Overcooked on a roundabout!

[geordieracer]

Had my first scare today.

Overcooked it going over a roundabout near me and experienced major understeer, ws heading straight for the pavement instead of round the roundabout. Could hear the tyres screeching, wound on some more turn on the wheel and eased off the accelerator, suddenly oversteer, but it snapped back towads the way I wanted to go and then managed to straighten up as i exited the r'bout.

Got a cheer of the local neds at the bus stop, gave them a thumbs up and carried on, with my heart giving it some to say the least!

Obviously what I did worked, but waht is the correct method of dealing with understeer?

 

[TeZ]

My hero

 

[172blue]

Never buy an RS variant?

 

[geordieracer]

cheers lol, not bragging just explaining what happened and looking for advice on the correct method of dealing with it. The neds only gave me acheer because they are stupid and didn't realise I was cr*pping it big style.

 

[TeZ]

who cares as long as you didnt ditch it buddy.

 

[172blue]

^^ Very true.

 

[Dan@SJM]

Correct procedure for understeer is let off slightly, and straighten up slightly.

I hit a roundabout at about 20-25mph earlier, the back just let go, had it in quite a controlled slide, until i ran out of lock lol, ended up just sliding to a halt facing the roundabout. just thinking, f**k me thats a greasy roundabout, remember that one for some more fun!

 

[theduck]

so you were turning right and turned right more as you lifted off the accelerator? I think what you should have done was turned left (straightened up slightly) as you lifted off and that would have straightened you up immediately.

 

[geordieracer]

to be honest, there wasnt much more room, if i had gone back left i would have hit the curb for sure. my instinct was to turn away from it. i understand about steering into skids etc, but there is no way I would have avoided the pavement if i had steered towards it, there just wasnt room.

 

[Dan@SJM]

me? or geordie?

I was going straight ahead, just ran out of left hand lock cathcing the slide lol

 

[donsrno1]

Just as well you don't drive my car as it gives constant understeer on roundabouts, lol.

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

With FWD there's nothing to do except point and go. Good effort though.

 

[theduck]

to be honest, there wasnt much more room, if i had gone back left i would have hit the curb for sure. my instinct was to turn away from it. i understand about steering into skids etc, but there is no way I would have avoided the pavement if i had steered towards it, there just wasnt room.

its not that you are turning towards the skid to drive in that direction, just straightening up and lifting off the accelrator will snap you back straight

 

[MikeLYR27]

i did that once in my first 1.2 rt. Overcooked it panicked, braked locked up and went over the roundabout and landed on the roof!! Very scary and a very stuipid 17 year old! Def learnt my lesson!

I felt like a pratt!lol!

Much more cautious now and dont tend to go into round abouts silly anymore! Id be gutted if i rolled the r27. def no no!

 

[M.C..]

I've got Colin McRae's (rip) DVD and his advice is pull the handbrake, but it is not that easy because it all happens very quickly

 

[mark989]

http://www.carlimits.com/shop/product.php?p=16

advanced driving dvd worth buying, general principles.

 

[Jacoob1976]

Had my first scare today.

Overcooked it going over a roundabout near me and experienced major understeer, ws heading straight for the pavement instead of round the roundabout. Could hear the tyres screeching, wound on some more turn on the wheel and eased off the accelerator, suddenly oversteer, but it snapped back towads the way I wanted to go and then managed to straighten up as i exited the r'bout.

Got a cheer of the local neds at the bus stop, gave them a thumbs up and carried on, with my heart giving it some to say the least!

Obviously what I did worked, but waht is the correct method of dealing with understeer?

A cheer or a laugh?

 

[Diesel_Power]

Go on a trackday and find out a safe way. I was a rubbish driver, took a trip to the ring and silverstone and although i wouldnt call myslef a great or indeed good driver, im certainly more aware of how to drive a fwd car.

 

[172.com]

Obviously what I did worked, but waht is the correct method of dealing with understeer?

Let the ESP kick in :approve:

 

[BenR]

Tweek the hand brake, straighten steering wheel, floor it and wave one hand out the window shouting 'ABU NAIIIIIIII!!!!'

 

[mikey_172]

if your understeering lift of very slighty straighten up that will stop the back end comign out if the back end does come out give it opposite lock and drop down a gear thats how ive always got out of a slide apart from one when i spun my corsa on a one way system:race:

 

[Graham Gooch]

Tweek the hand brake, straighten steering wheel, floor it and wave one hand out the window shouting 'ABU NAIIIIIIII!!!!'

FPMSL!

 

[alexm]

i went on a skid pan a couple years ago, and they said to sort of shake the steering wheel left n right slightyly (not too aggressively) till u get the grip back..

 

[philmots]

If it goes straight on don't wind on more lock just back off! There's no grip there so winding on more will do naff all but send you into the roundabout when it finally grips or even oversteer if still goin quick!

 

[MarkCup]

Understeer is caused by too much steering angle, too much speed, or a combination of both.

To stop it, you must remove the cause.

Easing off the throttle has the risk that you'll get the oversteer that caught you out so should only be done very gently.

The other option is the steering, so you should remove some. Using less steering means the wheels can stop sliding across the surface and actually grip again.

That's the hardest thing about track driving to me. Getting it into my head that when the front's pushing wide, I should take some lock off - it just doesn't feel right so it's still a work-in-progress for me.

That's whay you sometimes see drivers sawing at the wheel as the go into a turn, they're trying to get the front wheels to grip.

But it does work. If ever you have the space on a road and absolute safety, try it.

 

[Leeshez]

Well saved.

 

[theduck]

That's the hardest thing about track driving to me. Getting it into my head that when the front's pushing wide, I should take some lock off - it just doesn't feel right so it's still a work-in-progress for me.

Drive with almost bald tires on the front in the wet for almost 1000miles you soon get it to a natural reaction...

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

That's the hardest thing about track driving to me. Getting it into my head that when the front's pushing wide, I should take some lock off - it just doesn't feel right so it's still a work-in-progress for me.

Drive with almost bald tires on the front in the wet for almost 1000miles you soon get it to a natural reaction...

Or drive with a safe car and never have the need to.

 

[theduck]

Drive with almost bald tires on the front in the wet for almost 1000miles you soon get it to a natural reaction...

Or drive with a safe car and never have the need to.

read it allowed with your tounge placed firmly into the left of your mouth and you might realise it was tounge in cheek

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Or drive with a safe car and never have the need to.

read it allowed with your tounge placed firmly into the left of your mouth and you might realise it was tounge in cheek

 

[geordieracer]

Understeer is caused by too much steering angle, too much speed, or a combination of both.

To stop it, you must remove the cause.

Easing off the throttle has the risk that you'll get the oversteer that caught you out so should only be done very gently.

The other option is the steering, so you should remove some. Using less steering means the wheels can stop sliding across the surface and actually grip again.

That's the hardest thing about track driving to me. Getting it into my head that when the front's pushing wide, I should take some lock off - it just doesn't feel right so it's still a work-in-progress for me.

That's whay you sometimes see drivers sawing at the wheel as the go into a turn, they're trying to get the front wheels to grip.

But it does work. If ever you have the space on a road and absolute safety, try it.

That sounds like good advice, like i said first time ever happened, and first scare for me, happened very quickly. The oversteer did indeed nearly catch me out as it quickly had me pointing toward the island at the exit of the r'bout.