I was at a light today next to a convertible Honda S2000 getting ready to get on the intersate. I don't know what year it was, but the guy looked at me laughing wanting to give em a go and pointed ahead. I never race or try to stay with cars as my 2006 A3 is a stock, straight shift. No extas, nothing. In any case, I got on it as fast as it would go and actually pulled away from the guy. He caught up after I hit eighty and then slowed. He wouldn't look at me and then just got back off the highway.

How could this be? I looked and the car should have a 237-hp, 2.2-Liter, 16-Valve DOHC VTEC 4-Cylinder Engine. The A3 is not as fast on paper. In fact the Honda should make 0-60 in just over 5 seconds where the A3 should do it in just over 7 seconds.

Maybe the guy just can't drive?

Again, I don't race or even pretend to have a fast car, becauses it really isn't.

Cheers

 

My guess is he thought he had enough power to let you go and catch you which was a mistake as you found out. Even if he is a good driver you got a jump on him it sounds and with the S2000 you can bog the engine so he might not have gotten a good start and that is all it takes.

 

I owned an S2000 and can speak from experience. The S2000 is much quicker than the A3 when driven correctly. I did get asked to drag race regularly. I beat two of the 300+ hp z28s, but only from a stop. The S2000 has a sport bike type power band and only 161 ft-lbs of torque at about 6300 rpm. You really have to get a good launch to beat someone drag racing. My friend still has his S and we race from time to time. From a roll we are very close, but he's always about 1/2 car length ahead. The S2000 is a great car and probably one of the most fun factor cars out there, but all that aside I love the all-aroundness (is that a word) of the A3. It is very nice having some low-end torque. Oh and congratulations on beating an S2000...it's never going to happen at an autocross track though.

 

The Honda engine is great at high revs but the car is a bit heavy for what it is. As converted says you have to get traction at high revs which is not easy to do. The A3 is not light weight but at least it seats 4. A friend has this engine and is looking for a Lotus 7 clone to put it in, now that should be a rocket.

 

He sounds like an idiot who doesn't know how to drive.

 

Torque. And maybe he cannot shift.

 

I don't know about you guys but.....

Whenever someone wants to race me in my TT, I get way more satisfaction by letting them launch off the line with no response at all from me! But oddly, I had many more people wanting to race against my A3 TDI than I do now with the TT.

 

S2000 require an S-Load of revs from a dead stop. Like 5 or 6K. That kinda telegraphs the move, making an S2000 not exactly the best choice for street-dragging. An A3 OTOH has boatloads of torque from 2K on up, and will leave the line a lot better without Honda histrionics. I also gotta take exception to "converted's" assertion that "...it's never going to happen at an autocross track." S2000s have 3 major problems with autocross: The launch, getting off a low speed turn requires a downshift (costs you times) and the fact that they will snap spin like an old 911 if the driver lifts in a slalom. The latter was finally addressed in 2005 or 6 by the factory because so many S2000s had crashed ***-first on the street, the result being an S2000 that simply pushes everywhere.

Full Disclosure: A little roll-on like "Country Grammar" describes is a reckle$$ driving ticket if caught. That's second only to a DUI from your insurance company's POV. Save it for the track.

 

As with all races it is mostly the driver. That being said the S2000 is basically designed for autocross style racing. I agree that the launch is critical, but not the death of the car either. A-Stock has STI's and Evo's. Both have more torque and horsepower than the A3 and S2000 for that matter. When I had my S and autocrossed it, I was rarely beat by either of those and I was on street tires. The fact you can get the back end loose in the S2000 isn't that much of a negative when racing. The car lets you know when you are reaching the limits and you can correct for it. Also, learning how your car functions is critical when racing. I agree the 90 degree turns require a downshift and then eventually an upshift. That can cost some time if you aren't proficient at doing either, but that's when heel-toe shifting and rev matching come in. I am impressed with your knowlege of autocross and the S2000's characteristics and quirks...have you ever owned one?

 

I have raced my wifes's 2.5L Z4 against S2000s and have done pretty well - 2nd out of 4 a couple times, where the winner clearly had me out-tired. I currently own the NWR champion BMW 325is in SCCA D/SP. It's not quite a Nationals car (next year - flare the fenders and go from 245s to 275s).

I also have a 2006 A3 with SR Gran Prix Coilovers (statrs as a Vogtland C/O kit but adds Custom-valved Koni Sports and custom-rate progressive wound springs), a Neuspeed RSB, Revo Stage One, with Oz Ultraleggeras and Dunlop Direzza Star Spec tires and an autocross alignment on order for playing in STX class with the Subies.

The fast DSG gearchanges and low-end torque favor the A3, especially with the Revo chip, and but the lack of a Quaife limited slip differential gives it back. I'm very happy with the dry handling with my setup. In the rain, though, the WRXs eat me alive - but that's their element. It's also complicated by the fact that the reigning SCCA STX National Champ lives up here. And he is a better driver than I. So's his wife for that matter - she's a national Champ in their car also.