Jason,

When you advise us to take a driver's course, are you talking about a $2-3000 High Performance Driving course at a race track? Do the classes offered through the regional SCCA chapters cover this kind of thing? Are there other options?

Thanks!

 

Malachi is right on. Did you hit VTEC during the turn? This would definitely send you around, but the car is very responsive to throttle input, no matter what.

Jason's comment is the smartest of all. Track time and training. There is no substitute. (*"There is no substitute" is a registered trademark of Porsche Cars of North America.)

 

Tanqueray,

You don't necessarily have to go to one of those expensive schools to get comfortable with your car's handling. There are many options... many times at road-courses there are 'driver's eduction events' where you use your own car. These are usually $200-300... It's much better to use your own car to learn how it feels, giving you better confidence on the road. Another option is simply to autocross your car. Most of the regions hold a driver's school at the beginning of each autocross season. Ours has passed, as have some on the east coast. But these are usually cheap ($50-$75) and still allow you a 'peek' into the handling of your car at the limit. It will take the surprise out of things when they happen on the street.

 

Have you considered Pampers?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vmb
[B]Am I remembering correctly that new asphalt has a lot of oils that seep to the surface for a while?

 

I've nearly done this in a left turn. It's actually a 90 degree left from an off-ramp. I take this every day and was really surprised when I started to lose it. No where near VTEC and driving what I thought was smooth. In my case, the off-camber is pretty significant and now I can pretty much feel where the back really lightens up. It has made me appreciate how finely tuned this car is.

 

I remember when the Viper came out and people were spinning them left and right. The next year they were spinning them too..and the next year and the next...Viper suspension leaves alot to be desired.


Anyway,
To spin the S2000, you really have to do something rude. Remember "you have to be smooth to be fast".

 

You can put me in the "been there...done that" category. Just last night, in fact. It was scary when it occurred, and even more so because I'm not positive what I did. I was able to keep it on the road - double lane entrance ramp to the expressway - so there was no damage (except to my pride).

 

If the back end "suddenly" came around, there are really two likely causes. One is the torque spike that occurs at the VTEC transition. The other is a change in the traction conditions on the road. For example, painted stripes tend to be slipperier than tarmac, whether wet or dry.

If you were near the limits of adhesion and crossed the crosswalk line that would be enough to push you over the limit. Otherwise, there may have been a bad patch of pavement.

If pavement has a consistent surface, the rear end will never jump out on its own unless the driver does something silly or isn't ready for the VTEC spike. I find that on typical city streets (I live in the LA area as well) if you hold the power on through a typical left hander the rear will begin to progressively break away just past the apex as the power comes up. To avoid that, you just ease out fo the throttle slightly (IOW, reading the car and being proactive with your inputs) until you begin to unwind the wheel. Alternatively, you can just counter steer, but that puts you at greater risk and we are talking about the city streets here. Pitching the back end is an invitation to a major ticket.

UL

 

My major problem with this kind of thing is the fact that the torque is almost non-existant. Simply put, you can't break anything lose at a minimal input, it's either all or nothing. I've had the car in drift, 2 and 4 wheel, but never lost it. Maybe I'm lucky (cause I drive near the limit always), or maybe I just give the car a lot of respect so to speak, it'll slap you if you lose your concentration for an instant. Also, this cars inertial flow is biased to the rear for sure, once it's comin' around...look out.

Andrew