7- UNDERSTEER AND OVERSTEER

If you're turning the steering wheel but the car won't turn In that direction, this is due to understeer. If you turn the steering wheel and the car turns more than you expect it to, in other words it spins out, this is oversteer. Neutral steer is the condition where neither understeer nor oversteer is evident. Ability to stay in neutral steer will inevitably lead to fast cornering times. This section discusses why your car is going into understeer or oversteer and what you can do to remedy the situation.

 Q: I've heard that skilled drivers will enter a corner At 60km/h. so 1 tried cornering at the same speed. But when I turn the steering wheel, the car doesn't turn. A: This is probably due to insufficient weight transfer. When you apply the brake, the car's weight will shift forward, increasing the traction of the front tires, if you turn the car with the weight shifted forward, the car should turn. Even though you may be traveling at the same speed of 60km/h. there is a big difference in turning ability depending on whether the car's weight is shifted forward or not- If you find yourself in understeer. the safest countermeasure is to relax without applying the brake or throttle. As the front tires begin to regain traction, the car should begin to turn properly. Q: I turn the steering wheel while applying the brake just like it says in the manual, but the car doesn't turn. At Unlike situation ONE, if the car is understeering even if you are applying the brake while turning the steering wheel, this means that you are applying too much pressure to the brake pedal. Most of the tires' traction capacity is used in the for- ward direction, leaving insufficient traction laterally to turn the car. As you are turning the steering wheel, you need to lighten up on the brake. Most likely you are also entering the corner too fast. Give yourself a little more breathing room and apply the brake a little earlier. This should lead to more positive results If you're already deep into the corner and the car is understeering. It's best to take your foot completely off the brake.

if you keep pressure on the brake with the tires locked, the car will just continue to move forward. It might be a little scary, but gather some courage and release the brake to lower the traction used in the forward direction to less than 100%. This will enable the car to gain some lateral traction to make the turn. The car should now stop moving forward and start turning. If you're driving a front- wheel drive car, the engine will stall if the front tires lock up. In this situation, even if you release the brake, the tires may not unlock. When you disengage the clutch and then re-engage it, the tires should unlock and the engine should restart. There is a chance that this may not work if the road is wet, in which case you need to disengage the clutch and turn the engine over to restart it. THREE

Q: I opened the throttle as 1 was getting ready to exit the corner, but the car just veered to the outside.

A: This problem was discussed in the section on exiting corners. For both front-wheel and rear-wheel drive, if the car understeers when you accelerate, the best remedy is to release the Throttle. As the weight which had been transferred to the rear shifts forward, the steering wheel should begin responding again. However if the car decelerates too quickly, the rear tires may lose too much traction and slip, which will cause the car to  go into a spin. The moral is to release the throttle not suddenly but slowly.

FOUR

Q: For some reason. I am not able to turn and approach the apex of the turn. My tires are not slipping either.

A: If your tires still have not reached their traction capacity and the car is not turning enough, the problem is simply that you need to turn the steering wheel more. This is a common problem for beginners, but it also happens to advanced drivers when they get nervous and fail to turn the wheel sufficiently because of a loose grip. The best advice is to get a feel for your surroundings, settle down, and assume good driving posture. FIVE

Q: I spin out as I start to enter a corner. A: This is due to excessive weight being shifted to the front of the car, resulting in oversteer. One way to remedy this is to turn the steering wheel in the direction opposite of the turn, in other words, counter-steer. When oversteer occurs, the rear tires are traveling outside of the path taken by the front tires. Counter-steering compensates for this by turning the front tires to the outside as well. Although people will instinctively counter-steer when oversteer occurs, this move won't be mastered properly without plenty of practice. If the counter-steer is applied too long. as soon as the rear tires regain  their traction the car will start moving in the opposite direction of the corner. The car will be traveling very fast, so  this will make restoring the car in the right direction even more difficult. Counter-steer should be applied  quickly and in the right amount. As soon as the car has recovered, The steering wheel must be returned.  Getting the feel for this will simply require time and practice. During counter-steer, the throttle must be manipulated simultaneously. To  increase the traction of the rear tires, the throttle must be opened to transfer weight to the  rear. As described earlier in this manual, for rear-wheel drive cars. it is important that the  throttle be opened gently, or else the traction capacity of the rear tireswill be exceeded, causing the car to go  into a spin. For front-wheel drive cars, however, it's preferable to open the throttle as much as possible to re-stabilize the  car quickly.

SIX

Q; I was rounding a long corner without any problems when the rear tires started to slide. At If it's not a case of the throttle being opened too much on a rear- heel drive car. then it's probably because the car's cornering speed is too fast. The centrifugal force acting on the car will exceed the lateral traction capaci- ty of the rear tires, causing them to slide. You could say your driving is a bit too aggressive, if you can solve this with a bit of counter-steer, then you're close to the fastest cornering speed possible. If you must counter- steer for a long time or if the car spins out, then this is clearly a case of over- steer- Slow down a little bit and see If that isn't the perfect speed for that corner. Try the tips in problem FIVE as well. The one thing to avoid is to tense up and suddenly take your foot off the accelerator. If this happens. the weight transferred to the rear will shift forward, causing the rear tires to lose traction and the car to spin out Instantly.