Preaching to the converted
02-17-2009, 05:28 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Preaching to the converted
OK I know most of you hear have enjoyed the virtues of V-Tec for some time now but here I am, a guy who always went with the saying "no replacement for displacement" stating that he has realised what he has missed out on!
I took delivery of the s2000 yesterday lunch time and had been achning to take it for a spin so this evening at 9pm with quiet roads I went out for my first real blast.
Not wanting to appear too much of a wally I kept the roof up at first and pointed the car in the direction of the local country roads. My first initial findings is I can understand why some consider the car twitchy, its certainly easy to provoke, intentionally or otherwise, the back end to step out. This is all part of the learning exercise and its not through a lack of experience of rear wheel drive as its all I've driven for most of my driving life. Its more a case of the way in which the gearing is set up the rear exiting round abouts found the back end slip, progressively, out. This is just part of the adjustment process though as the rest of the drive would show.
Already beeming from side to side I eventually made it to a quite resting point at which time I took the roof down. A nice chill in the air I followed a different route home, music playing, clear skies and open roads instantly told me this car is going to be a keeper. The last time I had such raw envigorating fun from a simple drive out was back when I started driving 14 years ago, back when I would just go out for a drive for the fun of it which is something I havent done in years but can now see myself doing it more often.
Yes its the novilty of being able to enjoy the roof being down which has added to the experience but I never thought I'd find a car so cheap that could match the raw fun of the monaro. Two totally different cars and driving styles the Ro provides its fun in a very different way. I'd scoffed for years at the idea of 4-pots, only seeing them as a poor mans motor lacking in enough power to provide fun unless coupled to a turbo. The jokes on youtube about "v-tec yo!" I now see why, the car pulls lovely but as soon as that 6k limit is hit its like the excitement from the first kiss with a new girl, every oportunity I could find I would get it to kick in.
The handlings lovely but I need to adjust to this cars style. There is a weird and sometimes disconcerting way in which the rear seems to bite and push the turning circle tighter, I am sure I read somewhere about passive rear steering but put this down to people joking about the way in which it can appear skittish to the untrained mind. Maybe it has it or maybe its just the way in which the diff locks up, it certainly isnt agricultural like the Ro.
Eventually returned home with an electric buzz, I can't belive I turned my nose up for so long to the powers of this engine. After being in Civic Type-R's I doubt I'd be as ecstatic about the drive simply due to the environment of those cars. I think its a magical combination of top down and the raw edge of the delivery it just is so rewarding.
Sorry for the ramble but just had to share it with folks that will have been through the same!
I took delivery of the s2000 yesterday lunch time and had been achning to take it for a spin so this evening at 9pm with quiet roads I went out for my first real blast.
Not wanting to appear too much of a wally I kept the roof up at first and pointed the car in the direction of the local country roads. My first initial findings is I can understand why some consider the car twitchy, its certainly easy to provoke, intentionally or otherwise, the back end to step out. This is all part of the learning exercise and its not through a lack of experience of rear wheel drive as its all I've driven for most of my driving life. Its more a case of the way in which the gearing is set up the rear exiting round abouts found the back end slip, progressively, out. This is just part of the adjustment process though as the rest of the drive would show.
Already beeming from side to side I eventually made it to a quite resting point at which time I took the roof down. A nice chill in the air I followed a different route home, music playing, clear skies and open roads instantly told me this car is going to be a keeper. The last time I had such raw envigorating fun from a simple drive out was back when I started driving 14 years ago, back when I would just go out for a drive for the fun of it which is something I havent done in years but can now see myself doing it more often.
Yes its the novilty of being able to enjoy the roof being down which has added to the experience but I never thought I'd find a car so cheap that could match the raw fun of the monaro. Two totally different cars and driving styles the Ro provides its fun in a very different way. I'd scoffed for years at the idea of 4-pots, only seeing them as a poor mans motor lacking in enough power to provide fun unless coupled to a turbo. The jokes on youtube about "v-tec yo!" I now see why, the car pulls lovely but as soon as that 6k limit is hit its like the excitement from the first kiss with a new girl, every oportunity I could find I would get it to kick in.
The handlings lovely but I need to adjust to this cars style. There is a weird and sometimes disconcerting way in which the rear seems to bite and push the turning circle tighter, I am sure I read somewhere about passive rear steering but put this down to people joking about the way in which it can appear skittish to the untrained mind. Maybe it has it or maybe its just the way in which the diff locks up, it certainly isnt agricultural like the Ro.
Eventually returned home with an electric buzz, I can't belive I turned my nose up for so long to the powers of this engine. After being in Civic Type-R's I doubt I'd be as ecstatic about the drive simply due to the environment of those cars. I think its a magical combination of top down and the raw edge of the delivery it just is so rewarding.
Sorry for the ramble but just had to share it with folks that will have been through the same!
02-17-2009, 11:19 PM
#3
Banned
the car is completely predictable at normal road speeds - unless there is something wrong with the setup
start flooring it on the exit of roundabouts etc and it will twitch at least, as will any car with that amount of power going uninterrupted through the rears
glad you are enjoying it
start flooring it on the exit of roundabouts etc and it will twitch at least, as will any car with that amount of power going uninterrupted through the rears
glad you are enjoying it
and welcome.....
02-17-2009, 11:27 PM
#5
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 8,905
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by gaddafi,Feb 18 2009, 08:19 AM
the car is completely predictable at normal road speeds - unless there is something wrong with the setup
start flooring it on the exit of roundabouts etc and it will twitch at least, as will any car with that amount of power going uninterrupted through the rears
glad you are enjoying it
start flooring it on the exit of roundabouts etc and it will twitch at least, as will any car with that amount of power going uninterrupted through the rears
glad you are enjoying it
Get your geo checked just to be sure.
02-17-2009, 11:38 PM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 1,125
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Welcome!
Nice handle, btw.
I felt exactly the same about mine and some 14 months on, I still do. This car is indeed looking like a keeper.
If only they'd put less salt on the roads though...
Nice handle, btw.
I felt exactly the same about mine and some 14 months on, I still do. This car is indeed looking like a keeper.
If only they'd put less salt on the roads though...
02-18-2009, 12:16 AM
#7
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Tyne Valley
Posts: 16,369
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I remember collecting my first S2000, being shocked at the twitchiness, harsh ride and mental engine.
Thinking "what have I bought" for the rest of the day, and finally doing the 9pm blast like you did and coming back with a massive grin on my face.
Taking time to learn the car, that's part of the fun
Welcome (and BTW it's VTEC!)
Thinking "what have I bought" for the rest of the day, and finally doing the 9pm blast like you did and coming back with a massive grin on my face.
Taking time to learn the car, that's part of the fun
Welcome (and BTW it's VTEC!)
Trending Topics
02-18-2009, 01:14 AM
#8
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: North Yorks
Posts: 10,979
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There is passive rear wheel steer, once you get used to it you notice when a car doesn't tighten it's line.
Get the geometry checked (I know you're in Swindon, and I'd recommend these guys out near Pewsey http://www.reeders.co.uk/performance...ontact-us.html, they have looked after my Exige since I bought it and have never been anything but superb, proper old-school performance car garage) and set to one of the accepted settings (I'm not an S2000 owner anymore, but someone will be able to give you the figures) and it will transform the way the car drives. The best investment you can make with a car set up by monkey Honda technicians (and they all are from new). You'll also find out of you've got siezed bushes......
Get the geometry checked (I know you're in Swindon, and I'd recommend these guys out near Pewsey http://www.reeders.co.uk/performance...ontact-us.html, they have looked after my Exige since I bought it and have never been anything but superb, proper old-school performance car garage) and set to one of the accepted settings (I'm not an S2000 owner anymore, but someone will be able to give you the figures) and it will transform the way the car drives. The best investment you can make with a car set up by monkey Honda technicians (and they all are from new). You'll also find out of you've got siezed bushes......
02-18-2009, 01:26 AM
#9
Liked the 'first kiss with a girl line'. I wonder what Herr Doktor Freud would make of it!
VTEC is the most addictive thing I've tried; I call it the devil's camshafts.
If you go at a constant pace round a large roundabout and vary the throttle slightly on/off power, the line will change so you don't need to steer with the cumbersome wheel thing. That's the passive 4WS working and it's damned useful if you use it properly.
You will find some chassis crossbraces allow one to detect the breakaway point of both ends much easier, which makes the car very predictable and a lot more fun. There's a recent thread on the subject...
VTEC is the most addictive thing I've tried; I call it the devil's camshafts.
If you go at a constant pace round a large roundabout and vary the throttle slightly on/off power, the line will change so you don't need to steer with the cumbersome wheel thing. That's the passive 4WS working and it's damned useful if you use it properly.
You will find some chassis crossbraces allow one to detect the breakaway point of both ends much easier, which makes the car very predictable and a lot more fun. There's a recent thread on the subject...
