s2000

...why is there no one looking at these for drifting? and there a video on kazaa where the "driftking" i believe says the s2000 is like a AE86 with 1mill. yen in it so I'm sure they would be awesome, yet everyone is moving into 240s and rx7s... don't get me wrong but i am a hugh fan of 240sx's and my favorite FC but if i had the chance to get a new car i would rather get a nice newish S2000 than a 14 year old car to to fix up to drift...am i wrong? then again i have a 240sx..but thats cuz i'm broke :dunno::2cents:

The S2K is not generally used for drifting (but hell, you can just about drift evrything) and it's used more for General racing... Personally I hate all Honda's except for the Honda Integra Type R but maybe you can be a pioneer and be one of the first to drift an S2000 when you can afford it!

Don't forget about your 240sx though! They make wonderful first time drift cars!!!

I have a video with an S2000 doing some drifting. The drifting that the S does just isnt close to the rest of the drifting in the video. Isnt the S2K alot narrower than the AE86?

I like them. I want a little sedan based off the S2000 chassis/motor. That would kick ass. Nothing wrong with honda's build quality.

I like them. I want a little sedan based off the S2000 chassis/motor. That would kick ass. Nothing wrong with honda's build quality.


I see Honda's quality go down as they have gotten more popular... just not the same...

The S2000 is a step foward, however... if they keep this up they may win my respect again...

Yeah, I saw the DRIFT-KING drift an S2000 in Best-Motoring (I think)...

the S2000 is plenty good for drifting besides the fact that they only make convertables which makes the chasis less rigid, which is kind of a bad thing in drifting, also they are expensive so most of us people can't afford to drift them... as to why no D1 people or anyone like that drifts them I do not know, my guess is because its a convert. very nice cars though

...why is there no one looking at these for drifting? and there a video on kazaa where the "driftking" i believe says the s2000 is like a AE86 with 1mill. yen in it so I'm sure they would be awesome, yet everyone is moving into 240s and rx7s... don't get me wrong but i am a hugh fan of 240sx's and my favorite FC but if i had the chance to get a new car i would rather get a nice newish S2000 than a 14 year old car to to fix up to drift...am i wrong? then again i have a 240sx..but thats cuz i'm broke

im sure the reason why no one drifts s2000 is because of costs. think of the insurance costs if you crash it. all usdm 240s and rx7s are past the point where they need full coverage insurance, whereeas s2gs do not.

not to mention that s2000 is like 33gs new, which, even though the s2 is a good car, its way too expensive for what you get. for that kind of money, i could get an sti or something.

yea but that doesn't explain why no one in D1 or anything doesn't drift them, cost is nothing to some of those rich guys, I'm thinking that it has to be because its a convertable, or maybe it had a bad weight ratio? don't know what it is, but someone could look it up :)

the issue with the s2k, which i don't think anyone has touched on, is the extremely low tq rating for the hp that motors got.

the rx7 doesn't have tons of tq, but it's got more than the s2k.

i don't think it'd be difficult to drift an s2k, let alone a turbo/supercharged one...

i'm pretty sure that there aren't any in D1 b/c they don't allow convertibles.

it wouldn't be difficult to stiffen the car with a cage, just like any other car.

They do make hardtops you know, from the factory and aftermarket carbon fiber ones...

yeah, the make a hardtop for it, but the car is still a convertible.

putting a cage in the vert car is better/safer/stiffer than a hardtop.

*shrug* we may never know

the S2000 is plenty good for drifting besides the fact that they only make convertables which makes the chasis less rigid, which is kind of a bad thing in drifting, also they are expensive so most of us people can't afford to drift them... as to why no D1 people or anyone like that drifts them I do not know, my guess is because its a convert. very nice cars though

That's why, convertibles can't drift. The reason is because the body isn't made for twisting or cornering too fast. The top part of the car basically makes the car more stable, it's part of the overall construction. You can't just cut the top part off and make it a convertible, if you do, whenever you turn your body will start to bend and twist, pretty much fucking the frame up. So convertibles make the body more solid, they put in more metal and a more solid frame in the body, this is the reason why convertibles weigh about 350-450 lbs more. So if an S2000 drifts a lot, the body will eventually twist and screw up the whole chassis. It's not made for heavy cornering and drifting. If they made a non-convertible, it would probably be the ideal drifting. Extremely high revving (redline at 9k), near perfect 50/50 weight distribution, and it will weigh around 2500. But, because it's a convertible, it will just twist the body up.

Read this and you'll understand more: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/convertible.htm

But what if you add the aftermarket hardtop? Is there more that goes into it other than just adding the hardtop? or would that fix the chassis twisting problem?

no.... you will need a roll bar...

taken from howstuffworks convertible section:

"Designing a convertible car is not as simple as just cutting off the roof and installing a folding cloth top. There are other issues to consider.
Structure
The roof of a conventional car is essential to the stiffness of the chassis. The roof helps keep the car from twisting and bending. Building a car without a roof is a bit like building a suspension bridge without the cables. As such, the bottom part of the structure of a convertible has to be stiffened considerably. Heavy reinforcing brackets have to be added to the body of the car. This is why convertibles often weigh more than their fixed-roof counterparts.


If you were to cut the roof off of your car, you'd find that the body would twist a lot, especially if you were to do something like, say, drive diagonally over speed bumps. Eventually, the car would develop all sorts of squeaks and rattles and exhibit some poor handling characteristics. It's important for convertibles to have an especially sound structure to make up for the lack of a roof."

yeah.... my Z feels kinda weird... it's probably the T-Tops! I would love to get a 4 point (at least) Roll Cage in it to combat the twisties... my new strut-bars didn't help all that much! I'm still working on the suspension still...

did you just say that a convertible isn't made to handle well?
the s2k was specifically designed for handling, and is one of the best handling cars on the road.

the reason the s2k doesn't drift is most likely the power delivery issue.

there are countless topless cars that can, and do, outhandle cars with roofs on them.

saying that a convertible can't handle b/c it's got no top is ignorant.

turning a coupe into a convertible, yes, this could be an issue.

building a car, such as the s2k, as a convertible from the start, you'll have different parameters, and you can build a great handling car. which it is.

same for the miata. not hard to make either car handle on rails, far better than some other roofed cars.

no one said it can't handle.... just not as rigid!

Actually, when you're speaking accurately, the rigidity issue is purely comparative between a convertible and its hardtop companion. Yes, convertible Sebrings and 300ZX's exhibit chassis flex a lot more than their roof bearing companions, and as such roll bars and chassis braces are added to the chassis to compensate. This adds weight and generally makes convertibles heavier than their hardtop versions.

However, when you're talking about roadsters - cars designed from the get go without a roof - you can throw this theory right out the window. Because the engineers aren't relying on the roof as the primary stiffening agent, they shape the subframes and unibody differently. In fact, true roadsters have very rigid chassis and exhibit very little flex. Not every chassis is designed the same, and roadster chassis are designed very differently from coupe chassis.

Speaking as someone who has been involved with chassis design (short track tube frame race cars) I can say for certain that the assumption that an open top car's chassis flexes is incorrect.

flyswsi we said for the reasons they can't drift, not handle. My sister has an S2000, and it is definetly a great handler. But it's not made for driving sideways, the chassis over-time will probably twist and break if you drift it a lot

very-true! Well-spoken!

also I don't think power delivery is a problem for an S2000, sure it doesn't have much torque, but look at silvia's with SR20DET engines. Silvias have about 160 lbs of torque, same as the S2k, and have 210 hp stock. S2k has 245 hp, and both are high revvers. Silvia redlines at 8k I believe while the S2000 has 9k. It's more of a chassis issue for the S2000, not power delivery. I'd seen people drift well in a 240sx with a SOHC KA24 engine bone stock, so don't tell me the s2000 has a power delivery issue.

Its not that simple Public Enemy, it has alot to do with the torque band, high revving NA engines arent very good for drift, the Silvia has that high redline because its turbo...

Actually I just read that the S2000 is pretty rigid in design due to a "spine" built into the bottom of the chassis... So I guess it's ok to drift... hell, I've seen it a couple times anyhow... but I guess that does not explain why we do not see them drift mainstream like other cars!

yea i know, S2000's torque band is extremely high, at 6000. Although the Japanese S2200's torque band is at 3000, but they don't drift em there. The new S2000 coming to the state's has a lower torque band at 3000 so it's more useful, although I still don't see them drift often. I have seen them drift but very very rarely, and it's only like one curve, not a whole track.

They may have a spine built, but do you think it makes it rigid enough to drive sideways and twist around???

you guys make no sense.

handling has EVERYTHING TO DO WITH DRIFTING...

how can that not come up?

the s2k has no problem in handling, and drifting, and wouldn't break. that's the least logical thing i've heard in a long time.

there ARE videos of the s2k drifting.

why not ask mooboy on samuraifiles.com about drifting, b/c he drifts his s2k.
so ask him how hard it is...

Though I don't have the numbers in front of me, I would be VERY surprised if the chassis of an S2000 is less rigid and had more flex than a hardtop Nissan S13 stock. Though chassis rigidity is a good thing, there are a lot of cars that are good handling that have a lot of chassis flex (BMW E36 M3 comes to mind). A good quick way to compare chassis flex is to find the point on the side of the car where the weight jacks up both the front and the rear wheels at the same time. With the car on the ground, measure the distance from the jacking point to the ground, a solid chassis point near the front wheel to the ground, and a solid chassis point near the rear wheel to the ground. Jack up the car. Measure the same points again. Compare the first measurements and the second, and figure there is no chassis flex at the jacking point measurement. You'll be amazed at how far the numbers are off in most cars. The S2000 is among the stiffer cars out there, and though I haven't done the measurements, I have jacked one up while looking for chassis flex, and there is less flex than most cars.

Also, a 4-point bolt in roll bar will only have a minimal reduction in chassis flex. Welding the 4-pt roll bar in will help some, and a properly designed welded 6-pt cage will significantly reduce chassis flex.

^ why aren't they popular drifters then?

Like siad before, they are far to expensive to be drift cars. It has been done, but a S2000 in Canada sells for 45k. Now that is alot for the average person to afford, especialy when you are beating the car.

hmm, too expensive, when people are paying $90 for skylines and a lot more for twin turbo supras. Not to mention S15's that cost just as much, or conversions

a used tt supra is about 25k for a nice car.
what's the MOST COMMON DRIFT CAR?
ae86 or 240sx.
why?
price.
how much would it cost to build one? under 10k if you're good, under 20k if you're spending more than the average joe.

just to buy a stock s2k, you're forkin out 30+.
then 1k in suspension. then 1k for I/E, 1k for header...

hmm...
that's 4k on top of the car, for stuff that wouldn't cost much on an 240, especially if you swap an sr20.
it's a price issue.

top end drifters in japan aren't worried about cars like the s2k, simply b/c there are turbo'd cars out there that make big power and drift easily...
silvia/180sx/240sx/supras/skylines
that's why the s2k doesn't drift as much, or people don't build from it...
you've got to spend 8k just to get it reliably turbo'd, and into the region that these other cars are making (hp-wise) with BPU upgrades...

handling is a plus in the s2k, and it's awesome, but it's not the only issue...

it's price.

also:
what's the cost of a used 240sx, or a converted car?
or your supra?
the skyline is a common drift car? in the states? right.
ya know what a used skyline can be had for in japan?
dirt.
literally. so it's not uncommon to see them over there, and honestly, the ones that do drift there are the exception, not the rule...

yeah I guess you're right. Maybe when S2ks get cheaper we'll see em drift in the future. Though I still think the main reason that convertible's don't drift is that they are not rigid and solid enough for drifting.

as far as convertibles not being "rigid and solid enough to drift" i think thats a bunch of BS....sure it might not be goods as a hardtop but i have seen plenty of convertibles drift..some have done some of the best drifts i have ever seen

they can drift and drift well, but I think if you drift it too long the chassis will twist and your 32k investment will go down the hole.

again, you need to read.
a drift car is setup in the same way a track car is.
with a cage.
the s2k was DESIGNED as a vert, and designed to take these twisting forces from track/hard driving.

again, the car was built for this stuff.
it's a price issue more than anything else.

putting a cage in the car will more than give it the necessary rigidity. there are guys in california that are taking these cars to track days and stomping vipers/vettes, so that's obviously not an issue...