car starts going, it's gone.

3. Traction Control: With engine timing control and individual brake control, it helps #2, but not so much #1. There have been two recent >06 S2000s that have spun and wrecked with VSA on. Both times it was due to #1. One was a hydroplane on a puddle and the other was in the rain. Both were on crap tires.

4. AWD: Having more ways of correcting out of induced momentum in low traction conditions (powering the tires with grip) in addition to individual wheel braking gives you the best chance of staying on line, regardless of driver skill.

That's why we Winter drive Audis on full snow tires. It gives us more buffer from #1 situations and if we do start overcoming the limits of grip, the AWD system keeps the car on line.

I've driven a boosted S2000 on snow tires and the difference between that and an AWD car on the same tires was still night and day. It's possible to daily drive an S2000 year round (I did it for 5 years). But without the additional safety nets, I insist on maximizing tire grip. Because in an S2000, that's really the only thing between you and disaster.

CKit

Going in a straight line doesn't mean the road is smooth and level. Have you ever tried walking straight on a icy, side-sloped driveway?