Hey Tom, we still have three weeks to go. It's too soon to charge the batteries.

Do you have 2 way radios?

 

Hiya Rob,

Oooops, you're right. Guess I'll have to make sure they hit the charger the day before we leave.

No 2 way radios here yet, I might just pick up a set before we leave though.

 

Its never too early to get those batteries going . Tom -- If you'll help me to remember, we have an extra radio here and I'll try to remember to bring it along (sandwiched between my hairdryer and makeup case)

 

^Thanks valentine. I think granny was bringing an extra, but we might pick up a pair so we can both listen in.

I'm thinking they might also be worth trying as an in-car intercom sort of thing for when we're motoring along with the top down; I'm hard of hearing and it can be difficult for me and Hilly to carry on a conversation. With the ear bud/microphone attachment it could make for a servicable solution. I'd hate to invest in something like a dedicated intercom and also have the radios, when just the radios might work.

I'll let you and granny know whether or not we get the radios.

 

Sounds great, Tom -- Jim navigates and does the radio and I do the driving -- works for us. We have a pair so he can sometimes take out his corvette and I take the S and we go play in traffic and chit-chat with each other. A pair of those radios is great when you have to travel in separate cars -- we've used ours a lot. If I'm not mistaken we got them in a two-pack at Best Buy a year or so ago -- and with a rebate they were very inexpensive.

 

Okay guys, (& Josey), I've tried to find out on my own but I'm not sure I get it so would someone be so kind to explain "oversteer" to me. Don't think I've ever had a chance to use it (as in a spin, right?) but that may end in a few weeks so I'm just trying to get the concept in my head at least.

And TC, did I see where you are ready to go 3 weeks early? Poor baby, this thing had better hurry up, for your sake. I'm still bringing both of my radios just in case.

 

OK, Granny, Lesson #2: Oversteer is where the car's rear end wants to swing out when you're going around a corner, which often results in the car going sideways or spinning. Probably since you're fairly new to this, you won't be driving the S2000 aggressively enough to make it do that, since the S2000 is a pretty well balanced car. I'm guessing you don't have a big front bar or adjustable shocks, so yours is probably a little less balanced than the guys that do this all the time and have made those modifications to their car. What they're trying to do with the modifications is to make the rear end a little stickier so it doesn't want to come out. What you'll be doing is taking the curves slowly enough at first so that you become familiar with them and where you need to position yourself coming into the curve and going out of the curve so that you can increase your speed each time. The nice thing about road courses is that they're usually marked with red and white slashes on the "curb" and that's the area you need to be aiming for when you're going around a curve or getting ready to go into one. At some point in your driving career, you'll feel the car starting to get a little "jiggly" (hopefully -- at that point you'll know you're really enjoying the drive). Don't hit your brakes to slow down, just let up a little on the gas and let the car stabilize. Next time you go around that curve, you'll remember where your limits are (if you can remember where the curve is in the course......it took me a while to learn a road course - I don't do it very often).

The other side of the coin is understeer, and that's when you're steering the car hard one way and it's still traveling the other way. That's when you want to loosen up the rear end.

In any rate, get somebody to help you get your tire pressures adjusted correctly for a totally stock early-model S2000 so that you have the most neutral ride you can get.

 

^ Okay, Miss Josey, thanks and I'll try to absorb what you said. I guess I should be more concerned about what to do "if" the back end does go out. That's when I thought the "steering" part came into play. Do you try to turn the wheel one way or the other or just close your eyes and scream? (j/k sorta) Serioulsy though, do you have time to think or does it become instinct once you've done it enough.

Matt had a saying which stuck for some reason that went, "when in doubt; both feet out: in a spin; both feet in." I'm trying to see how that relates. However, I'm sure you're right, he's probably not going to let me go fast enough to find out (hope he doesn't read this). I have been keeping up with the guys posting about setting the car before going into the curve and when to put on the gas and I do practice on the off/on ramps when it's safe. Every now and then the rear end will waggle a bit but not enough to lose it. I guess I had it in my head that oversteer was when your car was going one way and you tried to steer it another to straighten it up. Gee, soo much to learn, so little time. Next thing you know, I will be enrolled in a driving school somewhere. (sigh)

 

Oversteer and understeer are balance issues with the car - neither is particularly desirable, and one prefers to be right in between. Pretty much you'll handle the car starting to go out on you about the same as you would if you hit a wet or icy spot and the car broke loose - you steer in the direction the tires are headed in attempt to gain control, and when you feel you've gained control again, you straighten up and continue forward (or whatever direction you're supposed to be going). Now if the car spins, you probably (at least at this point) aren't going to gain much control while it's spinning. Mostly, too, spinning is just doing a 180 or a 360 and it doesn't keep spinning like a top - usually it will stop on its own. You might try to get the car in neutral or depress the clutch so if the car ends up rolling backwards, you aren't hurting the transmission before the car dies on you (which it will many times), though I've heard that when the S2000 starts to slide or spin in regular driving, not depressing the clutch will correct it more quickly, but again, I worry about my transmission. At any rate, just let the car stop, re-start it if necessary, look out for other cars around you, and take off again. I really don't see you having a big problem with spinning out on the course in your first attempt at racing. The main thing is to use fluid, smooth movements in driving, both with hands and feet, as jerky motions will throw the balance of the car off, and that's your biggest concern. If the car remains balanced, I don't think you'll have a lot of problems with spins. It gets more and more natural the more you race, and it may even be an instinctive reaction. I'm not sure what Matt meant with his ditty, but he may be left foot braking and right foot accelerating to control spins and slides -- you don't even need to worry about that at this point

 

Gives me greater appreciation for the racecar drivers and our own motorheads, even if I'm only beginning to understand what's involved. I'll keep absorbing. Now for some fun (not that that wasn't but it takes brain power to absorbs concepts), how do they make the cars deliberately spin in a circle as in a victory spin after winning a race? That looks so cool, but hard on the tires. Is that the one foot on brake; one foot on gas thing you're talking about? I'd like to try that one day.