DavidM

I was just reading an article on Ferrari F360. The time that stopped me in my tracks was the 400m run ... not the time, but the speed that the F360 carries when it crosses the 400m mark - it was 192km/h (120m/h). In comparision the S2000 crosses the 400m mark carrying about 160km/h (100m/h).

192km/h ... now that is fast :-)

Pinky

One big reason that we get the times that we do in our car is that we shift less! We carry out each gear so far most others are in 2nd ready to go to 3rd when we hit 2nd and take off!

DavidM

Pinky, 'shifting less' in the S2000 is far from truth. Even though our redline is so high up, the speeds reached in each gear are pretty low (ie. S2000 has pretty short gearing). Look at the S2000 gearing and the speeds that you will reach at redline:
1st = 69km/h
2nd = 105km/h
3rd = 144km/h
4th = 186km/h
5th = 228km/h
6th = 266km/h

Compare it to somehting like the F360 that is geared 80/115/160/210/260/300km/h. Even the 2.0L MR2 is geared 70/110/158/198/255km/h. If you look at most 'family' cars then the gearing is more like 70/115/160/200/250.

The S2000's gearing is short - that is why 'we' have to shift more than most cars out there, not less :-) Though, up to 100km/h - it needs just 1 shift, as most cars (though the new MR2 and MX5 need 2 shifts). The 400m run needs 3 shifts though ... a lot of cars in the S2000's league need only 2 shifts there (incuding BoxterS). Each shift costs you about 0.5secs.

Pinky

Yes though how many cars out there let you rev almost to red line and have power all the way up there? It may just be different for other cars though any car I drive/ride in if red line is at 6-7,000 I shift around 4 to get peak power. From 4-6,7000 its just not putting more power to the wheels.

There has to be a reason for our unbelievable speed and its because we use our entire RPM band. Most others do not. Reason for their such high guearing is that they have so much torque down low and peak out sooner than their red line.

malachi

gear ratios for the Modena:
[gear - ratio - speed]
1 - 3.29 - 45 mph (8500 rpm)
2 - 2.16 - 68 mph (8500 rpm)
3 - 1.61 - 91 mph (8500 rpm)
4 - 1.27 - 116 mph (8500 rpm)
5 - 1.03 - 143 mph (8500 rpm)
6 - 0.85 - 173 mph (8500 rpm)

max power is reached at 8500, max torque at 4750.

ummm.... it kicks our asses all over the pavement.
grin

DavidM

Malachi, the F360 has max power at 8500, but the redline is at 8800 ... that just means that there's a bit more speed in each gear.

Pinky, I guess we're used to different cars ... every car I've ever had the pleasure of driving needed to 'bang' against the rev-limiter in order to get the most performance out of it - MX5, MR2, 300ZX, 200SX, WRX, Boxter, BoxterS, 968CS, Elise, CRX, TVR ... whatever car I can think of, needed to be reved to get the most out if it. Even non-sports cars like BMW 318, Mazda 323, HSV R8 - they all go faster as the revs rize. I totaly agree that there's very few cars that have such a strong top end as the S2000, but you still need to go to the redline in every car I can think of in order to get the most out of it. I'd be more inclined to put the S2000s performance to the reasonably light weight (1260kg), lots of power (180kW) and gear ratios that don't let the engine drop of it's power-band (160kW+ in every gear but 2nd, which drops to about 145kW at gearchange from 1st).