🚀 go-pugleaf

In <MS-C.724568758.1147902781.mrc@Ikkoku-Kan.Panda.COM> mrc@Ikkoku-Kan.Panda.COM (Mark Crispin) writes:

>This is an FAQ, which many people are too embarassed to actually ask because
>they think that everyone else but them has a clue.

>``Turn into the skid'' means, essentially, that you need to get your front
>wheels pointing in the direction the car is going.

>Let me explain with two examples:

>In example 1, we have an understeer.  You have turned your wheel too hard, and
>the front end has broken loose.  No matter how sharply you turn, your front
>wheels no longer have adhesion.  If you turn too sharply and hit your brakes,
>the resultant weight transfer may turn your skid into an oversteer.

More likely the car will simply go straight since the locked
front wheels will have absolutely no lateral input (I learned
this in my first SCCA driving school at Marlboro Speedway in
1967:-).  You will have maximum cornering power with the front
wheel with NO acceleration vector -- either brakes or engine
forces with front-wheel-drive.

>Cure: turn your wheels so they point in the direction the car is going.  When
>your front end is again adhering to the road, try your turn again.

Again take your foot OFF the brakes.  Maximum braking is
available only in a straight line with the wheel just short of
locking.  Locking tires increases braking distance.

>In example 2, we have an oversteer.  You have turned your wheel to the right,
>and the back end has broken free and is heading left.  If you hit your brakes,
>the skid will become more violent and you might lose your front end as well.
>The other common error is to turn too far to the left, which simply changes
>the direction of your skid.

>Cure: turn your wheels to the left, but only until the direction of the skid
>starts changing.  Then get your steering into a neutral position, and when the
>car is pointing where you want to go, apply power to transfer weight to the
>rear wheels.  NO BRAKES.

You should also feather the throttle, disenage the clutch, or put
the car in neutral since acceleration or deceleration forces on
the rear wheels will reduce traction.  ``Trailing throttle
oversteer'' is the condition where the rear end will come out
when you drop the throttle while on the limit in a corner, and
may be useful if you want to get the tail end out in a powerless
car :-).

>``Turn into the skid'' was great in explaining understeering situations, but
>becomes very confusing in oversteering situations.  The key to remember is to
>get your tires moving with the car, not independently.

One thing that will help many people is to find a large, empty
parking lot when it snows and play in the snow to find out what
your car does in different conditions.

Bill
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