suspension upgrade

[absoluthonda]

well hi. I'm a recent owner of my very own S2000(2002,sebring silver), but i have been accustomed to the front wheel drive of my previous automobiles, an integra type r and a civic SI. (goin up the honda ladder, hope to eventually capture my own nsx). My friend drives a mr2 spyder which handles wonderful, he lets me drive from time to time. We often take our cars to the morosso speedway, and he would always pull away from my integra on the curves. Well the point i'm trying to make is that i dont want this to happen with my new baby (Sebring S2000). I am practicing my driving constantly, but it would be of great help if any of you guys could give some tips regarding this or possibly even a suspension upgrade? Would that be necesary at all? if so your recomendations or advice would be quite helpful.

[WestSideBilly]

The MR2, with an equal driver, will be comparable to the S2000 in the turns. You'll probably find that you can't drive the car at 10/10s, so a suspension upgrade wouldn't help that much right away. And don't forget, you've got 100 hp on him in the straights, so make it count!

If you do want to change the suspension anyway, it's tough to beat the Mugen N-zero setup.

[Bieg]

Take the money you would have spent on a suspension upgrade and take a good performance driving course that emphasizes rear wheel drive handling. Then you will be faster in any car you drive.

[absoluthonda]

Bieg, as for the performance driving school. Could you recommend any, i live in south florida, Miami to be exact, but i wouldn't mind a vacation elsewhere if it would really makle a diference.

[photodavo]

I'll second that - I'm in the Dallas, TX area and went to my first autocross event as a spectator this past weekend. I got a ride and I think I'm hooked! I'm not really interested in doing any serious mods on my S2K but I would like to learn more about basic driving skills as I have do not have any experience in road racing. Sure was fun though!!!

[Bieg]

I don't know what schools are around the Florida Area as I am in NY. I did Skip Barber in Lime Rock Conn. I know Skip Barber has schools all over the place so maybe one is near you. Jim Russel is good and then there is Panoz down south somewhere. Maybe some other folks could jump in here and help.

If you are not familiar with rear drive cars I truly believe it is a MUST to get some training under your belt before driving the S2000 near its capabilities. This car is NOT for the novice. It is what makes it such a rare sports car find but it HAS bitten those who are not experienced rear wheel drivers. That is because not only is the S2000 a rear driver but it is a rear driver that has a built in penchant for oversteer where almost every other car sold in North America has built in understeer. A pro driver likes this but it tends to punish those not aware of its ramifications.

The S2000 demands smooth inputs and transitions. You need to smoothly accelerate through the corners so you achieve the correct ballance of weight transfer and traction. Transitioning from braking for the corner and accelerating through the corner is critical. So many inexperienced drivers throw it away by using abrupt inputs.

[fsures]

Check out the Homestead track. They should have a web site and that should lead you to a driving school.

[photodavo]

Does anyone have any experience with the Evolution Performance Driving courses. They have them all across the country and are relatively cheap. That also scares me because I truly believe the "you get what you paid for" theory more than tends to be the truth.