ok, well i was at the practice session for an autocross today, and i pulled a 360 going through a turn too fast. after i bagan the spin i started to counter steer and i came off of the gas, but did not get on the brakes. after i checked to see if my shorts were dry still, i finished the lap. my question is what should i have done differently in this situation: use some brake, use some gas, don't counter steer, etc.? TIA


[Modified by usuck, 10:53 PM 7/6/2002]

 

If you feel the tail of the car start to come around, stand on the gas and you will catch it. If you have already begun to spin, both feet in (Clutch and Brake).

All assuming you are in a FWD car.

 

 

stay on the gas.

It's instintive to come off the gas..but it's the wrong thing to do.

 

thanks, i know it's a newby ?. but i have to start somwhere.

and yes, it's fwd

 

In a FWDer, stay on the gas and try to drive out of it.

In a RWDer, it's not so simple, because staying on the gas might spin the rears, which would probably make the situation worse.

If you are actually spinning, both feet in (brake and clutch).

Basically,, you've gotta try it a few times. I don't recommend trying it on purpose, but if you autox regularly, you will eventually get the hand of it.

 

thanks, the car was going around before i realized what was happening.

so the "both feet in" is what i was looking for

 

I have a question:

Did you really do a 360?

I've never seen a FWD do a 360 at an autox.

 

FWIW: Whitney's seen one do a 360 on a road course

 

I you were to keep on the gas, wouldn't you plow through the cones, and screw up your run just as much as spinning? sorry for the inexperienced question.

 

Yup, Adam can perform impossible feats, such as the mythical 360-degree FWD spin:

http://www.nogumracing.com/whitney/adamspin.mpg

 

i went all the way around and then some. i was doing around 45-50 when i went "loose". i was the only fwd who spun today, but there was a z28 that spun twice and an awsome trailored miata that spun once, but they're rwd. i'll post a video of it if i can find someone who taped it.

 

i lost it going through an open right turn, just before the apex.

 

This bring back memories (or hiccups)?
http://www.ipsolve.com/video/adamspin.avi

 

What to do is add gas. Why is the rear of your car is in need of traction when you spin, if you accelerate, you shift some of the weight to the rear tires. Also, depending on your speed, you might have enough torque to spin the fronts a bit, which will induce understeer, a remedy for oversteer. Lifting the gas makes the tail even lighter, which is why it whipped around so violenty. Check out "Going Faster", it's an excellent book that will learn you good

 

If you're quick enough to get on the gas you can catch the tail then you can correct your line with only minimal time loss (actualy time addition but that just sounds weird).

Or, if you are trying to rotate you car quickly you can do a lift throttle oversteer then punch the gas when you're pointed the direction you want to go.

 

I got loose going into a slalom banging off the rev limiter in 2nd gear once.. got 'behind' in slalom very quickly (the entry to the slalom was about a 45 degree angle), way too hot, knew i was gonna lose it as the back end was coming around *very* quickly so i immediately went both feet in instead of trying to push a bad position - car snapped around and did a 540 My passenger kept the seats dry at least..

 

Gas is good! This doesn't necessarily mean full throttle, so you'll just have to get a feel for it. One of the things adding throttle does is that if you've got enough juice and traction up front, it pulls the rears inline with the front. So point where you want to go, and step on it.

Warren

 

If the car begins to slide or get loose, you dont neccessarily need to floor it - warren is right - coming into a sweeper even just gently applying throttle can really settle the car into the turn. Ideally, you want to apply the throttle right as you're turning in - it really plants the car down (even if you dont have alot of HP). Again, have to get a feel for it. All about weight transfer...

 

thanks, i did it twice today, not all the way around but enough to kill my times. i think its 100% driver error. both times today were caused by throttle lift - doh!

 

Warren said it good about the gas.

Also remember, the hardest part of catching a slide is the recovery. Stabilizing a slide (what has been discussed here) is one thing, but getting it going straight again without having it snap the other way is harder in my opinion. Having fun learning it. Autox is a great place for this.

 

Yeah, Alex is right about the recovery. The counter correction comes very quickly. There's no easy way to practice this. You just have to get a feel for it. If the car snaps back, then you were too slow on the counter correction. When you catch and stabilize the car, it should be nice and smooth.

Most people can catch an oversteering car, but they tend to hold the correction for too long, and they end up in a tank slapper.

Warren