I just have a question for you guys, it's more of a driving technique question than a road racing/autox one. I just want to be more educated about oversteer and understeer.

I was driving today, in fresh snow, and while I was taking a downhill highway on-ramp, I managed to spin out 180 degrees and hit the right side barrier with my drivers side.

Trying to recreate what happened, here's my best description :

I was driving about 35-40kph, which is about 20MPH, and on a slight turn, my back started giving way after I slowed down at a patch of snow ( bad move i know ). After I lifted off the throttle, the car started rotating, and then I tried to countersteer but was too far in it, so that's when I slammed into the barrier.

I understand this is a low traction situation, where maybe I could not have saved it, except driving slower (which I should have done). What would be the best maneuver to fix an FF car that is over-steering?

I don't think it would be wise to countersteer and then try to floor it out, because I would lose more traction in the front.

Say on a normal road surface, and I drove fast enough and lifted quick enough to make the car oversteer. What would be the best way to save it?


Thanks!

 

if i was on a normal road surface and i experienced some nasty lift throttle OS, i'd get back on the gas and straighten out a tad until i regained control.

 

That's the best part of a FF car, if you start to oversteer, just get on the gas!!! When I get lift throttle oversteer, it just countersteer & roll into the gas pedal....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by takoek9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Say on a normal road surface, and I drove fast enough and lifted quick enough to make the car oversteer. What would be the best way to save it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's lift oversteer for ya......when ur pushing the car towards it's road handling limits & suddenly lift off the throttle in the middle of a turn, the weight of the car transfers forward & rear wheels can lose traction. Altho i doubt u can have too much oversteer in a fwd car, if u want to reduce oversteer further u can do the following to ur car:
-lower the car.....so it'll have a lower center of gravity and less weight will transfer during decceleration.
-get a smaller rear swaybar, or just take it out completely
-put on wider rear tires for more grip

as for driving techniques....if u happen to lift during a fast turn in a fwd car such that the rear starts to slide out, countersteer & get back on the gas immedately to pull the car forward.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by luder94si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's the best part of a FF car, if you start to oversteer, just get on the gas!!! When I get lift throttle oversteer, it just countersteer & roll into the gas pedal....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, but I was probabbly wayy too late and the back was coming out too fast.

I gotta get that stuck in my head..... "floor it when the back comes out" and also to drive SUPER slow in the snow

Thanks!

 

I think you had the best answer yourself. You just don't go there. Here is an excerpt from the NASAproracing.com website, saying something similar:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by takoek9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Some people believe that an occasional spin or crash is essential to learning to drive quickly. This is not true. A spin or crash is the result of an extreme case of exceeding the limits of the car and driver.

Loosing control of the car is a hazard to the car involved as well as the other cars on the track, and the driver usually learns very little as he tries to save the car in a panic.

Consider this technique:

Enter the turn at a speed that is well within the capabilities of the car and driver...</TD></TR></TABLE>

They're basically saying that you should spend time learning how to avoid bad situations. Thats better practice.