I presently have a Mondeo Mk4 as a daily driver, and a Foucs RS mk1 as a bit of a toy/project. Work pay for my fuel, generally speaking, so I don't really care about the fuel economy side of things. What does concern me, though is the following; A: I'm reasonably tall (six six), and reasonably broad shouldered. I've seen people mention six five and driving them is fine, but still. I guess I need to get.. Try and get in one first. There seems to be some consistency in people saying they can drop the seat a couple of inches with stock seats and a few more with after market seats, is this true or complete guff? B: There seems to be a divide over what people think as to the daily driver aspect. I've never driven a RWD car for long, and I've heard that these can be a bit.. Twitchy. However, some people say that's usually down to shagged suspension mounts, bad geometry, bad alignment, or shoddy tyres. However, my experience is mostly centred around the blue oval - Honda are a far cry from what I know! Does anyone have experience in that area they're willing to share?
I can't comment on what they are like as a daily driver as I've never owned one but I can comment on RWD as a whole. RWD friggin rocks! In my experience RWD tends to make a car want to oversteer out of corners when you give it a foot full which is where the fun comes from. My BMW oversteered everywhere but thats more down to the car than it just being RWD. You haven't had fun until you've entered a 90 degree right hand corner going a bit too fast and exited the corner on full left hand lock looking out of the passenger window at where you want to be going! I honestly wouldn't worry about it being twitchy as long as it's mechanically sound. Learn to drive it and just enjoy it. It really is a totally different experience to anything FWD. When I went from my BMW E30 to my Focust ST I lamented the change from rear wheen drive to front wheel drive. I still miss it even if the ST is the better car.
I was speaking to a fellow Beat owner about how he got rid of his because it was just too powerful (but given it's only 200bhp skewed very much towards the high rev range I can't imagine that's going to be too much of an issue). It's a Honda, so it's probably not going to be that bad to live with. I imagine you should fit quite well too, but getting in and out is going to be a pain. Re: RWD, my E46 has a bit of a shagged-out driveline which means it clunks a fair bit if you're aggressive with the clutch (I can see this being a problem on any old RWD car). Apart from that it's a dream, although that might just be the traction control.
Yeah, I'd been reading that the power really is in the top end of the rev range, and you need to screw the nuts off them to get the 'best' experience. However, interesting thoughts about RWD. It'd be my first excursion into RWD properly. And hey getting in and out of my Mondy (And RS..) is a pain. I've not encountered a car that's been a pleasure to get in and out of yet.
My 2c (using a RWD somewhat sporty 2 seater as a Daily Drive): The S2000s apparently vary in terms of interior space between generations. I've never been in one, but some of my tall mates (6'4" and up) say it's small in terms of headroom and leg space. It being Naturally aspirated, you can rest assured that the power is at the top. Those Honda engines rev freely and happily. The RWD is going to be a bit of a learning curve. Not a BAD journey, but one of learning. RWD corners differently (the big diff being what happens when you accelerate in corners), RWD takes speed bumps differently, and generally stands for "Right Wheel Drive". I'd say try to test drive one for size. If you like it, do it!
These cars have a seat basically on the floor and a small opening to get in and out so there is a knack to it, it will be quite different to a mondeo, I was looking to get one myself to learn RWD dynamics but ended up with a cheaper MX5 which has similar entry exit issues, once in everything is fine. As to your size I cannot comment as I am only 5 11 but I am a 22 stone beast so it looks like the car is giving birth when I get in an out , but am quite comfy once in, some of my taller friends have had no issue on the 5 which I think is quite similar to the s2000 from memory. S2000 is quick, great engine but everything happens at quite high speeds which for me as a newb felt a bit much, things happened slower and felt I had more chance to control in the Mx5.
When these were new, (so new, in fact, they weren't sold yet) I know many of the Honda (Germany) execs drove these. Close to (then) Honda Headquarters, there's a roundabout in the woods. In the wet, more than one went into the woods backwards That said, these didn't have ESP, I believe it was introduced 2006ish, this was 2000 Also the first ones were prone to a rattle. Came from the errr, dampner springs in the clutchplate having a little bit of play. (no wear, they were designed this way) Didn't do any harm as it was a normal technical sound, but some of the initial customers complained about it and I believe the design was changed. Edit: I read up a bit, 2006 models should have ESP (VSA in Honda terms), and the cluthplate was changed from modelyear 2001 onward. I for one drove two RHD-cars in my life, a Sierra, and a Mercedes C-class Station*. The Sierra as a test-drive, the Mercedes as a 2-week loaner. Both in winter, both wouldn't go straigt ahead. The Sierra would simply spin around without warning, the Mercedes had the ESP-system in overdrive everytime I went uphill. For me, a car that essentially cannot drive normally in the cold and wet is not uasable all year. *the station was notoriously light on the rear axle, so no traction.
I've been driving a Merc C class coupe (CL203) a year now for daily 60 miles commute. Zero downside to RWD I can think of. It drives beautifully and doesn't feel twitchy at all, if anything, much smoother than the FWD Volvo's I've had, especially when accelerating hard. ESP works well when the few occasions that was needed, mostly when trying to accelerate quickly from stop when road was wet. Never had any problems going around corners. I can't comment on S2000, but why not replace the Focus? A bigger car with boot space is always useful.
Sorry, no choice, has to be done! Replace the words "Do you think this would fit on my Honda?" With "Do you think I will fit in a Honda?"
This was my first RWD experience and I ended up spinning out into someones house that was 20years ago, drove FWD/4WD ever since, well until this year where I have decided to banish my RWD demons. Probably why I was nervous of S2000, especially considering its rep. I have of course driven plenty of other RWD cars as loaners etc in a well considered manner and light on the gas, with this Mx5 I intend to compete in clubsports so will be driven in very much in anger.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "You'll have to pry that out of my cold, dead, fingers" The Focus was my first car (Not the RS, I hasten to add!), and I really really like the chassis. I don't want to get rid of her Unicorn: Yeah.. That's pretty much what I thought while looking at cockpit pictures! Xir: Interesting, but I don't know the weather up in that part of Germany so.. Any context? did they have a shitty time in the winter because it's snowy/icy or something?
So you're an MCM viewer as well? If that's the case, I can't help but think that Moog had something to do with this!
MCM is great, as is the Roadkill series. I'm just annoyed that they never featured the AZ1/Beat/Cappo in their Kei to the City special.
We have hills, snow and ice, also rain, sleet and what have you not. Ore_Mountains Not really bad though, if I'd really live in the mountains, I'd have a Subaru or something. The thing is, in the same conditions where I didn't even notice anything in my FWD cars, the Merc's ESP went wild. (and yes, we have proper winter tyres over here*) Driving straight ahead on the autobahn (doing a leasurely 130 Km/h) on cruise control, every hill up the crate would start to shake it's tail. *I'm waiting for the Finn's to show up saying" If it doesn't have spikes, it's not a winter tyre"
I have owned an AP2 Honda S2000 for the last 2 years and I can probably answer your questions. You will find the car uncomfortable, I'm 5-10 and the seat only has an inch or so extra movement rearwards when I'm in aggressive driving mode, when cruising I pretty much have it all the way back. There is no vertical adjustment with the stock seats, unless I've failed to find a lever for it. I get a bad back if I'm in the car too long. RWD is the reason to own this car, it drives fantastically in the dry. In the wet its a bit of a handful and care must be taken. You can't drive like a dick if the roads are damp. I used the car in the snow we had a couple of winters ago and it was fine with care. If you want to chat more pm me.
Yeah, the vertical adjustment seems to be with aftermarket rails/modified rails and/or seats. I suspect I'd need to budget to do that work the instant I got it, if I got an S2k though. I've heard a lot of the discomfort for taller people comes in the leg length more than anything, do you have an opinion on that? Xir: Ahh, I'm not familiar with that area - If I'm in Germany I'm probably down near Munich!
Get yourself in one to see if you can be comfy. It's not just about height, but you probably got big feet too (no offence). Not much fun if you can't press the gas or clutch without hitting the brake too... As for RWD, I've driven little else for near 15 years. In that time i've had Merc c class, MX 5, RX 7 (FD), MG TF, and less obvious rwd like the hiace people carrier, mitsi pajero, and a Nissan Elgrand. S2k won't be twitchy till you get to the edge of performance and really, you shouldn't manage to in the dry. In the wet, make sure the tyres are good and avoid sudden changes to throttle, brakes or direction. As for the rwd/fwd side of things just take care and remember how it works: Back is pushing and if there is a path of resistance less than that of the direction you want it will likely take it - i.e. oversteer. Most likely if you break traction. On a skid pan, think about reversing a trailer at speed and that's how often it will just pursue a direction you didn't choose Your fwd the front is pulling so rear of car will try to come straight under power and in cornering the turn has to fight all that forward momentum - i.e. understeer. All that said rwd is the way to go. Every time.. Enjoy! Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
lol... another MCM fan here! and my first thought when I saw the title was moog! Cant comment on the s2000 but can RWD...... as others have said, its awesome! I will never go back to front wheel drive after 11years (i think) in RWD. They are only 'twitchy' if you push them. Or you go silly and do what I did! My thread is on MCM for those that frequent it! 500rwhp in a Ute with no weight over the rear wheels makes for an interesting drive! Its only tried to kill me in the wet twice now..
