How would a stock 01 L do against a stock 02 S2000? It appears the performance numbers are about the same. The S2000 is only 240HP but it is so light it appears it would give the L a run.

Have any of you run against one?

 

You should show him tail lights in any type of straight race. But if there is any turns say goodbye to him. Those S2000's are like friggin go-karts. I watched them at an auto-x event, needless to say I want 1. Theres something to be said about a car that get sideways and still not touch a cone!

 

Thanks. That is what I was thinking. The numbers seem to say they pull about the same g's and same slalom speed but I can't imagine staying with one in the corners.

My friend just bought one and jokes about racing me. He said I may beat him off the line but he would take me in a 1/4. I didn't think this made sense but I knew I had to stay away from corners.

 

Same thing's often said about the Syclone: It'll get an L off the line, but the L will beat it in the 1/4.

In other words, he thinks the L will run out of steam, and his S2K will pick up steam once he gets the engine up to 30K RPM.

 

I think his friend is mistaken:

http://carpoint.msn.com/Vip/Heraud/H...2000/2002S.asp

He'll pick up steam, but there's just not enough steam to be had....

 

S2000's can squeek out low 14's in the 1/4 mile if the driver has a perfect launch and perfect shifts. This is MUCH harder in an S2000 than most cars as it has very low torque. The magazines had to dump the clutch around 7,200 rpm and hope for just the right amount of spin. Too high, they just spun, too low, they dogged and were getting mid 15's. Great cars, but FAR from a 1/4 mile racer. If you've driven one, you know the serious lack of torque below 6,000 rpm.

 

All very true. S2K's are not 1/4 cars. A lot like the NSX. It's very hard to get low 14's in an S2k. Takes a lot of runs and a lot of notes on where to dump and shift.

Ben, sweet pic in your sig. e-mail that to me if you don't mind. It would make for some sweet wall paper. robbie.owens@sw.boeing.com
Thanks!

 

There are a few of them at my local track, the best I have ever seen on do is mid 14's Most of the time they run 15.0's

 

Chipper you have mail....

 

I agree. I don't think he has enough to take an L in the 1/4. I don't think he realizes how the S2000 only runs when you get the RPMs up. He is not a racer and thinks he has a hot car.

He also says he will leave me for dead if there are any turns. I know he should out perform me on the turns but someone that has never raced should be a little less ****y. He may have a great handling car but if you don't know how to approach the turns you may just find yourself getting beat by a pickup.

It will be interesting if we ever do meet up.

 

no offense to your friend, but even though I've never driven an S2000 I can probably drive it faster then him.

But everyone is right, it's not a 1/4 car. No torque means perfect launces, hard to do on a light car, the tires will just spin (kinda llike us). I've read an article where they put a Paxton Novi on an s2000, almost a 100hp extra, and the best 1/4 they got was 13.96. Pathetic for that kinda of power. But once the car was rolling with that xtra power, they said it was a killer.

 

I just emailed my buddy with an '02 S2000, he sent me this link:

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthrea...threadid=47003

 

While I admit the S2000 is definitely set up nicely for corner carving, don't discount your Lightnings as sloppy delivery vans either. You'd be surprised what your trucks are capable of.

Case in point, I organized a local meet and drive out last month with a bunch of car friends (mostly folks I met in the BMW community). There were about 10 BMW's (majority M3's), an Audi S4, and other cars, including a yellow S2000. Well I had to lead the way since I was the only one with a radar detector - even though I had never been on those roads before. We hit a nice stretch of twisties, with several M3's and the S2000 right behind me. None of them could keep up! I was on the brakes a lot more than any of them, but they still had trouble keeping me within sight! On the way back, we were more familiar with the same stretch of road, so we went a little faster. The cars behind me were in a different order from before, but they still struggled to hang with the L. I expected to be slowing down these thoroughbred performance cars, but I was surprised that the L could roll with the best of them. BTW, this road had new and old pavement, off-camber curves, 15 mph turns, and NO SHOULDERS! The key here was dry pavement. Add rain or wet leaves and it would have been a different story for sure. Loads of fun, and I will try and get video next time.

Drive your L's hard.... they can take almost anything you can throw at them.

In an autocross situation, no doubt I'd be the one playing catch up. But even then, the S2000 wouldn't be my first choice (maybe a Gen 3 RX-7 or Porsche 968).

 

Driving fast on the highway is totally different than driving a road course. You may have had a higher comfort level than them, which may bite you someday on the highway.

With that said, see S2000 Laguna Seca post with times and Laguna Seca Times (event times). For comparison, I ran between 1:52 to the high 1:50's. Some of these guys run consistant high 1:40's to low 1:50's.

Spike

 

On the street a lot will depend on the driver. I have also driven my L hard on some twisty roads and I couldn't believe how well it handled. I had a 99 Cobra before the L and I swear it handles just as well.

I know with 2 good drives the S2000 should beat the L on the corners but if the guy gets a new one and has never driven a car hard or raced then he may be eating his words if he thinks he can blow an L off in the corners.