>Speaking of the S2000, Peter Thana gave me a wild ride yesterday in
>Eric's car. Somebody please talk me out of taking the Mazda buyback
>offer and buying an S2000!
Right... wild it was but not exactly fast. I'm not sure if having a
passenger changed the weight distribution or if Scot had overheated the rear
tires [:)], but the car felt looser than normal on that particular run. I
was horrified to see that the time really wasn't that bad despite the fact
that I nearly spun 3 or 4 times.
Seriously, the S2K is indeed a rocketship. VTEC in first gear is kinda
surreal. Then there's the balance- wow it's just so adjustable. Sure it's
loose, but a touch of smoothness goes a long way in that car. I was able to
drop a couple seconds on my last fun run by being gentle with the VTEC pedal
while the rear was unsettled. Eric's new telephone-pole sized front swaybar
seemed to address some of my criticisms of the car in the past as well. The
steering feel never reached out and shook my hand, but the swaybar seems to
slow down the rotation just enough that you can sense it through the seat of
the pants. And the lack of understeer is just so liberating. All those
consecutive 180 degree hairpins were just a canvas that I could paint with
Eric's wonderful 240hp brush.
I guess I'm no help to prevent you from trading your Miata for an S2k. Just
as Craig's brief affair with the S2000 came to an end, a new one (and
possibly two more, Scot and John) was just beginning. I'm so glad I can't
afford one.
I'd just like to congratulate Eric for his great drive and return to the AS
winner's circle on Sunday. And of course he's just the greatest sportsman
on earth, to let me take out my frustration on his car like that:):):)
Peter
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