GRocky

Hi everyone,

I had my S2000 out for a nice long drive yesterday, but decided to take the cool, air conditioned, hard-topped S4 out in the evening hours, as it was unbearably humid out. I had the opportunity to drive down the same "enthusiast" road with both cars within a few hours of eachother, so I was able to make a pretty accurate comparison. The fun with the S2000 began with a nice, long bend with a reccomended speed of 35 mph. I came up to this turn at about 90 mph, gave it a little brake, slammed it into fourth as I was entering the turn, let the car drift into the first part of the turn, then gunned it... I exited that corner going about 80 mph, and probably hit 75 when I could feel the maximum G-force of the turn, at which point I could hear the tires starting to squeal, as they must have been reaching their limit. Coming out of the turn, there's a luscious straightaway that brought the silver streak up to 130 mph or so. Being a country road however, every little bump in the road sent the little S2K jumping, floating and shaking. Not to the point of compromising my control of the vehicle, however. The straightaway ends with another tight turn, that I coralled the Honda into at about 65. Jamming the brakes, downshifting to 3rd and jumping on the throttle again was a bit disconcerting, as I felt the rear-end begin to break loose, exiting the turn at 70, I came upon the next straightaway... this one is about 3 times longer, and there aren't any obstacles, aside from a HUGE sod farm that takes up both sides of the road for the stretch. On a clear day, I couldn't resist but test the top speed and braking capabilities from that point. At 80 mph, I was nearing the redline in 3rd, she got up to 90 before the red of the digital tach starting blinking. I slammed it into 4th and watched as the speed clicked past 110... 120 ... 130 ... and finally 145 mph where it refused to go any further. My heart was pounding violently at this point, so I decided to give the brakes a whirl. I gave the pedal a good push, and was amazed at how quickly I came down to 100 mph, and back down to the legal limit (55 mph). I exhaled, and my 10 and 2 death grip on the steering loosened, as it felt like I was only creeping along at 90 mph less than I had been just moments before. I drove home in a much more sedate manner only to find myself on the same road only a few hours later, this time in my S4. I knew I wouldn't be in "death wish" mode this time, since the sun was starting to head toward the horizon, but visibility was good enough to justify somewhat enthusiastic driving. As I came into the first turn, I was only going 70 or so, but I still decided to downshift and give 'er the throttle. The first thing I noticed when I entered the turn was how much more I liked the S4's steering feel. It seemed to be the perfect medium between firm and cushy, overdone power steering. The feel of the honda was just a bit too heavy for my tastes. I could notice a lot more roll from the tires (stock Potenzas) in the S4, but I managed to exit the turn at 80 mph, about the same speed the S2K did it. Coming up to the first straightaway, the S4 was much quicker to get back up on its feet and back up to speed. The speedometer charged up to 120, where I decided to cut myself off and coasted up to the next turn, rolling into the turn at 90 mph. I gave the brakes a good kick and took the turn at 60 mph. I could feel all four wheels clawing their way through. I felt a lot more confident in the S4, needless to say. The S2K seemed to slide through the turn, where the S4 drifted slightly because of tire roll. With more aggressive rubber I could have taken that corner a lot faster... I came out of the corner and resisted the temptation to open it up for a top speed run, worried that a wayward deer, dog or cat might be wandering the highway, and a 145 mph run in with one of those wouldn't be beneficial for either of us. A nice somber drive back home brought to light just how GREAT the S4's ride is, too. After a day of being punished by the S2K's lumberwagon suspension, my aching body was grateful. The smooth power delivery of the S4 also felt great. After only an hour or two of driving the S2000 hard, your hands feel like they've been mowing a lawn, from the buzzbox 2.0L I4. A lot of that harshness comes through the gearshift and steering. As I entered my driveway, I decided I'm slightly more in favor of the S4 (though the S2K is no slouch!) as the K40 saved my *** on the way back... a sheriff was fishing, hidden in the bushes with nothing but his parking lights on (the sun had gone down by that point), one little X Band buzz in the middle of the country had me standing on my brakes at 80mph. I rolled past him/her at 55 mph with a big smile on my face, realizing my K40 had saved me a few bucks on insurance once again. I would have gotten a ticket in the S2K for sure, as it's only protected by a balky little BEL dashboard unit that I hastily picked up at a Best Buy.