Before anybody starts, I wasn't racing.

I was doing 30mph round a very slight bend when the back stepped out. It swipped into the second lane (luckily there was nothing in the lane !) I drove into the skid (works for rear wheel stuff, I know, it happened a couple of times in the 200sx I had) then the back end snapped the other way, and vice versa until I killed enough speed to straighten up.

Turned back to have a look to see what it was, you can see a trail of derv in the light, all the way down the outside lane.

I've managed to knock the tracking out, off side rear wheel looks pretty mashed, to the point where I've either knocked the camber out or stuffed up the rim.

Driving tips really folks, its a FF car (Civic Si) so whats the best sort of things to do in those situations ? I figured I knew, now I don't, rear wheelers are easy ish to bring back.

If you have anything sarcastic to say, keep it to yourself. Constructive advice is what I'm looking for, save any piffy remarks for someone in the mood !!

Cheers folks,

- Prob

 

I've read that with FWD cars you should give it gas so that the weight of the car shifts to the back tires so you can get some grip back there.

 

SOrry but I have to do this.

WTF does this have to do with DRAG RACING??

 

doesn't really have much to do with drag racing.......but anyhow, a good rule of thumb in a FWD is to mash the gas in that situation; your only hope in a FWD is to pull it out rather than finesse it as with a RWD

if you really want to get some practice, head out to your local autocross club; you can learn a ton in one weekend; I highly suggest doing it at least once, you dont have to do jack to your car either

 

your weight isn't going to go onto the front wheels if you're going sideways... it's just going to make the situation worse. Let off the gas, but don't touch the brake, steer your way out. There's not magical button that you can press that will get you out of that situation.

First, I think you should slow down if you see dirt in the road, and if you're going 30mph, you wouldn't be fishtailing. You would have let off and done 1 slide. LSD's can help if you're doing a constant speed or accelerating through a turn.

 

Usually if your rear steps out its called 'over steer'. This can be cause from by a number of reasons. It could be springs too stiff, suspension parts too rigid in the rear like sway bars etc. Could be caused by even 'a big one eye snake monster with fourteen ***** and 2 penises' but most likely you should steer into the turn ...if the skid gets worse then you may need to gently back off the gas...(not too much to offload the rear tyres and make it worse' but that should correct it right away.

OT
BTW this is my first post as my username bitemail has been banned again. I was banned last night for no reason. I have to say there are some serious a$$hole mods on this site who obviously think they have the power to ban people for fun. Anyone could search my topics and see that I did nothing wrong. I even posted in the GDD which is supposed to be fun. Some of Honda-tech mods are behaving like total pu$$ies.

 

sounds liek trialing throttle oversteer. my cousin launched his car off the road shifting into 2nd in a curve and letting the car coast down in gear, the back end came right out....basically teh engine rbaking on the front shifted weight forward, but the back end f the car was still moving faster and it just came rigth around to keep the speed up...

 

Yeah, it's a bit of a strange situation. I checked my logger and was doing 40 into this corner. I never felt the front go (which is what normally gives, my car is completely stock, the cars handling is very predictable) but as soon as the near side wheel went round, I felt a twitch, which corrected itself. Then the back end became unbalanced and bam, there I am doing my best D1 drift club impression across both lanes.

I think I shall be taking myself and my car to a skid pan, it's handy to know what to do with these kind of situations. Don't get me wrong, I'm no novice, but I've never had the back go on a front wheel drive car when a) I didnt want it to b) So I couldn't get it back and c) without really knowing why !

***** you up but thats life I guess. Gonna go check the camber and track and make sure everythings ok.

Catachawave: This potentially has everything to do with racing, perhaps not drag but racing non the less, and even with drag racing, you can loose your car in a straight line. I figured this would be the best place to post so everyone can learn from my mistakes.

Cheers for your replies folks, AutoX looks like it could be a nice day out

- Prob

 

sounds like your alignment is messed up,bring it to a alignment shop and have them do a 4-wheel alignment.

 

While sideways you do want to be on the gas in a FWD car.

#1 applying the gas will shift weight back onto the rear tires

#2 You can overpower your front tires, causing a slide instead of a spin and scrub off speed quicker. Once you are going slower, you will regain traction.

And of course correcting is necessary.

 

yeah... just like everyone who said, get on the gas and correct. If you think about it for a sec it will kinda make sense, the rear slides out, by correcting and giving it gas, the front will increase in speed and straighten out, but just like anything getting one the gas isn't gonna save you in all situations.

i have a sol and the rear will come loose if i bomb into a corner and let off the gas for a second and then hop back on the gas to straighten out. its a good technique sometimes...