i was in a corner today and strated to back off the throttle slowly as i was realizing i was goign in too fast, and i got more oversteeer?!!!?! wtf?!!! this car is supposed to have understeer without throttle~! is my alignment out of wack?!

 

actaully i know my alignent is out of wack, i guess i meant can alignment do this? and btw i ahte that rw steering! i have a god damn steering wheel i know how ot use it!

 

Lifting off the throttle causes weight transfer to the front - it's a big NO-NO in the middle of a turn.&nbsp Weight transfer to the front means big-time oversteer.&nbsp It really has nothing to do with alignment; it's about your lack of driving skills.


-Ted

 

This is a sports car you are driving, remember.

When you let off the throttle, you unloaded the wieght off of the rear tires, like ReTed said. This allowed the rear of the car to rotate, increasing oversteer. In other words,

 

take a lesson in racetrack driving, you'll learn all about that.. go around a corner at max grip with mild throttle to sustain your speed, and if you get off the throttle you'll be facing from whence you came. Take a bottle of pop (or soda, whatever you call it) and drink half of it. Then hold it level in front of you, and the cap is the front of the "car". When you accelerate, lift the cap up, watch all the pop go to the back of the "car".. when you let off the throttle, dip the cap down, watch all the pop go to the front of the "car"..

 

Wow. GOOD analogy.

 

it's a good thing you weren't in a mr2 or porshe, you'd be in the ditch.

 

hmm. never really thought of it but when i go fast around turns i'm on the gas full throttle or part throttle never completely off. guess i'm doing it right since i've never spun my car or hit anything and i drive like a maniac

 

LOL it's funny you said that. I took out a row of mailboxes in a friends MR2... The only other car I'd really driven hard was my 88 Escort and it never did that to me before!

 

Hmmmm Its scary when you have to give someone a lesson in physics so they dont kill themselves in there own car....I'd rather take my chances going hot through a turn then try to slow down at all.....its alot easier to control a mild power slide than a complete spin out

Good luck.....and many travels.....take it slow untill you get a really good feel for the car.

 

ok lets once again read what i posted, think, and then reply. now if i was still on the gas i woudl have not made the turn, hmm lets see, becaise i was goign too fast, i woudl either oversteer and fall slip off the road, or i woudl have to keep it at the max grip and not making the turn, if i back off just a bit this will slow down the car, but like u all say oversteer, and yes that is tre about the weiht transfer, but thereis also toe in and out that causes understerr and oversteer, NOW again my quastions was if the car understters naturally WITHOUT throttle.

 

Typical RWD car = Plows in slow corner, oversteer in high speed corner.

As for your situation, you have to lift and use your steering wheel at the same time, just dont lift completely.

 

Why would a car have understeer without throttle? Understeer is caused when the front has less grip than the rear. For a RWD car is has much more to do with weight balance and velocity than how much power is going to the wheels.
The point made in the answers was to counter oversteer you lift off slightly, you obviously lifted off too much, causing excessive weight transfer. I've done this myself (on the track), finding that balance point takes practice.

 

NZConv, try going 100mph and hold it in a turn, see if it understeers. I think that will answer your question

 

You just don't get it.&nbsp You first and biggest mistake was going into the turn too fast.&nbsp This is a rookie mistake, plain and simple.&nbsp If you cannot see this as a mistake, I doubt you would've been able to lift throttle (or trail brake), oversteer, countersteer and throttle.

If you didn't read it the first time, YOU WENT IN TOO FAST - THIS IS YOUR PROBLEM.&nbsp If you cannot identify this as the problem, there is no way you could realize that a power oversteer w/countersteer is the only way out of such a situation...

As for your question on understeering without throttle, that's too general a question.&nbsp There are too many variables (cornerning dynamics, road friction surface, tire traction, vehicle speed, weight dynamics, etc.) to give you a definite answer to your question...



-Ted

 

u must be too slow... all i asked was is the car gonna understeer without the throttle.. that for example would mean if it a progressive turn and get sharper goign in if i kep my speed, berely on the gas, and try to make the turn will i need to gas it a little or let off a little. what i experienced is that u woudl have to let off a little. because i got way too much oversteer. and btw i lifted off SLIGHTLy while entering/in the corner. seeing that the car wanted to oversteer way to much.

 

Read "How To Make Your Car Handle" by Fred Puhn, or "The Secrets to Solo Racing" by Henry A. Watts. Both are relatively cheap for the WEALTH of knowledge they contain(ESPECIALLY Watts' book, something like 10-15 bucks). In addition, they are INVALUABLE to the weekend autocrosser. This very question is answered in both books. A rear wheel drive car in a tight or tightening turn that exceeds it's tire's slip angle will get oversteer and spin out.

 

See this is where you are confused. you say you were going to fast.
1. YOUR mind was telling you that you are going to fast

2. The car wasnt,

listen to the car

 

Yes, that's how I don't do stupid things going into a turn.

You obviously don't know what you're talking about.&nbsp What you're trying to describe is a "decreasing radius turn".&nbsp If you don't know what a decreasing radius turn is, then I doubt you know what trail braking is...

1) You need to lift off the throttle when going into a turn.
2) Lifting off the throttle, no matter how little, is always going to induce a weight transfer.
3) Being able to predict and control the weight transfer is the sign of proper driving skill.

Obviously, #3 is not your strong point.&nbsp I doubt you knew this turn very well; if you didn't, it was just plain stupid to go into the turn with your foot still on the throttle.

I bet you were doing this on a public road...



-Ted

 

If you stay ON the gas, you will UNDERSTEER straight through the apex of the turn, and straight off the opposite side of the road...

 

i think u guy saer completely missing the point here, and arguing further will do no good.

 

General rule of thumb when driving anywhere.

Slow In = Fast Out
Fast In = Slow Out or Spin Out

Especially on the street should you practice the slow in. It keeps you from doing anything stupid like drifting into oncoming traffic or spinning into the guard rail or whatever might be there to hit.

 

No, we've pretty much agreed on the point that you can't drive...

 

Amen to that Felix.

 

felix and sonic, why dont u guys come here and we race