Hmm, yeah, that's a difficult situation! What I would suggest is making another copy of LFS with the earlier patch that allows you to use LFS Tweak. I have found that without using Tweak, the XR GT is fairly close to my Miata, and the FZ50 is close to my friends 996 911 GT3 that I've been fortunate enough to race a few times lately. I have another friend with a 260rwhp turbo Miata, and for that I modified an XRGT in LFS Tweak and was surprised how similar an effective driving technique is in LFS and RL. The key with that car is just to keep off the damn throttle! In the sim and RL you can get full power down in 2nd gear in a straight line, but it's sooo easy to overshoot the next turn when you try and use full throttle at every possible opportunity.

Edit: Thinking more about getting something similar to your s2k in LFS...I would think the closest car in the game is the XRT. The weight is not far off, and same with the power. Yeah, it's turbo and has a different powerband than the vtec in the s2k, but overall for practice with autox I'd say you could get it feeling close enough. If you were going to modify something in LFS Tweak I would start with the XRT, and change the engine to be similar in characteristics to s2k (although you can't model the vtec in LFS of course...). Tire width I believe is fairly close in the XRT but you can always change that so it's just right in Tweak anyway.

I'll try the XRT some more, but I find the turbo lag to be a big difference. I like the LX4 (with some power reduction and gearing changes), and the RAC/ I guess I want a car that is sufficiently "tail happy" to keep my driving in line

I forgot to mention that keeping off the damn throttle is a very good strategy, both in the game and with an S2000. When an S2000 hits vtec in a corner, watch out! I have cone scuffs on my rear bumper to remind me

Yeah, for sure! Is yours an earlier one? I've autox'd earlier and later model S2000s and the vtec can be 'fun' in the older ones, but of course a bit more difficult to manage! Definitely less pronounced in the later cars, although I think that was part of the charm of the earlier cars I also drove a supercharged S2000, with a surprisingly peaky powerband. Now THAT was fun when it hit vtec.

I really enjoy using LFS Tweak to get an idea of how much difference power mods or wider tires or other mods make. You can add a turbo or more boost to a car and see what happens. Maybe you'll have higher peak speeds, but then your times will be quite similar, and perhaps there are other changes you can make that help more. I am really looking forward to the day (if it comes) when LFS has a supported car editor with which we can make whatever changes we like and really experiment with car development in the game. I think that's the point when LFS could really start turning into a useful tool for real life racers. It's already great, but just imagine the potential

My real life ability is proberly sub par compered to LFS, but LFS has improved my car control and knowing the limits.

So in short No. But its getting there.

Quote from Michael Denham :

Is yours an earlier one? I've autox'd earlier and later model S2000s and the vtec can be 'fun' in the older ones, but of course a bit more difficult to manage! Definitely less pronounced in the later cars, although I think that was part of the charm of the earlier cars I also drove a supercharged S2000, with a surprisingly peaky powerband. Now THAT was fun when it hit vtec.

Mine is a 2001 AP1 (older one with the 9000 RPM redline).

Quote from Michael Denham :

I really enjoy using LFS Tweak to get an idea of how much difference power mods or wider tires or other mods make.

I haven't started using LFS Tweak yet. The built-in facilities already provide a rich set of choices.

I'd have to say definitely faster in LFS.

But I've been trying to compare the two in my head for a long time now. I've even gone as far as setting up an XRG with the same specs as my own car (spring rates and alignment, hp and weight are already exact). It was still hard to compare, and an XRG-Miata has non of the fun of the real thing. The car feels sluggish and understeery in LFS, but lively and neutral in real life.

Throttle steering the FRs through turns in LFS is an awesome experience. I never try to throttle steer my car on the track in real life. When I'm out there, I stay the hell away from oversteer, and when the car does break loose I'll do my best to smoothly recover. So call me chicken.

I have been running our old Civic in winter autocross, and I now find that my performance in real life has surpassed what I can do in LFS. Strange -- perhaps the "butt feel" of a real car is starting to become more important.

I've only driven rental kart's irl, but I've won every time (20-25 people, several qualifying rounds then a final) and always got near to the track records within 10 laps or so.
I get the feeling i am fairly natural at racing. I don't really have to think about what I'm doing too much.

I would love to have had a go at pro kart's, or any other form of motorsport, just to see how i shape up, but I've never been able to afford it.

Still, i'm getting on a bit now, it's too late to find out that i actually have some talent. I'll stick to sims, they don't make your arms ache so much

well u'll never be able to compare it completly ingame as in RL. In RL u have the g-forces, the bumps, the real sound(wich is important too) and all the other real efects wich u wont have ingame. In LFS for example u go 160KPH in a turn (lets say the big long first righter at Aston) in the XRT and u think this really aint fast, do it in a real car u think damn this is fast and these road tyres really have good grip (wich i thought on my trackday with a 220+ hp BMW 325).
At The Moose: yeah without lots of cash u wont get into racing these days. Even if u suck at it u pay big cash and u can drive

Heh, I'm teh suck in real life just as in LFS. I've only done very little karting but even with my "extensive" sim racing experience I've always been one of the slowest on the track. Last time we had a group of 10 people and I think I was 2nd or 3rd worst of all, both in track times and positions. No natural ability whatsoever but lots of passion/interest for motorsports. It was kinda sad to see how slow I really was but it didn't really change anything. Racing motor vehicles is just fun because of the driving part, any success is just a little (non-existent) bonus

Quote from The Moose :

Still, i'm getting on a bit now, it's too late to find out that i actually have some talent. I'll stick to sims, they don't make your arms ache so much

I am not exactly your average youngster -- 57 this year. However, if I can keep up my current improvement rate, I should be in the top 5 of my area by the end of the summer, top ten for sure. I don't think it's about age -- it's about drive and commitment.

I do find it strange that LFS is useful and helpful, but it seems to be falling behind real life in almost all ways. Just strange, not really questing the reality of the whole thing...

Quote from Murray Peterson :

it's about drive and commitment....

....and spare cash

Believe me, I've got the drive and i would certainly have the commitment. Its the finances that I'm lacking in

Quote from tristancliffe :

Way better in LFS. It's so easy to be fast, and not scary, expensive or time-limited. However, RL is way more fun, because (partly) of the above same reasons.

I had little brake from LFS driving as I have been too busy with everything else recently, I did test yesterday and it was far more difficult than IRL, mostly because I was using controls as rough as IRL.
That did result spin quite few times when braking.


But it is indeed very much easier to reach higher level in LFS as you are not as scared and as you can practise quite a lot compared to IRL.

I think that I suck really bad IRL because it is not very much that I have had practise, long time since was on track last time too.

Quote from The Moose :

....and spare cash
Believe me, I've got the drive and i would certainly have the commitment. Its the finances that I'm lacking in

Is autocross expensive where you live? In the winter, I race our 1995 Honda Civic, no special tires, no special equipment other than a good helmet. Entry fees in the winter are $20 for club members, and the Civic doesn't burn much fuel. It's the cheapest way to race a car that I know of, and it's one where I can "arrive and drive".

Summer autocross is going to be a different story. I will be running a lot of events in the S2000, and that car eats up tires (expensive ones) and fuel (premium) at a ferocious rate.