And oh what limits it has!! These days I find myself increasingly disdainful of FWD cars for on-track antics, but the Opak/Spoon RSX-R quickly reminded me that a properly setup FWD car can be a load of fun.

First of all, once you get used to the right hand drive configuration (and train your left hand to find the shifter, and not hit the windshield wiper stalk on the way back to the wheel - yes, this happened multiple times, I felt like I was in a WRC video), the Opak car has an excellent driving environment. The Spoon carbon race seats are very comfortable, and clearly designed more for American sized drivers. Given some of the Japanese race seats I've sat in in the past, this was a welcome discovery. The retention of the interior door panels also provides a smooth, cushioned service to protect your elbows while undergoing hard manuevers. Cars with bare door panels are often a hazard with sharp edges to catch the unwary.

Out on the track, it quickly became apparent that this car was more about handling balance than power. Romping out of turn 11 (the hairpin at the bottom of the track) and up the front 'straight' full on the gas, the Spoon 1.5 way LSD provided excellent traction and helped prevent power on understeer. Just as importantly though, the car does not have an awful lot of power. The minor upgrades to the powertrain are probably worth about 20-25 hp over the stock RSX-R's 220 ps (217 hp), so we're talking about S2000 type power levels in a somewhat lighter car. That makes for a good solid pull, but its nothing out of the ordinary and acceleration wise a NASA Honda Challenge H1 car would be noticeably quicker thanks to more power and less weight.

Modest power, a smooth powerband and good traction (VTEC is noticeable, but less so than on a stock RSX-S K20A2 engine) absolves the driver of having to worry much about wheelspin and focus on getting back on the power as early in a corner as possible. It allowed me to spend more time worrying about my line and the balance of the car. After going flat through Turn 12 (a small left hand kink on what is basically the front straight) Sears Point bends uphill into Turn 1. This is, for the experienced, another turn taken flat out, especially in lowered powered cars as the rising track dampens, or even eliminates any forward acceleration. I confess to a slight lift on entry here to boost my confidence and ensure I got lined up for the tight, and blind, Turn 2.

It was through this section that I got my first taste of the overall balance and stability of the Opak/Spoon RSX. Lap after lap I increased my speed through Turn 1 and braked harder and harder for Turn 2. Not once did the car feel squirrely or out of shape. It transitioned smoothly from accel to decel with nary a bobble and going from hard fast left to sharp slow right revealed a smooth rotation with a very controlled rear end. This is often a difficult balance to achieve in a FWD car where getting enough rotation often means a rather tail happy car unless you're hard on the throttle.

Turns 3, 3a and 4 were rather uneventful as the Opak/Spoon RSX wasn't able to build enough speed to get me into trouble. There are some more blind spots in this section, but it was the hard braking into 4 (a tight right hander) that caught my attention. Unlike the transition from 1 to 2 where you brake uphill, Turn 4 has a downhill entry, so you really need to stand on it. And lap after lap the Spoon brakes stopped the car as effectively as I could ask for, with no fade and perfect modulation. It was only after I came in from my hot session that I was told the car had no ABS. Wow, I guess with properly set up brakes, you really don't need it on the racetrack. Once again, kudos to Opak and Spoon.

Turn 5 was taken flat out and it was more like a kink at the speeds the Opak/Spoon RSX was capable of. But it led into Turn 6, otherwise known as the carousel. While I often found myself passing cars into 4, or 5, I did not partake of any of the passing opportunities I had through 6, at least not on my first time at the track. Heading downhill, the carousel demands more than a touch of caution. At the speeds we were travelling a good driver can enter with just a modest lift. I found myself using a small tap to settle the car. Because the turn heads downhill, the fact that it is also banked can escape the Sears Point initiate. This allows you to get back on the gas early and hard. After a late apex you shoot out onto the straight (which is also the dragstrip) and back uphill. In the Opak/Spoon car I found myself wishing for a neck support as the banking and the weight of my helmet conspired to tilt my head quite a bit as the cornering forces continued to build and build. Only on my last lap did I begin to find the limits of the RSX as I got on the power a touch early and understeered a touch out to the curbing on the exit (with a wall only 20-30 ft away).

From 6 you head uphill to 7, which is another hairpin. Turn 7 again exemplified the excellent balance of the Opak/Spoon car. Enter too hot and the front would push slightly, but without any of the bucking, vibration or squalling so common when FWD cars are pushed too hard. Instead, a gentle lift or slight unwinding of the wheel would return grip without upsetting the car at all. From 7, the track heads downhill through the esses, which comprise Turns 8/8a and 9. Turn 9 is really more of a separate turn, but you have to consider all of them as a unit as you pick up a lot of speed through this section and set yourself up for Turn 10 in the process. Here was the only place where my driving, combined with the RSX, didn't work out so well. Whether it was my line, or just lack of overall grip, I found myself having to lift slightly through the esses, but not carrying enough speed through 9. Entering 10, which can be very fast, I never found myself carrying enough speed to worry, or to test the car.

Overall, I found the Opak/Spoon RSX-R to be a fabulous piece of production car race kit. Easy to drive, but with plenty of speed and adjustability. I thought that it might have been a little faster on a hot lap with a slightly freed up rear end, but when you consider that this is a car designed for 24(5) hour endurance races, excising any instability from the chassis is probably a good idea lest you find your driver going backward off the track at 3am in the rain. Dave Brown, one of the pros testing for the Thunderhill race also noted that the spring rates felt a little stiff for Sears Point, losing traction over some gator teeth and bumps (clearly Dave was pushing harder than I was :). But again, Thunderhill is a much smoother track than Sears Point (even post repaving at Sears) so the springing seems appropriate. Much credit is due Opak and Alan Sensier for setting up and developing the chassis so nicely - I wonder if they'd build an RSX race car for me?