Supra Forums banner

Oversteer, understeer... Do you know what to do?

3K views 18 replies 18 participants last post by  steveeD 
#1 ·
Eventually, most of us will be in a situation of oversteer or understeer, whether by choice or by accident, so I think it's important that everyone knows the *correct* actions to take when faced with that situation, especially since we all love our high hp cars.

I've uploaded these 4 videos to my personal server so that the downloads are fast:

Oversteer Part 1: Right-click, save as
Oversteer Part 2: Right-click, save as

Understeer Part 1: Right-click, save as
Understeer Part 2: Right-click, save as


There are alot more videos available, but the site is very slow, which is why I've uploaded the important ones. If you want to view the rest, click here.


It would be nice if this thread could be copied into other areas of the forums where it would also get more exposure and possibly save someone's life.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Nice find:) Do you mind if I cross-post this in other forums I belong to?
 
#6 ·
lehman said:
i always thought oversteer and understeer was a Texans love life................

badoom.. chish
And with Texas BBQ what ...you eat your love partner after the act? Black widow style.
 
#8 ·
#10 ·
Thanks for these, downloading them all :D
 
#12 · (Edited)
+1 DJ, very good find. I heard the same thing: to look where you want to go. The guy told me this when explaining a slalom course. He said that when you're doing a slalom, you want to look up to the end of the track or to the horizon, yet focus your attention on the cones in your peripheral. That will allow you to move around them instead of charge right into them.
One thing that the instructor didn't mention in those two oversteer videos is overcorrection. I've been in several situations where the back slid out, I corrected, but then the rear suddenly grabbed, which whipped me back around the other way. The way to avoid that is to do things as smoothly as possible. You have to let off the gas smoothly (or put in the clutch), counter steer smoothly but quickly, then be prepared for when the car gains traction again so you can unwind the wheel smoothly as the traction returns. The instructor does that in the second oversteer video, but he doesn't explain why. He actually unwinds before the rear is totally back in line, and in doing so he prevents that whip. It's true that it won't happen as much in the wet, but it still can.
The other thing I've learned thru experience as well as in the classroom, is that you should never let any other component beat the suspension in an action. What I mean is, you need to let the suspension catch up with what the chassis/body is doing. For example, I'm in a turn, I'm going a little too fast, so I get on the brakes. Especially in the Supra, since it's nose-heavy already, the back end becomes weightless, taking the traction away. So the rear starts to slide out, and if I let it go too long, I spin. Again, he did that very thing in the video, but he explained it this time. He used that action as what not to do, and I agree that it should be avoided if possible, but when it's too late you have to know how to handle the car. As long as you are smooth with the brakes, and you aren't already at the traction limits of the tires (see below), you can recover it.
To expand on what I said about being at the limits, keep this concept in mind. Your tires only offer 100 units of traction in any direction. If you're using 95 units laterally for turning and you request 25 for braking or acceleration, you'll spin out. If you're at 65 units laterally and you request 25 for braking, you'll be fine. But with each centimeter you depress either pedal, you're using more units. That's where the smoothness comes into play. If you slam on the brakes, you use 40 units right away, you lock the tires up, causing a spinout. If you apply them smoothly, it allows the suspension to catch up with the weight shift, and it also allows your mind to catch up so you know exactly how close the car is to losing traction, and hence, you can act more appropriately than if things happen all at once.
He covered understeer pretty well. He mentioned that some people run under the assumption that if you accelerate it'll pull the car out of the skid, but I've never heard that, and it's plain ridiculous. Anyone who believes that shouldn't be behind the wheel.
 
#15 ·
Great videos, hope you don't mind that I linked them to a local auto-x forum.

"Bout time for some useful info"? Are you serious, this is the only forum I visit on SF anymore.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top